We're in the Hall of Fame!

A month before the induction of six players for the Class of 2018, #DiamondsFromTheDugout was given the honor of leading off the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's 2018 Authors Series schedule. This prestigious annual series showcases top baseball books, and "Diamonds" features more than 40 Hall of Famers among the 115 baseball legends in its pages.

Thank you so much to the entire Hall of Fame staff for your hospitality, as this national No. 1 bestseller is now officially in the museum! On June 6, I gave a 45-minute presentation in the 55-seat bullpen theater, using their state-of-the-art large screen and podium computer to show pictures, videos, quotes and facts related to the book's stars, then signed copies in the Library Atrium. Patrons can find signed copies throughout this summer in the Museum Bookstore.

This book came full circle with this event, held in the same wing of the hallowed institution where it all began during my coverage of the historic 2007 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend for MLB.com. I remember setting out that Monday to write a book about 3,000 random hits, and then Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson telling me that same year about the one hit that had meant the most in his life. Brooks provided the Foreword for this book. Buy it now

Ready for January 6!

Here's the new display at Barnes & Noble Palisades Center mall, ready for the big #DiamondsFromTheDugout author event and bookfair at 2 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 6! I'll discuss the No. 1 bestselling baseball book and sign copies, and the bookfair will benefit the Clarkstown Family Resource Center - part of the massive Clarkstown School District. I'll stay there until about 5, so there will be plenty of time to sign, but get there early if you want to catch a baseball discussion. If you're in the NYC area that day, come out and join us, for a good cause! See the book tour page for the latest updates on official author events and the #BarnesandNobleStormingTour.

MLB Network Radio 12/16 & 12/23

It was a pleasure to spend the last three consecutive weekends talking DIAMONDS FROM THE DUGOUT and baseball on MLB Network Radio, and that included an unprecedented doubleheader of sorts over the last two Saturdays on the SiriusXM network's "Remember When" show. The first audio clip here is from my Dec. 16 appearance with legendary NYC broadcaster Ed Randall, who was without fellow host and career-long Red Sox legend Rico Petrocelli. (By the way, the segment immediately followed Alvin & The Chipmunks and their holiday hit, providing context to the introductory comments.) The second audio clip is an encore return so that I could ask Rico for his thoughts about Yaz's story in the book, from the 1967 AL pennant-clinching game. Listen to that one, and you'll even get bonus material not in the book, because Rico gave me his own No. 1 hit.

No. 1 Bestseller!

DIAMONDS FROM THE DUGOUT was listed today at No. 1 on the Barnes & Noble Top 100 bestseller list for Baseball, and it has moved up to #13 in Sports, passing Tom Brady & Shalene Flanagan. Thanks to everyone who is enjoying this new book from me and Blue River Press, with a Foreword and inspiration from the great Brooks Robinson. See the BN Sports Top 100.

Thanks to the Grandyman

I interviewed Curtis Granderson during the 2016 World Series in his hometown of Chicago, the morning after he received the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his humanitarian efforts, especially helping children. He was giving a tour of the new University of Illinois-Chicago sports facility that he made possible with an endowment. After that interview, I asked him what hit meant the most to him and why, and the result is on page 37 of DIAMONDS FROM THE DUGOUT. I hope you will enjoy Curtis' offering, complete with a powerful everyday life lesson. I extend my thanks to the Dodgers' left fielder, a 300-double, 300-homer club member and postseason regular, for the kind book recommendation that he posted on Twitter!

Milestone with a marker

Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue signing on Dec. 21, 2017

Wednesday's signing at Barnes & Noble Court Street in Brooklyn was the 39th BN store across the country I have hit on the DIAMONDS FROM THE DUGOUT book tour since our October launch, and Thursday was the milestone 40th at the BN Fifth Avenue location at 46th Street. You can visit the Book Tour page here at marknewmanbooks.com/tour and see the stops.

Thanks to all of the amazing BN team members I have met along the way, starting with our launch at the Evansville (IN) location, followed by The Grove in Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale and St. Louis and New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delware visits as well. That's a lot of signed copies of the book Cal Ripken called "the perfect gift for any baseball fan," and I also want to say thanks for everyone who has gone to those stores and snapped them up! Please make sure you like the official Facebook page at facebook.com/MarkNewmanAuthor and follow instagram.com/marknewmanauthor so we can share our experiences with the book!

Signing at Barnes & Noble Court Street in Brooklyn on Dec. 20, 2017

On TV: Beyond the Game

Thanks to John Vorperian for having me on for an episode of his respected and long-running TV/Internet show "Beyond the Game" in White Plains, N.Y. It was fun to talk baseball and DIAMONDS FROM THE DUGOUT in the studio. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

The show originally aired on White Plains Community Media for Westchester County viewers on Nov. 3 and 4. If you want to see it there on TV, it will air again on Friday, Nov 24, at 9 p.m. ET, on Fios 45 and Altasce 76. Then it will air on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. ET.

Thanks, Evansville!

We not only talked a lot of baseball, but we helped a great cause: Public EducationFoundation of Evansville. Thanks to all!

First book signing and reading. More upcoming!

First sighting at a BN.

I'm a Local Author in Evansville, Indiana.

Signed nearly 100 of these. Look for yours at your local Barnes & Noble. If it's not there yet, please ask a BN staffer to order copies! Thanks!

This is what I saw when I took the escalator upstairs the morning of the book signing at the Evansville Barnes & Noble. Thanks, Mariana! You are amazing!

And there's your book signing catch phrase. What do you think?

Standing Room Only at the Evansville Barnes & Noble. The man in the pink shirt is a very special guest, by the way: My Evansville Central High School Journalism teacher, Edwin Cole. One of the all-time greats! So nice to see him and his wife Sharon!

So nice to be home in Evansville!

Thanks to Leanne and Randy Mauer for handing me SEVEN books to sign! It was nice to personalize every one of them. Her own copy has my old Whiffle ball lineup on the title page -- 9 lines each reading "Rod Carew".

Amy Walker, Executive Director of Public Education Foundation of Evansville, graciously spoke to our audience about PEF's mission. It was so nice to help a great cause.

The audience member to the right? Oh, just my 100-YEAR-OLD Grandpa, Woody Groomer, a WWII vet. So happy to introduce him to everyone. He danced the night before at the local Owls club.

Thanks to my wonderful wife Lisa for her support throughout the decade it took to bring DIAMONDS FROM THE DUGOUT to baseball fans.

A meaningful moment just before walking into my hometown Evansville Barnes & Noble to start the book tour.

Thanks to a standing-room-only crowd that came out to Barnes & Noble in Evansville on Saturday for a fantastic book launch event! We teamed up to raise funds for Public Education Foundation of Evansville, and I am especially thankful to PEF Executive Director Amy Walker for speaking to the audience about PEF's mission, and to Kathy Singer of PEF and Mariana of Barnes & Noble for organizing such a beautiful and memorable afternoon. Here's a slideshow of the afternoon!

One takeaway: People are buying DIAMONDS FROM THE DUGOUT not just as a single copy, but in batches as gifts for so many people from all walks who love baseball, no matter what your team or town.

We're off and running! Looking forward to many more book signings and readings to come! Please be sure to LIKE the official Facebook page for our book at facebook.com/MarkNewmanAuthor! Ask your local Barnes & Noble if they have the book yet, and please leave a review if you order it online, as that will help us appear in search results. Thanks!