Baseball and comics: the great American pastimes

2008 title

Wilfred Santiago pays homage to his countryman Roberto Clemente in graphic novela form, due out later this year. According to the publication’s Web site, 21 is “a human drama of courage and dignity….Facing prejudice during times of change, his talent went unrecognized for most of his eighteen seasons. Clemente, however, never lost of sight of […]

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Happy Birthday, Darryl Strawberry

Birthday greetings

Potential is such as sad word when it comes to sports. It seems it more often used when an athlete fails to live up to the predictions. Strawberry, who turns 46 today, was one such player. When he burst on to the scene with the Mets in 1983, people started comparing him with Ted Williams […]

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In case you were wondering

Magazines

For a few weeks I was wondering when the Street & Smith’s new baseball annual would hit the newsstands. After all, the other publishers had released their magazines. I figured it would surely be available by now. Well. it’s not. And don’t call me Shirley. After a visit to my local Barnes and Noble proved […]

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Bits and Pieces

2008 title

From Umpbump.com, a Letterman-like list of alternate uses for the weighty 2008 edition of Baseball Prospectus. From a December entry on HardballTimes.com, an interview with the prolific John Thorn. Mary Ann Childers, medical editor for the CBS affiliate in Chicago, on Your Brain on Cubs in which she “takes a look at a new book […]

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On this day

Audio

in 1933, Rogers Hornsby returns to the Cardinals as a player after a six year absence (thanks to NationalPastime.com). Hornsby was not one of your happy, shining people. His reputation as a misanthrope preceded him, yet he was able to find a job because he was such an astute baseball ma who batted over .400 […]

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Happy Birthday, Dock Ellis

Birthday greetings

The man who claims to have pitched a no-hitter under the influence of LSD turns 63 today. Ellis played for 12 seasons (1968-79) with the Pirates, Yankees, A’s, Rangers and Mets, compiling a 138-199 record. He collaborated with author Donald Hall on his autobiography in 1976. The Amazon Report: Dock Ellis in the Country of […]

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Old man's baseball reference

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Stealing a thought from The Tony Kornheiser Show and his penchant for the “old man radio” intros for his segments… It probably won’t last long, but the new FOX program New Amsterdam will have a special place in my heart. The police drama stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (as opposed to Game of Shadows’ Mark Fainaru-Wada) as […]

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Bits and Pieces

Bits and Pieces

From Men’s Vogue, this review of Ballet in the Dirt, the pricey photography book by Neil Leifer. Another Leifer feature appeared in the Los Angeles Times. The Washington Post ran this review on the new biography on Bernard Malamud, author of The Natural, generally considered the first “adult” baseball fiction. Itsaboutthemoney, a blog “celebrating the […]

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Review: Diary of a Red Sox Season

2008 title

From FragileFreddy’s Red Sox blog, this review on Johnny Peksy’s Diary of a Red Sox Season. Upshot: Overall the book is a brief but fun read and one I definitely recommend. You won’t learn a lot that is new to you about the Red Sox but you will learn about Johnny Pesky and you will […]

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On this day

History

in 1995, Michael Jordan decides he might have made a mistake when he quit basketball at the height of his game to try his hand at baseball. He took advantage of the labor unrest to announce his plan to give up the diamond for the hardwood. The Amazon Report: Rookie: When Michael Jordan Came to […]

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Happy Birthday, Steve Howe

Birthday greetings

Born this day in 1958, the star-crossed pitcher died in 2006 as the result a car accident, and not, surprisingly, drug use. Howe was a sometimes brilliant reliever who played mostly for the Dodgers and Yankees. Suspended several times from substance, abuse, Howe got more second chances than just about any athlete in history. The […]

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Happy Birthday, Jim Bouton

Birthday greetings

Not the first — that honor went to Jim Brosnan — but perhaps the best of the genre he tackled, Bouton turns 69 today. “The Bulldog” enjoyed a couple of good years for the New York Yankees, winning 20 games in1963 and 18 more in 1964, the last good year the team had for more […]

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On this day

History

In 1941, ‘Losing Pitcher’ Hugh Mulcahy of the Phillies becomes the first major league player to be drafted into the Armed Forces. The newest member of the 101st Artillery at Cape Cod’s Camp Edwards on had lost 22 games last season and 20 in 1938 to lead the National League in defeats both years. (Thanks […]

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Happy Birthday, Jeff Burroughs

Birthday greetings

The burly slugger, born this day in 1951, was one of the few major leaguers who enjoyed “headliner” success in Little League as well. He wrote about such experience in a couple of books. The Amazon Report: Jeff Burroughs’ Little League Instructional Guide The Little Team That Could/the Incredible, Often Wacky Story of the Two-Time […]

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The Pride of the Yankees

2008 title

The 2008 seasons marks the beginning of the end for Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers have always been fodder for baseball lit, but this watershed event opens a new sub-genre. A quick search on Amazon.com shows several titles devoted specifically to such nostalgic content, including Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective, by Al Santasiere and Mark […]

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Happy Birthday, Willie Stargell

Birthday greetings

Born this day in 1940, “Pops” died too young, at age 61 in 2001. Stargell was one of the stars of the Pirates “We Are Family” team in the early 1970s, a fearsome batter who had a trademark windmill-style of taking his practice swings. The Amazon Report: Willie Stargell: An Autobiography Out of left field: […]

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On this day

History

Former Pirate second baseman Bill Mazeroski is elected by the Veterans’ Committee into the Hall of Fame along. His walk-off home run in the 1960 World Series is still ranked as one of the most dramatic moments in the game. (Thanks to NationalPastime.com.) The Amazon Report: Twin Killing: The Bill Mazeroski Story

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Veteran sports photographer bats 400 — dollars, that is

2007 title

Would you pay $400 for a book of baseball photographs? One thousand bibliophiles did. Some didn’t even blink when the price rose to $700 for Ballet in the Dirt: The Golden Age of Baseball, a coffee table collection of lensman Neil Leifer’s best work, published in late 2007 by Taschen Books. Leifer, 65, got his […]

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Author Profile: Matthew Silverman

2008 title

Matthew Silverman has started his own cottage industry, writing about the Mets. This year alone he has three books out on the Amazin’s, including, Mets by the Numbers (with Jon Springer), Meet the Mets (with Greg Spira), and 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. He has also contributed to such […]

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We Are the Ship in Sports Illustrated

2008 title

A feature piece on Kadir Nelson’s new children’s book on the Negro Leagues, as well as a slide-show of the author’s paintings of some of the legends of the era.

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