Baseball Best-Sellers, December 30, 2016

2016 title

NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]

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Lest we forget: Peter Horvitz

History

The teacher and lecturer who published The Big Book of Jewish Baseball with his son Joachim, died in Raleigh, NC, last Saturday at the age of 71. This was one of those Jewish “reference books” I’m betting a lot of kids received as a bar mitzva or Hanukka present. Horvitz also wrote The Big Book […]

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Brought to you as a public service announcement (baseball movies on Netflix)

Movies

Looking for baseball pics on Netflix? Type this in after you sign in and it will take you right there: https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/12339 You’re welcome.

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Well, here’s something you don’t see every day (baseball in Scientific American)

2016 title

I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing you can count the number of baseball books that get a review in Scientific American on one hand. But here you go: their take on Brian Kenny’s Ahead of the Curve: Inside the Baseball Revolution. Since baseball is a metaphor for life, writer Steve Mirsky compares some […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 23, 2016

"Annuals"

NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Jon Leonoudakis

2016 title

If I had the wherewithal, I think I’d be doing something like Jon Leonouakis‘ streaming TV show, The Sweet Spot: A Treasury of Baseball Stories. I mean, he interviews people, I interview people. But as the saying goes, “Show me, don’t tell me,” and as a veteran filmmaker, he’s the man behind several well-crafted baseball […]

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They used to cost a penny…AND you got free gum

"Oddballs"

This story from The New York Times about the baseball card hobby goes from A (Jeff Aeder, aka the prospective buyer) to Z (Guy Zinn, the rare item in question). It also comes on the heels of a discovery I had in my attic while looking for books to donate to the nearby Yogi Berra […]

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You can make anything connect if you try hard enough

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

According to this piece from the Washington Post, there’s a “book about baseball that explains Donald Trump’s win.” And that book is… Drum roll, please… Moneyball. Really. Writer Sonny Bunch compares Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s attempt to win games as cheaply as possible with Trump’s victory in the presidential elections. If there’s anything […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 16, 2016

2016 title

NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]

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Does very late news qualify as fake news?

Newspapers

Because it’s not really news now, is it? So how should we respond when we read that Kevin Pillar, the outstanding defensive outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, was injured and placed on the 15-day disabled list. Yes, he was — in August. But this story in the Ottawa Citizen story carries a December 14 […]

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Author appearance: Not Ralph Terry

2016 title

Chagrined to say I didn’t even know he had written a book, but Right Down the Middle: The Ralph Terry Story was published on October. Fitting because Terry gave up one of the most famous home runs in baseball history in that month to Bill Mazeroski in the 1960 World Series. Terry will not be […]

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What took so long? (Cubs’ David Ross pens book)

2017 Title

Admit it, baseball book fans: haven’t you been wondering when someone on the Cubs would publish a book? I man, it’s December already. So thank you David Ross for stepping up and being the first. According to FOXSports.com, Hachette Books will release “Teammate: My Life in Baseball” next May 9. Co-written by Don Yaeger, a longtime […]

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How do you solve a problem like too many baseball books?

Because I can...

From time to time, I’ve written about trying to “cull the herd,” i.e., getting rid of some of the hundreds and hundreds of books I’ve accumulated over the years. Despite the collection, I do not consider myself a “collector.” I know I’m never going to acquire every baseball book ever published. Not even every book […]

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Mike Shannon

2016 title

Thanks to social media and email, there are probably people you’ve known for years but have never actually met. For me, Mike Shannon is one of those people. I would venture to say I’ve been corresponding with Shannon for 20 or so years but I only recently had a chance to actually hear his voice for our […]

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Is you is or is you ain’t my player?

Baseball Cards

With apologies to Louis Jordan… Just because baseball’s winter meetings are over doesn’t mean player transactions are, too. Rumors are still swirling and let’s face it, it’s kind of fun when players switch teams (unless it’s your favorite who departs, one way or the other). And it made me think of this: When I was […]

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You’re welcome — 천만에요

2016 title

I think some people tend to lump Asian players into one group. Wrong! Here’s an unusual offering, via the Korean Times. Three Korean major leaguers ― Choo Shin-Soo, Lee Dae-ho, and Oh Seung-hwan ― recently co-published essays in Thanks, Baseball” to share their life stories. Lee and Oh play for the Seattle Mariners and the […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, December 9, 2016

"Ripped from today's headlines..."

NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]

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That’s un-American!

Because I can...

Last week’s New York Times book review featured the top titles in several categories, including sports. You’d think there might be one baseball book in the mix. But you’d be wrong. Marc Tracy, who writes about college sports for the the Times, handled the assignment. His essay includes two books on high school and college […]

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When Hank ‘met’ Jackie

2017 Title

I just finished the first round of edits on the manuscript for my forthcoming book, Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War (scheduled for release April 4, 2017. Just sayin’.) The last chapter deals with Greenberg’s final playing season as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947. There’s […]

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Author appearance: John Carvalho

2016 title

John Carvalho, author of Frick: Baseball’s Third Commissioner, has the honor of closing out the  2106 “season” at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse in Manhattan. Carvalho will share his thoughts with Clubhouse owner Jay Goldberg on Thursday, December 15, at 7 p.m. Ford Frick is best known as the baseball commissioner who put the “asterisk” next […]

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