The Infinite Inning

Author Patrick Montgomery discusses his book, THE BASEBALL MIRACLE OF THE SPLENDID 6 AND TOWNY TOWNSEND, the story of a Virginia youth coach who produced more than his share of future major leaguers. Plus tales: The quest for the postseason “Cementhead” via Charles Schulz and one of the most impatient hitters of all time—and a dirty player to boot.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Peanuts Baseball and “Cementhead”*A “Thanks for the Memory” Digression*Thanks for the Impatience: The Whitey Alpermann Story*Patrick Montgomery: What was the “miracle” of the Splendid Six?*Don’t Call Him “Marvin”*The Career-Ending Incident*The No-Cut Policy*Amateur Baseball in the Tidewater Region*Towny: The Missing Years*How Was All This Travel-Ball Paid For?*Coaches Double-Dipping*Cuddyer, B.J. Upton, et al*Who Ate All the Cool Whip?*Towny’s Method*Tidewater*Swing and Miss With the Splendid Six*The Stubbornness of Mark Reynolds*Changing Attitudes Towards Batter Strikeouts*In the Coast Guard*The Movie!*Goodbyes.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Lincoln Mitchell (San Francisco Year Zero) returns to talk the future of both San Francisco and the San Francisco Giants as well as the war against Ukraine. Plus tales: The clouded conception of a Negro Leaguer and the distorted memory of a crucial Giants-Reds game that turns out not to have been all that crucial, but is still certain to meet your expectorations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Herb Souell’s Mom*The Day the Giants Didn’t Win the Pennant*Lincoln Mitchell: To Rent or Buy in San Francisco*How Do the Giants Rebuild?*The Potential of a Mediocre Champion*Thyroid Estrada*Regression on the Farm*“1920 and ‘22”*Putinconfusion*The Great Illusion*Aaron Judge to San Francisco?*Dodgers Gear at the Giants Game*Goodbyes.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Craig Calcaterra (Cup of Coffee, Everything is Broken) returns to adjudicate the AL MVP race, the pitch-clock, the value of managers, and more. Plus tales: The attitudes and abilities of Carl Hubbell and Babe Ruth compared and contrasted over a matter of road selection and how Hubbell always knew where he kept his plow.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Carl Hubbell, the Avatar of Yes, and Choosing the Best Road Home*Hubbell’s Bad Inning and a Waiting Plow*Craig Calcaterra: Second Series/Downton Abbey Spoilers?*The Bullpen Catchers of Classic Hollywood*Tournament vs. Pennant Race*Sad Trombone Champion*Postseason Previews*Pitch Clock: Mark Harris Objects*The Dead Time in ‘69*The Purist’s Version Devalued*The Pitch Clock Works*The Once and Future Ted*The Spontaneous Spectator*Judge vs. Ohtani*Because Andruw Jones Didn’t Go to Medical School*Take a Letter to Tony*Managers and Contingency*The Vibe-Setters*Goodbyes.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Rob Neyer returns to discuss his contributions to Dale Scott’s memoir THE UMPIRE IS OUT and sundry other matters. Plus tales: A reserve catcher meets a grizzly end and a ballplayer is punished for going to his family’s aid.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Short, Sad Ballad of Frank Grube*“Lifestyles”*100-Walk Trios*Rocky Gonna Fly Now (Into the Stands)*Rob Neyer: A worthy subject*Keeping the Voice*Working with Dale Scott*Jack Morris/No Scores Settled*When Umps Learned to Confer*Why Was It Done This Way?*When the Umpires Resigned*The Late Arrival of Instant Replay*The Automated Strike Zone*Closeted*Growing Up in a Homophobic Culture*An Umpire Comes Out*Progress on Tolerance and Retrograde Movement*What Does the Commissioner of the West Coast League Do?*The Yankees’ Disastrous Stretch-Run*Goodbyes.

Read BASEBALL'S BRIEF LIVES: PLAYER STORIES INSPIRED BY THE INFINITE INNING, now available from Amazon!

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Eric Stephen (True Blue L.A.) returns to discuss the amazing, weird season of dominance being had by the Dodgers. Plus Tales: An outfielder stands in center field when God presses the “Smite” button and the origin of one of the more unusual player names is explained.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Trigger Warning: Beware the Teddy Bears*Lightning Bolts Out of Clear Blue Skies*Ray Caldwell, Ray Fisher, Russ Ford: Distinguishing the Scuffers*The Tragic End of Andy Strong*Approximation of an Instagram Couple on the Edge of a Volcano*Walt Bond and Danny Thompson*The Charms of Garms*The Debs of Garms*Eric Stephen: How are They Doing This? Volume*No Offdays in the Postseason*Parsing Craig Kimbrel’s Season*The Difficulty and Emotional Aspects of the Postseason*Meet the New Kenley, Same as the Old Kenley*Freddie Freeman’s Blues*Will Cody Bellinger Receive a Contract?*Joey Gallo’s Blues*Max Muncy’s Blues*Gallo vs. Outman*Pedro Guerrero Memories*Dodger Stadium Mixed-Up Confusion*Waiting for a 50-Double Dodger/The Johnny Frederick Type*Are the Dodgers Aging?*How Little We Know, Gavin Lux*Jacob deGrom: Hall of Famer?*Goodbyes.

TRIGGER WARNING: A child is in jeopardy in the first segment of this episode.

