Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
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Feast or famine: we haven’t had a book written by a real umpire in how many years? Bruce Weber’s As They See ‘Em doesn’t count because he was an embedded journalist working on a project. This year we have two: Doug Harvey’s They Called Me God, and Al Clark’s Called Out but Safe. Clark, an […]
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The former All-Star shortstop and manager died a day after being taken off life support following a massive stroke he suffered while on a cruise. Fregosi, who was 71, played 18 seasons for the Angels, Mets, Rangers, and Pirates. He then managed for 15 seasons for the Angels, White Sox, Phillies, and Blue Jays, compiling […]
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Ralph Kiner was such a New York institution, I thought it appropriate to include more reactions to his passing: The New York Times called on their resident baseball obit writer Bruce Weber to write this lengthy piece while sports media columnist Richard Sandomir produced this appreciation. I found this quote from Howie Rose especially telling […]
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The ex-Yankee favorite and member of the Greatest Generation who — like Ted Williams — served as a decorated aviator in both World War II and Korea, passed away following complications from a fall at the age of 89. Coleman played for only nine seasons, gaining All-Star Status in 1950. He went on to become […]
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A collection of items about Ben Bradlee Jr.’s new bio of Ted Williams. With all due modesty, kicking this off with my own review of the book, which appears on Bookreporter.com. Here’s another one from USA Today. Slate’s review, by David Bry And while I’m at it, no harm in reposting the two NY Times […]
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The Wall Street Journal published this piece on The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams (pay wall). And although Bruce Weber wrote this review for the Dec. 5 edition of The New York Times, another one appeared in the Sunday Times book section. Sorry, maybe it’s sour grapes, but with all the books out […]
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And so am I. Jury duty and still trying to get my day job done is taking up my blogging time, much to my (and I hope, to a degree) your dismay. But I wanted to pay tribute to one of my favorite sports photographers, Ozzie Sweet, who passed away Wednesday at the age of […]
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The Hall of Fame manager of the Baltimore Orioles during their greatest years, died Saturday while on a fantasy cruise sponsored by the team. he was 82. It’s kind of sad that he passed away the same day as Stan Musial; he should have received a day all of his own for people to pay […]
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Every Christmas you can count on a couple of celebrities to cast off this mortal coil. This time, sadly, it’s two of my favorite actors, Jack Klugman obit by Bruce Weber) and Charles Durning. One of Klugman’s signature roles was, of course, the sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison in beloved TV series The Odd Couple, for […]
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I remember him primarily as one of Gil Hodges’ coaches for the 1969 NY Mets. It’s sometimes hard to believe that these old men (Yost was just 41 when he joined the Mets) were young once and had pretty solid careers as players. Prior to becoming a coach, Yost enjoyed an 18-year career as a […]
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The long-time New Yorker cartoonist died on March 22 at the age of 100. Here’s his obit from The New York Times by Bruce Weber. The joke in the above cartoon is a bit hard to see; one ump has a picture of Roger Maris in his locker, while the other has one of […]
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The veteran boxing writer had a soft spot for the national pastime as well. He passed away today at the age of 75, the result of a cardiac arrest. He published Bert Sugar’s Baseball Hall of Fame: A Living History of America’s Greatest Game in 2009, as well as Hall of Fame Baseball Cards in […]
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I was over at the local Barnes and Noble and my eyes fell on The Obits: The New York Times Annual 2012. Being the morbid and curious fellow I am, I flipped through the book (the title is a bit odd, since obviously none of the obits are actually from 2012; they actually span Aug. […]
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The longtime baseball executive died yesterday at the age of 82. Gorman was the general manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1984-93. Here’s Bruce Weber’s obit in today’s New York Times. He published High and Inside: My Life in the Front Offices of Baseball in 2007.
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The former manager died yesterday. The NY Times obituary by Bruce Weber put his age “in his early 80s.” Tanner, who led the Pittsburgh, Pirates to the world Championship in 1979, played for eight seasons with the Braves, Cubs, Indians, and Angels from 1955-62, compiling a .263 batting average, 21 homers, and 105 RBI, mostly […]
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I quite enjoyed Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) and the follow-up, SuperFreakonomics. Not that I’m great at economics, but I love the analysis stuff. So it was kind of a “eureka moment” when I discovered Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won, by […]
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Now that Derek Jeter’s behavior has been the subject of several ethical ramblings — including Bruce Weber, author of As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires — the gloves are off (and the caps are on). Without their beloved captain and role model towing the line, the rules of propriety […]
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This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Friday, April 16. Title Rank General The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran, by Dirk Hayhurst 1 The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime, by Jason Turbow and Michael Duca 2 Willie Mays: […]
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Here’s a sneak preview of The New York Times Sunday Book Review: (Grateful for the opportunity to reproduce the cool graphic that ran with the piece.) Bruce Weber, author of As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires, gives his take on The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: […]
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The jurist who opened the door for girls to play Little League baseball, died Feb. 16 at the age of 75. From the NY Times obituary by Bruce Weber (author of As They See ‘Em): …she was best known for her decision in the Little League case, which she made before she was elevated to […]
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is available on Amazon.com,
In my most recent "day job," I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted another blog. Busy, busy, busy.
I did a profile piece on the award-winning cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was nice enough to "immortalize" me.
My article on the later biographies of Babe Ruth appears in
My article on the Mets’ 1969 postseason appears in
Profiles of several Jewish baseball figures appear in
