We explore what put the “Solon” in Sacramento, plus the Man of 1,000 Baseball Caps returns! We enjoy a visit with original Infinite Inning rotation member Cliff Corcoran for the usual wide-ranging discussion of hats and a variety of 2024 baseball topics!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is a Solon? *Cliff Corcoran: “I Prefer the Ones Without Guests”*Ghosting Guests and Baseball Cards*Jorge Posada vs. Yadier Molina*Rejection and Mike Scioscia*Distance and Objectivity*Brett Phillips: Athlete*Running ‘Em Out*Qualifying for the Marathon*19th Century Senators Toque Caps (Mike Easler/Cliff Johnson)*Authentic Browns Caps, Authentic Reds Caps*Upside-Down NY*The Astros Ride Again*SlumpyTeams ™*The White Sox Clean Out the Coaches’ Room*“Major League Coach”*The Giants*Gabe Kapler’s One Big Year*MVP: Judge vs. Witt*The DH Argument/Judge Finds the Ledge*Hard Scoreboards, Power Boxes, Drains, and Chicken-Wire Fences*Progress in Trout-Medicine*Wounded Mantle, Injured Maris*Rickey’s Hammies*Goodbyes.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman discusses 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?

Various reflections of the Orange Confidence Man extended universe, the 2024 White Sox, and other frauds, featuring an exploration of what happens when you knock the opposing pitcher out in the first, featuring visits with Babe Ruth, Jimmy Carter, and other legendarily temperamental figures.

  The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman discusses 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?

Tiny Bonham and William Shakespeare revisited, Steve Trout, Don Mattingly, 20-run losses, and dealing with loss.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman discusses 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 Goldstein (Baseball Prospectus) returns to talk Dodgers, diving for balls, and salary caps. Plus tales: A short shortstop fails to measure up and Roy Campanella asks the wrong team for a job.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tommy Macmillan and the Non-Magical Manger*Campy’s Plea to the Phillies*Craig Goldstein: Baseball is Everything it Touches*The Trea Turner: Time-Traveler?*Cool Papa Calls In/Joe DiMaggio Didn’t Dive*Seager vs. Turner?*Once More Unto Cody Bellinger*Betts to Second/Tatis to the Outfield*Goldstein on Sprint-Speed*Is the ‘Playoff Chase’ Over?*James and Chaim*The Orioles and ‘Competitive Balance’”*The Barstool Flirtation*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 returns to talk trading deadline and Olympic-mandated underwear worn as outwear. Plus tales: A player loses half of what he’s got below the waist and another loses everything, period, on two hellish plane-flights.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Schang!*Cool Papa Bell and Roy Parnell*Proper Comportment for Airline Passengers, 1935 and 2021*Cliff Corcoran: The Busiest Trading Deadline in History*The Trevor Story Story*Juan Samuel Tingles*Eugenio Suarez at Sea/Kyle Farmer at WAR*Women’s Olympic Beach Volleyball Uniforms*How Does Anyone Survive the Olympics?*What’s Up with the Rays?*No First Baseman to Boston/Schwarber vs. the Green Monster?*The When/As/If of Chris Sale*The Blue Jays Stay In*A Brief Look at the Phillies*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?

Jesse Spector returns to talk everything from Olympic softball to Australian-rules football with a great deal of trade deadline chatter in-between. Plus tales of a player whose bat-control skills got him punched in the face and some Negro Leaguers recall one time they struck back.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Twenty-Seven Foul Balls Equals One Punch*Revenge on Bobo*Jesse Spector: Olympic Ennui*Softball, Carl Mays, Dan Quisenberry*Watching for the Joy of It*Trade Deadline for the Unvaccinated/State of the Yankees*Joey Gallo for Another Year*Jason Derulo?*The Children are Awaiting on You All to Awaken and See*What if You Bring a Gun to a Genocide?*Kendall Graveman Revisited*“Too Much Analytics!”*The Interchangeable Rays*Back to the White Flag Trade*Amoral Drafting (Logan Mailloux) and Empathy*An Australian Grace Note*Goodbyes.

Warrior for the Underdog Sheryl Ring returns to discuss Trevor Bauer, the limits of consent, and why it’s so difficult to escape an abusive situation. Plus tales of a Yankees-Braves trade that nearly happened but didn’t and we look at the lessons of a shooting outside the Nationals game.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Roberto Kelly for Jeff Blauser*Shooting at the Nats Game*Sheryl Ring: Eviction Moratorium*Collapse in Florida*Trevor Bauer: Power and Control*It’s So Very Hard to Leave*On Consent*The Difference Between Sex and an MMA Match*Should the Yankees Trade at the Deadline?*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 returns to talk All-Star Game Ennui, Enjoyable MLB 2021 surprises and disappointments, Richard Donner’s “Superman,” and much more. Plus tales of bad knees and collapsing teams in both baseball and the larger world.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Mourning Ronald Acuna’s Knee and Other Things as Well*The Orioles, the Astros, and the Danger of Deferred Maintenance*Craig Calcaterra: “Swell” and “Superman: The Movie”*The All-Star Game Blahs*Are We Over Validation by Authority Figures?*The Rural Purge*When Good Teams Go Bad It’s Wonderful*The Giants, “The A-Team,” and a Team That Can’t Repeat*Aged Tigers*The 2021 Yankees*Kevin Maas Syndrome*Ruth Kapelis on Trevor Bauer*On Consent*What Kind of Person?*The Morals Clause*”The Goose 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?

