Thanx to long time friend Harry S., I’ve got a new sports writer to add to my favorites (Boswell & Posnanski lead that list at the moment).

Doug Glanville, a former baseball player (Cubs, Phillies, Rangers), is now writing occasional articles in the NY Times, (mostly) about baseball, the players, and how the game so often relates to real life. His articles are thought provoking and insightful, and he writes well.

Here are two that I think are worthy of your time:

1) Alone in the Zone:

This one starts off about the Chinese diver who was not told of her grandparents’ death nor her mother’s cancer until after she performed in London. He moves on to baseball, but the article’s really about what he believes is most important in life: relationships.

2) Baseball, Faith and Doubt:

In Glanville’s most recent column, he wonders if baseball is immune from the slings and arrows thrown at it, largely from within.

For more Glanville articles, go to Articles by Doug Glanville.

Also, Glanville wrote The Game from Where I Stand: From Batting Practice to the Clubhouse to the Best Breakfast on the Road, an Inside View of a Ballplayer’s Life, published in 2010. I haven’t read it, but it’s now on my ‘to read’ list.