The Infinite Inning

Steve is joined by Christopher Bonanos, author of Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous to discuss the photographic great who documented what went on in the naked city, the nighttime New York of the 1930s and 40s, after the ballplayers had put their gloves away for the day. Plus, Tom Seaver is traded as the ‘70s Mets force a big-market team into a small-market suit, and a Dodgers fan gets ribbed with fatal results.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mets Get Small*Toxic Dodgers Fandom and twin .45s*Christopher Bonanos: Who was Weegee?*“Balcony Seats at a Murder”*The wild New York of the 1930s*The brief, wondrous life of PM*Why doesn’t center-left media thrive?*Photographs that comment on themselves*Social justice Weegee/Misogynistic Weegee*His slow rise and rapid fall*“What success does for a man”*Descent into distortions*“The Critic” (Truthful without being factual)*Darkroom in the trunk?*George Selkirk Signs!*“Their First Murder”*Carrier pigeons at Ebbets Field*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?

Business of baseball writer Maury Brown (Forbes) joins Steve to talk about the future of labor relations in the game, the shift from television to on-line viewing, the stadium-financing boondoggle, and more, plus tales of Pepper Martin and Joe DiMaggio in distress.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pepper Martin’s breaking point*Joltin’ Joe’s lack of leverage*Maury Brown: The usual hat talk*Do the players get a cut?*The players and online revenue*The legal landscape of a baseball labor war*Maury Year One (a Bay Area baseball upbringing with the Finley robot rabbit)*Remembering Doug Pappas*Grasping for balance in MLB business coverage*Gimmie Some Truth*The persistence of the ballpark boondoggle*The 2018 attendance slide*Does revenue-sharing create negative incentives?*Is Portland, Oregon a viable major league market*Maury shook you all night long*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?

Sam Miller (ESPN, Baseball Prospectus, The Only Rule is It Has to Work) joins Steve to talk about joy in baseball, which fun facts matter and which don’t, and how to alienate your colleagues your first day on the baseball beat. Plus, overlapping tales of puppy love and Billy Herman and a remembrance of the late Harlan Ellison.

WARNING: There is one cussword, baseball’s “magic word,” at about the 24-minute mark. Hide the children.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Billy Herman’s first day*Goodbye, Harlan Ellison*Sam Miller: The Only Rule is It Has to Work*A Very Bad Handshake Situation*The Only Rule is You Go to Moscow*The Braves’ all-time first baseman, and does it matter?*Mark Langston’s best season*The Secret Origin of Sam Miller (The Mommy Blogger! Frankie Rodriguez for MVP!)*Inspirational quote: “A lot of people don’t like a lot of people.”*The Shohei Ohtani of Despond*Are we allowed to have distractions in 2018?*How little we know (Jose Bautista version)*Tales of PECOTA and how to say “FRAA”*Goodbyes.

Steve flies solo in an attenuated episode this week which focuses on current events that take place outside of baseball but find their echoes within in it.

WARNING: A disgusting racial epithet concerning African Americans is quoted in the course of this episode in the telling of a historical incident

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The most evil man in baseball history*The black dog and “I Am So Proud”*When they slandered Rickey Henderson*Hunter Strickland and Doyle Alexander*“Give us a little ‘Lambeth Walk’”*The real Jake Powell story and the fake Jake Powell story*Goodbyes.

Eric Stephen (True Blue LA) returns to explain the strange odyssey of the 2018 Dodgers, plus this year’s Orioles versus your great-grandfather’s Browns, bad fan behavior in 1970s Pittsburgh, and a Yankees tugboat not delivered.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Pirates keep the nickel*The Schleuter-ization of the Orioles*Billy Martin’s tugboat*Eric Stephen: The Dodgers’ child does not resemble the parents*An entire rotation on the DL*Prophetic words from 1973*Dave Roberts’ approach*Cody Bellinger’s slump and recovery*Great postseason slumps*Missing on Dave Winfield and Adrian Beltre*Can you count on a Clayton Kershaw comeback?*The Ross Stripling miracle*The Charles Hudson baseball card reverie*Fear Factor: Baseball*A note on Daniel Descalso*The amazing Max Muncy*The Dodgers and second base at the trading deadline*Whither Alex Verdugo?*The Joc Pederson dilemma*The Matt Kemp renaissance*The power of planning ahead in journalism*Dodgers postseason odds*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?