David Roth returns to discuss the upcoming trading deadline, climate change, and Mets injury-setbacks that aren’t setbacks. Plus the Yankees’ disappointing season provokes a remembrance of George Steinbrenner’s cruelty and generosity and (TRIGGER WARNING) Trevor Bauer is discussed in the context of a great old baseball horror story.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Some of George Steinbrenner’s Greatest Hits*George Steinbrenner and the Vets’ Reunion at Yankee Stadium*Trevor Bauer and “Foul Play”*David Roth: “Cool”*A Brief Orson Welles Digression*The Great Sweating Players of Our Time*“It Sure Holds the Heat!”*Portland, ME Accents versus Delco, Baked Beans and Brown Bread*Vaccination is a Competitive Advantage*COVID and the College World Series*Anthony Rizzo, Jason Heyward and Unproductive Agency*The [Twins?] Vaccine Lottery*“The Italian Doctors”*Trade Value of the Unvaccinated*deGrom deDiagnosed*Travails of Francisco Lindor*Not Everyone Can Trade for Starling Marte*The Vogelbach Incident*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 returns to talk sticky stuff and celebrate the Negro Leagues, plus tales of players having catastrophic organ failure on the field and reacting to some of the game’s longest losing streaks.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
When Your Organs Fail Mid-Pitch and Other Digressions*Nazi Losing Streaks Never End (with the Arizona Diamondbacks)*Cliff Corcoran: No team in a sombrero*A “Bring It On” Reference on the Infinite Inning?*The Cheaters (Waiving the White Shirt)*There’s a Bathroom on the Right*Aaron Judge and Non-Incriminating Home-Road Splits*The Ethics of A.J. Hinch*Juneteenth, the Negro Leagues, and Baseball-Reference*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?

Jesse Spector returns to talk grip-enhanced cheating and “snack cakes,” plus tales of Satchel Paige under attack by a man imitating a pig and John McGraw hit below the belt.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Piersall, Paige, and the Walk-Off Grand Slam*The Church of B’Grobus*McGraw, Crossfire, and an Accusation*Jesse Spector: Hostess vs. Drakes*Gerrit Cole, Spider-Grip, Et Al*Jacob deGrom in the Age of the Inquisition*“Sticky Stuff is Central to Both”*The Disappointing Yankees*The Post-Farm System Era?*Rewind Johneshwy*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?

Mike Bates and Bill Parker (This Week in Baseball History) talk about the baseball stories you keep and a Twins team you might want to return to the store: Plus tales of unscarred players and damaged veterans meeting on a train, dairy-splashed homers, Lou Gehrig at Coney Island, and games called for wardrobe failures.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Braves Ashamed on the Train*Dairy Homer*Lou Gehrig Day Thoughts*The First Baseman Has No Pants, the Catcher Has No Shoes*Bates & Parker: Turn a Baseball Saying into a Pop Song*Avoiding the Obvious Story*How to Talk About Marty Bergen*Bill Bergen and the Shallow Talent Pool*The One You Take With You: Big Ed Delahanty*The Twins’ Collapse*The Byron Buxton Conundrum*Miguel Sano and Max Kepler*The Rob Refsnyder Revolution*All the Injuries*Twins Pitching: Worst in the Majors*Books on Low Shelves*Can the Twins Rebound?*What From Today Will Baseball Historians be Talking About in 20 Years?*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?

Eric Stephen returns to talk about the Dodgers’ up and down season and what it’s like to cover the team from inside a Zoom window. Plus tales: The most and least hits in a game put into perspective and the relationship between an intense third baseman and a crooner remembered.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
When You’re Cold, You’re Cold*The Ballad of Hoak and Corey*Eric Stephen: The Risk of Hot Takes*Post-COVID Back in the Ballpark*The Postgame Zoom Session*Depleted Dodgers Depth*Why Not David Price?/A Greg Cadaret Mention*Injuries, Injuries, Injuries and Massive Bullpens*Informational Deficiencies of Topps Cards/Brett Butler*The Magic of Max Muncy*Angels Culture*The Many Mysteries of Albert Pujols*Trevor Bauer in Blue*“Be More Like Trevor Bauer”*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?

