Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf — If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here — Page 51

Save the Date: August 10 — National Baseball Card Day

We have a calendar at Trader Joe’s on which is listed — in addition to staff birthdays (yay!) — various “national days,” such as “National Chocolate Milk Day” or “National Cheesecake Day.” (Are there corresponding greeting cards for all the occasions?) I’m betting that some of these are created by the industries which they encompass. […]

Tagged as: Baseball Cards

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Summer lovin’

I don’t engage in a whole of lot of “beach reading.” For one thing, I hate the beach. Love the ocean, the sounds, the smells. But lying on the sand and baking? Not for me. Occasionally, I’ll get an email a baseball novelist asking me to take a look at his or her book. My […]

Tagged as: baseball fiction

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An overdue tribute to Jim Bouton

Author profile/interview by Ron Kaplan

As many of you know, I was on a little hiatus during which time Jim Bouton passed away. There have been dozens of obituaries and accolades and I will not refer to them, save the few below; they’re easy enough to Google. But here’s my two cents. It was almost ten years ago when Bouton […]

Tagged as: Ball Four, Jim Bouton

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It’s about time

If they ever put this out in a miniature form, tell me where I can get one; it’s going straight on the bookshelf. As per the Los Angeles Times, “Legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax will get a statue at Dodger Stadium.” Wouldn’t be surprised if this shows up in the next edition of Josh Pahigian’s 101 […]

Tagged as: Jos Pahagian, Sandy Koufax

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Baseball Best-Sellers, July 26, 2019

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, David Cone, Houston Astros, Jim Bouton, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pete Rose, Pitching, Ted Williams

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July in July

As mentioned the other day, here’s the mid-summer “Roundup Review” which appears on Bookreporter.com. Heavy on the NY teams (sorry, all you out-of-towners), but there are a couple of others so don’t be a hater.

Tagged as: David Cone, Erbie Banks, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Ron Swoboda

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April in July

Yeah, I know it’s supposed to be “Christmas in July.” Well, maybe this is both. Totally neglected to mark Tom Hoffarth‘s annual “30-in-30” baseball book reviews, which he had been doing for several years while with the Los Angeles Daily News. Like me, however, Hoffarth was a victim of journalism crush and was downsized from […]

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They blinded me with science!

Baseball out of context

I love finding baseball readings in “non-traditional” places. You can come across an article here and there in publications like The Atlantic or New York Magazine (have to get to that Roger Angell book by Joe Bonomo), but other places take a little digging. So a hat tip to my old Trader Joe’s buddy Shawn […]

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Kiss me once and kiss me twice…

and kiss me once again, it’s been a long, long time. I was going to say, “Kids, ask your grandparents,” but apparently it appears in several Marvel universe movies, including Endgame. Who knew? I’ll have to see it now. I wonder if this will kick off renewed interest in Big Band era music. I’ve always […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 21, 2019

Happy Solstice, everybody! 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 […]

Tagged as: Babe Ruth, baseball stadiums, Billy Bean, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, David Cone, hitting, Houston Astros, Moneyball, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Philadelphia Phillies, Pitching, Roger Angell, Roger Kahn, Ron Swoboda, Yogi Berra

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“I disapprove of what you say…”

Because I can...

… but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” My wife an I recently attended several movies at our local film festival, once of which was Late Night, the new Mindy Kaling/Emma Thomson comedy, which has received glowing reviews from some major sources. Long story short, I hated it. I found […]

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Review roundup: “Infinite Baseball”

As a pretentious faux-intellectual, I’m always interested in books that combine philosophy with the national pastime. How cool, then, to come across Infinite Baseball: Notes from a Philosopher at the Ballpark, by Alva Noë, a professor at Berkeley. I’m switching between the print edition and audio book and quite enjoying it; look for a “Bookshelf […]

Tagged as: baseball and philosophy

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 14, 2019

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 Cone, Houston Astros, NY Yankees, Pete Rose, Philadlephia Phillies, Pitching, Ted Williams, World Series

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Well, here’s a nice surprise (shameless self-promotion)

I subscribe to Scribd.com, a wonderful service which, for a flat fee, allows you to read and/or listen to thousands of books, new and old. While doing my semi-weekly search for new things, I discovered that Hank Greenberg in 1938 (as well as The Jewish Olympics: The History of the Maccabiah Games) is a part […]

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There’s a new (Jewish) home run king of all-time, and his name is…

Ryan Braun cracked a three-run homer on June 7 for the 332nd of his career, one more than Hank Greenberg for the all-time record by a Jewish player. The blast came on a 3-2 pitch in the sixth inning with his Milwaukee Brewers already leading the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3., en route to a 10-4 […]

Tagged as: Hank Greenberg, Ryan Braun

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Baseball Best Sellers, June 7, 2019

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: ballparks, baseball analysis, Cal Ripken Jr., Chicago Cubs, David Cone, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Pete Rose, Philadelphia Phillies, Rob Neyere, sabermetrics, Ted Williams

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Hall of Fame hosts Summer Author Series

Author appearance

I had the privilege of participating in one of these a couple of years ago. Fun! Here’s this year’s lineup. June 5, Shea Stadium Remembered: The Mets, Jets, and Beatlemania, by Matt Silverman June 12, When the Braves Ruled the Diamond, by Dan Schlossberg- June 26, They Said It Couldn’t Be Done: The ’69 Mets, New […]

Tagged as: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

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Baseball Best Sellers, May 31, 2019

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, Cal Ripken Jr., Chicago Cubs Philadelphia Phillies, David Cone, Houston Astros, Moneyball, MVP, New York Yankees, Oakland As, Pete Rose, Pitching, Ted Williams, World Series

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Lest We Forget: Bill Buckner

I said it for years: When Bill Buckner died, the first line in his obituary would be about the error he made in Game Six. And sure enough, via The New York Times obituary by Daniel E. Slotnick, “Bill Buckner, All-Star Shadowed by World Series Error, Dies at 69.” Other media outlets used similar headlines […]

Tagged as: Bill Buckner

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Lest we forget: Rob Edelman

Baseball in movies

I didn’t want to post these yesterday, given that Memorial Day should have a lock on “lest we forget,” at least on May 31st. I was saddened by the news that Rob Edelman, 70, passed away last week. He combined two of my favorite things — the national pastime and cinema — in one of […]

Tagged as: baseball movies, Rob Edelman

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