Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
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Fifty may not be as impressive as 100 when it comes to celebrating an anniversary, but it’s still a notable achievement. They NY Mets hit the big 5-oh this year and, like the titles about Fenway Park, the hoopla began early. Matthew Silverman, who carries on in the proud tradition of authors like Glenn Stout, […]
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The following message comes from Richard J. Puerzer of Hofstra University. * * * April 2012 will mark the 50th anniversary of the New York Mets, one of the most popular and culturally significant baseball franchises. On Thursday through Sunday, April 26-28, 2012, Hofstra University will host a conference to consider all aspects of the […]
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Sung to the tune of “We didn’t Start the Fire,” by Bill Joel: New York Mets are shutting down, their old ballpark; won’t be found. What’s a proper way to say, “thanks for all that?” Why not host a concert, eh?, Get a mega-star to play. Google You-Tube videos: “Mets-Cubs” and “black cat.” Looking for a […]
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My semi-annual baseball roundup is up on Bookreporter.com. This one has a “New York vs. Boston” theme. Titles include: Fenway Park: The Centennial: 100 Years of Red Sox Baseball, by Saul Wisnia Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway’s Remarkable First Year by Glenn Stout The Mets: A 50th Anniversary […]
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(Because you can put sheet music on your bookshelf.) So first they said that Jose Reyes had sustained a hamstring injury in Saturday’s game and we held our collective breath. Then they said it was a Grade One, the “best” kind of that injury you can have. He’d miss the Sunday game and, given the […]
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The composer of “Meet the Mets” died June 30 at the age of 84. From the JTA’s Eulogizer blog: Ruth Roberts, 84, wrote ‘Meet the Mets’ Ruth Roberts, a popular song composer whose work was sung by millions of New York Mets fans and the Beatles, among many others, died June 30 at 84. Roberts […]
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My annual Spring Baseball Book Roundup was recently posted to the Bookreporter.com site. Titles include: 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play The House That Ruth Built: A New Stadium, the […]
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The Bookshelf topic on the March 14 Internet broadcast of What’s on Second was some events in baseball history that are marking milestone anniversaries in 2011. Among them: Hank Greenberg’s 100th birthday Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn’t Want to Be One (Jewish Lives), by Kurlansky Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg, by Sommer Joe DiMaggio;’s 56-game hitting […]
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Bonilla, who paired with Barry Bonds to form an awesome duo for the Pittsburgh Pirates, didn’t enjoy such good times after joining the NY Mets. he was one of the subjects depicted in Bob Klapisch’s 1993 “exposé,” The Worst Team Money Could Buy. Baseball-Reference lists the 1992 Mets’ total salaries at $42,180,335. Last year that […]
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The New York Mets “star” pitcher — who turns 81 today — lost 46 of 51 decisions in the team’s first two seasons (but still complete 27 games). Throw out 1962-63 and Craig, who broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955 and finished with single seasons on the Cardinals, Reds, and Phillies, was a […]
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By the way, it’s still winter so why aren’t we hearing snow-themed songs anymore? “Winter Wonderland” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” among others, are not “holiday” songs, per se, so they’d still be valid. Just sayin’. Thought I saw my first “annual” at the bookstore last week, but it was a fantasy publication, so it […]
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Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci considers one of the questions I’ve been wondering about for a long time: Why do teams keep hiring the same old managers rather than give someone new a chance? I’ve often thought of baseball in terms of television shows: you keep getting the same actors in different roles though similar roles. […]
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Well, the Mets were official eliminated from the pennant race (in April) last night. So what’s the connection with one of the classic film gems of all time? Jock Whitney played a major role in bringing GWTW to the screen. According to IMDB.com, Whitney was the major investor in Selznick International Inc., putting up $870,000 […]
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Can you figure out the connection between Gone with the Wind and the New York Mets? Answer tomorrow (or when I get around to it).
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Today’s Wall Street Journal ran this extensive article about the differences (and similarities) between Met and Yankee fans. I took a brief on-line interactive survey, which rendered me — incorrectly — a fan of the Bronx bombers. (Only 14 people took the poll, which indicates that WSJ readers have better things to do with their […]
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Great. Something else for Mets and Yankees fans to argue about. Now you can sing along. And I couldn’t help but add this one. A song about the Washington Nationals? How retro.
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And Other Tales from the Edge of Baseball Fandom, by Emma Span (Villard, 2010) As much as I love baseball, there are times when I take a step back and wonder, “What am I doing with this nonsense? Surely, there are better ways to spend my time and energies.” And at the risk of being […]
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Or Johan, or David, or Gary? I don’t get it: when the Yankees lose their season opener — a night game that ends late; nice big picture of Granderson after his first home run in the pinstripes — they make the front page. When the Mets win — an impressive afternoon affair — they don’t […]
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The MLB Network isn’t the only entity examining “30 teams in 30 days.” I participated in a couple of “round table” discussions with the good folks at Inside Pulse Sports recently about what the 2010 season might hold for the Mets and Nationals, my two favorite teams. You can read the Mets piece here and […]
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is available on Amazon.com,
In a former life, I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted an award-winning bog about Jews and Sports.
I did a profile piece on the legendary cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was very generous in immortalizing me in this caricature.
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
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
August 23, 2010
You know the Mets are out of it when The New York Times no longer prints detailed Stories about the games, even the victories. Friday’s paper carried just nine paragraphs about the previous night’s 3-2 loss to the Astros. Saturday’s edition (at least the one we received by delivery): seven following the Amazins’ 7-2 break-out […]
Tagged as: New York Mets, New York Times
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