Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf — If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here — Page 94

Uh-oh for A-Rod

You ever have one of the experiences where a picture falls off a wall for no reason? Then you find out later that the person in the photo has had an accident or worse? This just happened as I was working on blog posts: The mini-bobblehead of Alex Rodriguez, then a member of the Texas […]

Tagged as: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

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The Bookshelf Conversation: Joe Siegman

One of the things I missed most about not blogging here regularly was the opportunity to conduct these podcast interviews. There’s always someone interesting to talk with a bout their new project, be it a book, a move, a musical album, etc. I spoke with Joe Siegman as a major player in the U.S. Maccabi […]

Tagged as: Corbin Bernsen, Dean Martin, Hollywood Stars baseball, Joe Siegman, Kevin Costner, Tom Selleck

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Baseball best-sellers, Jan. 23, 2015

Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. So without further ado, here are the top ten baseball books […]

Tagged as: Baseball America, baseball fiction, Baseball Prospectus, Bernard Malamud, Bill James, Derek Jeter, Fantasy baseball, Who's Who in baseball

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Review roundup, Jan. 21

I frequently wonder about the role of book critics: Must they be students of the topics of which they read and report? Fans? That’s certainly not the case in this piece by Mark Dent of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Dent writes – with my annotations in brackets — The “summer” baseball book could have its own […]

Tagged as: Alex Rodriguez, ballparks, baseball fans, baseball fiction, Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson, New York Yankees, PEDs, Roger Kahn

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Lest we forget: Tony Verna

The inventor of instant replay died Jan. 18 at the age of 81. In a way, I blame him for ruining sports and perhaps culture in general. Because IR is so pervasive, there is no “dead time,” pardon the expression, any more. If you watch a baseball, you will invariably see at least two replays […]

Tagged as: instant replay, Tony Verna

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I will be brief: A sampling of baseball e-books samples

Submitted for your interest from another semi-regular scan of new titles. It may seem unfair, but I do tend to judge e-books by their cover, especially when they are offered only in that format. It’s an indication of the time and effort the author/publisher puts into the project. Similarly, I’m basing my opinions strictly on […]

Tagged as: baseball reference books, Bill James, Fantasy baseball, Marvin Miller

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Author websites: Boon or bane?

One of the things authors are called on to do more and more these days is create a web presence. Some are better than others, especially if they’re done by the publisher (but those are usually for high profile writers), but they all serve the common purpose of introducing their work to the public. I […]

Tagged as: ballpark food, Charlie O'Brien, Cooperstown, Gil Hodges, Jeff Katz, Ty Cobb

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Bookshelf review: 100 Years of Who’s Who in Baseball

By Douglas B. Lyons. The Lyons Press. 216 Pages. $24.95 To be fair, how do you write a book about a book that’s essentially about tables of numbers? That’s the challenge Lyons picks up in 100 Years of Who’s Who in Baseball. While it’s fun to look at each of the covers, dating back to […]

Tagged as: Douglas Lyons, Marty Appel, Who's Who in baseball

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Baseball and Dr. King

Because I can...

Didn’t want the day to go by without a mention of Martin Luther King Jr. and his baseball connections. Here’s a piece I posted on the last MLK Day. One from two years ago by The Baseball Sociologist. And another from 2008 by the popular and thoughtful Dave Zirin on King and Roberto Clemente in […]

Tagged as: Jackie Robinson, Jr., Martin Luther King, Roberto Clemente

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Straying off topic: Non-baseball writers on baseball, and vice-versa

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t particularly care for Stephen King’s novella, Blockade Billy. I found his co-authored Faithful with Stewart O’Nan much more in my alley. In this Bangor Daily News piece, he discusses his affinity for the game, among other items. Haruki Murakami, author of such best-sellers as 1Q84, also loves […]

Tagged as: Haruki Murakami, Jack Corrigan, Stephen King

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Baseball best-sellers, Jan. 16, 2015

Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. On with the show… As you may have notice in recent […]

