Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
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The Magician (The Donora Story Collection Book 3), by Kathleen Shoop Continuing on my “summer of fiction”… “The Magician” was just of the nicknames for Stanley Frank Musial. Shoop’s latest (last?) in her Donora Story Collection focuses almost exclusively on his pre-professional life and his relationship with his family. As young Stan grows up, his […]
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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]
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Supposedly former sportswriter and baseball commissioner Ford Frick was the one to bestow on Stan Musial the honor, “baseball’s perfect knight.” But as we all know, nobody’s perfect. That’s why I wonder about the purpose of this piece by Luke Epplin in The Atlantic that seeks to drive home the point. In particular, Epplin (who […]
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The news cycle being what it is, this will probably be a moot point by the time you many of you read this, but the opening page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website is full of stories, videos, and photos of Stan Musial, who passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Here’s the New […]
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Grant Brisbee over at Baseball Nation posted this original entry. This is so cool. Could we get contestants on today’s game shows to dress up like that? Of all people to be on the panel — Chuck Connors, who had one at bat for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. Many players appeared on What’s My […]
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Just a thought. I’m listening to the audio version of George Vecsey’s Stan Musial: An American Life, narrated by Scott Brick. It brought something to mind. As every American — baseball fan or not — may know, Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the major Leagues (at least in the […]
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Musial turned 91 yesterday. I kind of feel badly for him. Although he’s surely one of the all-time greats, the contemporary fans rarely hears his name mentioned in the same breath as a Willie Mays or a Mickey Mantle, even though Musial’s stats are comparable, if not better. Books on Musial include: Stan Musial: Baseball’s […]
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With the Cardinals in the World Series, George Vecsey made a return visit to NPR, appearing on The Leonard Lopate Show to discuss his latest book, Stan Musial: An American Life. Here’s a review from the Houston Chronicle, just because I liked the caricature so much.
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The first of what will probably be several lists/suggestions: Linda Holmes, over at Monkey See, the pop culture blog for NPR, offered a selection of five sports books for the summer, including Stan Musial: An American Life by George Vecsey. And, what the heck, there’s enough info to consider Scorecasting a baseball book, too. This […]
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On this date: In 1941 at the All-Star Game at Briggs Stadium, Ted Williams, hitting .405 at the break, homers off Chicago Cubs P Claude Passeau with two out and two on in the ninth inning to give the American League a dramatic 7 – 5 victory. (Relevant title: The Midsummer Classic: The Complete History […]
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“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 […]
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The NY Times‘ George Vecsey wrote this piece focusing on Stan Musial and basketball’s Bill Russell as among the latest group of recipients for America’s highest civilian honor. Isn’t it kind of funny: no matter how much of a big shot they are — they could be President of the United States or a billionaire […]
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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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Yes! The double “Where are they now” issue! The mag includes pieces on Orel Hershiser, Stan Musial (by Joe Posnanski), and the print edition has a page comparing the managerial careers of Lou Pinella vs. Lou Brown, probably more well known by the actor who portrayed him, James Gannon. Gannon died July 16 at the […]
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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
W2L4
November 24, 2015
W2W4 is shortspeak for “what to watch for.” This can refer to movies, TV, or just about any pop culture event coming in the future. After reading this piece by actor/writer Ian Michael Black in the Nov. 22 NY Times Sunday Book Review I got to thinking about how we listen to what used to […]
Tagged as: Philip Roth, Scott Brick, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, The Great American Novel
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