born this date in 1895.

Robert K. Fitts, author of Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball and Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game (Writing Baseball), releases a new book that features Ruth as a central character in Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japandue out on March 1.

Fitts will be the keynote speaker at the 19th Annual NINE Spring Training Conference on the Historical and Sociological Impact of Baseball, March 7-10, in Tempe, Arizona.

From an entry about books about Hall of Famers (March 9, 2011):

More books have been written about Ruth than any other ballplayer. It’s interesting to note how much more “adult” they became with the passing of time. It would be folly to try to list every one here, so these are just a sampling:

• The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth, by Montville, 2006
• Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, by Creamer, 1974
• Babe Ruth’s Own Book of Baseball
  
• Babe Ruth, by Wagenheim, 1974
• Babe Ruth & the American Dream, by Sobol, 1974
• The Life That Ruth Built: A Biography, by Smelser, 1975
• Babe Ruth: Remembering the Bambino in Stories, Photos & Memorabilia, by Gilbert, 2008
• Babe Ruth His Life and Times: 100th Anniversary of Ruth’s Birth, by Adomites and Wisnia, 1995
• The Babe and I, Mrs. Babe Ruth, 1959
• Babe Ruth, by Meany, 1951
• The Real Babe Ruth, by Daniel, 1949
• The Real Babe Ruth, by Hoyt, 1948
• Babe Ruth: The Big Moments of the Big Fellow, by Meany, 1947
• Babe Ruth’s big book of baseball, by Ruth, 1935
• How to Play Baseball, by Ruth, 1931 (This one sells for $1,274 on Amazon.com.)

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The veteran actor passed away Friday at the age of 81.

Among his hundreds of other roles, Gazzara portrayed Yogi Berra in a one-man play, Nobody Don’t Like Yogi.

You can read the script here, thanks to Google Books.

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If you’re in the NY area, or can get WNYC (AM 820 in the NY area, 93.9 on the FM dial) somehow, Jonathan Schwartz is having his annual baseball special in which he features songs and events abut the national pastime. Unfortunately, it’s a repeat of an older show (or so I believe) so you can’t get it online.

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Reportedly, the four-time All-Star and MVP fell off the wagon earlier this week, hoisting a drink (or more?) at a pub in Dallas. Fellow Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler supposedly came to the establishment to convince his teammate to leave.

Of course, I feel sorry for Hamilton, if all this is true; I’m a benefit-of-the-doubt kind of guy and weary of the tweets and smart phone  camera shots that are ubiquitous these days. I’m surprised there hasn’t been any YouTube videos posted. On a recent episode of Southland (highly recommended, if you like cop shows), a police officer had to defend himself from a young woman who was attacking him during an arrest. He smacked the teenager in a crowd of her friends, all of whom seemed to have a phone and who were taking pictures, which were immediately posted on-line. This type of citizen reporting can get a bit tiresome in many cases where the incidents simply do not require it. Or have we just become an nation of TMZ zombies?

Of course, the cynic in me wonders if this just wasn’t some ploy to get new material and add to a revised edition of Hamilton’s best-selling 2008 memoir, Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back.

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You don’t see it as much these days, but prior to the early 1970s, most baseball card pictures were posed in ersatz action. The players often went capless, just in case there were traded before the card was released.

Along my regular investigatory ramblings, I’ve come across a few sites that look into a card’s background (figuratively and literally). One such place is The Card Corner, a regular feature on The Hardball Times site by Bruce Markusen. His latest is about the Topps 1972 Bob Veale. It’s fascinating to see the amount of time folks will waste devote, into  the search for truth. Markusen also discusses the “role” of the player in baseball pop culture and whatever personal affinity he might have toward them. Other players recently posted include George Hendrick, Ed Brinkman, and Richie Allen.

Markusen also posts frequent “baseball card mysteries.” These are often action shots in which he tries to identify the individual game, opponents, teammates, and other items in the background that could be used to solve the puzzle. This one features the Mets’ Cleon Jones and the Braves’ Bob Didier in a play at the plate.  Fun stuff!

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In celebration of Black History Month, the Baseball Reliquary and Pasadena Public Library present a program honoring Los Angeles baseball pioneer Emmett Ashford, the first African American umpire to officiate in both minor and major league baseball, on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 3 p.m. at the Allendale Branch Library, 1130 S. Marengo Ave., Pasadena, California.

Adrienne Cherie Ashford, daughter of pioneering umpire Emmett Ashford, will discuss her father’s extraordinary career and legacy and sign copies of her 2004 biography, Strrr-ike!!: Emmett Ashford, Major League Umpire.

For further information, contact the Baseball Reliquary by phone at 626-791-7647 or terymar@earthlink.net.  For directions, phone the Allendale Branch Library at 626-744-7260.

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 Brought to you as sort of a public service announcement, because us literary fans have to support each other. For more information, contact Bobby Plapinger at

R. Plapinger Baseball Books
PO Box 1062
Ashland, OR 97520
541-488-1220
baseballbooks@opendoor.com

* * *

This is just a brief note to bring you up to date on some collectible baseball books in the news.  Let’s face it, baseball books are a small niche in the twin worlds of book and sports memorabilia, so its unusual when they’re featured anywhere outside of small specialty catalogs & the like.  But…well.. when it rains.. it – sort of – pours.

For those you interested in baseball fiction  an ebay seller “malcombook” has a 1st edition of Murrrell Edmond’s “Behold Thy Brother” for sale.  Please understand, this is not an endorsement of the seller or of his asking price – I’ve had no direct dealings with this person & have never had a copy of the book for sale.

