The Infinite Inning

Steven is joined by historian Mary Craig (Baseball Prospectus, Beyond the Box Score) to discuss the intersection of sports and politics as we see it and/or refuse to see it today. Along the way, Herbert Hoover doesn’t meet Babe Ruth and Tom Seaver crosses into John Lennon territory.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

War is over if Tom Seaver wants it*Herbert Hoover goes to a ballgame*Mary Craig: John Locke was such a racist (and Martin Heidegger was a Nazi)*Days of Taking a Knee and the Myth of Baseball’s Depoliticization*Baseball’s color line in context*Stick to sports?*Baseball and the National Anthem*Retroactive homogenization*Mr. Maddon goes to Washington*The difference between a team and a political figure*What does a Red Sox cap stand for?*Where do you draw the line  on accountability?*The younger generation*The intent of the Framers*How can you stick to sports when you’ve never stuck to sports?*The Joe Maddon mystique*Hannah Arendt and Thucydides show up; can Herodotus be far behind?*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?

Marc Normandin of SBNation.com joins Steve to talk postseason baseball, the Boston Red Sox, and the soap opera that is professional wrestling. We also have a more positive encounter with Mickey Cochrane and Phil Rizzuto in the Pacific.

WARNING: There is the odd cussword this week, but we omitted a potential anecdote about Rizzuto’s testicles so it’s all okay.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

More managerial wisdom from Mickey Cochrane*Phil Rizzuto’s war*Marc Normandin: Cheers vs. Frasier*An awkward beginning? (Podcasts, Marc Maron, GLOW)*In the land of professional wrestling*Marc reviews GLOW and Foxcatcher*Actor’s Studio: Dave Bautista vs. The Rock*The Othering*Has 2017 been a good baseball season?*Different opinions of what constitutes fun in October*Win 100 games, finish second*Rooting for a losing team in the playoffs*The San Francisco Giants: What?*The left-handedest Red Sox team since the 1950s*Rick Porcello and the juiced ball*The Doug Fister Moment*Chris Sale’s secret*Slumpy guys: Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts*Must criticize Eduardo Nunez*Standing desks and fainting*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?

David Roth returns to discuss the intersection of the NFL, MLB, and the joys of postseason baseball, plus tales of emotionally distressed catchers.

WARNING: There is the odd cussword this week, artistically deployed. It’s a David Roth episode.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

“What breaks a contender?” 1911 Edition*Black Mike’s Black Dog*David Roth: A friend of us all*Roth’s remembrance of 9/11*MLB, the NFL, and kabuki patriotism*Roth’s “Getting Used to” the NFL*When leagues tolerate bad franchises*Owners vs. players vs. empathy*Joe DiMaggio slurred in Life*Sports is not your safe space*The 2017 regular season vs. the 2017 playoffs*Jose Reyes, thin mint wafer*For 50 at-bats anyone can be great*Pat Borders, Al Weiss, Nelson Cruz, Cooke Lavagetto, Bill Bevens*Roth’s Ratio*There’s a sucker born every minute (on Twitter)*America is in a rebuilding season*Goodbyes.

Before Cliff Corcoran of Sports on Earth takes his regular spot in the rotation and turns the conversation to an extended fantasia about beluga whales and other zoo-going experiences, Steve is joined by MLB Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean. Also: How Walter Johnson was like incorrectly eating a Stroopwafel.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Walter Johnson vs. Stroopwafels*Billy Bean and Shred Hate*ZooTalk of the Infinite Inning *Is the 2017 baseball season anticlimactic?*The Twins revival*Has Byron Buxton turned the corner?*If Buxton was a 1980s Yankee*How long to great outfield defenders last?*One last check on the Royals*Lorenzo Cain, agent of destruction*And Carlos Santana, too*Teams waste the designated hitter*Why being a DH makes some players more valuable*The tragedy of David Wright*Wright and Mets retired numbers*David Wright among the great third basemen*Stan Hack for the Hall of Fame*National League MVP debate: The Hammer and the Banana*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?

