Around The Horn

If you love a beautiful book, if you are a baseball fan, if you are a fan of prized archival photographs, if you have a special affection for the old Brooklyn Dodgers - if you are any of these “Through a Blue Lens” is just the book for you.

Sub-titled “The Brooklyn Dodgers Photographs of Barney Stein 1937-1957” by Dennis D’Agostino and Bonnie Crosby (Triumph Books, $27.95, 162 pages), the book is a real page turner. Ms. Crosby is the daughter of the late and great official photographer of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Mr. D’Agostino is a highly respected author and sports public relations executive especially know to many for his sparkling stint at Madison Square Garden. The two make a terrific team serving up words from such bleeding Dodger blue types as Vin Scully, Johnny Podres, Ralph Branca) and images (nearly 200 taken over 21 seasons by Barney Stein. The result is a fabulous book, re-living the world and time of the Brooklyn Dodgers. For browsing, for gift giving, for treasuring — make this your next sports book purchase.

“Ted Williams At War” by Bill Nowlin (Rounder Books, $24.95, 352 pages) is a sterling look in words and pictures focused on not only a terrific ball player but an authentic American hero. The “Kid” is the only Hall of Famer who served in two wars. A flight instructor with the Marines in World War II, Williams flew 39 combat missions in the Korean War. Nowlin, the author of 15 books and Vice President of the Society for American Baseball Research, knows his stuff and struts it in page after page in this important tome. The prolific and energetic Nowlin interviewed more than 40 pilots who flew with the Splendid Splinter and more than 100 who knew Williams during his military service.

This August Cal Ripken, Jr. will be officially inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. In anticipation of that event we have “Get in the Game” from the baseball legend and Donald T. Phillips (Gotham Books, $26.00, 247 pages). The major focus of the work are “eight elements of perseverance that make the difference” and that surely made the difference in Ripken’s career as he honed in breaking the Lou Gehrig consecutive games played record and setting the new one at 2,632. If you are a Ripken fan, if you want some sage advice on getting into any game - this is the book for you.

From Thunder Bay Press comes two engrossing picture book: “Ballpark: Then and Now” by Eric Enders and “Chicago: Baseball in the City” by Derek Gentile. The former is a roundup of parks then and now in words and pictures; the latter focuses on the national pastime in the windy city.

Coming soon: “You’re Still Away” by Robert Sullivan (Maple Street Press, $19.95) is a on the drawing board and coming to bookstores very soon. Father’s Day? It is a delightful and ranging work about so many facets and thrills that the world of golf contains as seen by a man who is the editorial director of LIFE books and accepts the game for what it is, which is much more than a game. Go for it. Highly recommended for golfers and those who like a wonderful read.

BACKLIST: “Great Baseball Films” by Rob Edelman (Citadel Press) is still a page turner and still very relevant. If you are a movie buff and a baseball book lover - Edelman’s effort is your cup of tea.

Harvey Frommer is now in his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. He is the author of 39 sports books, including the classics: “New York City Baseball,” and “Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball.” His FIVE O’CLOCK LIGHTNING: BABE RUTH, LOU GEHRIG AND THE GREATEST TEAM IN BASEBALL HISTORY, THE 1927 NEW YORK YANKEES will be published by Wiley in the fall of 2007. Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) an oral/narrative history to be published in fall 2008.

Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.

We have got your number if you are a number cruncher, a stat guy, a fan or the Yankees or just into baseball trivia. Single digits, double digist, triple digits and on and on - the world of baseball is one that lives and dies with numbers.

So for your perusal and reading pleasure . . .

