Jesse Spector returns for a wide-ranging episode in which the question of length of game versus pace of play is explored and the MLB FoodFest is dissected with an eye towards finding the missing Rocky Mountain Oysters, and many a personal encounter of strange press box behavior is told. Plus, Steve opens with a tale of the least-supportive teammates ever and a shortstop whose moment passed at an age before most players have gotten started. TABLE OF CONTENTS Phenomenal Smith: With Friends Like Th...
Mar 16, 2018•1 hr 57 min
Howard Megdal (Wilpon’s Folly, The Cardinals Way, Summit Hoops, 50 States of Blue) joins Steve for a discussion of New York Mets finances, the way women’s sports is and isn’t covered, and his new political journal focused on providing political news that is now neglected by the major media organs. TABLE OF CONTENTS Hawkins, Herman, and defeat from the jaws of victory*June 7-8, 1950: Red Sox 49, Browns 8*Howard Megdal: A fundamental curiosity and the art of freelancing*Rejection*The Mets are not ...
Mar 10, 2018•1 hr 38 min
Cliff Corcoran parachutes in to save Steve from a scheduling mishap, taking on service-time issues, the New York Yankees’ amazing depth, and sundry other issues. Plus: Steve on taking a train trip into eternity and a super-fan who had to be put in his place by the player he loved. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Brickyard who Wasn’t a Brickyard, Forever Voyaging*The Ballad of Cookie and Jack*Spring training caps and other confusing haberdashery*Talking to your kids about the Parkland tragedy*Arm all the b...
Mar 02, 2018•1 hr 59 min
Baseball Prospectus writer Rachael McDaniel joins Steve to talk about surviving the offseason when baseball is your defense against time spent alone with yourself, plus Steve’s encounter with Chuck Knoblauch and twin tales of a great songwriter and a not-so-great pitcher from 1936. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chuck Knoblauch and the Chicken Française theory*Van Lingle Mungo and Larry Hart*Rachael McDaniel: Baseball Prospectus writer at 20*Baseball as a lens on experience and vice-versa*The Box*Finding bas...
Feb 23, 2018•1 hr 36 min
Rob Neyer, the Sage of Portland, joins Steve to preview his new book on the state of baseball, review some classic old ones, and dig into the art of writing for an audience of baseball fans and his controversial stance on the owners versus the players. TABLE OF CONTENTS McGraw, Chase, Porter*July 4, 1950 at the Polo Grounds*Rob Neyer: The Father of Us All*Alternative realities: Rob Neyer, pro roofer*The sabermetricians won*Has the low-hanging fruit been picked?*Writing vs. auditioning for a fron...
Feb 17, 2018•1 hr 59 min
Ben Lindbergh (The Ringer, Effectively Wild podcast) makes an emergency relief appearance when a guest bails, and he and Steve dissect a bleak winter landscape. WARNING: One cussword early on. We contritely apologize. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Turtle Who Was Hated By God*The Johnny Bassler interruption*Metacom and Wahoo*Ben Lindbergh: A podcast in baseball’s worst winter*What if Mike Trout is a woman?*Why buy tickets for the Reds (or anybody)?*Does Jarrod Dyson prove collusion?*Did Bud Selig break b...
Feb 12, 2018•1 hr 36 min
Cliff Corcoran returns to discuss the current scene, including Mark Appel’s break from baseball, the state of the Dodgers’ starting rotation, and gives an important pro-tip about how to adjust your microphone pack (not a metaphor). TABLE OF CONTENTS Farewell to Oscar Gamble*Reggie Jackson, Steve Chilcott, and Casey Stengel*Cliff Corcoran: Behind the scenes at the MLB Network*Surprised by Bill James on set*Insulting Ken Rosenthal over OPS*Mark Appel’s career time-out and TINSTAAPP*Are prospect li...
Feb 02, 2018•1 hr 35 min
Did anyone say stick to sports? Baseball’s slowest offseason collides with the national mood when Deadspin’s David Roth returns to break down a case of universal paralysis and, of course, supply his particular brand of Mets ennui. WARNING: As is typical of a David Roth episode, there is the occasional profanity. TABLE OF CONTENTS Wayne Garland and Mother-Love*Connie Mack and the Wilpons*David Roth: The thin line between Collusion and Cincinnati, OH*The fantasy of doing more with less*The McCourt...