A pitcher who only got one chance, an antisocial Hall of Famer who got many, and the one time he didn’t fight, the Max Kepler Ass-Ad (Lucky Larry) and Reggie for Panasonic, and the submarine pitcher killed by an aspect or two of the American Way.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman discusses 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 returns to talk ballpark villages, elevator test shafts, and Robert Culp: Guest-Star. Plus tales of relationships that went wrong or never happened with the sharp-tongued outfielder Bibb Falk and Reds relievers in the Summer of Love.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Bibb Falk Alone*McCool, Davidson, and a Gun*Craig Calcaterra: The Greatest American Hero, Bob Culp, and “Columbo”*The Low Maturity Level of Old-Time Television*The Oakland Coliseum Site Dismissed*The MGM Analogy*An Island in Oakland (or Vice-Versa)*Public Subsidies in Development*Food Deserts and Ballpark Villages*The Germania Test Shaft*The McDonald’s Analogy*Why Are the Pirates?*The Disney World Ratio*Is it a Flat Season?*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?

Frank Guridy discusses THE SPORTS REVOLUTION: HOW TEXAS CHANGED THE CULTURE OF AMERICAN ATHLETICS. The arrival of the Texas Rangers, the rise of the Astrodome, the origins of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and much more! Plus tales: An outfielder participates in a rundown but doesn’t run into a tree, and a true bigot is inspired to great heights of rhetoric by a stolen base.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Don’t Die on Third!*Hi Myers and the Well-Placed Tree*Frank Guridy: Racist Rangers?*The White Sox Break the Color Line*The Texas Sports Revolution*The Cheap Cowboys*Loving the Astrodome*Carpetbaggin’ Bob Short*Darrell Royal, Pro-Segregation Coach*Texas in the Civil Rights Era*Welcome to the Dallas Cowboys, Cheerleaders*The Wink*Academic Job Losses in the Pandemic*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?

Amanda Smith (Disaster Girls podcast, Le Renard Argente) returns to cope with the pandemic, discuss emotional distance in disaster films, dating while living a public life, and the Dodgers’ up-and-down start. Plus tales: The Braves stake a hat on a pair of rookie outfielders and a third baseman for not being famous tells a story of his own.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Schulmerich, Worthington, and Seize the Day*Harry Eisenstadt’s Sand Crab Yarn (and Roman Quinn Too)*Amanda Smith: Transition to Unemployment*Introverts, Extroverts, and the Pandemic*Flamingo Evolution*The Really Crafty Cows*Human-Neanderthal Relations*Maneating-Tiger Movie*Insomnia Cure: STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE*Lambert the Sheepish Queen Singer*ELEPHANT WALK*Why Are Disaster Films Cathartic?*Not Engaging with CONTAGION during a pandemic*Korean Baseball Knows How to Have Fun*“Young Lady Looking for Self-Expression”* “Stupid and Hilarious” in Dating*Are You Over Kenley Jansen?*Ballplayers and Writers Age Quickly*Deep Thoughts with Cody Bellinger*No One Applauds the Los Angeles Sunset*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 Cycle newsletter) returns to run down the state of the early season, plus tales: Death stalks the Polo Grounds and Gallen and Bumgarner meet Dizzy and Paul.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Multiple Fatalities at the Polo Grounds*Dizzy but Not Daffy*Cliff Corcoran: Rougned Odor and the Yankees*Low Offensive Levels/The Strikeout Rate*A Strikeout Was Just Another Out*How We Watch Now*Fix Baseball (No Forks)*Dodgers v. Padres*Dodgers Depth-Magic*Padres Appreciation Society*Joba Chamberlain/Dinelson Lamet*Lightning Round: Is It Real? Red Sox*Royals*A’s*Mariners*Mets*Phillies*Brewers*Giants*Buster Posey for 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?

David Roth returns to talk baseball and social responsibility during our still-ongoing pandemic. Plus tales: Pee Wee Reese undeflected and Casey Stengel taunts a cross-eyed pitcher (and throws up his breakfast).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pee Wee Reese’s Journey*Casey and the 1922 Tour of Japan*David Roth: Owning a Zamboni*Baseball-is-Back Euphoria*Pow! Bullpen Management*The Clubhouse 15 Percent Has the 85 Percent Hostage*Tailgating Analogy*Andrelton Simmons Will Not Explain Himself*Super-Aggrieved on Social*Immediate Feedback*The Michael Conforto Game*It’s Not Yet Real (Salvador Perez Fluke Stats)*Nimmo Revelations*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?

