A politics-free zone?

"Oddballs"

If you are a Facebook friend, you know my feelings about our sitting president. I have tried to keep all of that out of this site, believing baseball is a refuge from the cares and woes of the outside world. Unfortunately, the reaction of the crowd to Donald Trump’s appearance at Game Five of the […]

Tagged as: Donald Trump, Washington Nationals, World Series

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M*A*S*H note

"Oddballs"

One of my comfort TV shows is M*A*S*H. If I’m home (and awake) when it airs on ME TV (hold the jokes, please), that’s what I’m watching. The episodes are usually played sequentially, so it was especially interesting that “A War for All Seasons” (season nine, episode six) was on tonight’s schedule. This one follows […]

Tagged as: Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants

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Baseball Best-Sellers, October 25, 2019

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

Tagged as: Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, David Ortiz, David Ross, Houston Astros, Michael Lewis, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Ted Williams

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What were YOU doing when you were 99?

Baseball and pop culture

The recent baseball cover of The New Yorker reminded me that it’s been a while since we last saw a piece by the venerable Roger Angell, one of the people I would dearly love to have as a guest for a Bookshelf Conversation. But give the man a break, as Wendy Parker, host of the […]

Tagged as: Roger Angell

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Baseball Best-Sellers, October 18, 2019

2018 Title

Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

Tagged as: Babe Ruth, Baseball Cards, baseball stadiums, Black Sox scandal, David Cone, Doc Gooden, Eliot Asinof, Houston Astros, Joe Maddon, Los Angeles Dodgers, managers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pitching, Ted Williams, World Series

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What becomes a legend most?

Classic title

That used to be, among other things, a tag line for a print campaign featuring models wearing fur coats. But today I’m applying it to those periodic lists that purport to offer the “best,” “greatest,” “essential,” etc., books on the game. I can’t speak to the expertise of the writers or what criteria they use […]

Tagged as: Ball Four, Bottom of the 33rd, Moneyball, The Boys of Summer, Veeck as in Wreck

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Washington Nationals books? Ready, set, go

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Congratulations to the Washington Nationals, winners of the National League pennant and World Series participants for the first time in franchise history. Remember about 15 years ago when baseball was considering contracting a few teams. The Nats’ antecedents, the Montreal Expos, were in line for that fate. In fact, I traveled to my ancestral manse […]

Tagged as: Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, World Series

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Rick Wolff

Baseball and education

(This could also be considered on of those “Things We Keep” entries.) Happy “Golden Anniversary” to The Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia! Fans of a certain age no doubt have (or had) a copy of this massive door stop. My edition, pictured below, weighs in at more than 2,700 pages and five pounds. Now, there have been […]

Tagged as: "The shot heard 'round the world", The Macmillian Baseball Encyclopedia

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Postseason baseball, New Yorker Style

"Oddballs"

It might have been a nice idea to pair their recent cover with a Roger Angell story, but I’ll take what I can get.

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Baseball Best-Sellers, October 11, 2019

"Oddballs"

Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, October 4, 2019

2017 Title

Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

Tagged as: Baseball Cards, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, David Cone, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, managers, Negro Leagues, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pitching, Ted Williams, World Series

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The Bookshelf Conversation, Encore Edition: Paul Dickson

"Bookshelf Conversations"

When last we spoke with Paul Dickson, it was about his excellent biography, Leo Durocher: Baseball’s Prodigal Son. This time it’s not about a new book, per se, but an old one that got a second life. Dickson, who recently turned 80, has re-released The Hidden Language of Baseball: How Signs and Sign-Stealing Have Influenced […]

Tagged as: baseball reference, Paul Dickson, scorekeeping

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Baseball Best-Sellers, September 27, 2019

2018 Title

Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

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Coming down the pike

2019 Title

Or is it “pipe”; I can never keep that straight. Both seem valid. Anyway, time to see what new baseball books are on the horizon. Using Amazon as my source and just to let you know, I’m not including the titles that come out every year, such as Ron Shandler’s Baseball Forecaster or Baseball America’s […]

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Why I write: Diane Firstman

On the horizon

Welcome to a new feature on the Bookshelf. I’ve always been as interested in the process as the finished project, so a frequent question in the Bookshelf Conversations is “Why did you decide to write this book.” Diane Firstman is a long-time member of SABR who has contributed wise and witty articles to numerous baseball […]

Tagged as: baseball nicknames, Diane Firstman

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Richard Goldstein

"Bookshelf Conversations"

Whenever I come across an obituary about a baseball player in The New York Times, I check the byline. More often than not these days, it’s been written by Richard Goldstein (Bruce Weber, a former Times staffer and author of As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires, about his experiences […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, September 20, 2019

2018 Title

Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

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Lest We Forget: Pumpsie Green

Lest We Forget

Is there a version of belated birthday greetings for someone whose death has gone unmarked? And the last shall be first. Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, who died on July 17, was last African-American on a major league roster when he became the first such player to break the color line on the Boston Red Sox on […]

Tagged as: Pumpsie Green

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Lest We Forget: Charlie Silvera

Lest We Forget

Be honest. When you think of being a major league ballplayer, it’s always as a star, like Ted Williams, Sandy Koufax, or Yogi Berra. Who ever aspires to be a Charley Silvera, Berra’s back-up backstop for the Yankees from 1948-56? The San Francisco native was traded to the Chicago Cubs after that season and played […]

Tagged as: Charlie Silvera

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Baseball Best-Sellers, September 13, 2019

"Annuals"

Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

Tagged as: Ball Four, baseaball stats, Baseball Cards, baseball memoirs, Boston Red Sox, David Cone, Doc Gooden, Houston Astros, Jim Bouton, Moneyball, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pitching, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ted Williams

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