Jeffrey Paternostro returns for a premature look at prospects’ progress. Plus tales: A pitcher takes the wrong lesson from adversity and a Red Sox third baseman’s home run underscores present-day offensive woes. TABLE OF CONTENTS Change Your Way, George Earnshaw (Guest-Starring Lou Gehrig and Connie Mack)* Spirit Ballplayers, Last Entry*Jim Tabor Hits a Solo Shot of Note and Other Home Runs in an Age of Low Offense*Jeffrey Paternostro: Draggy Balls*You Can’t Flip a Switch on Offese*A Moment on J...
Apr 30, 2022•2 hr 17 min
David Roth returns to discuss the uplift provided by the new season, Robinson Cano, how the Reds provoke thoughts of the end of history, Pitchcom, and the 1985 arcade came “Gauntlet.” Plus tales: Teams in the 1880s outdraw the present-day A’s and mouthy third baseman Arlie Latham psyches out the Reds’ manager. WARNING: As in all Roth-a-looza episodes, there is the occasional cussword. Please instruct the children in what these words mean so they can follow along. TABLE OF CONTENTS Small Crowds w...
Apr 24, 2022•1 hr 58 min
Thomas W. Gilbert discusses HOW BASEBALL HAPPENED, the story of the game’s earliest years. Plus tales: The value of a famous hitting coach to a light-hitting shortstop is debatable and the real meaning of Jackie Robinson Day. TABLE OF CONTENTS Bucky Dent Hits a Homer with a Little Help from His Coach (Not THAT Homer)*Why Do We Observe Jackie Robinson Day? (And Why “Camelot” is Such a Downer)*Thomas W. Gilbert: A Stealth History*A Broad-Based Social Movement*Cricket and the Civil War Pause*The Ri...
Apr 16, 2022•2 hr 7 min
Craig Calcaterra returns to discuss his new book RETHINKING FANDOM, plus tales: A visit to the home of one of the earliest baseball games for a deadly attack and the story of two rookies who couldn’t hang on—in more ways than one. TABLE OF CONTENTS Murder at Elysian Fields*Spirit Ballplayers III*Awards Predictions, Top Rookies, and the Llama*The Gary Scott Story Outlined*Thake’s Epilogue*Craig Calcaterra: RETHINKING FANDOM*The Sports-Industrial Complex*When It’s About Frustration, Ohio State Edi...
Apr 10, 2022•2 hr 14 min
A solo episode about service-time manipulation, entropy, destroyed pitching prospects, “Don’t Say Gay,” and Will Smith’s slap versus the on-field variety. TABLE OF CONTENTS A Brief Invocation of John Candelaria*Oneil Cruz Can Keep the Rain Off of You*Pie Traynor Debunked*Entropy is All and Everything and I Couldn’t Possibly Be Better*Spirit Ballplayers II*Who Killed Russ Bauers?*“Say It With a Slap” and the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill*Lee Grissom vs. Al Todd*Impulse Control*Frank Robinson vs. Eddie Mat...
Apr 03, 2022•1 hr 36 min
Cliff Corcoran returns to dissect all the moves of March, plus tales: Gender uncertainty on a barnstorming team, a rowdy crowd in Chicago is given way too much leeway to attack a player, and the odd career of the pitcher who began the ruckus. TABLE OF CONTENTS Vaccines and Bloomer Girls*A Quick Note on Bleeding Dodger Blue*Your Spirit Ballplayer 1.0*Don Buford and Bart Johnson: The Ballad of Red-Butt Harry*Cliff Corcoran: We Have Baseball Now*Everyone but Michael Conforto*Rooting for Tyler Clipp...
Mar 26, 2022•2 hr 10 min
Infinite Inning 218: It Worked, But Never Do It Again Jesse Spector returns to discuss the competitive balance landscape, which still has all the old hills and valleys. Plus tales as reaction to the new CBA: A very slow player makes an ill-advised attempt to swipe home plate and a member of the Gashouse Gang exaggerates his prowess. NEW EDIT WITH IMPROVED AUDIO! TABLE OF CONTENTS Zeke’s Run*More on the Pittsburgh H*The Man Who Didn’t Break Up Four No-Hitters (Maybe)*Jesse Spector: Brittney Grine...
