Ballplayers, Duke Maas to Dutch Zwilling: Baseball's Ultimate Biographical Reference

by Mike Shatzkin

Book by

Genres: Baseball, Reference

600 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I know of for presenting little capsule biographical entries for a great number of baseball players (managers, umpires, and writers are also included). The entries all contain at a minimum info like this:

Charlie Meara (Goggy) - 1891-1962. OF Yankees 4 g, .286, 0 hr, 1 rbi

That is, name, nickname (if any), year of birth and death, teams played for (main team in bold) and games played; then for position players, batting average, home runs, runs batted in; and for pitchers, innings pitched, won-lost record, earned run average.

I don't believe all players who played in only four games are in the book, and I'm not sure why Charlie Meara (who I've never heard of) is. Perhaps because the following little nugget was available:

Meara came down with jaundice in his only major league season and had to leave the team. Ownership accused him of going to play elsewhere while on leave, and he had to sue to recover his salary.

Many players and managers are pictured, and the more famous ones have longer entries. Mickey Mantle for example has a page and a half.

Many of the entries have unusual, interesting information, and some are poignant. A player named Herman Long has three paragraphs, ending with this one:

After his playing days, he managed in the minors. However, he contracted tuberculosis, moved far from the scenes of his success to Colorado, and died broke and friendless.

And I guess that's about all that this man's life left behind, these three paragraphs - plus his statistics in a baseball stat Encyclopedia. Perhaps a few old time baseball cards.

But come to think of it, that's more than a lot of lives leave behind.

[Brittany]

Shatzkin, M. (1990) "The Ballplayers: Baseball's Ultimate Biographical Reference". Westminister, MD: Arbor House Publication Company.

Brittany Ballard

Type of reference: Biographical Reference

Call Number: GV865.A1 B323 1990 Biog

Brief Description: This reference books focuses on America's favorite pastime: Baseball. There are many interesting facts about many different players, coaches, and umpires. This would be a great addition to a school with a lot of aspiring athletes.

Content/Scope: The content focuses on different facts about different people in baseball. This spans from the crowd favorites to the lesser known players of their time. There is also information about the histories of major league parks. This book is written for high school students.

Accuracy/Authority/ Bias: This book is accurate but it only covers up to 1988. This is ok for someone who loves the classics, but to old for the students who are more focused on today.

Arrangement/Presentation: The book is written in alphabetical order and spans over 1230 pages. There are some pictures of well known athletes as well as lesser known coaches.

Relation to other works: To most people, this book would seem dated. there are more current biographical references, but I have found that my students are more interested in the past players than the present.

Accessibility/Diversity: This book is written in un-biased language and is accessible to those who read at or above an 8th grade level.

Cost: $39.95

Review: Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/di...

[Lee Ballanfant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An underated book with short Bios of over 5000 ballplayers up to 1989. The PB version is in two volumes while hard cover is one.

[Sarah Cherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ballplayers: Baseball’s Ultimate Biographical Reference
Shatzkin, M. , Charlton, J. , & Holtje, S. (1990). The Ballplayers: Baseball’s Ultimate Biographical Reference. Westminster, MD: Arbor House Publishing.
Reviewed By: Sarah Cherry
Type of Reference: Biographical Reference
Description: This biographical reference summarizes the lives of all past and present major league players. It also includes the histories of some major and minor league parks.
Content and Scope: The reference contains the dates and performance totals of all major league players that were in at least three years. Some of the famous stars have several columns devoted to their careers.
Accuracy, Authority, and Bias- Statistics are compared to the Official Encyclopedia of Baseball, Who’s Who in Professional Baseball, and Zander Hollander’s Complete Handbook of Baseball. If compared to this many sources the information must be fairly accurate.
Arrangement- It is arranged in chronological order by the years the baseball players played.
Relation to Similar Works: It is very similar to the Encyclopedia of Baseball.
Timeline and Permanence: This book is more of a historical reference and would not need to be updated as often as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and almanacs.
Cost: 112.22
Rationale for Selection: Baseball is a popular pastime in our community. I feel that younger students are often into sports, which would draw them to the reference session. The book is also easy to read.
Professional Reviews: This book was reviewed in School Library Journal.

[Elizabeth Mccord]

Shatzkin, M. (1990). The ballplayers: Baseball's ultimate biographical reference. Westminister, MD: Arbor House Publication Company.
Citation by: Elizabeth McCord

Type of Reference: Biographical Reference
Call Number: GV865.A1 B323 1990
Description: Is a biographical reference of many different players, managers, etc across baseball’s history upto the 1990’s. It offers brief biographies of each person and even some baseball parks and stadiums.
Relevance and Relationship: This book offers brief information on many famous and non famous baseball players that will appeal to young male readers interested in baseball and it’s origins.
Purpose: This offers biographical information of players who played for at least three years. It contains statistics related to performance of the players on the field as well as person biographical information.
Validity: This book’s statistics and information are compared to many other well respected books on baseball.
Format: This is a 1990 hardcover print edition with 1,230 pages.
Arrangement and Presentation: This book is arranged chronologically by the years the players played the game of baseball.
Diversity: This will appeal to various aged individuals who are fans of the game of baseball.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book that provides thumbnail biographies of players, management, executives, etc across baseball's history. Accurate up to the early 1990's when it was published, the thumbnails are fantastic in their combination of simplicity and conciseness. If you're going to a party and need to know a paragraph worth of information on Tony Kubek or Greg Gagne, this is your source. Fun to just pick up and read here or there, or use for reference, with the obvious caveat that much has happened to many of the players who were still living, and especially still active in the game, at the time of publication.

[Jordan Wade]

Shatzkin, M. (1990). The ballplayers: Baseball's ultimate biographical reference. Westminister, MD: Arbor House Publication Company.
Citation created by: Jordan Wade
Call Number: 796.36
Description: This biographical dictionary summarizes lives and careers of past and present major leaguers.
Content/Scope: Grades 4 & up
Accuracy/Authority: Credited by the Library Journal
Relation to Similar Works: 1st edition
Cost: $11.35
Rationale for Selection: Great reference for boys who love sports. High interest level reading.
Professional Review: Library journal says while it is not a replacement for it is a great source for sports facts. It’s perfect for the sports reference shelf.

[Ron Kaplan · Rating 3 out of 5]

biography,reference