Lest We Forget: Those We Lost in 2024

Lest We Forget

Posting the piece about Lenny Randle reminded me of those end-of-year tributes by many outlets recalling the celebrities who passed away during the year. With that in mind, I thought it was appropriate to look back at the baseball figures who deaths were acknowledged on the Bookshelf. Note that the list includes a couple of […]

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Lest We Forget: Lenny Randle

Documentary

Lenny Randle, perhaps best known on the field for trying to blow a baseball into foul territory, passed away last week at the age of 75. (He was also notorious for punching out Texas manager Frank Lucchesi in 1974.) Randle, who played just about ever position except for pitcher and catcher, made his debut with […]

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Baseball Best- Sellers, December 27, 2024

"Annuals"

Last one of the year! Where did the time go? 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 […]

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Lest We Forget: Rickey Henderson

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Still shocked that Rickey Henderson passed away at the age of 65, just a few days before his Christmas birthday. I always feel an extra pang of regret when someone younger than me dies. Henderson, was what many might call a colorful character. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009, accumulating 3,055 […]

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Bits and Pieces, December 21, 2024

"Oddballs"

I have been a poor host. Other than the weekly best-seller list and the (thankfully) occasional “Lest We Forget” posts, I have not done enough to fulfill my self-appointed responsibilities of bringing you the latest news. Maybe that will be one of my resolutions. But we all know how long those last… Anyway… A feature/Q&A […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 20, 2024

2017 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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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 13, 2024

2017 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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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 6, 2024

"Bookshelf Conversations"

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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I’ve got a little list

2024 title

This is the time of year when the lists come out (and I’m not just talking about Santa). Many of the ones that concern this particular blog have to do with the best baseball books of the year. Some of these lists, like  “Golf to baseball and more: 23 books on sports out in 2024.” […]

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Lest we forget: Rico Carty and Al Ferrara

Biography

Two players from my youth recently passed away. I can’t explain it, but for some reason Rico Carty was the first non-Mets player I took a liking to. Looking at his baseball card from my first serious go at collecting in 1967, I remember being impressed with his stats and surprised he wasn’t mentioned in […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, November 22, 2024

2023 title

A reminder: The Amazona 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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A blast from the past: “Anti-Semitism in Baseball”

2017 Title

Recently heard from Peter Anthony Holder, host of The Stuph File podcast. I was a guest on his program back in 2017 to discuss “Anti-Semitism in Baseball,” based on my book Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War. Why rehash this now? Mainly because Holder has moved hundreds of […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, November 15, 2024

2023 title

A reminder: The Amazona 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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Award season: The CASEYs

2024 title

We’re heading into the time of year when baseball announces its major awards. It’s no different for baseball books. Spitball Magazine just announced the finalists for the coveted CASEY Award for best baseball book of the year. Links under the authors names will take you to Bookshelf Conversations. A Baseball Gaijin: Chasing a Dream to […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, November 8, 2024

2023 title

A reminder: The Amazona 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: Joey Jay and Rudy May

Lest We Forget

The first Little Leaguer to make it to the Majors, pitcher Joey Jay passed away Sept. 27 at the age of 89. Here’s his obituary from The New York Times by Richard Goldstein. Jay made his debut at the tender age of 17 with the Milwaukee Braves in 1953. He was traded to the Cincinnati […]

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Bookshelf Review: The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox

2024 title

Anniversaries are great topics for books and documentaries. This year marked the 20th for the first World Series championship for the Boston Red Sox in generations. Ever since Ken Burns released the iconic Baseball miniseries, fans have endured the same old same old: interviews with talking heads interspersed with still photos and video clips. So […]

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Naked City

2020 title

Now that the 2024 season has come to an end, it’s time to turn to our second favorite pastime: reading about baseball. Naked City was a popular TV cop series from 1958-63 (kids, ask your grandparents). The tagline for the show was “There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, November 1, 2024

2024 title

A reminder: The Amazona 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, October 25, 2024

2023 title

A reminder: The Amazona 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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