The Infinite Inning

Amanda Smith (Disaster Girls podcast, Le Renard Argente) returns to cope with the pandemic, discuss emotional distance in disaster films, dating while living a public life, and the Dodgers’ up-and-down start. Plus tales: The Braves stake a hat on a pair of rookie outfielders and a third baseman for not being famous tells a story of his own. TABLE OF CONTENTS Schulmerich, Worthington, and Seize the...

Cliff Corcoran (The Cycle newsletter) returns to run down the state of the early season, plus tales: Death stalks the Polo Grounds and Gallen and Bumgarner meet Dizzy and Paul. TABLE OF CONTENTS Multiple Fatalities at the Polo Grounds*Dizzy but Not Daffy*Cliff Corcoran: Rougned Odor and the Yankees*Low Offensive Levels/The Strikeout Rate*A Strikeout Was Just Another Out*How We Watch Now*Fix Baseba...

David Roth returns to talk baseball and social responsibility during our still-ongoing pandemic. Plus tales: Pee Wee Reese undeflected and Casey Stengel taunts a cross-eyed pitcher (and throws up his breakfast). TABLE OF CONTENTS Pee Wee Reese’s Journey*Casey and the 1922 Tour of Japan*David Roth: Owning a Zamboni*Baseball-is-Back Euphoria*Pow! Bullpen Management*The Clubhouse 15 Percent Has the 8...

Luke Epplin, author of OUR TEAM: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series that Changed Baseball, talks about three key players and one owner who made the 1948 Cleveland team the unique creation it was. Plus tales: No-hitters don’t influence the future and a Casey Stengel rule is applied to Domingo German. TABLE OF CONTENTS Joe Musgrove, No-Hitters, and Fate*Mike Marshall, Casey Stengel, Dom...

Andrew Maraniss, author of Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke, discusses the abuse heaped on the majors’ first openly gay player. Plus tales of a Pacific Coast League trainer who was singled out in a different way, plus two murders and Major League Baseball’s moving the All-Star Game out of Georgia. TABLE OF CONTENTS Fate Hunts a Trainer*MLB and Voting While Black in Georgia*Andrew Maranis...

Jesse Spector returns for a super-sized episode! The third annual Infinite Inning Opening Day song! Ted Williams says never let anyone change your swing! Is Miguel Andujar doing this old-time Dodger’s career swan dive? Will the 2021 Tigers be more fun to watch than the 2021 Red Sox? These and other questions await within! TABLE OF CONTENTS Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, the Bad Science Teacher, a...

Lincoln Mitchell returns to discuss his new book “The Giants and Their City: Major League Baseball in San Francisco, 1976-1992,” a tome redolent with cold Candlestick nights and hot Crazy Crab days. Plus tales: Casey Stengel uses some overly esoteric signs, rookies have short-lived breakouts, and more. TABLE OF CONTENTS Blinking Lights and Spitting Signs*Harl! The Musical*Lincoln Mitchell: Why the...

Craig Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus returns to discuss Baseball Prospectus 2021, highlight some of the best comments, and debate the best approach to writing about players: Plus tales: Did Duster Mails do in one season what other players do in 20? And should a manager be fired for being too blunt with the boss? The Cubs did it. TABLE OF CONTENTS Duster Mails: All-Time Great in One Season*Manage...

Matthew Trueblood (Baseball Prospectus, Penning Bull newsletter) talks about the Twins, the Mariners, disparate batting styles, and using the Cubs as a self-diagnostic. Plus Rogers Hornsby is mean to Duster Mails and Duster Mails is mean to himself. TABLE OF CONTENTS When Cruelty was the Point for Rogers Hornsby*Don’t Run Yourself Down, Duster Mails*Matthew Trueblood: Taking Notice of Player Quirk...

Cliff Corcoran returns to talk some actual my-first-baseman-is-better-than-yours with regards to the AL East, free agent Jackie Bradley, Jr, and Juan Soto’s defensive capabilities. Plus, ex-Mariner Kevin Mather steps in it and the Herculex Body Battery cures all! TABLE OF CONTENTS The Herculex Body Battery Sees All, Cures All*Pie in the Sky When You Die in Seattle*Cliff Corcoran: The comprehensive...

Solo-mini-diet episode in which there are stories of people getting hit, both in the sort of fun baseball way and also the sad other kind. Also, a look at San Diego Padres scolds. TABLE OF CONTENTS Art Fletcher, Oil-Man (Not that Kind)*The Price of Ice in Pittsburgh*Odubel Herrera/Joe Giradi/Sherry Magee*Let Fernando Tatis, Jr Play (For What He’s Worth)!*Goodbyes. The Infinite Inning is not only a...

Mark Armour (Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball, and Paths to Glory: How Great Teams Got That Way, SABR Board President) talks about the Hall of Fame shortstop, MLB’s retroactive changes to the Negro League’s standing, and great baseball history books. Plus tales of Lou Gehrig, Eleanor Gehrig, and milkfat. TABLE OF CONTENTS Eleanor’s Bracelet and Ival’s Two Pounds of Butter*Eleanor Gehrig Alone*Mark A...

Kevin Goldstein returns! Plus, tales of a pitcher who shouldn’t and Lou Gehrig: Great American. TABLE OF CONTENTS A Day in the Life of the Zion Hill… Billies*Lou Gehrig Knew*Kevin Goldstein: The best restaurants in San Pedro de Macoris*The Moment You Found Out*Carlos Correa Claps Back*The Email*The Best Way to Understand What the Rockies Are Doing*Billion-Dollar Franchises*Racism in the Dominican...

