Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
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The top-ten baseball books as per Amazon.com. Caveat 1: Print editions only (at least for now); I’m old fashioned that way. Caveat 2: Since the rankings are updated every hour, these lists might not longer be 100 percent accurate by the time you read it. But it’ll be close enough for government work. Caveat 3: […]
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The New York Times‘ Ben Strauss published this profile of old-school White Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson (the subject of a recent MLB Network documentary), who is unabashedly anti-Moneyball (and perhaps, by extension, anti-The Extra 2%). I must admit, I was kind of surprised to look at his stats: Considering he hit 23 homers in […]
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I don’t have high hopes for this one, but is is a baseball movie, so I’m sure I’ll see it (although I never got around to Moneyball while it was in general release). But the reviews for TWTC are starting to come in and they’re mixed. Latinos Post describes it as “Generic Hollywood Fare Trying […]
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I think I’m fairly up on pop culture, especially TV and movies. so when I saw a commercial for this upcoming Clint Eastwood/Amy Adams/Justin Timberlake baseball movie, I had to scratch my head. How is it I haven’t heard about this one, which is set to open on Sept. 21? Moneyball got lots of buzz […]
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I’m going to take a leap of faith and assume most of you have read Michael Lewis’ neo-classic. But if you haven’t, or are looking for a real steal, there are a couple of outlets where you can buy it for your nook or Kindle for two bits (kids, ask your grandparents. Oh, all right, […]
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It’s kind of neat to read critiques about baseball media from sources you don’t expect. Like this review of the film version of Moneyball from TheHindu.com. Unfortunately, the picture came up empty at the Oscars. Oh, well.
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Well, perhaps not the real Sportsphone, which was popular back in the 1980s. For the price of a call, you could hear updated recorded messages about what was going on on the diamond, the court, the field, etc. And to be technical about it, the How to Do Everything podcast isn’t technically NPR. However it […]
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Now that Moneyball is out on DVD/Blue-Ray/etc., look for a new round of reviews on the film. Here are two to get you started. The first comes from Over The Monster, a Red Sox-centric blog. The second is a “live-blog” post by Rob Neyer at Baseball Nation. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve never […]
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‘Tis the season for the various awards to start announcing their nominees. Surprisingly, Moneyball is up for four Golden Globe Awards, including best drama (!), actor in a movie drama (Brad Pitt), supporting actor in a movie (Jonah Hill), and best screenplay (Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian). Rob Neyer, SB Nation’s baseball editor and a […]
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In this piece from Slate.com, author (right) and subject (left) discuss what the neo-classic mix of sports and business hath wrought.
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Now that we’re headed into the cold dark days, it’s time to cozy up with some baseball reading. This serves a few purposes. For one thing, it keeps your mind on the game. Secondly, with all this time, you can branch out and pick up a few titles you either didn’t have time for it […]
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Okay, this time I mean it. These will be the last links to some interesting pieces about the new film. From Forbes, “Can Brad Pitt Pitch ‘Moneyball’ to Box Office Glory?” From Entertainment Weekly‘s “Inside Movies” column, “‘Moneyball’: How audiences fell back in love with screenwriting.” From Pop Matters, “Moneyball: By The Numbers” From The […]
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As promised, here are the baseball-related items from the current issue, which features the release of Moneyball as its cover story. Austin Murphy on “Brad Pitt Deals“ Tom Verducci on “The Art of Winning An (Even More) Unfair Game“ And a brief history of Sabermetrics Also, Joe Posnanski on uber Cubs fan Steve Hirschtick.
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I’m not going to dwell on this much more. This being the day of the release, the dailies have issued their critiques. The New York Times made it one of their “Critics Picks.” (Here’s a sneak peak of a profile on Billy Beane slated to run in this Sunday’s NYT Magazine. The New York Daily […]
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I’ve been in a cave most of the time, so it’s just now dawning on me: When it comes to movies and books like Moneyball and The Art of Fielding (which you just know is going to be turned into a feature film before too long), who should be considered the more credible reviewers? Should […]
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Fascinating piece by Andy Martino in the NY Daily News about how the subjects are portrayed in the book and movie. Kind of like listening to yourself on a tape recorder and asking, “Do I really sound like that?” There have been several articles noting the differences between the real Paul DePodesta and the interpretation […]
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With the movie about to make its debut this week, look for an increase in sales (especially if they put Brad Pitt on the cover of a new edition). I’m sorry to miss the premiere tomorrow (the newspaper goes to press on Tuesdays), but I hope to catch it on Friday (looking forward to see […]
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is available on Amazon.com,
In my most recent "day job," I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted another blog. Busy, busy, busy.
I did a profile piece on the award-winning cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was nice enough to "immortalize" me.
My article on Sandy Koufax in the 1965 World Series appears in
My article on the later biographies of Babe Ruth appears in
My article on the Mets’ 1969 postseason appears in
Profiles of several Jewish baseball figures appear in
Pass the popcorn: Moneyball picks up four Oscar noms (Update)
January 24, 2012
The nominations for the Academy Awards were announced this morning and Moneyball came away with a “cycle” of sorts. The unlikely cinematic version of Michael Lewis’ best-seller is up for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin). UPDATE: Moneyball also […]
Tagged as: Aaron Sorkin, Academy Award, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Moneyball
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