Baseball and New York City have been connected in many ways throughout the sport's history. This book is the best illustration of that connection and should be on the shelves of any fan of the game or of the city.   Title/Author: “The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City” by Kevin Baker Rating:  4 of 5 stars (very good) Review: The old cliché of how art can imitate real life can be applied here in this book of the history of New York baseball and the rise of the city by Kevin Baker.  Of course, one would have to consider baseball to be a form of “art”, but ev ..read more

As one who likes reading about the front offices and business side of sports (especially baseball), I had to read this one when offered a review copy. Of course the title helped, too!  Title/Author:  “Leave While the Party’s Good: The Life and Legacy of Baseball Executive Harry Dalton” by Lee C. Kluck Rating:  5 of 5 stars (very good) Review: While I am not one who usually picks up a book because of the title, I admit that for this book on Harry Dalton, the unusual title was what grabbed my attention. I’m glad that Lee C. Kluck’s book on the former general manager of three A ..read more

Duke is one those teams in college basketball that one either loves or despises. While I fall closer to the latter category, I still enjoy reading about them and this book on their five championship teams is no exception.  Title/Author: “Five Banners: Inside the Duke Basketball Dynasty ” by John Feinstein Rating:  4 of 5 stars (very good) Review: Men’s college basketball has a few schools who consistently have very good teams year in and year out. One of these “blue blood” schools is Duke University and one of its alumni who has gone on to have a successful journalism and writing ..read more

I find fictional books on racing, no matter what type of racing, to be quite realistic in their descriptions of what drivers experience in their cars and this book is no exception.  Here is my review of "Hairpins"   Title/Author: “Hairpins: A Formula 1 Racing Novel” by Wayne Kerr Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good) Review: Formula 1 racing, much like other forms of auto racing, is mostly a male-dominated sport but there are some women who are breaking barriers and succeeding in the business.  This fictional novel by Wayne Kerr centers around a young woman, Nikita (Niki ..read more

Even though I read a lot about baseball in the early and mid 20th century, I had never heard of Waite "Schoolboy" Hoyt until obtaining this book.  Learned a lot about his life and some about his baseball career. Title/Author: “Schoolboy: The Untold Journey of a Yankees Hero” by Waite Hoyt with Tim Manners Rating:  3 of 5 stars (Okay) Review: This is a unique memoir in that the subject of the book died before the book was actually assembled.  Tim Manners took many clippings and notes from former major league pitcher Waite Hoyt and put them together in a manner that reads like a ..read more

While I have been reading more fictional books lately, I can honestly say that this one grabbed me in a way that no other fictional book had, sports or otherwise.  I will stop short of saying this is the best one I have ever read.  Just as I don't like "GOAT" arguments in sports, I don't like picking just one book as the "best."  I'll just say that this one is definitely high on my list of favorites.  Here is my review of "Kelli's Pine." Title/Author: “Kelli’s Pine” by Jay Grochowski Rating:  5 of 5 stars (Excellent) Review:  Most sports fiction books that I have ..read more

Having taken a break from sports reading for a short period, this was a very good choice to get back into sports - great book on the UCLA basketball dynasty.   Title/Author:“Kingdom on Fire: Kareem, Wooden, Walton and the Turbulent Days of the UCLA Basketball Dynasty” by Scott Howard-Cooper Rating:  5 of 5 stars (Excellent) Review:  One of most storied sports dynasties took place in the 1960’s and 1970’s when the UCLA Bruins won 10 of 12 NCAA men’s basketball titles.  While there were many players and other people who helped make this dynasty, there were three people ..read more

When I saw the title of this book, I thought it was about the long-time coach of USC, Rod Dedeaux.  When I saw it was about Miami coach Ron Fraser instead, I thought that's fine, I'm still interested.  Glad I picked it up.  Here is my review of "The Wizard of College Baseball."  Title/Author:“The Wizard of College Baseball: How Ron Fraser Elevated Miami and an Entire Sport to National Prominence” by David Brauer  Rating:  4 of 5 stars (Very good) Review:   College baseball, now a staple on sports networks like ESPN, has not always been a popular option for ..read more

Sometimes a book on a famous player will allow the reader to learn much more about that player than what they learned in the media or through fandom.  That was the case for me with this book about Roberto Alomar.  Here is my review.   Title/Author: “Roberto Alomar: The Complicated Life and Legacy of a Baseball Hall of Famer” by David Ostrowsky Rating:  4 of 5 stars (Very good) Review:  The subtitle of this book by David Ostrowsky is very accurate when discussing the baseball legacy of Roberto Alomar, a Hall of Fame second baseman who played for seven different major ..read more

I never thought I could hear more good things about Vin Scully, nearly two years after his passing - but this book has many of them.  I learned a lot more about the legendary broadcaster by reading this book.  Here is my review of "Perfect Eloquence."  Title/Author: “Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully” by Tom Hoffarth Rating:  5 of 5 stars (Excellent) Review:  It’s difficult to add any more praise and adulation for Vin Scully that hasn’t already been said, but this book by Tom Hoffrarth does just that.  Scully was the broadcasting voice of the Dodg ..read more