Mar 19, 2022•1 hr 51 min
Craig Goldstein (Baseball Prospectus) talks about BASEBALL PROSPECTUS 2022, owner vs. player morality, and the best comps for Juan Soto. Plus tales: A pitcher expresses insecurity right on the mound—or does he? The trap of zero-sum thinking, and an obscure player who was as good a hitter, in his way, as Mike Piazza. TABLE OF CONTENTS Pink Hawley is Looking for a Friend*Baseball, Politics, “Evil Incarnate,” and Zero-Sum Thinking*The Rapidly Oncoming Fate of Fred Carroll*Craig Goldstein: Harder to...
Mar 11, 2022•2 hr 4 min
Solo episode! Tales of ancient battles between owners and the players, none of which make the owners look good. Casey Stengel goes to Washington and, well, criticizes the owners. And a one-year wonder makes an impulsive decision that costs him a World Series ring. TABLE OF CONTENTS Mr. Stengel Goes to Washington*Are Owners Truly Necessary?*The Rapid Rise and Fall of the Players League*The Lockout and Human Cupidity*Neville Chamberlain and the Homer in the Gloaming*The Ballad of Johnny Rizzo*Good...
Mar 03, 2022•1 hr 22 min
Alex Belth and Emily Shapiro return to discuss HERE I ARE: ANATOMY OF A MARRIAGE. Plus tales: Miller Huggins comes to the wrong conclusion and a second baseman who would sooner fight than order a veggie lover’s pizza. TABLE OF CONTENTS Miller Huggins’ Last Mistake (Plus Spittin’ Bill and Larry Hart)*A Brief Baseball Note from Ogden Nash*Raw Meat Bill and Davey Crockett Times Two Too*Alex Belth and Emily Shapiro: Audible Origins*The Awkwardness of Spending Time in Conversation With Yourself*An Il...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 57 min
Cliff Corcoran (The Cycle newsletter) returns to talk about lockout priorities. Plus tales: Marking the passing of a side-arm pitcher who got less respect than he deserved and a catcher throws it all away on one swing—but not the kind you’re thinking of. TABLE OF CONTENTS Requiem for a Sidearmer*Joe Rue and Greek George*Cliff Corcoran: Ripcord Porkerban vs. the Roc*Ray Harryhausen and Modern Special Effects*The alternate reading of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”*Life Under Lockout*”Break the Union!” ...
Feb 09, 2022•1 hr 48 min
Prospectmeister Jeffrey Paternostro returns to discuss the Baseball Prospectus 2022 Top-101 Prospects rankings. Plus tales: The 66th-best hitter for average of all time has a cough; a Hall of Fame pitcher messes up his marriage, demonstrating that even people with plaques are as complicated as anybody else. TABLE OF CONTENTS David Ortiz to the Hall*The 66th-Best Hitter for Average of All Time is Not in the Hall of Fame*Lefty, June, and the Perfect Murder*Jeffrey Paternostro: Top 11s are Better t...
Feb 02, 2022•2 hr 3 min
David Roth on Topps and The Athletic being sold, why baseball color commentors curdle after two years, the Mets’ moves, and more. Plus tales: “Pride of the Yankees” departs from reality and strikes a chord; an All-Star is captured at the moment of his release. TABLE OF CONTENTS Lou Gehrig, “Pride of the Yankees,” and Me*The Ballad of Jim Ray Hart and His DFA Photograph*David Roth: Mickey Rooney in Van Halen*Topps Sold*“A Long Position on Phil Plantier”*Two Business Idiots on The Athletic Sale*Ba...
Jan 22, 2022•2 hr 28 min
Mark Simon of Sports Info Solutions returns to discuss the Bill James Handbook 2022, plus tales: The media fails the players when the owners push them into striking 50 years ago. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Media on Baseball Strike ‘72*Folly at the Half-Century Mark*Players vs. Owners vs. Themselves ‘72*Mark Simon: A Hazy Shade of Baseball*Why is Carlos Correa a Great Defensive Shortstop?*A Girthy Tome*Too Much Information?*Book Layout Likened to the Shift*The Home-Run Robberies Table*Defense (Derek J...
