Ballpark Digest / August Publications

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 Arkansas Travelers. As Voice of the Razorbacks, Elson has seen how the sport has matured in the cutting-edge SEC, between upgraded facilities and the extensive use of technology to guide performance. In fact, he argues college baseball has become the true hotbed of baseball innovation, finding the sweet spot between pitching and hitting. You don’t see the lightning bats anymore, and the actual baseball has been refined. It’s a balance MLB and MiLB are striving to create, and it already exists in college baseball. In addition, during his seven years with the ‘Backs, facilities have improved every year, both in Arkansas and the rest of the SEC, and college facilities are now augmented with spacious training facilities and state-of-the-art performance centers. Even the newest iterations of synthetic turf seem to work well.

A discussion of The Baseball Thesaurus term turns into a broader discussion of the tone of the game and whether too many violent terms are employed during the course of a game.

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications.  Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest.

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. A pitcher throwing a baseball is pulling the string on a parachute, slowing in its approach to the plate. It’s also called a dead fish, dying on its way to home plate.

Goldberg-Strassler shares his insights on the colorful patois of America’s Pastime in this weekly podcast. You can find The Baseball Thesaurus at augustpublications.com.

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 square. The goal: To reduce player injuries and collisions. In Double-A, the shift will be partially outlawed: the defensive team must have a minimum of four players on the infield, each of whom must have both feet completely in front of the outer boundary of the infield dirt. However, to begin the season, there will be no requirement to keep two players on each side of second base—but that could change. In High-A, pitchers will be required to disengage the rubber prior to throwing to any base; otherwise, it’s a balk. The goal: increase the number of stolen bases. In Low-A, Pitchers will be limited to a total of two “step offs” or “pickoffs” per plate appearance while there is at least one runner on base. There are also two league-specific rule changes: ABS (robo-umps) will be used in select games in Low-A Southeast (presumably in ballparks where ABS was installed for spring training), while Low-A West players will be subject to on-field timers (one in the outfield, two behind home plate between the dugouts) to enforce time limits between delivery of pitches, inning breaks and pitching changes. But, of course, the rules surrounding timers will be different than those already used in Double-A and Triple-A.

All in all, the rule changes are designed to quicken the pace of play and inject more excitement into the game. You can view all the rule changes here.

The Baseball Thesaurus term of the day: grand slam, which comes from the world of contact bridge. It’s a term that’s evolved over the years—Vin Scully used to refer to grand slammers—but always remember one thing: it’s a redundancy to refer to a grand slam home run. Just a grand slam.

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications. Mick Gillispie is the Voice of the Tennessee Smokies and a spring-training Voice of the Chicago Cubs. Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest.

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 be restricted in what they can do at the ballpark. Most teams won’t allow fans to wander the ballpark, at least at the beginning of the season.

The ugly: Those who delight in the ballpark food/beverage experience are likely to be disappointed, as a few teams have announced only limited grab-and-go or app-ordered items available. The Oakland A’s, for instance, will not open concourse concessions. 

All in all, this should make for an interesting launch to the 2021 season.

The Baseball Thesaurus term of the day: slide, including the most popular implementations of the basic baseball play: hook slides, head-first slides and pop-up slides.

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications. Mick Gillispie is the Voice of the Tennessee Smokies and a spring-training Voice of the Chicago Cubs. Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest.

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’ Hippo Vaughn and the Reds’ Fred Toney both notch no-nos for nine innings. What happened next involves a single run and Jim Thorpe.

And you can’t discuss a no-hitter without discussing the no-hitter jinx: discussing the no-hitter will inevitably cause the pitcher to lose the no-hitter. What did broadcasters like Red Barber and Vin Scully think about the no-hitter jinx? Goldberg-Strassler shares their thoughts on the no-hitter jinx, as well as other phrases comprising the colorful patois of America’s Pastime. You can find The Baseball Thesaurus at augustpublications.com.

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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 pitches. So far these rules have been invoked in some pretty bad ways.

And, in more bad news for the games, the Toronto Blue Jays are running simulcasts and eliminating radio-only broadcasts--a trend we could see accelerate throughout the industry in coming years. 

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications. Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest.

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 diamond—while others feature keyholes between the mound and home plate. In this episode of Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler explains the many ways groundskeepers can design an infield with a goal of delivering a room-service hop to infielders. Infield is one of the many terms comprising the colorful patois of America’s Pastime. You can find The Baseball Thesaurusat augustpublications.com.

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 time, he’s seen many greats and near-greats cycle through the Double-A circuit, including Michael Jordan’s memorable stint with the Barons. Mark McCarter, who literally grew up in the Southern League, is author of Never a Bad Game: Fifty-Plus Years of the Southern League, the definitive history of the Southern League. With the Southern League replaced by a new MLB-created MiLB league, memories shared by Bloom and McCarter take on special significance during these transitional times.

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications. Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest.

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, a young Ernie Harwell was assigned to recite poems, including  “House by the Side of the Road,” Sam Walter Foss, which featured the last two lines:

“Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.”

Those verses ended up being quoted often by the erudite Harwell to describe a strikeout:

“He stood there like the house by the side of the road, and watched the ball go by.”

In this episode, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler explains the Harwell strikeout call as well as other colorful terms for strikeouts. This first episode of Tales from The Baseball Thesaurus runs down the unique terms for a strikeout, certainly a key part of baseball's distinctive patois. You can find The  Baseball Thesaurus at augustpublications.com.

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 sponsorships. Goodbye Southern League; hello Double-A South.

·      MLB missed some golden opportunities to hail this next version of MiLB; instead, the announcement came quietly on a Friday and was soon overshadowed by other MLB news.

·      Every agrees that six-game series suck.

·      On the plus side, spring training begins today, with pitcher and catchers reporting to many camps. After a brutal weather streak, the impending baseball season is good news.

·      Spring training still won’t be the same: no fans will be attending workouts, and ballparks will be filled to roughly 25 percent of capacity.

·      The Baseball Thesaurus term of the day: hot stove league, the traditional offseason event heralding the approach of the coming season. They’ve become an endangered species in MiLB and morphed into fan fests in MLB. 

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications. Mick Gillispie is the Voice of the Tennessee Smokies and a spring-training Voice of the Chicago Cubs. Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest.