Most of you are probably aware that I started out (writing professionally) as a contributing historian for Baseball-Almanac. From 2000-2006 I worked amidst an avalanche of stats and biographical data while penning close to 400 studies for BA. These included the complete histories of the MLB All-Star Game: 1933-2006, MLB World Series: 1903-2005, MLB Year In Review: 1876-2005, MLB Divisional Series: 1981/94-04, as well as a series of special sections including the MLB Commissioner Bios, Opening Day History, Origin of the 7th-Inning Stretch, George Steinbrenner and Bud Selig Biographies, Chess and Baseball, Baseball during the Civil War and a collection of fan essays focusing on the New York Yankees. This led to my first eBook “Luckiest Fans on the Face of This Earth,” as well as a series of freelance commissions for Major League Baseball, Pop Flies, and even ESPN Classic. For links to most of this material, you can visit the Baseball Studies page over on my website.

NONE of these projects would have been possible without the generous mentoring and support of a REAL baseball historian named Harvey Frommer. Yankees and Red Sox Fans will no doubt recognize the name as Harvey’s work tends to focus on those franchises, but above and beyond these rivals, he has published over 30 baseball books to date. I’ve read as many of them as I could and every one of them has been extraordinary. I used to publish a baseball history newsletter called “The Highlander” and it was our promotion of Harvey’s work that led to a friendship that I still treasure to this day.

Harvey has been kind over the years in providing advice, critiques, and a wealth of contact information that has blessed me with an ability to do far better work than I ever could have on my own. Therefore, it is with a great sense of pride and enthusiasm that I would like to introduce one of Harvey’s newest releases, which pays tribute to a very special place that is about to leave us.

No one I’ve come across in my career possesses more knowledge or skill in writing about the game of baseball like Harvey. His narrative-style is always enjoyable no matter what aspect of our National Pastime he is writing about. This time Harvey has provided fans with a timely memory-book focusing on the life and legacy of baseball’s most hallowed of grounds (well outside of Boston and Chicago that is). With “Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of ‘The House That Ruth Built’” Harvey presents a complete history of the ball field from both the player’s and fan’s perspectives.

Beginning with a Foreword written by THE voice of Yankee Stadium, Bob Sheppard, “Remembering Yankee Stadium” proceeds to take the reader on a journey from the initial planning of the ballpark to its epic-existence today. The quantity of historic moments witnessed within the walls of Yankee Stadium is astonishing and Harvey does a wonderful job in recapping them using the testimonies of firsthand witnesses. This includes the recollections of celebrities, broadcasters, and writers, as well as everyday fans like you and I. Harvey also has a talent for putting together lists of associated data using things like player’s numbers or dates and there are plenty of gems of little-known stats and facts. Who remembered that 28 was Thurman Munson’s number his rookie season?

An additional section titled “Stadiumology” provides a wealth of stadium-specific data including attendances, monuments, broadcasters, and famous firsts that took place on New York’s most storied diamond. Another aspect that makes this book a real winner is the breathtaking photography that compliments the editorial content. The collection of imagery is beautiful, blending together both familiar and fresh shots that brought back a lot of fond memories for this reader. See sample Slide-Show.

New Yorkers and Yankees fans will no doubt appreciate Harvery Frommer’s efforts, but the appeal of this title goes well above and beyond the Bronx Bomber faithful. If you are a baseball history fan, “Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of ‘The House That Ruth Built’” is a must have for your library. This ball park closes its doors at the end of this season. This book will enable the reader to re-open that door at any time.

For more on this book visit Harvey Frommer’s webpage.

To order your own copy, visit Amazon.com.