Luke Epplin, author of OUR TEAM: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series that Changed Baseball, talks about three key players and one owner who made the 1948 Cleveland team the unique creation it was. Plus tales: No-hitters don’t influence the future and a Casey Stengel rule is applied to Domingo German.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Joe Musgrove, No-Hitters, and Fate*Mike Marshall, Casey Stengel, Domingo German*Luke Epplin: Why 1948?*The Browns and Eddie Gaedel Project*Veeck, Paige, Doby, and Feller*Veeck’s Highs and Lows*Veeck’s Leg*Veeck on the Make (Steve Cohen)*Feller and Paige in Their Times*Feller’s Racial Blinders*When Feller Intentionally Pitched His Arm Off*Finding Larry Doby*Doby and Segregation*Bill McKechnie Cameo*The First Fine Careless Rapture*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?

Andrew Maraniss, author of Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke, discusses the abuse heaped on the majors’ first openly gay player. Plus tales of a Pacific Coast League trainer who was singled out in a different way, plus two murders and Major League Baseball’s moving the All-Star Game out of Georgia.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Fate Hunts a Trainer*MLB and Voting While Black in Georgia*Andrew Maraniss: Sports, Social Justice, and Perry Wallace*Glenn Burke: No Resolution*Bad Timing*What Does Who You Sleep With Have to Do With How You Can Hit?*What if Burke Had Been a Better Player?*Burke: Oppositional and Beloved*The Second High Five*Burke vs. Lasorda*Burke the Athlete*Glenn and Spunky*Al Campanis: It Wasn’t Just “Nightline”*Burke, Billy Martin, and the Dying A’s*Did Baseball Do Enough to Help?*Dusty Baker: Great Guy*“Owing”*Have the Dodgers Changed? A Possible Example*Coming Attractions: Inaugural Ballers*Lenn Sakata Mention Alert*Goodbyes.

("Ambience, Night Wildlife, A.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) 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?

Jesse Spector returns for a super-sized episode! The third annual Infinite Inning Opening Day song! Ted Williams says never let anyone change your swing! Is Miguel Andujar doing this old-time Dodger’s career swan dive? Will the 2021 Tigers be more fun to watch than the 2021 Red Sox? These and other questions await within!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, the Bad Science Teacher, and the Ordeal of Self-Determination*The Third Annual Infinite Inning Opening Day Song: Champions of the Heart*Miguel Andujar and Billy Grabarkewitz*Jesse Spector: Beards and Haircuts*Violins for Cleveland*Sunderland/Red Sox*How Long Will Mets Ownership Be Hot To Trot?*Colorado Rockies Dysfunction*The Ian Desmond Follies*The Yankees After 2003*A Full Season of Devil Williams and Other Delights*Dead as a Doornail Teams*Goodbyes*Encore: Opening Day Songs 2019 and 2020, The American Game and Opening Day.

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 returns to discuss his new book “The Giants and Their City: Major League Baseball in San Francisco, 1976-1992,” a tome redolent with cold Candlestick nights and hot Crazy Crab days. Plus tales: Casey Stengel uses some overly esoteric signs, rookies have short-lived breakouts, and more.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Blinking Lights and Spitting Signs*Harl! The Musical*Lincoln Mitchell: Why the Giants So Bad Between Willie Mays and Barry Bonds?*How a Farm System Dies*Will Clark and Robbie Thompson Arrive*Vida Blue vs. Cruel Fate*Can the Bay Area Support Two Teams?*Why Did Four Ballpark Ballot Initiatives Fail?*And Then the Earthquake*Fay Vincent Tries to Make Things Worse*Al Rosen and Kevin Mitchell*What If: The Tampa Bay Giants?*The Counterintuitive Crazy Crab*Summer at Candlestick Park Was Winter Everywhere Else*What if the Giants Had Moved?*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 Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus returns to discuss Baseball Prospectus 2021, highlight some of the best comments, and debate the best approach to writing about players: Plus tales: Did Duster Mails do in one season what other players do in 20? And should a manager be fired for being too blunt with the boss? The Cubs did it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Duster Mails: All-Time Great in One Season*Manager Fired for Candor*Craig Goldstein: The 26th or the 28th Annual*BP in the Pandemic*Sticking to Sports During the Plague*The Baseball Prospectus Annual*The Seranthony Dominguez and Evan Marshall Comments*Songs from “The Simpsons” and Other Changes*The Dodgers Won (Will There Ever Be Another Party?)*When Your Team is Too Late to Win*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?

Due to a case of Covid, we have a mini-episode this week in which the pandemic is ruminated upon and a catcher of ancient days bungles the dismount. 