1,995 - Most career RBI’’s, Lou Gehrig.
2010 ­ Expiration year of Derek Jeter’s contract.
2,120 ­ Number of games Babe Ruth played for the Yankees.
2,130 - The number of consecutive games Lou Gehrig played in.
2,401 - Most games played in by a Yankee, Mickey Mantle, 1951-1968.
2,584 ­ Career hits, Reggie Jackson.
2,597 - The record number of career strikeouts by Reggie Jackson.
2,721 - The Yankee record number of hits recorded by Lou Gehrig.
3,654 ­ The number of home runs Yankees hit at old Yankee Stadium,1923-1973
$6,595.38 - The amount payable in 1927 in bi-weekly checks to Babe Ruth that added up to the record salary he earned of $70,000.
$18,000 - Cost of purchasing the franchise of Baltimore and transferring it to New York City.
$50,000 The New York Giants offered that unheard of amount to the Yankees for Yogi Berra.
64,519 - The number of people in attendance at Yankee Stadium in 1956 when Don Larsen pitched the Perfect Game.
$65,000 ­ Gillette and Ford paid this amount for the exclusive sponsorship rights to the first televised World Series shown only in New York City, 1947. Liebmann Brewery had offered $100,000 for the rights, but baseball Commissioner Chandler rejected the offer claiming it wouldn’t be appropriate having the Series sponsored by the producer of an alcoholic beverage.
211,808 -The New York Highlanders attendance, 1903
2,561,123 - Shea Stadium attendance for Yankees, 1974-75
3,451,542 - Hilltop Park attendance 1903-1912
6,220,031 -Polo Grounds attendance 1913-1922
$12,357.143 ­ Annual salary of Bernie Williams in 2001, more than the entire Division play-off opposition Oakland infield and two of its outfieders.
$12.6-million - Annual salary of Derek Jeter that began in 2001.
64,188,862 -Yankee Stadium attendance 1923-1973

Harvey Frommer is now in his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. He is the author of 39 sports books, including the classics: “New York City Baseball,” and “Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball.” His FIVE O’CLOCK LIGHTNING: BABE RUTH, LOU GEHRIG AND THE GREATEST TEAM IN BASEBALL HISTORY, THE 1927 NEW YORK YANKEES will be published by Wiley in the fall of 2007. Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) an oral/narrative history to be published in fall 2008.

Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.

In this story by Nick Cafardo he brings up Pesky returning to the dugout with Bud Selig. Bud’s last line is “If anyone wants to invoke change with this rule, they should have a discussion with the general managers.” Now is the time for baseball fans to use the power of the internet, to change the rules of the game. Write an email to every GM and asked them to respond to this question.

     ”Would you allow any team icon over the age of 80 the privilege
      of sitting in the dugout for any game?”

We could ask Cashman first. Torre could even have his old friend Don Zimmer back. Boston will promise not to even use a matador move if Zimmer attacks anyone, especially since Pedro is not here to throw is head with a plate on the turf. Red Schoendienst could sit on the Cardinal bench as well. If Bob Feller wants to sit on Cleveland’s he is welcomed. You can ask the GM’s to vote on-line. Maybe we could get this change done effective immediately.

Another change that needs to be done is with the MLB rules committee. Wouldn’t you know that Sandy Alderson is the head of that committee. Baseball needs to implement a definition to a checked swing. On May 5th, with a struggling Johan Santana on the mound in Minnesota, David Ortiz had an eight-pitch at-bat that end by striking out. He appeared to check his swing on a 3-and-2 pitch and began walking to first base when he was called out by third base umpire Jeff Nelson. On the Red Sox radio broadcast  they said it was clearly umpire error on that call.  Ortiz screamed at Nelson, the NESN microphone in the dugout picked up Ortiz calling Nelson’s call “horse-blank.” It was pure manure by another example of umpires gone wild, for the sake of vain. Of course since baseball does not have anything in the Official Rulebook about checked swings, how could you argue any call? Tom Verducci alluded to this quirk in the rules, when he did his one day stand in  as an umpire this spring. Why can’t MLB have the same rule that the NCAA has adopted?

Section 2.0 of the 2007 NCAA Official Baseball rulebook states: A checked swing shall be called a strike if the barrel head of the bat crosses the front edge of home plate, or the batter’s front hip.