Will Leitch returns to deflate the hero narrative in sports. Plus tales: Phil Niekro is prematurely dismissed and Home Run Baker runs all the way home. TABLE OF CONTENTS Phil Niekro and Positive Uncertainty*Home Run Baker Goes Home (Then Goes Home Again)*Will Leitch: Family Man*Not Judging the Pandemic Risk-Takers*History Has Its Eyes on Tom Verducci*Clemens and Bonds Retconned*Henry Aaron “Ignore...

David Roth returns to talk about the Lindor trade, wet presidents, Bip Roberts, and the odor of old cigarettes. Plus Don Sutton doesn’t quite get caught, the Cardinals make a really bad hire, 1970s version, and reflections on Henry Aaron. TABLE OF CONTENTS Doug Harvey Makes a Bad Call on Don Sutton But Derives the Right Lesson*Henry Aaron, Briefly*The Rapp Experiment in St. Louis*David Roth: Cigar...

Cliff Corcoran returns to remember Phil Niekro and Tommy Lasorda, discuss disappointing offseason moves in Cleveland and Chicago, and debate the best way to paint old ballplayers. Plus tales of a president on horseback and a first baseman blocked by Pete Rose. TABLE OF CONTENTS How’s the Mule?*Don’t Inhale in the Clubhouse*Cliff Corcoran: Negro Leagues Baseball Cards*Strata of Players*Against Phot...

Jesse Spector returns to mourn the events of January 6 and talk a little baseball as well. Plus relevant tales: Casey Stengel starts a riot and the Francisco Lindor trade is compared to a national-scale bait and switch. TABLE OF CONTENTS Why Casey was Suspended*Day of the Locust*Jesse Spector: Just Another Day in Democracy*The Space Shuttle Disaster and Tom Green Movies as Pandemic Masks and a Gat...

A special New Year’s episode features tales of something gaining on an umpire during a World Series game and relates the strangely happy last moments of Wee Willie Keeler, with some stops along the way. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abner Dalrymple Remembers*A Question for the Leadership*Wee Willie Keeler Greets the New Year and Then Departs*New Year's Wishes*Instrumental Goodbyes. The Infinite Inning is not...

A special holiday episode features a possibly-fictional tale of Babe Ruth’s moment of reckoning after the difficult, out-of-control season of 1922, plus notes on herd immunity featuring Gee Walker, Max West, and Casey Stengel. TABLE OF CONTENTS Mississippi Field Recordings*Dr. Alexander’s Prescription*A Quick Look at Gee Walker Hurting Himself, Max West Getting Hurt, And Casey Stengel’s Prescripti...

Dan Szymborski (FanGraphs, ZiPs) returns to talk 2021 projections, mock the Rockies, and speculate about Norwegian cheeses. Plus tales: Lefty Gove has some earned sarcasm and a second baseman named Pep strikes out (a lot). TABLE OF CONTENTS Lefty Grove’s Snappy Answers to Stupid Comments*A Note on the Passing Dick Allen*Personal Note: A Death in the Family/Your Rights vs. Mine*Lem-Pep and the Five...

Mike Ferrin (MLB Network Radio, Arizona Diamondbacks, Everything is Broken podcast) returns to talk the art of broadcasting in a pandemic, plus tales of a stranger ballpark and an unusual incentive and a pitcher is tortured for mysterious reasons. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Phillies’ Barrel of Biloxi Shrimp*Bill Terry Tortures a Pitcher*Mike Ferin: Love and Guilt*Red vs. Blue and Stats vs. Scouts*Nobod...

Mark Simon, co-author of the Bill James Handbook 2020 talks stats, projections, the Hall of Fame, and the new Mets ownership. Plus tales: Both the Roman Empire and the Cardinals Empire falls and Kim Ng vs. Jay Kirke. TABLE OF CONTENTS Kim Ng, Jay Kirke: The Patriarchy Was Inhuman*Wally Berger vs. Mike Trout*The Cardinals Dynasty Falls*Mark Simon: Rookies of the Year (Luis Robert vs. Kyle Lewis)*Fi...

Grant Brisbee returns to discuss Justin Turner, the championship afterglow, spoonerized baseball names, and more. Plus an election reaction, 12 quick tales of players, Saturday morning reminisces, and the happy story of a Hall of Fame manager. TABLE OF CONTENTS Election Reaction/Twelve Sources of Baseball Distraction*Top 10 Presidential Failures*The Peace of McCarthy*Grant Brisbee: Baseball Spoone...

Scott Lemieux returns to talk about the presidential election, reforming the Supreme Court, the greatness of Joe Morgan, and the controversial usage of Whitey Ford. Plus: Tales of Pittsburgh Pirates teams (and local banana factories) gone wrong. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Pittsburgh Banana Company Has a Bad Day*Babe Adams Gives His Answer*Scott Lemieux: Traditions vs. Rules*“Originalism”/“Court-Packing...

David Roth returns to discuss the sale of the Mets, postseason aesthetics, and the launch of The Defector. Plus a Reds outfielder with way too much swing and miss in his game, Rogers Hornsby’s time versus Joe Morgan’s, and how a failed White Sox rebuild relates to both. TABLE OF CONTENTS Rolando’s Room*Joe Morgan in His Time/Johnny Evers Loses a Job*David Roth: America’s Boyfriend Meets Bob Mould*...