Jan 26, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Steve is joined by Astros Special Assistant Kevin Goldstein to review the championship season and delve into the psychology of a title defense. Plus: Things fall from the sky on shortstops and the Red Sox shoot themselves in the foot. WARNING: There is one slight profanity in this episode. It quotes the President of the United States and is now in common usage in even the better publications. TABLE OF CONTENTS Smiting Woody Woodward* Deposing Dom DiMaggio*Kevin Goldstein: The winning moment*Mist...
Jan 19, 2018•1 hr 16 min
ESPN baseball analyst and ZiPS projections proprietor Dan Szymborski joins Steve to talk about the art of player projections, plus integration, an awkward moment at the doctor’s office, and World War II deflects Buddy Lewis from both the Hall of Fame and the game itself. TABLE OF CONTENTS A question of courage: Jackie Robinson, Vic Power, Elston Howard, Panglossian racism*What Buddy Lewis saw*Dan Szymborski: Projections of spring*“Deadly Accurate”*PECOTA PTSD*Advances in projection systems*Proje...
Jan 12, 2018•1 hr 33 min
Jesse Spector, recurring cohost/periodic comet, returns to break down the offseason, such as it is, plus we mourn the death of Rob Picciolo, the most impatient player ever, and consider how Red Ruffing’s global war might be like our own. WARNING: The F-word is deployed right at the outset of the Jesse segment. It’s clean before and after that. TABLE OF CONTENTS Rob Picciolo’s intentional walk*Red Ruffing’s war*A false start*Dave Winfield dreaming*Two things will happen 11 months from now*“pitche...
Jan 05, 2018•1 hr 29 min
A rare (somewhat) shorter solo episode for Steve as baseball leaves the 2017 offseason unfinished and hopes the 2018 segment will bring more action. Tales of Joe McCarthy, Hack Wilson, and the decline of the 1980s Baltimore Orioles as a metaphor for our lives. TABLE OF CONTENTS Joe McCarthy’s one joke (“Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat”—Sammy Davis, Jr.)*Hack Wilson’s worm*Babich!*With apologies to “The Small Assassin”*The New Deal and the 1983 Baltimore Orioles*Fireside Chat” April, 1938*The O...
Dec 29, 2017•43 min
Meg Rowley returns to talk about the discontents of the Shohei Ohtani decision and its aftermath, as well as sundry other topics, and somehow it all ends up being related to “Star Wars.” Plus: A ballplayer with more than one family and the last play of Richie Ashburn’s career. TABLE OF CONTENTS Arthur Irwin, Baseball Bigamist*Feeling like a loser, feeling like a Phillie*Meg Rowley: The Shohei Otani decision*Ed Whitson and Cecilio Guante*The platonic ideal of the Jerry Dipoto Plan*The Dee Gordon ...
Dec 22, 2017•1 hr 23 min
Sports on Earth’s Cliff Corcoran returns to break down the winter meetings in our longest episode yet. Bring supplies, be ready for Marlins-bashing. TABLE OF CONTENTS Ted Williams for Joe DiMaggio*Give Us 18-Player Trades and Bullet Bob Turley*Cliff Corcoran: Let’s Sign All the Relievers, Jiggety-Jig! (Phillies-heavy)*The Marcell Ozuna trade*Burying the Miami Marlins*A Mets digression*The Yankees in the Stanton era*The Chase Headley dump*The Jordan Montgomery precedent*Stephen Piscotty to the A’...
Dec 15, 2017•1 hr 55 min
Mike Bates and Bill Parker, hosts of the This Week in Baseball History podcast, join Steve for a discussion of Cooperstown discontents, plus terminally ill submariners and a Dee Gordon trade reaction. TABLE OF CONTENTS Russ Christopher, Throwing Underhand in the Infinite Inning*A fight in the bullpen as Seattle acquires Dee Gordon*Mike Bates and Bill Parker: The This Week in Baseball History podcast*Reciting stats on the air*Roy Moore vs. Heinie Zimmerman*The This Week in Baseball remembered*The...
Dec 08, 2017•1 hr 18 min
Steve is joined by Stacey May Fowles, novelist, essayist, and author of Baseball Life Advice: Loving the Game that Saved Me for a discussion of finding the calm center that lurks behind the turbulent veneer of Toronto Blue Jays fandom. Plus: Dark mutterings on Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers and a warm memory of Yankees great Bobby Murcer. TABLE OF CONTENTS Tinker to Evers to I Don’t Love You Anymore*Saved at the Ballpark by Bobby Murcer*Stacey May Fowles: A Canadian Thanksgiving*All the battles we ...