Meg Rowley of Baseball Prospectus joins Steve to talk the Mariners, her Celebrating Women in Baseball event, and the sandals and possibly-vanished waterfowl of Seattle.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The puzzling Ruben Gomez-Joe Adcock confrontation*Rube Waddell down in the flood*Meg Rowley: Obligatory Game of Thrones discussion*Are there still ducks at the University of Washington?*Birkenstocks!*The Celebrating Women in Baseball Event*The “Not-Bunting” of Ballpark Promotions*The pink aspect and Lenny Dykstra’s pubes*Hourglass Appreciation Night*Not marketing to one aspect of fandom at the expense of another*Social media pushback against women (and little girls?) in baseball*On Pitch, Jackie Robinson, and the possibility of a female ballplayer*Hey, Theo Epstein!*A Salute to Rob Neyer*Is it hard to be objective when it comes to the Mariners?*The Erik Bedard trade*King Felix: The Declining Years and the Pride*Writerly influences*Second Sam Miller mention in two weeks*Bill James is underappreciated as a writer*A couple of grad school dropouts*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 mentions a rude body part three times! Jesse explains one thing the NHL gets right that baseball gets wrong, the Mets are once again dissed, how to cope with Aroldis Chapman is debated, as is the morality of Bartolo Colon, and Franklin Roosevelt’s braces, George Washington’s spectacles, John Beckwith’s rage, and Allie Reynolds’ bad back are explained.

WARNING: There is a brief discussion towards the end of the show about an adult film playing at a drive-in in 1974. Hilarity ensues.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

John Beckwith, the money-caressing jockey shorts guy, FDR, George Washington, and me* Please excuse Steven for being late/Allie Reynolds’ bad back*Jesse Spector: Praising Sam Miller/Damning ourselves*Jesse is a New Jersey Devils writer and Steve knows nothing about hockey*An intriguing tidbit about the Red Sox clubhouse*Standings and expanded playoffs*The Best Team of the Year Award (Would the Dodgers’ season be a failure if they don’t win the World Series?)*Regular Season depth vs. playoff capability*Are there too many off days in the playoffs?*Luis Tiant’s 1975 World Series*Postseason strategy isn’t wrong; it’s different*The randomness of the 1960 World Series*A game where bad decisions can be rewarded*The Bush-Gallo injury leads to an uncomfortable discussion*Do you have to bring up a player’s transgressions every time you mention them?*Blue Jays fans don’t like Jesse?*The Mets amass some coupons*Are the Mets bad at injury prevention?*Steven Matz’s injury is so secret it can’t be discussed*Wawa, Gilda Radner, and adult films at the Drive-In*Debating Cheers*Comparing childhood baseball injuries*Aroldis Chapman encore*Bartolo Colon’s double life*Derek Jeter, Baseball Operations Man*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?

This week, Steve is joined by Jim Leeke, author of From the Dugout to the Trenches: Baseball During the Great War, plus the usual preamble involving baseball and current events. Plus: An old song that sounds ominous!

Warning: There is one off-color word about 15 minutes into the show.

No one was replaced by Jackie Robinson*A few terrible, no good, very typical days*Jim Leeke: Baseball and “Preparedness” in 1917*The National League says no*Patriotism in a 1917 context*How World War II swamped the memory of World War I*Was the drilling of ballplayers naïve?*Clark Griffith’s war effort*Even bad people aren’t bad all the time*Why was the American League so eager to quit?*The “Work or Fight” order*Ban Johnson’s gaffe*The “Work or Fight Order” vs. the World War II “Green Light Letter”*The value of entertainment in wartime*The Steel/Steal League and Shoeless Joe Jackson*The mystery of Babe Ruth’s wartime activities*Hank Gowdy, American*An Eddie Grant Memorial*Christy Mathewson and Pete Alexander in the war*The unprecedented brutality of the First World War*The Angl0-American Baseball Project*Baseball in the land of total war*Goodbyes.

