Breakfast: the most important meal of the day?

"Oddballs"

Does anyone else have these? I have a number of posters that I’ve been hanging in the stairwell to my basement office and came across these 2′ x 3′ jobs that I can only imagine acquiring via sending in box tops from Kelloggs cereals. They’re kind of cool but as the last images are from […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, February 24, 2023

"Annuals"

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”) In addition, occasionally […]

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The things we keep: An Artifcts saga

Uncategorized

As many of you know, I have been culling the herd, as it were, of my baseball books. I’ve tried selling them to the local used book store; giving them away to the local library (even dropping off a box in the dead of the night so they couldn’t refuse me); donating to the Yogi […]

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The Bookshelf Conversation #161: Graig Kreindler

"Bookshelf Conversations"

Named after the All-Star third baseman, Graig Nettles, Kreindler creates some truly incredible baseball art. What is just as impressive is the amount of research that goes into the pieces, which are mostly of players in the days before color photography. From his website: “His goal is to portray the national pastime in an era […]

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Bits and pieces, February 22, 2023

"Oddballs"

  Early on, it looks like the big book is Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest Mess, by Evan Drellich. Numerous reviews and features on the Astros’ cheating scandal include “New book on Houston’s sign-stealing scandal illuminates backstory to Cardinals hacking case” from the St. Louis Post Dispatch (paywall); “Reporter who […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, February 17, 2023

"Annuals"

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”) In addition, occasionally […]

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Lest we forget: Tim McCarver

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

I have a soft spot for players with extra longevity. Tim McCarver enjoyed a 21-year career. And while others have been around longer, he managed to do it over four decades, so extra points. Sadly, he passed away today at the age of 81. McCarver began his career as a 17-year-old (!) with the St. […]

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Rules are made to be broken — UPDATE

"Oddballs"

Wondering how the new rule changes will change the rule book itself. This article from MLB.com makes them seem more complicated than I originally thought. These include: The pitch clock, which not only applies to the pitcher apparently, but the hitter as well who has to be in the batter’s box within a certain time […]

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The envelope, please

2022 title

Since this is award season (Grammys, Ocars, etc.), I thought it would be a good time to mention some recent baseball book recipients. Kostya Kennedy received Spitball Magazine‘s CASEY Award for True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson. From the Spitball website: “Kennedy … not only becomes the first three-time winner of the CASEY, but […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, February 10, 2023

"Annuals"

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”) In addition, occasionally […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, February 3, 2023

"Annuals"

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”) In addition, occasionally […]

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Lest We Forget: Frank Thomas, Sal Bando, Gary Peters, Ted Savage

Baseball Cards

It’s been a rough couple of weeks. We lost four players, three of whom were from my own “golden age” of fandom. Frank Thomas (died at age 93 on Jan. 16) was one of the few bright spots for the 1962 Mets, clubbing 34 home runs, a mark that stood until Dave Kingman’s 36 in […]

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Bits and Pieces, February 1, 2023

2023 title

Two weeks ’til pitchers and catchers!   From thecoldwire.com: “MLB writer Evan Drellich has spent the past several years writing a book centered around the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal from back in 2017.” Oddly, the piece does not actually mention the book’s title, which is Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, January 27, 2023

2022 title

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”) In addition, occasionally […]

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Coming Down the Pike: New Baseball Books

2023 title

Used to be around this time of year you could look forward to the baseball annuals from Street & Smith, Athlon, Lindy’s, and a host of other magazine publishers. Of course, back in the day there were many others put out by the likes of The Sporting News, Major League Baseball, Bill Mazeroski, with Baseball […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, January 20, 2023

"Annuals"

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”) In addition, occasionally […]

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Bits and pieces, January 16, 2023

2014 title

  As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day, this from Movieguide on the best movies to watch to mark the occasion, including the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42. Here are a few entries I posted back around the time it came out: The cast of 42: You be the judge 42 Overview Bookshelf Review: 42   […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, January 13, 2023

"Annuals"

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”) In addition, occasionally […]

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Bits and Pieces, January 10, 2023

2022 title

  An interesting story about the transformation of For Love of the Game from novel to screen? Perhaps, but this piece from The Athletic is behind a paywall so I can’t tell for sure.   Speaking of baseball movies, here’s a touching piece in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about Robert Redford and The Natural as it […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, January 6, 2023

"Annuals"

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast […]

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