For my next trick: Hank Greenberg’s 1938 season

2017 Title

Haven’t done one of these in a while. Research for my bio on Hank Greenberg in 1938 — scheduled for release next spring via Skyhorse — continues in halts and starts. Just when I think I’m about done with the research phase and am ready to begin writing in earnest, something else comes up I […]

Tagged as: Hank Greenberg

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 24, 2016

2015 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 […]

Tagged as: amateur baseball, baseball analysis, baseball fiction, Bernard Malamud, ESPN, H.A. Dorfman, instructionals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Michel Lewis, Mike Matheny, Oakland Athletics, Pitching, Shoeless Joe Jackson, St. Louis Cardinals, Tim Kurkjian

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Michael Leahy (Part Two)

2016 title

You can read the introduction to Part One here. The sentiment remains the same. http://www.ronkaplansbaseballbookshelf.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bookshelf-Michael-Leahy-Part-Two.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Tagged as: Los Angeles Dodgers, Michael Leahy, Sandy Koufax, Vietnam War

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 17, 2016

2015 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 […]

Tagged as: baseball analysis, ESPN, Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas, Jim Palmer, Michel Lewis, Mike Matheny, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Pitching, Ron Darling, St. Louis Cardinals, Tim Kurkjian, Ty Cobb, World Series

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Michael Leahy (Part One)

2016 title

If you’re lucky, once in a while on your literary travels, you will come across a book that will be unlike anything you’ve read before. This is especially true if you concentrate on a specific genre or theme like mystery novels, biographies about your favorite personality or, oh, I don’t know, let’s just say baseball […]

Tagged as: Dick Trazcewski, Jeff Torborg, Los Angeles Dodgers, Lou Johnson, Michael Leahy, Sandy Koufax, Tommy Davis, Wes Parker

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 10, 2016

2013 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 […]

Tagged as: baseball analysis, ESPN, instructionals, Jim Palmer, Los Angeles Dodgers, Michel Lewis, Mike Matheny, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, Pitching, St. Louis Cardinals, Ted Williams, Tim Kurkjian, Ty Cobb

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The Bookshelf Review: The Last Innocents

2016 title

… appears on Bookreporter.com.

Tagged as: Don Drysdale, Los Angeles Dodgers, Lou Johnson, Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Tommy Davis, Wes Parker

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Jeff Polman

2016 title

Many of us play Strat-o-matic or some other fantasy version of the game. Robert Coover wrote the classic baseball fiction, The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. Well, Coover has company in Jeff Polman, who recently released Twinbill: Further Immersions in Historical Baseball Fiction — his fourth book — which includes a speculative […]

Tagged as: Hank Greenberg, Jeff Polman

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Lest we forget: Lou Gehrig

Biography

Yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s death. I’m guessing that has something to do with the addition of Lou Gehrig: Pride of the Yankees by the legendary Paul Gallico to the Amazon baseball best-selling list (as a Kindle book). Naturally more recent books on Gehrig have enjoyed the ability of temporal distance as […]

Tagged as: Jonathan Eig, Lou Gehrig, Ray Robinson

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 3, 2016

2015 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 […]

Tagged as: baseball analysis, ESPN, instructionals, Jim Palmer, Los Angeles Dodgers, Michel Lewis, Mike Matheny, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, Pitching, St. Louis Cardinals, Ted Williams, Tim Kurkjian, Ty Cobb

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Baseball Best-Sellers, May 27, 2016

2013 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 […]

Tagged as: baseball analysis, ESPN, instructionals, Jackie Robinson, Los Angeles Dodgers, Michel Lewis, Mike Matheny, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Pitching, Ron Darling, St. Louis Cardinals, Ted Williams, Tim Kurkjian, Ty Cobb, Washington Nationals, World Series

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Lest we forget: Alan Young

"Oddballs"

The actor Alan Young passed away at the age of 96 on Thursday. Baseball connection? Several of the Dodgers, including Sandy Koufax, John Roseboro, Willie Davis, and Moose Skowron appeared as themselves, as well as the voice of Vin Scully.  

Tagged as: Alan Young, Leo Durocher, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mr. ed, Sandy Koufax

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Baseball Best-Sellers, May 20, 2016

"Oddballs"

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 […]

Tagged as: baseball analysis, baseball statistics, ESPN, instructionals, Jackie Robinson, Los Angele Dodgers, Michel Lewis, Mike Matheny, Oakland Athletics, Pitching, St. Louis Cardinals, Ted Williams, Tim Kurkjian, Ty Cobb, Washington Nationals, World Series

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In Jeopardy of not knowing why this happens so often…

"Oddballs"

There has to be something going on on Jeopardy. How else to explain the high number of clues regarding baseball over the past several weeks. It seems like there is at least one reference per week. Sometimes an entire category is devoted to some aspect of the national pastime as in this from last night’s […]

Tagged as: Jeopardy

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Here’s the Pitch Update

2016 title

Revised to include my oversight in omitting the Bad News Bears TV show. While baseball and TV go great together, episodic series about the national have never done well. None of the attempts have lasted more than one season. Ball Four. Based on Jim Bouton’s seminal book and starring the author as aversion of himself. […]

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Tim Kurkjian

2016 title

Tim Kurkjian was one of the first interviews I did for the Bookshelf in its current iteration. (I’m still surprised, after all these years all these years later, that someone on that level would bother with a relatively low level blog such as this, and that’s not humble bragging.) Over the years I’ve found Kurkjian […]

Tagged as: Tim Kurkjian

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The Bookshelf Review: I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies

2016 title

By Tim Kurkjian via Bookreporter.com.              

Tagged as: baseball anecdotes, Tim Kurkjian

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Baseball Best-Sellers, May 13, 2016

2015 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 […]

Tagged as: baseball analysis, baseball statistics, ESPN, instructionals, Jackie Robinson, Michel Lewis, Mike Matheny, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Pitching, Ron Darling, St. Louis Cardinals, Ted Williams, Tim Kurkjian, Ty Cobb, Washington Nationals, World Series

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Guest column: Parity & The End Of Baseball Dynasties

Guest column

Editor’s note: It’s always great to be able to provide a guest column. This one comes from Thomas Danielson, a freelance writer who has loved baseball ever since he went to his first live game at Fenway Park. It’s especially timely given the previous entry on the Bookshelf.  * * * * * In 2004, […]

Tagged as: Baseball dynasties, Buster Olney, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, World Series

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Authors appearance: Dynasties past (and future?)

2015 title

Baseball has always had supreme rulers. The New York Yankees, with 27 world championships, are generally acknowledged as baseball’s most dynastic franchise, beginning with their rush to greatness in the early 1920s. Even teams more known for their ineptitude — the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs — once dominated the national pastime. But are […]

Tagged as: Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Dan Schlossberg, Hal Bock, Howard Megdal, Marty Appel, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals

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