Great Baseball Books: ‘How to Star in Baseball’ by Herman L. Masin

An avid reader and aspiring ballplayer as a kid, I had one book in my hands more than any other: “How to Star in Baseball” by Herman L. Masin. That book was the Bible of Baseball to me. I studied its pages for hours and hours, reading up and memorizing the fine points of how […]

Spring training for readers: It’s time to report!

While major league teams are breaking out the bats and balls in Arizona and Florida, it’s time for fans to break out the baseball books. About 20 years ago, I started a personal tradition as spring approaches of finding a new book about baseball to read in anticipation of Opening Day. I have my 2011 […]

Great baseball stories: W.P. Kinsella’s “Thrill of the Grass”

Baseball, the quintessential American game, is the source of inspiration for many a writer. If I have single favorite short story on the sport, it likely is “The Thrill of the Grass” by W.P. Kinsella, who it just so happens is Canadian. Perhaps it’s that across-the-border perspective that allows him such keen insight into “our” […]