♦ Keith O’Brien (Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and The Last Glory Days of Baseball ) wrote about the history-making “Robo-Ump” strike-zone technology for Rolling Stone. ♦ The New York Times published this book review on John Miller’s new biography, The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball, […]
Tagged as:
baseball managers,
book awards,
Negro Leagues,
SABR
My annual spring “review roundup” is on Bookreporter.com. This years titles include GATHERING CROWDS: Catching Baseball Fever in the New Era of Free Agency, by Paul Hensler THE RESHAPING OF AMERICA’S GAME: Major League Baseball After the Players’ Strike and AMERICA’S GAME IN THE WILD-CARD ERA: From Strike to Pandemic, both by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte THE […]
Tagged as:
business of baseball,
Cool Papa Bell,
free agency,
Negro Leagues
First entry of the new decade. Hubba-hubba. Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over […]
Tagged as:
Houston Astros,
Moneyball,
Negro Leagues,
Oakland As,
stadiums,
Ted Williams,
Yogi Berra
Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Cards,
Boston Red Sox,
Chicago Cubs,
David Cone,
Houston Astros,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
managers,
Negro Leagues,
New York Mets,
New York Yankees,
Oakland As,
Pitching,
Ted Williams,
World Series
Because as soon as you write about it, it’s no longer untold, is it? Maybe it was before you told it, Sherman Jenkins, but now it’s not. So does that mean he has to change the title? “Aurora resident authors book about ‘untold’ baseball All Star, Globetrotter.” The book in question is Ted Strong Jr.: […]
Tagged as:
Harlem Globetrotters,
Negro Leagues,
The Strong Jr.
Graham Womack published this ranked list of the 25 greatest baseball books on The Sporting News site. When I wrote 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, I made a decision not to put them in an order other than alphabetical to avoid having to defend my choices. Such a method invites arguments […]
Tagged as:
Babe Ruth,
Baseball Cards,
Baseball Hall of Fame,
baseball history,
baseball statistics,
Bill James,
Branch Rickey,
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Bucl O'Neil,
David Halberstam,
Jackie Robinson,
Jo DiMaggio,
John Thorn,
Mickey Mantle,
Negro Leagues,
New YorkYankees,
Roger Angell,
Roger Kahn,
Sportswriters
♦ The Minnesota Spokesman Record, an African-America newspaper, posted this review of They Played for the Love of the Game: Untold Stories of Black Baseball in Minnesota, published by Frank M. White. ♦ The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star provided this piece on Roger Angell‘s memoir, This Old Man: All in Pieces. I still maintain this […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Cards,
minor leagues,
Negro Leagues,
Roger Angell,
Topps,
Washington Senators
In a vain attempt to clear out my inbox, here is the final B&P for the year. Hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these things as much as I have. Don’t read anything political into the posting of this piece about “How Bernie Sanders brought professional baseball to Vermont,” via The Sporting News. From outsports.com, this […]
Tagged as:
Baseball-Reference.com,
Bernie Sanders,
Bob Gibson,
Boston Red Sox,
Carlton Fisk,
Dusty Baker,
Lonnie Wheeler,
minor leagues,
Negro Leagues,
Roger Angell,
World Series
I have a pretty set routine with the podcasts I listen to. On my Monday commute to work, it’s always (barring repeats and clip shows) Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. On the Friday commute home from work it’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. Many of the others regulars — WTF, The Leonard Lopate Show, Fresh Air, […]
Tagged as:
Extra Hot Great,
Jesse L. Martin,
Negro Leagues,
Sarah D. Bunting,
X-Files
Update: A new title has been added to the mix and new prices are in effect. The changes have been reflected below. I don’t know about you, but I’m finding this year’s World Series match-up is less than a major rush. The folks at MLB and the rest of the media have their work cut […]
Tagged as:
baseball fiction,
minor leagues,
Negro Leagues,
Pat Jordan,
Sol WHite
Any serious scholar of the game knows the work McFarland does in bringing eclectic material to the bookshelf. This fall’s line-up includes: A Calculus of Color: The Integration of Baseball’s American League, by Robert Kuhn McGregor Understanding Baseball: A Textbook, edited by Trey Strecker, et al The Negro Southern League: A Baseball History, 1920-1951, by […]
Tagged as:
baseball scouts,
black baseball,
Clete Boyer,
Cleveland Indians,
Frank Robinson,
Honus Wagner,
Ken Boyer,
Negro Leagues,
New York Yankees,
Sandy Koufax