Jan 13, 2022•2 hr 20 min
Our annual holiday historical fiction sees straitlaced Yankees manager taking on the greatest challene of this career: Romance. Plus a brief true tale in which Mama Gehrig is found to be a citizen just like any other American. TABLE OF CONTENTS Mama Gehrig Goes to Court*Intermission: The Pinch-Hitter is Banned (Happy, Healthy New Year)*Story: “Joe McCarthy: Advisor to the Lonely Heart”*Goodbyes. The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts ...
Dec 31, 2021•49 min
Ian Coss of "Forever is a Long Time" talks marriage, divorce, and facing your doubts by looking at the past. Plus tales: Managers are hired/quickly fired and a catcher's career ends too soon. TABLE OF CONTENTS Buck Showalter, Billy Herman, and the Fallacy of Managers*The DeLancey Story*Ian Coss: A Thoughtful Show*Ignorance is a Kind of Shield*It Could Happen to You*Change is the Enemy but Change is Good*The Part That Everyone Asks About*Grandmother’s Adventures in Love and War/”The Work of the D...
Dec 24, 2021•2 hr 7 min
Craig Calcaterra returns to baseball’s lockout, teenage drunkenness, and division of labor in marriage. Plus tales: Ralph Houk’s prophecy/Jim Bouton’s waltz and Babe Ruth sacrifices his socks for the greater good. TABLE OF CONTENTS Fate, Ralph Houk, and Bobby Murcer*Babe Ruth in the Snow*Craig Calcaterra: Dessert Wine*Raymond Chandler’s Evenings*1990 Gut*Cash-Laden Ships that Have Sailed*The Strange Love of the Atlanta Braves*Not Really a Baseball Company Anymore?*Rentiers*Drive-Up Surf ‘n’ Turf...
Dec 18, 2021•2 hr 1 min
A solo episode with an owner-player conflict that anticipates the tenor of the current lockout (with some amazing stats) and the question of which Harry Frazee show really killed the Red Sox is taken on (A: None, or maybe all of them)! Plus excuses for being tardy. TABLE OF CONTENTS The New Babe Ruth Holds Out*Please Excuse My Son’s Absence From Class*The Old Babe Ruth is Sold, But Not for the Reason You Think (In Honor of Stephen Sondheim)*Goodbyes. The Infinite Inning is not only about basebal...
Dec 11, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Cliff Corcoran talks hot stove baseball and ice cream in plastic batting helmets. Plus tales: The thief who just had to go to the Dodgers-Giants game and current Hall of Fame candidate/long-neglected pitcher Cannonball Dick Redding and his times. TABLE OF CONTENTS Killer at the Polo Grounds*Cannonball Dick Redding’s America*Cliff Corcoran: The Browns’ Brownie’s Brownie Sundae*Carvel and the Ground Round*Staring at Big-Little Books and the Impenetrability of Nostalgia*Proust’s Baseball Cards*The ...
Nov 24, 2021•2 hr 14 min
Lincoln Michel talks his science-fiction/noir/baseball novel THE BODY SCOUT. Plus tales: An umpire does something unforgivable to a great pitcher and the players vs. teams in the Hall of Fame. TABLE OF CONTENTS Dolf Luque, Bill Klem, and the Very Bad Word*Buster Posey and the Hall of Fame*Lincoln Michael: An Idea on Every Page*Context and Electric Forks*It Would Happen to the Mets*Philosophical Neanderthals*Science Fiction, Body, Horror, and PED-Era Baseball Taken to the Logical Extreme*Ham Figh...
Nov 11, 2021•1 hr 45 min
Gabrielle Starr (Fansided) discusses the Red Sox fall out of the playoffs, the hazards of being a female in sports online, and rails against analytics. Plus tales: Charlie Morton isn’t the first pitcher throw with a broken leg and the tomahawk chop is once again placed in its sad and objectionable context. TABLE OF CONTENTS Bobo Newsom and Charlie Morton*The Tomahawk Chop Revisited*Gabrielle Starr: Fenway Park Downfall*Yankees and Red Sox Fans* Fans Cross the Line*“I’m Wrong Because of My Gender...
