Losing Pitcher Mulcahy loses one more game for his country, a discussion of a fictional crossdressing firefighter of 1930 and objections thereto, and two Chicago Cubs come to blows over their grandpas’ participation in the Civil War. 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 a...
Apr 14, 2023•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 254
Branch Rickey confronts his mortality and misses the date, players rally in slow motion, and the Dodgers pitch a prospect’s arm off, but not before he was part of a minor-league tiff that anticipated pitch-clock violations. 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. E...
Apr 01, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Infinite Inning 252: Thanksgiving in March (The Unpopular Dad) In an odd bit of timing, this week the Infinite Inning presents two stories about birds, one about a manager and an all-time great slugger who both got into the turkey business—maybe not together but sequentially—and another who tried to leverage his chickens into avoiding a pay-cut… and the whole thing is secretly about parenting. Who knew? The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating ...
Mar 18, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 252
TABLE OF CONTENTS Eleven Bites*Scooter and Where to Find Grover Cleveland When He’s Dead*The Children of Greater Boston Want Twinkies*Vice-President in the Clubhouse*All Alone on the Mound*Grantland Rice and “To Any Athlete” Redux*Stephen Strasburg’s Surgery*“I’m An Outfielder Now”*Ed Morris Callback/“Poker Face” Crossover*The Lonesome Death of Deerfoot Milan*The Lonesome Photographs of Lewis Hine*Early Wynn 299 vs Early Wynn 300*Distance and Enchantment*Goodbyes. The Infinite Inning is not only...
Mar 03, 2023•1 hr 22 min
“The $100,000 Muff” as a state of being and the tale of a shortstop who tried to play only when he felt up to it. TABLE OF CONTENTS Casey Stengel’s Imitation of Fred Snodgrass in America*A Very Simple But Important Note About the Hazardous Nature of an Open Drawbridge*Ray Chapman vs. Charlie Hollocher*How Many Shortstops Have Hit .340?*The Phantom Stomachache*Playing Through Pain*Going Home and the Sad Finish*The Hopeful Ending*Goodbyes. The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state...
Feb 09, 2023•45 min•Ep. 250
An episode about having generosity for broken infielders, both the capable and relatively incapable, the healthy but unproductive and the productive but slain by inanimate objects. TABLE OF CONTENTS Meet Linus*Meet Linus’s Watercooler*A Listener Makes a Complaint*Frameworks and Platforms*The Great Nations of Europe*George Stovey’s 1.13-ERA Season*What is This Show About, and Who Gets to Decide?*The Greatest Shortstop in Browns History*The Anti-Greatest Shortstop in Anyone’s History*Undersized in...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 249
In which the player called “Honey-Boy” is traded by the Cubs to great derision and a rebuild movement is compared to the art of long-term self-deception. TABLE OF CONTENTS All the Lies That Are My Life: A Story by Harlan Ellison and/or Self-Deception by a Dead-End Manager*You Don’t Belong Here*The Challenge-Trade*An Odd Swap of Catchers*My Outfield for Your Outfield*All the Lies That Are Your Rebuild*A’s Center Fielders in 2022*Esteury vs. Estuary*Zen and the Art of Dode, or Vice-Versa*The Etymo...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 248
A tale for New Year’s Eve: A Giants prospect wins a job but fails to cope with harsh fate. Plus the usual asides and digressions, including Satchel Paige’s Six Rules for Staying Young, with commentary. TABLE OF CONTENTS Satchel Paige’s Six Rules for Staying Young, with Commentary*The Shinners Factor*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 ...
Jan 01, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 247
A solo because-it’s-Christmas episode in which Casey Stengel stages a protest but it’s the umpire who pays the ultimate price. TABLE OF CONTENTS Intro: A Branch Rickey Christmas*The Reserve Clause, Player Choice, Happiness, and “Richard Corey”*Is Steve Cohen a Rational Actor?*Casey Stengel sulks in Pittsburgh*The Yellow Telegram*Saranac Lake*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...
