You Want Speedier Games? Limit Pitching Changes—Part III
This is the third installment of a three-part series taking a look at baseball’s pace of play. See Part I and Part II. So, what can be done to address the problem? Some baseball people are urging that baseball institute a …
A Look Back at a Friday Night Baseball, 1961
It’s true, when I switch on a baseball game, I’m not only stepping outside the rhythms of everyday life, but there’s a feeling of safety and comfort, and I can almost feel my grandfather’s arm around my back as we …
Baseball History: When Batters Were Called Strikers
In The Washington Post online edition of 17 August 2018, there’s an article on a podcast entitled, The Long-Lost “Laws of Baseball.” It’s a thoroughly enjoyable 4:32 broadcast. I happened upon the podcast in one of my my daily journeys through The Post. …
There Was Joy in Mudville During the 1980s
Remember, there’s no joy in Mudville when the mighty Casey strikes out. The fans may even stop attending games if they’re robbed of their one-thousandth of a second of joyful glee when the ball’s smacked anywhere between the foul lines. …
The Game that Changed Baseball—Part III
This is the final installment of a three-part series. See Part I, Part II Writing in his baseball column the next day, Henry Chadwick gushed about the wildly entertaining game. He was not the only one. The New York Times …
Brandon Nimmo Loves Sabermetrics (and So Should You)
Let’s be honest, most fans have heard of sabermetrics but don’t understand all the gibberish. Perhaps because the word sabermetrics is mentioned on some baseball broadcasts and hardly mentioned on others, few broadcasters discuss how the advanced analytical concepts are …
The Game that Changed Baseball—Part II
This is the second installment of a three-part series. See Part I. Brooklyn took the field and quickly Cincinnati led 3-0, but a few poor fielding plays (remember there were no baseball gloves at that time, so players fielded balls …
“The Game” that Changed Baseball—Part I
The first important professional baseball game was not part of a World Series, or any series for that matter, it was one game played at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn, New York, on a warm June afternoon in 1870 between …
Memorable Baseball and the Not-So-Memorable 2018 Washington Nationals
The baseball season’s a mélange of games, some memorable, and some wonderfully forgettable. And then there are rainouts. There’s something magical about listening to baseballers during a rain delay. The long wait to resume. Maybe it’s the old agrarian pace …
The Poetry of Extra Innings Gone By
Extra Innings The answers only count at the end. The wiry lefty Hank Aguirre comes set. Delivers. It’s going, going, gone. Aguirre takes a season to watch the arc disappear into the stands. Now the numbers match. A runner lopes …
