Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf — If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here — Page 4

Baseball Best-Sellers, December 22, 2023

You know what? I’m not even gonna bother this week. A) Many of you are probably busy with holiday preparations. B) Nothing has changed from the Dec. 15 post, save for the order, with the exception of the inclusion of The Story of Baseball in 100 Photographs from Sports Illustrated, the only item I would […]

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Lest We Forget: Ken MacKenzie

The only pitcher on the 1962 New York Mets with a winning record, MacKenzie passed away December 14 at the age of 89. The Gore Bay, Ontario-born lefty also went 3-1 for the 1963 Mets. Rookie Grover Powell, at 1-1, was the only other hurler not to have a losing record that year. MacKenzie made […]

Tagged as: Ken MacKenzie

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Lest We Forget: Vic Davalillo

This is kind of a tree-falling-in-the-forest thing. If the “paper of record” carries an obituary, does that make an otherwise obscure player more of a celebrity? Probably, since many readers might never have heard of him before. The New York Times published this AP article noting the passing of Vic Davalillo, “a two-time World Series […]

Tagged as: Vic Davalillo

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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 15, 2023

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: Andre Braugher

I was shocked to hear the news this morning that Andre Braugher has passed away. Braugher, 61, made his TV debut on Kojak but really received attention as Det. Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Streets (created by David Simon, a Baltimore Orioles fan). He appeared in numerous movies and other TV shows, most […]

Tagged as: Andre Braugher, Jackie Robinson

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Bits and Pieces, December 12, 2023

♦ Interesting piece on “20 facts you might not know about ‘Moneyball’” from Yardbarker.com. But, sorry, leading off with “The movie is based on a book?” Maybe I’m being overcritical, but come on, this is something you might not know? ♦ Another Yardbarker piece includes Cliff Murdoch Rookie of the Year), Teddy Cullinane (Bull Durham), […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 8, 2023

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, December 6, 2023

New book? Where has this writer been? The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams came out in August and has been on the “Baseball Best-Sellers” list ever since. (Relatively new, I suppose.) Congrats to the late Gerry Fraley, who won the BBWAA Career Excellence Award on Tuesday. Ohio favorite […]

Tagged as: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb

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Mazel tov, Jim Leyland

The former World Championship manager was elected to the Hall of Fame by the contemporary era committee for managers, executives, and umpires. He becomes the 23rd manager in the hall. After making his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986, Leyland led the Florida Marlins to a World Series title in 1997 and won two […]

Tagged as: Jim Leyland

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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 1, 2023

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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Let the winter reading lists begin

Whether it’s gift suggestions or just something to pass the time until spring training begins, you can count on “they’re making a list.” Whether the authors are checking them twice is a questionable matter. This one, by Nick Pollack on Pitcher List, offers “8 Baseball Books to Read During the Offseason.” But I have to […]

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When is this book coming out?

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Be honest: How many of you out there had heard of Baseball United? I hadn’t until it popped up today in my Google search. According to the very well-produced BU website, “With a footprint of 2 billion people – 1 billion of whom are cricket fans – the Middle East and South Asia is the […]

Tagged as: Baseball United

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(Swing and a) Missed

Don’t know how I missed this one. Randy Hundley certainly didn’t miss too many pitches during his career (only 54 passed balls in over 8,400 innings). This past July, he released Ironman with John St. Augustine. Here’s the blurb from lulu.com, where the book is available (surprisingly it’s not on Amazon): Hailed by Leo Durocher […]

Tagged as: Chicago Cubs, Randy Hundley

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Baseball Best-Sellers, November 24, 2023

Hope you all had a festive Thanksgiving. As you recover from all that overindulging, here’s some books for thought. Maybe you can pick up some of these at Black Friday sales prices! A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read […]

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Lest We Forget: Jim Caple

Rough day to report on writers, although this one happened more than a month ago. Jim Caple, long-time ESPN baseball scribe, died October 1 at the age of 61 after battling ALS and dementia. Caple covered 20 World Series for ESPN, the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I particularly enjoyed his work on […]

Tagged as: Jim Caple

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Lest We Forget: Michael Bishop

The author of one of my favorite baseball novels, Brittle Innings, passed away on Nov. 13 at the age of 78. Here’s his obit from locusmag.com and his entry from the online Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Normally I don’t rely on Wikipedia, but in this case, the synopsis for the 1994 publication is pretty accurate: […]

Tagged as: baseball fiction, Michael Bishop

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Baseball Best-Sellers, November 10, 2023

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

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 […]

Tagged as: Texas Rangers

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‘Tis the season (aka, Coming Down the Pike)

I don’t know about you, but where I live, Christmas items started appearing in store before Halloween. And now that the 2024 season is in the books, here’s a preview off baseball books coming in 2024, as per Amazon. Note that there’s always something that could happen to throw a monkey wrench into the works […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, November 3, 2023

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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Maybe SI should have waited.

The iconic publication released The World Series: A History of the Fall Classic from the Pages of Sports Illustrated on October 17, right in the middle of the playoffs. If they had just waited a couple of weeks, they could have included the Texas Rangers’ first world championship. (Actually, they could have included any of […]

Tagged as: Texas Rangers

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