* Author profile: Doug Decatur

2009 title

Cincinnati.com recently ran this item on the author of Traded: Inside the Most Lopsided Trades in Baseball History (ACTA), which rates 300 deals made over the last several years.

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* Now hear this: NY Baseball Digest

2009 title

Mike Silva offers some easy listening about baseball, including an interview with Ira Berkow on his latest book, Summers in the Bronx: Attila the Hun and Other Yankee Stories; author and historian John Thorn; and Peter Golenbock on Billy Martin.

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* Lest we forget: Robert B. Parker

Fiction

The crime novelist, perhaps best known for his “Spenser” series, passed away at the age of 77. As much as I enjoyed the TV version, starring Robert Urich and Avery Brooks, the novels were all pretty much the same. Parker branched out in later years. He wrote a few mysteries with a female protagonist as […]

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* Review: The Corporal was a Pitcher

2008 title

The Mattoon, IL Journal Gazette/Times-Courier ran this review of Ira Berkow’s bio of Lou Brissie, who came back from devastating war injuries to pitch effectively in the Major Leagues.

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* Everybody's an expert

2009 title

Former ballplayers and managers. Commissioners and broadcasters. Groundskeepers and concessionaires. Seems like everyone knows what’s wrong with baseball and how to make it better. Case in point from StudyofSports.com about the new book Hi Anybody!: “Legendary [Kansas City] Royals’ broadcaster Denny Matthews oozes with baseball lore and love.  The subtitle describes perfectly the contents of […]

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* Bits and pieces

2009 title

Haven’t done one of these for awhile, so here goes: The Dallas Morning News ran this review of The Wizard of Waxahachie by Warren Corbett, the biography of baseball lifer Paul Richards. Upshot: “Those who love baseball’s strategies and myriad statistics probably will relish this book. The author blends them seamlessly into an entertaining, warts-and-all […]

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* TWIBB — January 16, 2010

2009 title

This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com as of Saturday, January 16. Title Rank General Baseball Prospectus 2010 1 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball Forecaster) 2 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects (Baseball America Prospect Handbook) 3 Moneyball: The Art of Winning […]

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* Now hear this: Lonnie Wheeler

2009 title

When the superstars of baseball want their story told, they know where to go. Lonnie Wheeler has collaborated with such Hall of Famers as Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson, and, most recently, Gibson and Reggie Jackson in Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher & a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk about How the […]

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* Lest we forget: Art Rust Jr.

Biography

The pioneering African-American writer/broadcaster was a favorite around our household in the days of a kinder, gentler sports-talk radio format. Rust, who also appeared on WNBC-TV news programs, died Jan. 12 at the age of 82. From the New York Times‘ obituary by Richard Goldstein: In his 1976 book “Get That Nigger Off the Field!,” […]

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* The Mark McGwire reader

2009 title

I don’t know what else there is to say about McGwire. Some, like Joe Posnanski (twice) and my literary hero, Tony Kornheiser, are more forgiving. Mr. Tony spoke about the “confessions of Mark McGwire” on both Pardon the Interruption and his eponymous radio program on ESPN 980 in DC. Others, like Ken Rosenthal, are much […]

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* More thoughts on HoF voting

Hall of Fame

Here’s another good analysis of what should (and should not) go into the thought processes of those voting for the Hall of Fame, by Tyler Kepner. It should be noted that The New York Times does not allow its staffers to participate in such elections.

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* Non-news item of the day

2010 title

Several major outlets, including ESPN and Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch are running major announcements that Mark McGwire admits having used steroids “on occasion throughout the 1990’s,” including his record-breaking 1998 season. Surprisingly, the Post-Dispatch is using the Associated Press story rather than their own reporters. But it is […]

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* Time marches on

2010 title

So many calendars, so little time. (Hmm.) Picked up a day-by-day calendar for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for the new year. I usually have a problem keeping up with the task of tearing off that one page, but with this one, it’s all I can do to keep from sneaking a […]

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* TWIBB — January 8, 2010

2009 title

This week’s best-selling baseball books, according to Amazon.com on Friday, January 8. HAPPY LATE YEAR! Title Rank General 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler’s Baseball Forecaster) 1 Baseball Prospectus 2010 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 3 Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the […]

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* RK Review: Sixty Feet, Six Inches

2009 title

A Hall of Fame Pitcher & A Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game is Played, by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson with Lonnie Wheeler (Doubleday, 2009) When I first heard about this book, I immediately wondered, who had the bigger ego? How was the process handled? Did Gibson tell Jackson to meet […]

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* Congratulations, Andre Dawson

Annoucements

“The Hawk” was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame today. Now get gets to add that to his autograph. Dawson released an autobio in 1994 (with Tom Bird) that was published by Zondervan, a religious house, ostensibly for kids. Look for a new title soon. From the Hall of Fame press release (with […]

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* Brought to you as a public service announcement:

Annoucements
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* New titles from Ivan R. Dee

2009 title

Actually, most are not exactly new, but re-released in paper back editions. But I guess they’re all new if you haven’t read them yet (this sounds like one of those “if a tree falls in the woods…” bits). The only one that might qualify is A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations That […]

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* Happy trails, Randy Johnson

Annoucements

Possibly the last pitcher to win 300 games, Johnson announced his retirement yesterday. He’s been the subject of several books, but most seem to be for kids or where he’s been included in numerous release about baseball’s  greatest players or for his no-hitters. Perhaps that will change now. Say what you will about the Bug […]

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* MLB to air IBL documentary

2009 title

The MLB Network will present Holy Land Hardball, the documentary about the lone season of the Israel Baseball League, on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 10 p.m.

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