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

What becomes a legend most?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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Bookshelf (Mini) Review: Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin

It may be a cliche, but baseball is the game that binds cities and countries around the world. Jean Fruth, one of today’s most prolific sports photographers, traveled to more than a dozen communities across the U.S and around the world to capture the joy, if not necessarily innocence, of youth. Each chapter begins with […]

Tagged as: baseball photography

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Remembering 9/11

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

On this somber day, baseball remembers with a number of articles and videos. Here is a sampling. All the items are from this year unless otherwise noted. The night baseball returned after 9/11: ‘These people needed this’ (New York Post) MLB announces plans to honor victims and families of 9/11 attacks on 18th anniversary (MLB.com) […]

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Oh, great. What am I supposed to do now?

Baseball clothing

One of the things I do collect are baseball caps. But the rule is that the purchase — either by I myself or a friend who’s getting it as a gift — has to be made in the city where the team is based. I rotate them often but after reading this, I wonder if […]

Tagged as: baseball caps

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Bits and pieces, Sept. 10, 2019

♦ Jim Bouton passed away a few months back, but the tributes keep coming, such as this one by Max Frankel on Offthebenchbaseball.com. And this from the Albany Herald‘s Barry Levine. ♦ Tony Award winners Billy Crudup, Tony Shalhoub, and Tony Award nominee Zachary Levi will take part in a live reading of author Don […]

Tagged as: baseball exhibits, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Jim Bouton, Kansas City Royals, Mexican baseball

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The things we keep: Missed opportunities

As baseball card collectors of a certain age know, Topps used to include various premiums in every pack of cards. I’m talking about the mid-60s to mid 70s, I’m guessing, although a Google search shows that the company has been revisiting past successes by offering some of these things again. One year it could be […]

Tagged as: Topps baseball cards

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