After discussions of a personal nature involving Carl Edwards, Jr., the 1912 New York Giants, and imposter syndrome, Steve is joined by Grant Brisbee of SB Nation’s McCovey Chronicles to talk about how the San Francisco Giants got to be so bad, what it’s like hosting a TV show in a down season, and the origins of the Marco Scutaro rainglobe.  

Warning: Two cusswords this week. We express deep contrition.

Table of Contents

Carl Edwards Jr. Imposter Syndrome*The 2017 Dodgers and the 1912 Giants*Grant Brisbee: How did the San Francisco Giants end up in last place? *The Giants’ last homegrown outfielder*Launching “Giants Outsiders” in a season in which the Giants are outside*Dramatizing a loss*The postgame show for the 1927 Yankees*Avoiding the turning-40 crisis*The 1997 Giants are responsible for everything*Meeting your idols*Making fun of Guy Fieri, not Rich Aurilia*Regretting saying something critical about Ken Rosenthal*Mid-career TV opportunity, the one that never knocks*Credibility*Staying a fan (Crying for Conor Gillaspie)*The Jaded, Disgruntled Sportswriters Club*Battling social media malaise*Has SB Nation’s mission changed?*The Marco Scutaro rainglobe story*Remaining the informed outsider*Denard Span’s wheels*Locked into Johnny Cueto and other vets*A middle finger for Brandon Belt*Final Jeopardy: Can current Giants management fix this?*Goodbyes. Dave Righetti and Hensley Meulens*

Cliff Corcoran of Sports on Earth returns to break down the action at the trading deadline, Steve discusses the sad fate of Porter Moss, the uplifting fate of Harry Heitmann, and the Phillies Phanatic makes a couple of very awkward appearances.

WARNING: There are no cusswords this week. Perhaps an adult-ish matter is discussed, but obliquely, with taste and discretion.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Porter Moss Story*The Worst Start Ever*Cliff Corcoran: The Furry Adventures Clippy Cormorant*Our condolences to Ketel Marte*How the trading deadline is like life*Baseball discourages complacency*The Twins’ illusory competitiveness (The Garcia trades)*Sympathy for the Royals*The Zack Littell riddle (Jurickson Profar, Maikel Franco, and more)*Tyler O’Neill for Marco Gonzalez*The Ballad of Lonny Frey*Do the Astros have enough pitching?*The Cubs’ deadline approach vs. the Astros’*Prospects traded at the deadline often disappoint*The Sonny Gray trade*The fate of Michael Pineda*The Yu Darvish trade*The best Dodgers team of all time?*The Justin Wilson-Alex Avila trade*The Nationals’ bullpen rebuild*Is the Brock-Brogilo trade still the best?*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?

Warning: There is a smattering of cusswords this week. Hiding the children should not be necessary unless they are very sheltered children.

In the opener, Steve talks about addiction and then details one of the origins of the non-waiver trade deadline.

Table of Contents

Darryl Strawberry, Steve Howe, and Tommy Lasorda*Whitey Witt, Jumping Joe Dugan, and the Magic Bottle*David Roth: The End of Vice Sports*Ken Rosenthal and the all-video future* “I can’t say that it’s right or wrong, I just know I can’t control it”*The relationships you forge in the workplace, and sometimes lose*David’s Mike Pelfrey T-shirt*Eighteen Plastic molded Baseball Guys*Losing your industry-leading collection of overweight ballplayer JPGs*Whitey Herzog vs. Bob Horner*The Pirates’ Handsome Boys *Donruss sends the All-Stars to Sears*Writing the back of the baseball card*Bob Walk’s rookie year*Would you believe we talked about Marty Bystrom?*Avant-garde decision-making in 1980s Cleveland*Zack Wheeler’s stress reaction and how bad teams create good teams*The Royals at the deadline one mo’ time*David’s elegy for Chris Christie and us all*Finding new ways to be excited (The Tao of Whit Merrifield)*Jayson Stark, eternal enthusiast*The cat in the baby carriage*Looking ahead to the stretch drive*Goodbyes.