…but no one does anything about it. But Yankfan vs. Soxfan has a good idea on how to denote the statistics of questionable players. * # & ? (etc.)
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Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
Posts tagged as:
December 17, 2007
…but no one does anything about it. But Yankfan vs. Soxfan has a good idea on how to denote the statistics of questionable players. * # & ? (etc.)
Tagged as: record book, statistics, steroids
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December 15, 2007
From Time.com, following the release of the Mitchell Report: Even though the Mitchell report didn’t have a section on sports writers, ask yourself this: the Senator’s staff spends months to produce a 400-plus page report documenting his investigation of steroid abuse in Major League Baseball, and within 24 hours a relatively small group of journalists […]
Tagged as: steroids
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December 14, 2007
This discussion, held at the Commonwealth Club of California in Oakland on May 30, features Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, discussing, what else? Marty Lurie moderates. Program description: “With the weight of a prison sentence off their shoulders, Fainaru-Wada and Williams open up about their role in the BALCO steroid case that rocked pro sports. […]
Tagged as: BALCO, Bonda, Fainaru-Wada, steroids, Williams
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November 29, 2007
According to a report in Variety, Ron Shelton, who brought the baseball classic Bull Durham to the big screen, has been signed to turn Game of Shadows, the expose on Barry Bonds and steroids, into a HBO project. Shelton will write the script with his “Tin Cup” writing partner John Norville as soon as the […]
Tagged as: Barry Bonds, Game of Shadows, HBO, Ron Shelton, steroids
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November 16, 2007
Sorry, you won’t find much here. There are writers far more up on the subject of Barry Bonds, indictments, steroids, ethics, etc. Suffice it to say that there will be at least one book out in the very near future. Fainaru-Wada and Williams will make the talk show circuit again, which will have the consequent […]
Tagged as: Barry Bonds, indictment, steroids
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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.
In Forbes Magazine re: Baseball Business Books
On Will Carroll’s “Under the Knife” substack
Most recent books read updated 12/21/24:
Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball, by Keith O’Brien
Grade: A. The most in-depth bio to date, focusing on Rose's gambling addiction.
Sometimes You See It Coming, by Kevin Baker
Grade: B. I first read this one when it originally came out some 30 years ago. I must say I don't remember it being so raunchy in spots. Draws on lots of real-life events and characters that real fans will recognize.
The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness, by Andy McCullough
Grade: A. I usually don't like titles with superlatives, but in this case the author might be right, although there are probably a couple of Kershaw's contemporaries (Verlander and Scherzer) who fit that description.
The Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era, by Andy Martino
Grade: B+. Even this non-Yankee fan found the deep background with its Moneyball-like machinations interesting
The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City, by Kevin Baker
Grade: A. Well-researched, well-written. What else could you ask for? Baker has a lot of street cred writing about New York as well, both in fiction and non-fiction.
The Body Scout, by Lincoln Michel
Grade: C. Perhaps the ultimate performance enhancers -- interchangeable body parts -- help major leaguers of the future. But, as with all of these things, there's a price to pay.
Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards, by Josh Wilker
Grade: A. Re-read in preparation for a Bookshelf Conversation with the author. Had a deeper meaning than when I first read it more than a decade ago.
The Bookshelf Conversation
Discussions about all things baseball with authors, journalists, filmmakers, musicians, artists, et al
Subscribe to the "Bookshelf Conversations" podcast on iTunes and please leave a rating and/or review. Gracias!
Mike Shannon on "Diamond Classics II" ( video)
Todd Radom, Ellen Linder, and Brian Kong ( video)
Rick Cerrone (Baseball Digest, video)
Kevin Baker (Sometimes You See It Coming, video)
Curtis Pride and Doug Ward (video)
Dan Epstein on James Earl Jones (video)
Jim Gilmore and Tracy Holcomb (video)
"The Lost Tapes": Conversations prior to 2011 (audio)
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


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Mitchell, Mitchell, Mitchell
December 14, 2007
An excerpt from the press conference: Commissioner Selig’s response: Who says only Americans really care about the steroids scandal? One more response: A commentary by Sports Illustrated‘s redoubtable Tom Verducci. Another from the Business of Baseball Web site. And an in-depth piece from Editor and Publisher, of all places. This one is interesting, because it […]
Tagged as: George Mitchell, Mitchell Report, steroids
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