Tagged as: Baseball America, baseball fiction, Baseball Prospectus, Bernard Malamud, Bill James, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Moneyball, Oakland As, Ted Williams

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Coming down the pike: A league of their own

There are so many books coming from three publishers, I thought to give them a page of their own. McFarland gets high marks for taking on subjects and people that might otherwise go under the radar. That’s not to say that every book is fantastic, all due respects to the writers, but at least they […]

Tagged as: baseball primer, Los Angeles Dodgers, Sandy Koufax, Willie Keeler

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Coming down the pike: New baseball titles, Part IV— Odds and ends

And the wrap-up… * denotes items of particular interest (to me, at any rate). Odds and Ends ** It will be interesting to see how The Hidden Game of Baseball: A Revolutionary Approach to Baseball and Its Statistics has held up since it was first published 30 years ago. Authors John Thorn and Pete Palmer […]

Tagged as: baseball food, baseball statistics, hidden ball trick, John Thorn, Pete Palmer

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Coming down the pike: New baseball titles, Part III — The next Moneyball and re-issues

The next Moneyball? * A few “inside baseball (business)” pieces coming up: In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball by long-time SABR members Mark Armour and Daniel Leviit. John Pessah adds to this sub-genre with The Game: Inside the Secret World of Major League Baseball’s Power Brokers. Lonnie Wheeler’s Intangiball: The Subtle […]

Tagged as: baseball business, Boston Red Sox, Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cal Ripken Jr., Glenn Burke, Harvey frommer, Jackie Robinson, Joe Pepitone, Mickey Mantle, Moneyball, New York Yankees, Pete Golenbock

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Coming down the pike: New baseball titles, Part II — History and Team Profiles

Rather than lay it all out there, I thought I would divvy this up into smaller, more manageable bites, so here’s Part 2. * denotes items of particular interest (to me, at any rate). History One of my bugaboos has long been titles such as The Nats and the Grays: How Baseball in the Nation’s […]

Tagged as: Chicago Cubs, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees, Pete Gray, World War II

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Coming down the pike: New baseball titles, Part I — Biographies

After not reading any baseball books for longer than I can remember (probably just a few months, that tells you a lot about my memory), I happily dove in to the new listings on Amazon. Herewith a sampling of what’s on the horizon. It’s a nice mix of the “comfort food” of baseball lit — […]

Tagged as: Billy Martin, Gil Hodges, J. R. Richard, Jorge Posada, Tommy Lasorda, Tony Oliva, Ty Cobb

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Brought to you as a new public service

Because I can...

At the suggestion of Bookshelf friend David Jordan, this will serve as a home for older “recently read” snippets as they get replaced by newer items. Not all of them have reviews or author conversations, but I have included links when they are. There’s a separate page at the right of the navigation bar, and […]

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Truth in advertising: The Charlie O’Brien biography

I had originally included this in a roundup of the upcoming new titles, but after some consideration, I decided to give this a life of its own. In the “was this trip really necessary” department: A Charlie O’Brien biography? By a university press no less? Yup: The Cy Young Catcher. Yes, the statement that O’Brien […]

Tagged as: Charlies O'Brien, Cy Young Award

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Back in the saddle again

Because I can...

Yippe ki-yi-ya! Finally finished the manuscript for The Jewish Olympics so I can finally get back to my comfort zone. Greatly looking forward to catching up on some of the books that have arrived in the last few months, as well as the bounty that 2015 promises to bring. Also look for more podcast interviews […]

Tagged as: Gene Autry

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Baseball best-sellers, Jan. 9, 2015

Happy New Year, everyone. Hope nothing but the best comes your way in 2015, including the best baseball books available. Almost done with the non-baseball book and greatly looking forward to catching up on my regular reading, writing, and wrangling authors, filmmakers, and artists into discussing their work on new podcast segments. In the meantime, […]

Tagged as: baseball prospects, Bernard Malamud, Bill James, Derek Jeter, Fantasy baseball, Jackie Robinson, Oakland As

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