Baseball Best-Sellers, February 15, 2019

2017 Title

Headnote:  The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them. But it’ll be close enough for government work. In addition, sometimes the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one by including a book in a category to which it […]

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Happy Valentine’s Day

"Oddballs"

Belated, of course. There have been seven players with that last name, but only one has documentary about him. Bob Valentine, 1876 Bobby Valentine, 1968-79 Corky Valentine, 1954-55 Ellis Valentine, 1975-85 Fred Valentine, 1959-68 Joe Valentine, 2003-05 John Valentine, 1883 The former Texas Rangers, NY Mets, and Boston Red Sox manager was the subject of […]

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SABR announces 2019 Chadwick Award recipients

Annoucements

Award season continues! From the organization’s press release: SABR is pleased to announce the 2019 recipients of the Henry Chadwick Award, established to honor the game’s great researchers — historians, statisticians, annalists, and archivists — for their invaluable contributions to making baseball the game that links America’s present with its past. The 2019 recipients of […]

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Jane Leavy

"Bookshelf Conversations"

At long last Leavy. First off, an apology. This was originally meant to be posted way back in December but something went kerfluie with the recording. You could hear my side of the conversation, along with the ticking of the clock on the wall and assorted noises from the various pets, but you couldn’t hear […]

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Jane Leavy earns coveted Seymour Medal

2018 Title

From the Society for American Baseball Research: The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, written by Jane Leavy and published by HarperCollins, is the winner of the 2019 Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal, which honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. Leavy will receive […]

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SABR announces 2019 Larry Ritter Book Award nominees

2018 Title

From the Society for American Baseball Research: Each year, SABR’s Deadball Era Committee presents the Larry Ritter Book Award to recognize the best new baseball book primarily set in the Deadball Era that was published during the previous calendar year. The Ritter Award is presented during the Deadball Committee’s meeting at the annual SABR convention. […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, February 8, 2019

"Annuals"

Headnote:  The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them. But it’ll be close enough for government work. In addition, sometimes the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one by including a book in a category to which it […]

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Lest We Forget: Frank Robinson

Autobiography/memoirs

The Hall of Famer and the first African-American manager in the game passed away today at the age of 83. Here’s his obituary from The New York Times by Richard Goldstein. I had the chance to meet Robinson when he was manager of the Montreal Expos at the time it was thought they might be […]

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Literary Birthday Greetings: Hank Aaron

Autobiography/memoirs

The “New Home Run King of All Time” turns 85 today. Here’s what I posted a few years back in an entry on Hall of Famers and the books about them: Henry Aaron (elected 1982). Like several of his contemporaries, the books on Aaron fall into a few timelines: “regular” releases during his playing days; […]

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Happy days are here again: The Baseball Annuals

"Annuals"

I was so desperate for baseball news, I actually bought a fantasy magazine a few weeks ago. I’ll be honest: in the past few years, the game has lost its allure for me. Not the literary or historical aspects, but the actual guys who are currently playing. So I make my annual “resolution” to be […]

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Lest We Forget: Bob Friend

Lest We Forget

Because, as a reminder, you can keep baseball cards on your bookshelf. Bob Friend, a good pitcher on a number of bad teams (big league mark, 197-230), was found dead on Sunday at his home in O’Hara Township, Pa., as per his obituary by Richard Goldstein in today’s New York Times. He was 88. The […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, February 1, 2019

"Annuals"

Headnote:  The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them. But it’ll be close enough for government work. In addition, sometimes the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one by including a book in a category to which it […]

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Neyer to receive Casey Award

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Congrats to Rob Neyer, who was recently named winner of the 2018 Casey Award as handed out by Spitfall Magazine for his long-awaited (by me at least) new book Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while know how much respect I have […]

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SABR Day 2019

Author appearance

This past Saturday (Jan. 26), the Society of American baseball Research held its 10th annual SABR Day, featuring events at regions all over the country. I had the pleasure of participating in an author’s panel at the Elysian Fields Chapter (Northern New Jersey) with my old friend Howard Megdal (The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position […]

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Welcome to the Hall, gentlemen.

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Four new inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame come next summer. Some have already been the subject of books, including The Closer, by Mariano Rivera and Wayne Coffey, published when the Yankees superstar — and the only man to be unanimously voted in by the BBWAA — retired in 2013. Edgar Martinez — designated […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, January 18, 2019

"Annuals"

Headnote: I’ve decided to bow to the times and include separate lists for e-books and audio books. Be aware that while many titles also appear in print versions, pretty much anyone can produce an e-book these days, so I’m not going to comment at all about the quality. As far as the audio goes, I’m […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, January 11, 2019

"Annuals"

Headnote: I’ve decided to bow to the times and include separate lists for e-books and audio books. Be aware that while many titles also appear in print versions, pretty much anyone can produce an e-book these days, so I’m not going to comment at all about the quality. As far as the audio goes, I’m […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, January 4, 2019

"Annuals"

Headnote: I’ve decided to bow to the times and include separate lists for e-books and audio books. Be aware that while many titles also appear in print versions, pretty much anyone can produce an e-book these days, so I’m not going to comment at all about the quality. As far as the audio goes, I’m […]

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New year, new books

"Bookshelf Conversations"

Welcome to 2019. I hope y’all had a great holiday season. “Pitchers and catchers” are still more than a month away, so I hope this list of forthcoming books will serve as a source of warmth and comfort until then. We seem to have the requisite number of material about former stars such as Jackie […]

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Lest We Forget: Penny Marshall

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

Penny Marshall, the co-star of the popular sitcom Laverne and Shirley and director of the iconic baseball film A League of Their Own, has died at the age of 75. Marshall, who appeared on The Odd Couple as sportswriter Oscar Madison’s long-suffering secretary, Myrna Turner, also directed one episode of the short-lived TV series based on […]

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