Matthew Trueblood (Baseball Prospectus, Penning Bull newsletter) talks about the Twins, the Mariners, disparate batting styles, and using the Cubs as a self-diagnostic. Plus Rogers Hornsby is mean to Duster Mails and Duster Mails is mean to himself.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
When Cruelty was the Point for Rogers Hornsby*Don’t Run Yourself Down, Duster Mails*Matthew Trueblood: Taking Notice of Player Quirks*Tim Anderson and Non-Conformity*Constructing Trevor Bauer*Willie Wilson as Object Lesson and Why Banjo Hitters Can No Longer Play*The Sammy Sosa: Persona Non-Grata*Power Rankings in the Winter*Kevin Mather-Induced Disillusionment*Should the Cubs Extend Javier Baez?*Lone Ranger Trivia*Luis Arraez and His Knees*Schwarber vs. Pederson*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 returns to talk some actual my-first-baseman-is-better-than-yours with regards to the AL East, free agent Jackie Bradley, Jr, and Juan Soto’s defensive capabilities. Plus, ex-Mariner Kevin Mather steps in it and the Herculex Body Battery cures all!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Herculex Body Battery Sees All, Cures All*Pie in the Sky When You Die in Seattle*Cliff Corcoran: The comprehensive Cycle*Spencer Torkelson’s Freshman Dorm Moment*“Don’t Know How to Smile,” Starring Charlie Morton*What if the Phillies Didn’t Try to Fix Their Bullpen?*Will the Nationals be Competitive*Juan Soto’s Glove*How to Value Jackie Bradley, Jr.*Bret Gardner vs. Aaron Hicks vs. Bradley*A Glance Towards Kevin Mathers*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?

Solo-mini-diet episode in which there are stories of people getting hit, both in the sort of fun baseball way and also the sad other kind. Also, a look at San Diego Padres scolds.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Art Fletcher, Oil-Man (Not that Kind)*The Price of Ice in Pittsburgh*Odubel Herrera/Joe Giradi/Sherry Magee*Let Fernando Tatis, Jr Play (For What He’s Worth)!*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 (Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball, and Paths to Glory: How Great Teams Got That Way, SABR Board President) talks about the Hall of Fame shortstop, MLB’s retroactive changes to the Negro League’s standing, and great baseball history books. Plus tales of Lou Gehrig, Eleanor Gehrig, and milkfat.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Eleanor’s Bracelet and Ival’s Two Pounds of Butter*Eleanor Gehrig Alone*Mark Armour: The SABR Bio Project*The Missing Biographies*Why Joe Cronin?*A Portly Shortstop on His Knees*Segregation Apologist*Cronin Was in the Mainstream*The Revised Status of the Negro Leagues*What’s It Like Being on the SABR Board?*The Greying of SABR*The Greatest Baseball History Books/Bill James’ Strengths*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?

Kevin Goldstein returns! Plus, tales of a pitcher who shouldn’t and Lou Gehrig: Great American.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Day in the Life of the Zion Hill… Billies*Lou Gehrig Knew*Kevin Goldstein: The best restaurants in San Pedro de Macoris*The Moment You Found Out*Carlos Correa Claps Back*The Email*The Best Way to Understand What the Rockies Are Doing*Billion-Dollar Franchises*Racism in the Dominican Republic*Evaluating Teenage Players in the Dominican*“These Kids Are My Heroes”*Make-Up Digs*Evil Platoon Left Fielder*Tools Players and Short Guys*Personal Cheeseballs*Goodbyes.

WARNING: There are a few cusswords in this episode. Shelter your parrot lest he be corrupted.

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?

Will Leitch returns to deflate the hero narrative in sports. Plus tales: Phil Niekro is prematurely dismissed and Home Run Baker runs all the way home.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Phil Niekro and Positive Uncertainty*Home Run Baker Goes Home (Then Goes Home Again)*Will Leitch: Family Man*Not Judging the Pandemic Risk-Takers*History Has Its Eyes on Tom Verducci*Clemens and Bonds Retconned*Henry Aaron “Ignored” Racism/The Sanctification of Aaron*A Convention in Cleveland/Escapism*The Wrong “Grierson & Leitch” Episode*“The Great Waltz”*How Lucky*Gilkey, Lankford, and Brian Jordan*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 talk about the Lindor trade, wet presidents, Bip Roberts, and the odor of old cigarettes. Plus Don Sutton doesn’t quite get caught, the Cardinals make a really bad hire, 1970s version, and reflections on Henry Aaron.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Doug Harvey Makes a Bad Call on Don Sutton But Derives the Right Lesson*Henry Aaron, Briefly*The Rapp Experiment in St. Louis*David Roth: Cigarettes Covered in Butter*Jim Leyland in the Dugout/Smokers at the Diner/Masks at Walmart*A Bip Roberts Mention?/Angry Before Breakfast*Bip Roberts : Joe Biden*Millard Fillmore’s Last Words*Living in Orson Welles’ New Jersey*Friends Don’t Tell Friends About the 1982 Mets*Bruce Bochy/Bruce Bochte Confusion*The Mets Do the Right Thing (and the Astros Did Not)*Wet Ex-President/Wet Ex-Astros*Sociopathy Cannot Be a Universal Value*Starving the Minor Leagues, Starving the People*The Downside of Competitive Imbalance*Forgot Joey Lucchesi and Other Mets Pitchers*“Mortgaging the Future”*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 returns to remember Phil Niekro and Tommy Lasorda, discuss disappointing offseason moves in Cleveland and Chicago, and debate the best way to paint old ballplayers. Plus tales of a president on horseback and a first baseman blocked by Pete Rose.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
How’s the Mule?*Don’t Inhale in the Clubhouse*Cliff Corcoran: Negro Leagues Baseball Cards*Strata of Players*Against Photo-Realistic Painting?*Gustave Courbet’s Female Genitalia and Norman Rockwell’s Nixon*Realism in Walter Johnson Undergarments*A Newsletter is Born*Cleveland By Any Other Name (Spiders Memories)*Cy Young’s Waistline*Reviling the Francisco Lindor Trade*The Outfielder-less Cleveland Club*Willing Suspension of Disbelief: Cleveland*Premature Pennant Peak/Do the Cubs Have an Excuse?*On Phil Niekro*Polka Party!*On Tommy Lasorda*Little Angry Men*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?

