Mr. President, Baseball Lasts Til Almost November

The St. Louis Cardinals are in the Rose Garden soon for the customary victory lap stop-over at the White House. It will be a rare baseball event for President Obama, and that is a sad commentary for both the game and for a president whose political advisors are so clearly asleep at the switch. Presidents […]

Overbearing, Ostentatious and Odd

Overbearing, ostentatious, odd. All three words could describe the way Charlie O. Finley operated. You won’t want to miss this week’s read, “Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball’s Super Showman” by G. Michael Green and Roger D. Lanius. Read this book because: 1. Charlie Finley did some good. Up until the end of his […]

George Steinbrenner’s Dirtiest Deed

Recent FBI documents dug up by the Associated Press reveal that George Steinbrenner blamed his lawyer for his troubles relating to the illegal campaign contributions he made to the Committee to Reelect the President, who at the time was Richard Nixon. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 1981 while researching my book George: […]

What was He Supposed to Do?

Who knew a World Series could bring such pain? Fresh off toppling the rival Yankees in 1955, Dodgers Walter O’Malley could only rejoice for so long. Decisions loomed. Death, in a sense, was palpable. O’Malley staved off it off as long as he could. In “Forever Blue,” Pulitzer Prize winner Michael D’Antonio guides readers through […]

No Tears for George

I am a native New Yorker who still lives in the NY/NJ area and I watch the 6 PM News on NBC each evening.  On Monday, December 6, the sports newscaster announced that George Steinbrenner was not elected to the Hall of Fame – and that was it.  No mention that Pat Gillick was elected […]

Meet the new Park Factors — Part III

Taming the Wind “This will be one of the most beautiful baseball parks of all time.”—Vice President Richard Nixon, 1960, opening day at Candlestick Park So many were fooled. Players, sports writers, and even future presidents were in awe of the new home of the San Francisco Giants. Mesmerizing visitors with its lush green grass […]

The Nexus Of The Baseball Universe

It was 1994.  Kurt Cobain and Richard Nixon died.  There was no World Series.  And Craig Fass and two of his buddies at Albright College in Pennsylvania invented a popular game about the actor Kevin Bacon. The object of the game was to start with an actor or actress and connect them with Bacon in […]

“Ted Williams and the 1969 Washington Senators, the Last Winning Season”

The author’s second book, Ted Williams and the 1969 Washington Senators: The Last Winning Season, is scheduled to be released by McFarland Publishing on February 24, 2009.