Ballpark Digest / August Publications

Two games in the same day is heaven for fans looking forward to the twin bill, double dip or the doubleheader, as explained by Jesse Goldberg-Strassler in this week’s Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus . There are all sorts of descriptive phrases used to describe various iterations of a doubleheader. Two day games represent a double-barrel matinee. Two night games represent a twi-nighter. And two s...

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and Kevin Reichard discuss the opening week of the MLB season and a visit to American Family Field, home of the Brewers, in this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat. Being able to watch baseball virtually all day has been a boon to fans—begin with the afternoon matinees and end with the late-night West Coast matches. And as a bonus fans have been allowed into ballparks...

What is the purpose of the purpose pitch?  Jesse Goldberg-Strassler explains it for you in this week’s Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus . A term attributed to baseball pioneer Branch Rickey, a purpose pitch is designed to "separate the batter's head from his shoulders." This is different than a bean ball, a pitch intended to hit a batter by being thrown at a batters' head, or...

Kevin Reichard flies solo in this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat , discussing lessons learned from spring training for the regular season and previewing upcoming book releases and Ballpark Digest coverage. With MLB teams beginning play today, we’re in the midst of season previews on the site, focusing on teams opening the season at home. Most are hewing to the MLB operating guidelines, wi...

You may bring in a base runner with a run batted in (RBI), but you don’t actually need to get a hit to do it, as explained by Jesse Goldberg-Strassler in this week’s Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus . You could walk, hit a sacrifice fly or get hit by a pitch to notch an RBI—even if it’s an intentional walk, as was the case once with Barry Bonds, who was issued the intentional pass to first base t...

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and Kevin Reichard are joined by Phil Elson, Voice of Arkansas Razorbacks baseball, to discuss the state of college baseball in this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat. Elson began his career in Minor League Baseball and worked a variety of circuits (Eastern League, Pioneer League, Sally League, California League) before ending up as the Voice of the Texas League’s Ar...

If the fastball was the first baseball pitch, it stands to reason that the change-up was the second , thrown purely as a contrast, as explained by Jesse Goldberg-Strassler in this week’s Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus . A well-thrown change-up will see the pitcher use the same exact motion and arm action both for a fastball and the change-up, ideally eight miles an hour slower than a fastball....

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, Mick Gillispie and Kevin Reichard discuss the rule changes scheduled for 2021 MiLB play in this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat. Rule changes are planned for every level of baseball, and at the A level different leagues will feature different rule changes. In Triple-A, the size of first, second and third base will be increased from 15 inches square to 18 inches sq...

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, Mick Gillispie and Kevin Reichard discuss what fans can expect when they return to ballparks in 2021—the good, the bad, the ugly—in this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat. The good: Most MLB teams are poised to welcome fans back to ballparks for home games for the first time since 2019. Only a few are waiting on approvals from local authorities. The bad: Fans will b...

Pitchers can flirt with a no-hitter during the course of a game, but if it’s broken up, it’s no no-no . Jesse Goldberg-Strassler describes the many terms for a no-hitter in this week’s edition of Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus . A no-hitter is rare enough, but there have been cases of both pitchers simultaneously throwing a no-hitter, both in the minors and the majors. May 7, 1919: the Cubs’ Hi...

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and Kevin Reichard discuss spring training and the state of broadcasting on this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat. We've now in the midst of spring-training games, and the discussion centered on how MLB has handled game presentation and game action. MLB is allowing managers to call games at seven innings and to shut down an inning once a pitcher throws 20 pitch...

Where on a baseball field can you find half moons and cutouts, all in pursuit of a room-service hop? The infield: the carpet, the inner garden, the skin. Jesse Goldberg-Strassler describes the many terms used to describe the infield in this week’s edition of Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus . Infields have varied over time in the baseball universe: some infields lack grass altogether—a skin diamo...

Curt Bloom, Voice of the Birmingham Barons, and author Mark McCarter join Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and Kevin Reichard on this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat to discuss the distinguished history of the Southern League. Bloom joined the Barons in 1992 after radio stints in Bakersfield, Prince William and Huntsville, which was his first exposure to the Southern League with the Stars. In that...

A batter striking out is pulling a Casey, while striking out four times means you're wearing the Golden Sombrero. A strikeout is a core part of the game, one to inspire a slew of colorful terms and descriptive phrases, as related by Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, author of The Baseball Thesaurus. It may also be one of the most poetic events in a baseball game. Growing up with a speech impediment,...

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, Mick Gillispie and Kevin Reichard discuss the two biggest stories in the baseball world -- spring training and the new MiLB league structure -- in this week’s Hot Stove League edition of the Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat. Topics included: ·      The poor rollout of the new MiLB league structure and the total disavowal of MiLB history with generic league names awaiting...