Jesse Spector returns to mourn the events of January 6 and talk a little baseball as well. Plus relevant tales: Casey Stengel starts a riot and the Francisco Lindor trade is compared to a national-scale bait and switch.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Why Casey was Suspended*Day of the Locust*Jesse Spector: Just Another Day in Democracy*The Space Shuttle Disaster and Tom Green Movies as Pandemic Masks and a Gateway to QAnon*Office Hot Tub and Working From Home*Explaining Trump to Kids/Civics Class/Sore Loser at “Candyland”*Athletes of Color Note the Contradiction/The Baseballness of Everything*Rickey and Robinson*Racists in the Stands*Jesse Gets Letters*The Antifa Who Was Thursday*What is the Job of Sports Media on the Worst Day in American History?*Oblique References to a Certain Pitcher*The Cold Stove League/DH or No DH?*The Mike Easler Trade*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?

A special New Year’s episode features tales of something gaining on an umpire during a World Series game and relates the strangely happy last moments of Wee Willie Keeler, with some stops along the way.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abner Dalrymple Remembers*A Question for the Leadership*Wee Willie Keeler Greets the New Year and Then Departs*New Year's Wishes*Instrumental 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?

A cluster of insanity among 19th century players with Louisville, starring a Gladiator and a Chicken, with resonance to the present day. Plus we visit a forgotten MVP-level season authored by Silent George Stone, pause for  a what-if moment with Whitey Herzog as Rockies manager, and so much more.

Gibberish by Timbre, Metrostock99, JohnLaVine333, Vtrmrll, Djgriffin, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Casual Observer. Bell by Nlux.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman discusses 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?

A special holiday episode features a possibly-fictional tale of Babe Ruth’s moment of reckoning after the difficult, out-of-control season of 1922, plus notes on herd immunity featuring Gee Walker, Max West, and Casey Stengel.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Mississippi Field Recordings*Dr. Alexander’s Prescription*A Quick Look at Gee Walker Hurting Himself, Max West Getting Hurt, And Casey Stengel’s Prescription For Speed As Ways Of Ending The Pandemic*The Last Temptation of Babe Ruth: A Story in Three Acts*Act I*Act II*Act III*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?

Dan Szymborski (FanGraphs, ZiPs) returns to talk 2021 projections, mock the Rockies, and speculate about Norwegian cheeses. Plus tales: Lefty Gove has some earned sarcasm and a second baseman named Pep strikes out (a lot).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lefty Grove’s Snappy Answers to Stupid Comments*A Note on the Passing Dick Allen*Personal Note: A Death in the Family/Your Rights vs. Mine*Lem-Pep and the Five Ks*Dan Szymborski: ZiPS, the Actuarial Tables, and the Old Ty Cobb Joke*The Question No One Asked Wade Boggs*Those Vexing Rockies*The Inevitable Ian Desmond First Guess (Luke Voit, Thick First Baseman)*OBP in a Hitter’s Park*The Dahl Non-Tender/If the Rockies Had Randy Arozarena*Maikel Franco’s ZiPs Comps and Other Non-Indicators of Destiny*The Archetype of the Quad-A Catcher*The Ted Williams Comp*All Great Players Are Different*Doug Newstrom? Ron Coomer?*Ronald Acuna and Jose Canseco*Editors/“Braveheart” and Unforced Errors in Historical Fiction*Too-Granular Questions About Projections*Will Smith (The Catcher) Projections and Willful Changes to Playing Style*2021 Error Bars*FanGraphs Health Check*Against Cincinnati Chili*Cheeses*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?