Oct 31, 2021•2 hr 2 min
Hall of Fame senior curator Tom Shieber, co-author of Picturing America’s Pastime, talks about great images of the game as art and as documentary. Plus tales: Bobby Grich feels provoked and responds in kind, the Phillies achieve “a truly elite system” with mixed results. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Bobby Grich Method of Anger Management*When the Phillies Actually Rebuilt*Tom Shieber: You’ll Believe Johnny Bench Can Fly!*Inferring Biography from Photos*Preservation (and Lew Fonseca)*No Buzz Arlett Bat*...
Oct 20, 2021•2 hr 8 min
Dan Taylor discusses Lights, Camera, Fastball, his new history of the Hollywood Stars baseball team. Plus tales of great Giants catchers of the distant past and George Steinbrenner fires a third-base coach because of a controversial playoff send. TABLE OF CONTENTS Buck Ewing Would Like a Word With You*George Steinbrenner’s Postseason Tantrum ‘80* Dan Taylor: The Hollywood Stars and the Studio Stars*Co-Starring William Frawley, Spencer Tracy, and More!*Respect for Joe E. Brown*Harry Ruby on the F...
Oct 12, 2021•2 hr 3 min
Mike Ferrin, Kevin Goldstein, and Steven Goldman, once the hosts of Baseball Prospectus Radio on SiriusXM, reunite to discuss that Chicago vibe, awkward interviews, and debate just how the San Francisco Giants are doing it. Plus tales: A fringe player gets on the wrong train and the longest winning streak of all time amounts to nothing. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Fats Dantonio Story*The Big Streak*Mike Ferrin and Kevin Goldstein: Bob in Crisis*Two Eddie Vedder Stories?*Why is Chicago?*Cubs Attendance...
Oct 04, 2021•2 hr 4 min
Cliff Corcoran, David Roth, Jesse Spector with a rare collective sighting as the starting rotation reflects on four years of episodes, 20-plus years of writing about baseball, managers who aged before our eyes, Javier Baez, and so much more. Plus tales of a manager making that one fatal mistake and Tris Speaker gets a heart. TABLE OF CONTENTS Babe Ruth Doesn’t Quite End Two Careers with One Hit*Tris Speaker, His Mom, and Healing Old Wounds*Cliff Corcoran, David Roth, Jesse Spector: Lantern Flies...
Sep 24, 2021•2 hr 7 min
A new hour-long mini-episode features yet another John McGraw insult, a discussion of vaccine mandates, Holocaust analogies, and the logical fallacy of hasty generalization both in and out of baseball (Babe Ruth has two legs and plays baseball and Isan Diaz has two legs and plays baseball, so they must be exactly the same), and a tale of catching great Ernie Lombardi mouthing off to his boss with predictable consequences. Guests resume next week! TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1, in which Charles Ebbets...
Sep 13, 2021•1 hr 3 min
A medically-necessary solo episode has a lesson about keeping your eye on the ball rather than your fingers on the banjo, some Zen advice from Casey Stengel, and the tale of a busted prospect who could have used some Zen of his own. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Pirates Try to Sing Their Way to a Pennant*Just Tra-La-La (Yankees and Mets versions)*Sympathy for Roy Parmelee*Goodbyes. The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff C...
Sep 04, 2021•47 min
David Roth returns to discuss the Mets’ fall from the pennant race, the Baltimore Orioles’ complete absence therefrom, and the 1982 Yankees vs. the Afghanistan withdrawal. Plus tales: A pitcher who did everything right and yet everything went wrong and the Orioles compared to the Mary Celeste. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Book of Koob*Rebuilding vs. Tanking vs. Not Giving a Damn*David Roth: Maine is Another Country/Misplaced Darwinian Struggle*The Ad You Don’t Want to Hear/Grammar-Policing Derek Jeter*...
Aug 22, 2021•2 hr
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 Outfiel...
Aug 15, 2021•2 hr
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 B...
Aug 06, 2021•2 hr 14 min