That said, “Malcombook” seems to have been around in the “brick & mortar” days, apparently has a good ebay reputation & I can’t say I wouldn’t ask the same price – or maybe even a bit for, for the copy of the book.

It is, as the auction description states – very rare.

The other “baseball book” news is sort of bittersweet.  Serendipity Books was a Berkeley, Ca. institution – which mirrored the likes, dislikes, incredible breadth of interests, knowlege & experience in a variety of fields – of it’s owner Peter Howard.  As is often the case with institutions that are so closely linked with the person who created them – he left no “succession plan”.  And so, when he passed away last Spring, there were no instructions as to what to do with the store inventory or Howard’s substantial personal collection.

So… it’s going to auction.  A series of “themed” offerings from the store’s stock & Howard’s personal collection will be offered by Bonhams Inc. throughout 2012. The first one is Feb. 12 & includes about 20-30 interesting, scarce & potentially valuable baseball books & related ephemera including most notably a copy of Gutsmuths. “Spiele zur Uebung…. and a copy of Kidgell’s “The Card”.

If you’re familiar with these pieces – you’re aware of their scarcity & significance.  If you’re not & want to learn more, I suggest checking out the catalog at Bonhams.com

Peter Howard was a rabid baseball fan & collector – with a particular fascination with the origins of the game & San Francisco Bay Area baseball.

As additional material from his estate & inventory is made available, I’ll let you know, assuming you’re interested.

Again, please understand that I’m just presenting information here because some of you might be interested & may not have been aware of this.  I’m not endorsing OR criticizing of Bonhams handling of this material – just telling you where you can get more info if you choose to do so.

And… of course, you can always call or e-mail me if you want additional information or have questions or comments or want to hear “my opinion”… Or… well.. just about anything else.

Thanks very much.

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One of the benefits for a bibliophile of being a member of the Society for American baseball Research is all the cool publications that are a part of the package. The two primary annual titles are the Baseball Research Journal, which tends to be more numbers-driven,  and The National Pastime, which offers a wide range of topics that seem to be more narrative.

SABR frequently publishes additional material, either original or reprints of old classics. Now the organization is stepping into the digital age, publishing e-books on a variety of platforms, including Kindle and Nook.

Two books mark the inception of the SABR library: one new release and one revival. 

Can He Play? examines the world of baseball scouting.  Run, Rabbit, Run is the autobiography of Walter “Rabbit” Maranville, published once again for the first time since 1991.  Both titles are also available as paperbacks.

Can He Play?, a production from SABR member-editors Jim Sandoval and Bill Nowlin, is a collection of accounts of the lives of scouts, containing biographies, interviews, and historical essays.  From the beginning of more informal “ivory hunting” in the early 1900s to today’s intricate network of cross-country scouting, Can He Play? is a collection of stories that shows the development of the business over the last hundred-plus years.

Run, Rabbit, Run is Walter “Rabbit” Maranville’s recollection of years of baseball stories, collected only a year before his death.  From 1912 to 1936, he spent twenty-four years playing ball and getting himself into quite a few interesting situations.  The account also contains rare photographs and an introduction and conclusion from noted baseball scholars.

For more information, visit the SABR website.

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Robinson was born this date in 1919, which means he would have been 93 today. Sadly, he passed away almost 40 years ago, way too young.

It isn’t necessary to repeat all the sacrifices he made, all the doors he opened. One would hope everyone in this country — baseball fan or not — would be aware of his importance not just to the game, but, more importantly, to the history of our nation.

Like Babe Ruth, Robinson is the subject of books spanning numerous genres: baseball, juvenile, black history, American history, sociology, pop culture, and probably a few others I haven’t thought of. Several of these books were released to coincide with various anniversaries, primarily Robinson’s debut,at 25, 50, and 60 years.

Two new titles — one for kids, one for adults — come out this year discussing the relationship between Robinson and Jewish Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg. Previous books include:

• I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson, by Robinson, with Duckett, 1972
• Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball, Simon, 2002
• Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, Tygiel, 1983
• Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season, by Eig, 2007
• Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson, by Sharon Robinson (daughter), 2009 (juvenile)
• Jackie’s Nine: Jackie Robinson’s Values to Live By, by Sharon Robinson, 2002 (juvenile)
• Jackie Robinson: A Biography, by Rampersad, 1997
• Jackie Robinson and the American Dilemma (Library of American Biography), by Wilson, 2009
• Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers, by Shapiro, 1957
• The Jackie Robinson Story, The Big League Baseball Library, by Mann, 1951
• Jackie Robinson: My Own Story, by Robinson, 1949

Robinson appeared as himself in The Jackie Robinson Story, a 1950 bio pic that was short on production values but long on heroism. You can actually watch the whole thing on YouTube:

Ruby Dee played the role of Rachel Robinson. Interestingly enough, she played Robinson’s mother in the 1990 made-for-television movie, The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson, starring one of my favorite actors of all time, Andre Braugher. Here’s the trailer, with a sufficiently stentorian voice-over indicating the gravitas of the subject matter.

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Kostya Kennedy was recently named winner of the Casey Award, handed out by Spitball Magazine for their take on the best baseball book of the year.

Kennedy, a senior editor at Sports Illustrated, received the coveted prize for 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports. He will pick up the award at a luncheon in March in Cincinnati. For more details, visit the Spitball website or contact editor Mike Shannon at 513-442-0025.

I had a chance to talk with Kennedy about the DiMaggio project and the Casey Award last week.

The interview marks the return of the Podcast edition of The Bookshelf, which I hope to make a more regular feature this year (but you know how those New Years’ resolutions go). So visit iTunes to download it to the listening device of your choice. While you’re at it, take a moment to send a comment on which authors you like to hear from on future episodes.

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