Nov 30, 2017•1 hr 20 min
In a short Thanksgiving episode—short by Infinite Inning standards, anyway—we visit the soft places of the Infinite Inning, including hypothetical whiskey-pushing gangsters who had it in for the Cardinals, when the pressures of World War II caused New York Giants fans to threaten to riot during a performance of the National Anthem, and the frightening place that is the family dinner table at holiday-time. TABLE OF CONTENTS Giancarlo Stanton and You Prowl the Unquiet Lands*Steve’s annual Thanksgi...
Nov 22, 2017•38 min
David Roth (Deadspin) returns to take on the World Series, Yuli Gurriel, and Papa John’s. TABLE OF CONTENTS Lou Whitaker, Walter Briggs, and the Hall of Fame*No one who cares about you would use your kindness against you*David Roth: Falsettos*Farewell to wannabe sportscaster Chris Christie*Roth’s national pizza rankings*Why do we accept bad chains?*Oatmeal for dinner*Cats who eat Dunkin’ Donuts*The Yuli Gurriel World Series incident*Celebrating Yasiel Puig*The Mets hire a new manager*Goodbyes. W...
Nov 11, 2017•1 hr 24 min
Author Paul Dickson joins Steve to discuss his new book, Leo Durocher: Baseball’s Prodigal Son. Plus, the Dodgers bullpen at Jutland and a note on eternal World Series goat Roger Peckinpaugh. TABLE OF CONTENTS Jutland*Roger Peckinpaugh’s first World Series*Paul Dickson: How do you write 60 books?*The demise of the slicks*Durocher wasn’t a nice guy, but was he a good guy?*Slapping Babe Ruth*The 1947 suspension*Leo and money*Leo and race*Leo vs. Ernie Banks*Leo vs. Ron Santo*Leo lies about his chi...
Nov 04, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Ben Lindbergh (Effectively Wild podcast, The Ringer) returns to not breakdown the postseason, not talk about starting a family, and not talk about all the managers. Actually, we do cover that last one, and some of the others as well. Plus: Fred Merkle vs. the Stoics. TABLE OF CONTENTS Me and My Friend Fred*Bucky Harris, Gene Mauch, Joe Girardi, and Stuckness*The Wedding Bell Blues*Starting a Family Blues*Not Necessarily a World Series Conversations*Cubs-Indians still lingers*When writers root, f...
Oct 27, 2017•1 hr 26 min
Craig Calcaterra (Hardball Talk) returns to talk postseason baseball and the way flawed memory can distort our memories. Plus: The Marriage of Casey Stengel and manager inaction in the World Series. TABLE OF CONTENTS This is How Casey Ran*Owens, Henrich, and Another Casey*Craig Calcaterra: Expansion Dreaming*Derek Jeter’s Marlins Plan of Destruction*MLBPA Accommodationist?*The MLBAM success story*The CC Sabathia Reunion Tour*Mortality? Nah*It was better in our steroidal day*A moment with the War...
Oct 20, 2017•1 hr 34 min
Jesse Spector (FanRag and so much more) returns to recap the postseason, argue about home runs, and be barked at by his dog. WARNING: There’s one mild cussword and Jesse’s dog Youppi makes a sudden, shocking appearance that nearly caused the host to soil his undergarments. TABLE OF CONTENTS Phlegmatic Lou*Larry McLean Learns Something Too Late*Jesse Spector: Sixteen hours of baseball*Joe Girardi’s Boner*The Redemption Cliché*Girardi vs. his clubhouse*Joe Girardi/Jorge Posada/Austin Romine/Gary S...
Oct 13, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Cliff Corcoran (Sports on Earth) returns to simultaneously preview and review the early postseason. TABLE OF CONTENTS Ducky and the Produce Truck*A Manager Wrecks and Arm, 1920 Edition*Cliff Corcoran: From Bud Selig with Love: The mystery of the Brewers’ logo*The Wild-Card play-in games Part 1*Does the postseason truly validate the best team?*Teams are mutable*Finishing the season against your playoff opponent (Red Sox-Astros)*A pause to talk about the tragedy in Las Vegas*Twins vs. Yankees*Clos...
Oct 05, 2017•1 hr 31 min
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 Depol...
Sep 28, 2017•1 hr 14 min
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? ...
Sep 21, 2017•1 hr 20 min
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. ...
Sep 14, 2017•1 hr 21 min
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 tu...
Sep 08, 2017•1 hr 31 min
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 Dykstr...
Aug 31, 2017•1 hr 33 min
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 O...
Aug 25, 2017•1 hr 25 min
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 fin...
Aug 16, 2017•1 hr 13 min