Dec 25, 2022•41 min•Ep. 246
A solo episode dashes from umpires stranded on foggy seas to a Savage pitcher who received multiple Purple Hearts—and somehow conquered his control while doing so—and reflects on what his story warns us about our own times. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Day the Umps Heard “Ahooga!”*Burt Uniform Tops and Burnt YouTubers*Old Starting Rotations and Starting Pitcher Tandems, Starring Justin Verlander et al*Angels Priorities*The Ancient 2005 Yankees*“I’ll Bonk Alone”*Cosplaying Fascism*Bob Savage, High Schoo...
Dec 18, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 245
Cliff Corcoran returns to discuss the new Hall of Fame ballot, negative associations with certain players and even uniforms, the disparate interpretations possible when reading a key “Peanuts” strip, and more. Plus tales: A pitcher with a problem pitches a no-hitter and then things get weird—and potentially fatal. TABLE OF CONTENTS A Spirited Thanksgiving*Intergalactic Union Day*It Wasn’t the Alcohol that Killed Him*Cliff Corcoran*Hollywood Stars Hats and the Holocaust*Here’s the World War I Fly...
Nov 24, 2022•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 244
A solo episode features a controversial managerial decision that might have lost the 1935 World Series for the Cubs and a look at a moment in baseball and the rest of the nation on August 14 of that year that hints at where we are now. TABLE OF CONTENTS A World Series Inflection Point, 1935*Best Lefties in Cubs History?*Jolly Cholly Visits a Chinese Restaurant*Mr. Rogers on the Interstate*Unresolved Traffic Bottlenecks*Woodrow Wilson at Versailles*Blue Tribe vs. Green Tribe*August 14, 1935 in Ba...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 53 min
David Roth returns to discuss the postseason thus far, remember bad Braves teams and worse shortstops, wonder at the complacency of the AL Central, and be psychically assaulted by “Citizens for Sanity.” Plus tales: The Reds’ revival in, and the Yankees aftermath, of the 1976 World Series, and the story of Liz Funk, an outfielder who came up with the wrong team at the wrong time. TABLE OF CONTENTS Anti-Complacency and the 1976 World Series*The Ballad of Liz Funk, Man in the Wrong Place*David Roth...
Nov 01, 2022•2 hr 12 min
Author Patrick Montgomery discusses his book, THE BASEBALL MIRACLE OF THE SPLENDID 6 AND TOWNY TOWNSEND, the story of a Virginia youth coach who produced more than his share of future major leaguers. Plus tales: The quest for the postseason “Cementhead” via Charles Schulz and one of the most impatient hitters of all time—and a dirty player to boot. TABLE OF CONTENTS Peanuts Baseball and “Cementhead”*A “Thanks for the Memory” Digression*Thanks for the Impatience: The Whitey Alpermann Story*Patric...
Oct 20, 2022•2 hr 10 min
Lincoln Mitchell (San Francisco Year Zero) returns to talk the future of both San Francisco and the San Francisco Giants as well as the war against Ukraine. Plus tales: The clouded conception of a Negro Leaguer and the distorted memory of a crucial Giants-Reds game that turns out not to have been all that crucial, but is still certain to meet your expectorations. TABLE OF CONTENTS Herb Souell’s Mom*The Day the Giants Didn’t Win the Pennant*Lincoln Mitchell: To Rent or Buy in San Francisco*How Do...
Oct 09, 2022•1 hr 55 min
Craig Calcaterra (Cup of Coffee, Everything is Broken) returns to adjudicate the AL MVP race, the pitch-clock, the value of managers, and more. Plus tales: The attitudes and abilities of Carl Hubbell and Babe Ruth compared and contrasted over a matter of road selection and how Hubbell always knew where he kept his plow. TABLE OF CONTENTS Carl Hubbell, the Avatar of Yes, and Choosing the Best Road Home*Hubbell’s Bad Inning and a Waiting Plow*Craig Calcaterra: Second Series/Downton Abbey Spoilers?...
