I want to share my recommendation for you to read the book, “Tinker to Evers to Chance — The Chicago Cubs and The Dawn of Modern America.” It’s an excellent account of this famous shortstop (Tinker), second baseman (Evers), and first baseman (Chance) combination that helped the Cubs to dominate the National League for the first 10 years of the 20th century (1901-1910) and accelerate the popularity of Big-League baseball. But it’s about so much more — as you will discover when you open the cover and start reading. Be sure to not skip to the end!

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“Baseball’s Sad Lexicon: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46679/baseballs-sad-lexicon

Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

To commemorate surpassing the 100-episode mark of All About Baseball, I wanted to actually do a podcast about how a Major League Baseball is made: the materials used, the manufacturing methods, and the standards that each baseball has to pass. Instead, I discovered something much more important to talk about — the people who work at the. MLB-owned Rawlings plant in Turriabla, Costa Rica, who produce more than 2,000,000 baseballs a year in virtual anonymity. That needs to change, along with the way that they are compensated for their labor.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

A listener asked me this question that I had not previously considered. I was comfortable just letting this scenario play out. His inquiry led me to respond with an answer that presents a specific plan gives the Tigers the best chance to responsibly sign Skubal or, more likely, receive the best possible and comparable value in a trade. Be alerted that this podcast delves into the granular numbers and metrics that I think are essential to examine and evaluate the Tigers’ next best steps — and it’s a plan that I would initiate from Opening Day, 2026.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

The title says it all: I express my gratitude to all who have made this podcast possible, including Almighty God, my creator. I also offer a preview of three future episodes. May your Thanksgiving be filled with joy, good food, and fine company.

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Link to Tinker to Evers to Chance Book Review: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/T/bo24905418.html

Music: “Field Grass,” Sergei Pavkin

A bike accident, a dislocated index finger, and a suggestion from my wife prompted me to dig into the life and career of Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown, who suffered a sudden and gruesome amputation of his right index finger at the tender age of five (or seven, depending on the source). As a result of this, Mordeaci Brown, a Hall of Famer and considered in everyone’s top-30 list of all-time pitchers, delivered the baseball to home plate over 14 professional seasons as no pitcher did before or since — or ever will again.

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Mordeaci Brown warming up https://youtu.be/dYHFUVpSxhA?si=Gow6vAliCzx7DQG7

Mordeaci Brown Foundation https://www.mordecaibrown.com/

Music: Field Grass, By Sergei Pavkin

With the recent indictments of Cleveland Guardians’ pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luiz Ortiz, for throwing baseballs in the dirt to win bets for their partners, it appears that MLB is doing all it can to sweep this situation under the rug by taking the tepid measure of limiting the amount of money someone can make on prop bets like this to $200. But, with FanDuel as an important sponsor, MLB would rather make half-measures like this instead of eliminating the very possibility of making these bets at all.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

This Latin phrase, translated to In English, means “after, therefore because of it.” This fallacy in logic is all too often applied to the outcome of sporting events . It’s been never more prevalent than in the circumstances of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2025 World Series where Isiah Kiner-Falefa was forced out at home by a literal inch, denying the Blue Jays what would have been the winning run and a World Series championship.

This podcast reminds us that asking “what if” (Kiner-Falefa had taken a bigger lead) introduces an entirely new chain of events that no one can predict. Yet these same people blame his decision to stay close to third base — as directed by his coaches — as the cause of the Blue Jays losing Game 7.

Naturally, this episode also mentions how I met my wife of 42 years and why the Titanic sank.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Titanic: Ship of Dreams Podcast

Not always. In this podcast, I identify two different 2025 “all-star” lineups by position — one is stocked with underpaid players and the other with overpaid players. The point: demonstrate that owners are compensating many players based on past achievements and future promise instead of present performance, which is all that really matters. That owners, as explained by the Peter Brand character in the movie “Moneyball” are still “misjudging their players.” Using the advance metric of Weighted Run Created Plus, (wRC+), I compare players making multi-millions with players making less than a million. One of the lineups features no players with a wRC+ higher than league average of 100.

Can you guess which one?

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Moneyball clip: Peter Brand explains how owners still get it wrong to Billy Beane

After 20-plus years of umpiring youth baseball, I’m calling it quits as suddenly as I entered the “profession” when I volunteered to umpire my son’s ball game because the assigned umpire didn’t show. This brief podcast explains my reasons why I made an on-the-field decision to walk away.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Parkin

On October 10, 2025, the Seattle Mariners defeated the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the American League Divisional Series (ALDS), in part because the Tigers committed two critical “little-league” mistakes that should never happen at the Major-League level. Both occurred on the base paths, with due credit given to Mariners’ first-baseman Josh Naylor’s fearlessness and with substantial scorn directed at Tigers’ third-baseman Zach McKinstry’s foolishness.

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Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Parkin