Mike Ferrin (MLB Network Radio, Arizona Diamondbacks, Everything is Broken podcast) returns to talk the art of broadcasting in a pandemic, plus tales of a stranger ballpark and an unusual incentive and a pitcher is tortured for mysterious reasons.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Phillies’ Barrel of Biloxi Shrimp*Bill Terry Tortures a Pitcher*Mike Ferin: Love and Guilt*Red vs. Blue and Stats vs. Scouts*Nobody Loves Bunting More Than Announcers Do*The Blake Snell Overkill*“After Year of Brewers Financial Losses”*Flashback to Spring Training*Building Trust at the Ballpark*Hypothetical Bad Burrito*Broadcasting For a Bad Team/Making it Fun*Has D’Backs Spending Matched the Market?*Beware Small Samples, Part 1,933*A Brief, Frivolous Star Wars Moment*Not Just Showing Up to Cash a Check (Dylan and Berry)*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 Simon, co-author of the Bill James Handbook 2020 talks stats, projections, the Hall of Fame, and the new Mets ownership. Plus tales: Both the Roman Empire and the Cardinals Empire falls and Kim Ng vs. Jay Kirke.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Kim Ng, Jay Kirke: The Patriarchy Was Inhuman*Wally Berger vs. Mike Trout*The Cardinals Dynasty Falls*Mark Simon: Rookies of the Year (Luis Robert vs. Kyle Lewis)*Fielding Awards in a Small-Sample Season*Bill James’ New Batter Game Scores*No One Knows How Many Editions of the Bill James Handbook There Have Been*A Teddy Bear of a Book*Missing OPS+ and WAR vs. Win Shares*The Private Bill James*Bill and Mark on Hall of Fame Standards/Progress and a Call-Back to the Keltner Test*Jack Morris’s Strat Card*The 70s Yankees Missing from the Hall of Fame*Willie Randolph and Dale Murphy: It’s Better If You Die*2021 Projections: Randy Arozarena, Jazz Chisholm, Georgia, Pennsylvania*
Welcoming Steve Cohen*Turning Over the Front Office*A Brief Pujols Complaint*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?

Grant Brisbee returns to discuss Justin Turner, the championship afterglow, spoonerized baseball names, and more. Plus an election reaction, 12 quick tales of players, Saturday morning reminisces, and the happy story of a Hall of Fame manager.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Election Reaction/Twelve Sources of Baseball Distraction*Top 10 Presidential Failures*The Peace of McCarthy*Grant Brisbee: Baseball Spoonerisms*The Justin Turner Asterisk*Money and Depth*The Decline of the RSN*How Long Does the Championship High Last?*Rare Metaphor Helmet*The Giants: A Tough Year for the Gotts*Welcoming Alyssa Nakken*The Mike Yastrzemski Miracle and the Weird Giants Anti-Outfielder Machine*From SB Nation to The Athletic*Will the Giants Rebuild?*The Return of Buster Posey*Goodbyes.

WARNING: A single profanity regarding illegal/immoral acts with goats. Hide the goats.

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?

Scott Lemieux returns to talk about the presidential election, reforming the Supreme Court, the greatness of Joe Morgan, and the controversial usage of Whitey Ford. Plus: Tales of Pittsburgh Pirates teams (and local banana factories) gone wrong.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Pittsburgh Banana Company Has a Bad Day*Babe Adams Gives His Answer*Scott Lemieux: Traditions vs. Rules*“Originalism”/“Court-Packing”*Bipartisanship is Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose*Infinite Supreme Court*Non-Delegation Doctrine*Breaking the Feedback Loop*The Marketplace of Ideas*Truth and Reconciliation*The Lost Hall of Famers of 2020 and Joe Morgan*Casey Stengel and Whitey Ford*The 1960 World Series Revisited*Time for a Backyard Bunker?*Goodbyes.

WARNING: There are one or two cusswords herein. Your dog will not be corrupted if it overhears.
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 sale of the Mets, postseason aesthetics, and the launch of The Defector. Plus a Reds outfielder with way too much swing and miss in his game, Rogers Hornsby’s time versus Joe Morgan’s, and how a failed White Sox rebuild relates to both.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Rolando’s Room*Joe Morgan in His Time/Johnny Evers Loses a Job*David Roth: America’s Boyfriend Meets Bob Mould*Concertgoing*“Never Talking to You”*Live Reads*The Mets are Sold*Working for “Albert”*Going Out a “Winner”*Jacob deGrom vs. Craig Swan*Dodging the A-Rod Bullet*In the Best Interests of Baseball*Mystifying the Obvious (Election Talk)*Turning Off That Voice*Why We Needed Domestic Propaganda Posters in WWII*Laser-Focused on the Present *“But Her Emails”*Presidents on Speed*The Aesthetics of the 2020 Playoffs*Were the Yankees the Good Guys? Are the Rays Steely Dan?*Launching Defector*”The Office” Cliché*Goodbyes.