Sep 24, 2022•2 hr 7 min
Rob Neyer returns to discuss his contributions to Dale Scott’s memoir THE UMPIRE IS OUT and sundry other matters. Plus tales: A reserve catcher meets a grizzly end and a ballplayer is punished for going to his family’s aid. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Short, Sad Ballad of Frank Grube*“Lifestyles”*100-Walk Trios*Rocky Gonna Fly Now (Into the Stands)*Rob Neyer: A worthy subject*Keeping the Voice*Working with Dale Scott*Jack Morris/No Scores Settled*When Umps Learned to Confer*Why Was It Done This Way?*W...
Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 56 min
Eric Stephen (True Blue L.A.) returns to discuss the amazing, weird season of dominance being had by the Dodgers. Plus Tales: An outfielder stands in center field when God presses the “Smite” button and the origin of one of the more unusual player names is explained. TABLE OF CONTENTS Trigger Warning: Beware the Teddy Bears*Lightning Bolts Out of Clear Blue Skies*Ray Caldwell, Ray Fisher, Russ Ford: Distinguishing the Scuffers*The Tragic End of Andy Strong*Approximation of an Instagram Couple on...
Sep 04, 2022•2 hr 15 min
Cliff Corcoran takes over the interview to interrogate Steve on BASEBALL’S BRIEF LIVES: PLAYER STORIES INSPIRED BY THE INFINITE INNING. Plus tales: Teams that played .700 ball and then faltered (that is, just the 2022 Yankees) and false hope from a prospect, starring Dodgers phenom-for-a-moment Cal Abrams—a tale that twisted in the telling as questions of performance were tangled with accusations of Antisemitism. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Yankees Defenestrate*The Slow Rise and Quick Fall of Cal Abra...
Aug 22, 2022•2 hr 14 min
Chris Cotillo (Mass Live) discusses the Red Sox’ incomprehensible season, the beatwriter as a young man, and how to work the pregame clubhouse. Plus Tales: Lessons from a Game-Ending Caught Stealing, Starring the Babe, and a Negro Leagues great goes to Mexico and wins a triple crown. TABLE OF CONTENTS Masters of the Game-Ending Caught Stealing, Starring Babe Ruth and the 2022 Yankees*The Small Sample Classic, with Matt Carpenter and Wild Bill Wright*Chris Cotillo: Trade-Deadline Covid*First to L...
Aug 14, 2022•1 hr 54 min
Mark Armour and Daniel Levitt discuss their new book INTENTIONAL BALK: BASEBALL’s LONG AND SORDID HISTORY OF INNOVATION AND CHEATING. Plus tales: The Dodgers’ Uncle Robbie is a hypocrite about weight and one of the greatest Yankees managers does the right thing after an uncharacteristic blow-up. TABLE OF CONTENTS Uncle Robbie Fat-Shames a Pitcher and We Learn a New Vocabulary Word*The Start of Joe Page and the End of Joe McCarthy*Mark Armour and Daniel Levitt: Is Cheating a Matter of Perspective...
Aug 07, 2022•1 hr 53 min
Chats are back! David Roth returns to ask existential questions about Juan Soto, the billionaire class, and if the average person can develop Steve Blass’s disease. Plus tales: A reserve catcher has a fateful meeting with a man who brought dignity to a bodily function and several current players conjure a classic tale from the beginning of the 20th century due to their lack of vaccination. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Reds Catcher and a Man Named Sneeze*Cardinals with White Feathers*1902, WHIT*David Ro...