Outdoor ambience by javetakami, footsteps (stones) and boiling water by Inspector J of Freesound. Gasp and fall by SkyRaeVoicing, woman screaming by Supercolio.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Cliff Corcoran takes over the interview to interrogate Steve on BASEBALL’S BRIEF LIVES: PLAYER STORIES INSPIRED BY THE INFINITE INNING. Plus tales: Teams that played .700 ball and then faltered (that is, just the 2022 Yankees) and false hope from a prospect, starring Dodgers phenom-for-a-moment Cal Abrams—a tale that twisted in the telling as questions of performance were tangled with accusations of Antisemitism.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Yankees Defenestrate*The Slow Rise and Quick Fall of Cal Abrams, Dodgers Phenom*Cliff Corcoran: Success Has Many Fathers*Dead Player Origins*In Baseball There’s a Story Everywhere You Look for It*The Rumors of Obi-Wan’s Death*The Bill James Influence*Gil McDougald and Horace Clarke*Tell McGraw—What?*Statcast and Derek Jeter’s Private Anatomy*Infallible*Empathy for Those Without Plaque*The Rick Ferrell Comment*Posthumous Recognition*Reconciling Pre-Integration Baseball*Goodbyes.

Glass breaking effect by Inspector J of Freesound.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Chris Cotillo (Mass Live) discusses the Red Sox’ incomprehensible season, the beatwriter as a young man, and how to work the pregame clubhouse. Plus Tales: Lessons from a Game-Ending Caught Stealing, Starring the Babe, and a Negro Leagues great goes to Mexico and wins a triple crown.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Masters of the Game-Ending Caught Stealing, Starring Babe Ruth and the 2022 Yankees*The Small Sample Classic, with Matt Carpenter and Wild Bill Wright*Chris Cotillo: Trade-Deadline Covid*First to Last and Last to First in Boston*Back to the Mookie Betts Trade*The Jarren Duran Blues*Where Have You Gone, J.D. Martinez?*Pitching Plans, or Lack Thereof, with Garrett Whitlock*Cotillo Origins*“You Can’t Just Be a Newbreaker”*Beyond the Endorphin Hit*Churn Burnout*Hotshot Kid at the Meetings*Checking Your Fandom*World Series Wedding*How Do You Work the Pregame Clubhouse?*Chaim Bloom and the Small-Market Approach*Goodbyes.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Mark Armour and Daniel Levitt discuss their new book INTENTIONAL BALK: BASEBALL’s LONG AND SORDID HISTORY OF INNOVATION AND CHEATING. Plus tales: The Dodgers’ Uncle Robbie is a hypocrite about weight and one of the greatest Yankees managers does the right thing after an uncharacteristic blow-up.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Uncle Robbie Fat-Shames a Pitcher and We Learn a New Vocabulary Word*The Start of Joe Page and the End of Joe McCarthy*Mark Armour and Daniel Levitt: Is Cheating a Matter of Perspective?*Who Are the Sociopaths in Your Neighborhood?*Individual Cheating vs. Conspiratorial Cheating*William Shakespeare’s Barry Bonds*Restorative versus Enhancing Drugs*Community Standards and Speeding on the Highway*Don’t Touch My Armpits/Billy Martin vs. Gaylord Perry*PEDs and Baseball Gerontology*Shohei Ohtani Jr. vs. Shohei Ohtani III*Roster Shenanigans and the Trading Deadline*The Inevitable Pine Tar Game*Why Did It Take So Long for Baseball to Ban Electric Sign-Stealing?*Book Collaboration*The Coming Shift Ban*Goodbyes.

Horse Whinny, Close, A.wav" by InspectorJ of Freesound.org.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Chats are back! David Roth returns to ask existential questions about Juan Soto, the billionaire class, and if the average person can develop Steve Blass’s disease. Plus tales: A reserve catcher has a fateful meeting with a man who brought dignity to a bodily function and several current players conjure a classic tale from the beginning of the 20th century due to their lack of vaccination.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Reds Catcher and a Man Named Sneeze*Cardinals with White Feathers*1902, WHIT*David Roth: A Random Invocation of William Saroyan*Steve Sax, Steve Blass, and Someone Else Named Steve*Being Normal is Hard*Gore Vidal on Em-Dashes*Category Error at Fenway Park*It’s “The Time of Your Life”*Radical Despairing Empathy*Interrogating Nick Castellanos and Kindness to Joey Gallo (and Mackey Sasser)*Dick Young and Dave Egan*Ted Williams and Spider-Man*Sympathy for Horace Clarke*Andrew McCutchen and “Furries”*The Mets on the Brink*Who Mourns for the Nationals?*Are Americas Billionaires Depressed?*Full Circle to the Red Sox/You Can’t Win a World Series as a Cynic*The Temperature on the Field (And Everywhere Else)*Goodbyes.

WARNING: On Roth week, we swear. Hide the sheep and console the shepherd.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

Infinite Inning 232: My Boyhood Pal, Marilyn Monroe
One more (really) solo episode as we gear up for the Baseball’s Brief Lives, the Infinite Inning book: The son of a Hall of Famer makes a very famous friend and gets grief for it, a great but mostly forgotten player tries to kill another future Hall of Famer with kindness, and more about Cap Anson and his underage bride.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Joe D Goes to the Movies*Joe D Gets Married, Hangs with the Boys*Joe D’s Son and New Girlfriend Bond*An Overwrought Invocation of Shakespeare*Cap Anson, the Future Virginia Anson, and Elon Musk’s Dad*All-Star Emeritus Spots*Tommy Holmes, Captive of Fate*Holmes vs. Henry Aaron*They Were Right About the Titanic*A Lopsided Trade Thwarted and a Walk-Off Homer Against Warren Spahn*Gil Hodges and the Hall of Fame*Alternative-Universe Gil Hodges and the Hall of Fame*Goodbyes.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?