Looking over the overlooked in baseball book news: Tidewater Tides manager Ron Johnson gets a nice profile based on his inclusion in John Feinstein’s Where Nobody Knows Your Name, by John Feinstein. Speaking of which, the Roanoke Times posted this review of the book. Speaking of reviews, Philly.com posted this one on Jackie and Campy, […]
Tagged as:
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Jackie Robinson,
John Feinstein,
minor leagues,
Negro Leagues,
relief pitching,
Roy Campanella,
The New York Times
This it the time of year when the baseball media offer their considered opinions on their favorite prospects. Sometimes they’re spot on, other times, not so much. So I thought, why not apply this to the upcoming “rookie crop” of baseball books? That is, titles that are making their debuts in 2014 — no reprints/reissues […]
Tagged as:
Al Clark,
Alex Rodriguez,
Andrew Zimbalist,
Atlanta Braves,
Babe Ruth,
Ben Zobrist,
Boston Red Sox,
Branch Rickey,
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Chicago Cubs,
Continental League,
Dirk Hayhurst,
Doug Harvey,
Fantasy baseball,
George F. Will,
House of David,
Jackie Robinson,
Joe DiMaggio,
John Roseboro,
Juan Marichal John Rosengren,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Marilyn Monroe,
Minnesota Twins,
minor leagues,
Montreal Expos,
Mookie Wilson,
Nap Lajoie,
Negro Leagues,
New York Mets,
Nolan Ryan,
PED,
Pete Rose,
Roger Kahn,
Roy Campanella,
sabermetrics,
steroids,
Ted Williams,
Ty Cobb,
umpires,
Walter O'Malley,
Willie Mays,
Wrigley Field
How different would the literary world be if Tom Wolfe had grown up to be a baseball player? So where’s his baseball novel? John Rosengren, author of Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes, will put in an appearance at his alma mater — Saint John’s University — on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. to […]
Tagged as:
Donald Honig,
Hank Greenberg,
John Rosengren,
Kadir Nelson,
Negro Leagues,
Pete Peterson,
Tom Wolfe,
Willie Stargell
Literary birthday greetings: Poor Feb. 1. It has a tough act act to follow with Jan. 31, which celebrates the arrival of such legends Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan, who, between the three of them, have been the subjects of scores of books. Turns out there are no players who were born on […]
Tagged as:
baseball pension,
Happy Chandler,
Hughie Jennings,
Jon Miller,
Monte Irvin,
Negro Leagues
Some recent news about Jewish authors and their baseball output. Lawrence Ruttman publishes American Jews and America’s Game:Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball, from University of Nebraska Press, this spring. UNP is the same outfit that’s releasing my (shameless plug) 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. I met Ruttman, a New […]
Tagged as:
Hank Greenberg,
Jews in baseball,
Jonathan Mayo,
Lawrence Futtman,
Negro Leagues,
Rebecca Alpert
“M” is truly an amazing initial for Hall of Famers, isn’t it? Mays, Mantle, Musial, Marichal, , McCovey, Mathewson, no to mention managers such as McCarthy, Mack and McGraw Connie Mack (Manager; inducted 1937) My 66 Years in the Big Leagues, by Mack (1950) Connie Mack and the Early Years of Baseball, Macht (2007) The […]
Tagged as:
Biz Mackey,
Christy Mathewson,
Connie Mack,
John McGraw,
Juan Marichal,
Mickey Mantle,
Negro Leagues,
Stan Musial,
Willie Mays,
Willie McCovey
GhostofMoonlightGraham conducted this Q&A with the author of the well-done novel The End of Baseball reviewed on The Bookshelf in September. Leave This Blank:Leave This Blank Too:Do Not Change This:Your email:
Tagged as:
baseball fiction,
Bill Veeck,
Negro Leagues,
Peter Schilling
From NJtoday.net: Dr. Lawrence Hogan, Senior History Professor at Union County College, and Robert Scott, former pitcher and first baseman for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League, will be the guest speakers for a Black History Month Program, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Negro League Baseball at Yankee Stadium, 1930-1948.” […]
Tagged as:
Negro Leagues
Opinions vary
March 2, 2016
Graham Womack published this ranked list of the 25 greatest baseball books on The Sporting News site. When I wrote 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, I made a decision not to put them in an order other than alphabetical to avoid having to defend my choices. Such a method invites arguments […]
Tagged as: Babe Ruth, Baseball Cards, Baseball Hall of Fame, baseball history, baseball statistics, Bill James, Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers, Bucl O'Neil, David Halberstam, Jackie Robinson, Jo DiMaggio, John Thorn, Mickey Mantle, Negro Leagues, New YorkYankees, Roger Angell, Roger Kahn, Sportswriters
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