WARNING: As with most Roth episodes, there’s some extra-cussin’. Spare the children!
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?

A rare solo episode features 3.5 tales of brawls, zoos, and recently-departed greats of the game, plus a brief explanation of why mask-wearing is controversial.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Babe Ruth Has a Cold*Notes/ Jay Johnstone/China’s Fault*Bob Feller Gave Names to All the Animals*A Home Run in Boston (Casey Stengel Rides Again)*Bob Gibson vs. Tom Seaver*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 returns to discuss “the newsletter lifestyle,” review the 2020 “season,” and explain the banality of meh. Plus: Tales of Casey Stengel shopping, Connie Mack building fences, and a Cubs shortstop provokes a theory of depression and elation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Casey Stengel Buys a Tie*Ballparks Go Condo and the Shibe Park Spite Fence*Broadway Bill (Absolutely Bill’s Mood)*Craig Calcaterra: The Newsletter Lifestyle*People Won’t Hate-Pay*Cat Content in the Newsletter and Groin Pulls*The Blogosphere Without the Bad Parts*Getty Images A La Carte*Role to Resist/Saving Throw*The 2020 MLB “Episode” in Retrospect*The San Diego Padres and Real Estate Porn*Wall to Wall Cussin’*Trading Fernando Tatis Due to a Downturn in the Rental Market*Mike Ferrin’s Rule of Perception*The Banality of Meh*The 1000 Deaths of the Pittsburgh Pirates*You Won’t Know When Things Go Bad*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 returns to try to figure out who deserves which awards out of this crazy attenuated season in a disaster of a year, plus tales of players and people neglected in their post-career years and a requiem for the lost pennant races of the future.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Man in the Green Uniform*Ron Gardenhire*1980 in the AL East*Cliff Corcoran: Negro Leagues Caps*Inconclusion, the Negro Leagues, the All-American Girls*No Astros Caps*Gilmour Field at the Movies (“Bodyguard”) and “Bimbo” Cartoons*Arte Moreno Gets His Way in Anaheim/The Yankee Stadium*Awards Watch*Fluke Seasons of 2020*Qualified Regulars Under .200*Mike Yastrzemski*Mike Trout in the Field*Abreu vs. Anderson*Awards and Narrative*”The Willem Dafoe Most Valuable Veteran Award*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?

For very personal but with luck very premature reasons, we ask whether the great Giants manager John McGraw ever made peace with his father and explore the confused timeline of his passing before briefly discussing a badly failed prospect from the extremely early Yankees, with stops along the way.

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman discusses 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?

Jesse Spector returns to debate which players are overrated and remember Tom Seaver, plus Big Ed Walsh fails to parent and Ed Whitson is betrayed by Yankees fans.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Big Ed’s Kids*Failing Ed Whitson*Jesse Spector: Tom Seaver: The Yankees Years*The Serious Seaver*Aroldis Chapman vs. the Rays*Twitter Homerism*“J. Guerra”*Mike Clevinger: Persona Non Grata*Most Overrated Players*“Jeter Wouldn’t Have Had That”*Is Yadier Molina a Hall of Famer?*Andy Pettitte Career vs. Peak*Still More Yadier (and Ted Simmons’ Worst Year)*“Specious is the Wrong Word”*Bo Knows Overrated*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?

Ginny Searle (Baseball Prospectus) discusses the aftermath of the Thom Brenneman slur and gives a scholar’s insight into Shakespeare. Plus racially-motivated violence in the Negro Leagues and the PCL, with a voyage into one of the great nicknames.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Consequences of Being Boojum Wilson*A Fight in Oakland: “Here’s My Chance”*Ginny Searle: What Can Be Done to Make Baseball a More Welcoming Space for LGBT People?*“I Wouldn’t Say It’s a Lifestyle, I’d Say It’s My Life”*Empathy*Is Jackie Robinson an Inapt Comparison?*Why is Homophobia the Last Socially-Acceptable Prejudice?*There’s More Than One Way to Be Male or Female*That Kissing Scene in Ball Four*“Love and Theft”*What Has Been Good About the 2020 Season?*Fake Crowd Noise*Shakespeare Can Make You Feel Dumb*The Most Confusing Sentence in Shakespeare*Editing Mistakes and Jo Adell in Right*Some Old Texas Rangers Who Didn’t Quite Work Out*Midlife-Crisis Sonnets?*Shakespeare Wants to Have Your Babies (or Vice-Versa)*“Who Gets to Speak?”*“Romeo + Juliet?”*Is There Hope for Understanding?*Goodybyes.

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?

A look back at Tom Seaver stories we have told over the years on the occasion of the great man’s passing.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Rest in Peace Number 41*From Episode 23: Tom Seaver’s Prayer for Peace*Tom Seaver at Twilight*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?