Cliff Corcoran (The Athletic) returns to talk baseball, and then is joined by film critic Scott Tobias (The Next Picture Show podcast) to talk about “Solo,” the Star Wars and Marvel franchises, and the curse of the summer movie season. Prior, Steve has two stories of Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst, plus a protest of sorts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Stan Musial’s kid and mine*Popeye thoughts*Red Shoendienst, Stan Musial, and Trader Frank Lane*Cliff Corcoran: The Montgomery Biscuits cap et al*The integration of the Philadelphia Phillies*Clayton Kershaw in Decline/The Dodgers at .500*The Matt Kemp revival*Scott Tobias: “Solo” and early Star Wars relationships*“Godfather II” references*This is a cynical character?*Disney as franchise-keeper*Anti-auterism*Edgar Wright fantasies*Irrelevant cameo*The “You’ve Got Mail” digression*The hardest time of year for a film critic*Coming attractions*Plugs for “Ricki and the Flash” and the “Mission Impossible” film series*Star Wars vs. Lovecraft*The Cinematography of “Solo”*Will J.J. Abrams undo it all?*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?

Rotation regular Jesse Spector rejoins Steve for a discussion that starts dark and soon gets silly, with Jesse fighting to the death to abolish the June amateur draft. Also features Steve stories on Hank Greenberg, Tyler O’Neill, and Long Tom Winsett.

TRIGGER WARNING: In the Hank Greenberg segment, Greenberg himself is quoted describing anti-Semitic slurs to which he was subjected. There is also a cussword embedded in a quote early on. Hide the children.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

With Great Winsett Power Comes Great Responsibility*Hank Greenberg Demands Respect*Jesse Spector: Hot spots and high school reunions*The Morbidity and Mortality section*How did we get breaking news before the internet?*How many Frans are on the Padres?*Should baseball draft picks be tradeable?*The Albert Pujols Contract*The Stouffer’s example*Yankees drafts of the 2000s*Do the Reds have a plan?*Brackman and Culver*More on tradeable picks*An admittedly strange Delmon Young reference*Marveling over Miguel Andujar*The George Burns argument*The Dodgers will rise, Cleveland’s bullpen, and other 2018 quick hits*Elevator music?*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?

Deadspin’s David Roth returns like a periodic comet to discuss the joy of Shohei Ohtani, ripping old packs of baseball cards on camera, and debate the state of the baseball and the national anthem. Plus Steve Stories on Joe Cronin managing his way to a walk-off loss and early game-throwing pitcher Jim Devlin.

WARNING: As in all David Roth episodes, there is the occasional cussword. We contritely apologize.

THE INFINITE INNING ARCHIVE: All episodes available, popcorn extra.

THE INFINITE INNING FACEBOOK GROUP: Socialize with like-minded people!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Joe Cronin’s Bad Day: An Inquiry Into Values*The Devlinification of Everything*David Roth:  Provocative ad content*The “Let’s Remember Some Guys” show (1981 Fleer Cards and prog rock)*The days before instant gratification*MLB nonchalants the balls*The greying of the Mets*Illegitimate oldies tours*Suspiciously active blobs of mozzarella*Sports and the National Anthem (A Fantasia on a Theme)*The Wonderful, Wonderful World of Shohei Ohtani (You Don’t Comp Pedro)*Goodbyes.

Steve is joined by former major league manager Davey Johnson to discuss his life and adventures as described in his new autobiography, Davey Johnson: My Wild Ride in Baseball and Beyond. This week’s tales include taking the permanent exit from a Babe Ruth-era Yankees game and a Johnson-inspired story of an Orioles no-hitter gone wrong.

THE INFINITE INNING FACEBOOK GROUP can be found here.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ruthian Fatality*Barber’d and Bauer’d*Davey Johnson: HoJo at short*Hank Bauer*Earl Weaver, batting Mark Belanger second, and small samples*How much pressure are managers under?*Support Our Scholars*Marge Schott for Marriage!*Self-Confidence*Dwight Gooden and Bryce Harper*Managing the clubhouse*The Juan Samuel-Lenny Dykstra trade and who let the dogs out?*Maintaining success*The impossibility of saving Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry (and Kevin Mitchell deserves an apology)*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?

Steve is joined by Meg Rowley (Fangraphs, The Hardball Times) to discuss some unlikely Mariners success, including James Paxton’s no-hitter, defense-first first base prospects, and the batting-out-of-order rule. Plus SteveStories of the Singing Umpire and a continuation of last week’s discussion about Ty Cobb.

WARNING: Late in the show, there is a cussword uttered in regards to Chuck Knoblauch. It is a quote. More seriously, a racial epithet from a newspaper article printed in 1892 is spoken at approximately 30:07. TRIGGER WARNING: During this discussion of historic racism, there is some mention of sexual assault.

THE INFINITE INNING FACEBOOK GROUP can be found here.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lord Byron’s Umpire Follies*Cucumbers*Ty Cobb II*The James Paxton no-hitter/no-hitter ennui*Excitement is a positive*People who boo and people who don’t*The batting-out-of-order rule*Can the Mariners continue to contend?*Evan White, Keith Hernandez, and Ichiro’s decline*Rachael McDaniel’s “In the Sun”*Failing to extend the baseball bridge*Osuna-Schneiderman*Favorite spy movies*Goodbyes.