Jul 30, 2022•2 hr 23 min
Infinite Inning 232: My Boyhood Pal, Marilyn Monroe One more (really) solo episode as we gear up for the Baseball’s Brief Lives, the Infinite Inning book: The son of a Hall of Famer makes a very famous friend and gets grief for it, a great but mostly forgotten player tries to kill another future Hall of Famer with kindness, and more about Cap Anson and his underage bride. TABLE OF CONTENTS Joe D Goes to the Movies*Joe D Gets Married, Hangs with the Boys*Joe D’s Son and New Girlfriend Bond*An Ove...
Jul 21, 2022•1 hr 21 min
A final solo episode before a return to guests features discussions of a manager realizing he was in over his head after just one game and a Hall of Famer meets his wife—in a way that would land him in jail today. TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions of abortion, murder, consent, and child abuse, among other things. THE INFINITE INNING BOOK: Baseball’s Brief Lives: Player Stories Inspired by the Infinite Inning Podcast, is coming in August! TABLE OF CONTENTS Overwhelmed/The Rangers...
Jul 08, 2022•1 hr 37 min
One more solo episode inspired, as always, by current events in which the right player is suspended for what he didn’t do but what everyone understood he intended and a player attempts to start a fan uprising. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Brawl that No One Saw*Luke/Lute/Daniel Boone’s Strange Ejection*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 prese...
Jun 25, 2022•1 hr 16 min
Another solo episode as your host continues to recover from whatever is wrong with him THIS week! (Even his doctors mock him). This week: Tales of two catchers, one of whom was the best uncle baseball ever had, the other a longtime manager who had a moment of unusual frankness after making a trade. TABLE OF CONTENTS Uncle Robbie Phones May Phone it In but He Knows His Meats*Steve O’Neill versus the Yankees*Umpires versus Fans*Steve O’Neill versus Uncle Robbie*Steve O’Neill versus Mad Monk Meyer*...
Jun 15, 2022•1 hr 17 min
A solo episode in which sad past and sorry present collide in the spring of 1927, when even as Babe Ruth and the Yankees were setting records there was evil abroad in Michigan. Then we journey to 1947 and the moment Ben Chapman tried to derail Jackie Robinson and consider Josh Donaldson’s interaction with Tim Anderson as well. TRIGGER WARNING: A great deal of harm comes to children in this week’s first segment, which reflects on the recent massacre of innocents in Texas as well as previous incid...
Jun 04, 2022•1 hr 32 min
Author Dan Good discusses a tragic player and Playing Through the Pain: Ken Caminiti and the Steroids Confession that Changed Baseball Forever. Plus tales: Casey Stengel wonders who you can ask for advice when trying to win a fifth pennant, a 20-game winner goes to the bullpen, and a disgruntled player’s momentary embrace of racism. TABLE OF CONTENTS Casey Wonders Who You Can Ask for Instructions When You’re Trying to Do Something New*Billy Cox’s Momentary Embrace of Evil and Its Echoes Today*Da...
May 20, 2022•2 hr 11 min
Jesse Spector dishes on his new book/podcast/newsletter endeavor, Willets Pen, praises Buck Showalter, and considers the ins and outs of rally sex. Plus tales: A catcher drinks, knits, and recovers while another deserts his team at the worst possible moment. TABLE OF CONTENTS Rollie Hemsley Serves Drinks and Sandwiches*Buddy Rosar’s Police Academy Dream*Jesse Spector: On the COVID IL*What is Willets Pen?*It is Not a Newsletter, But There’s a Newsletter and an Excuse to Go Off on a Lengthy Screed...
May 14, 2022•1 hr 52 min
Cliff Corcoran returns to talk about the new dead-ball, pitchers fielding, and the arrival of Kelsie Whitmore in the Atlantic League, plus takes: An umpire provokes the women in the stands and a 25-run game goes down painlessly. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Ladies of Macon Rise Up*The PlayerStories Book is Coming*A Simple Point About a 25-Run Game*Cliff Corcoran: Lee Guetterman Memories*Pitchers Fielding*Players With Partial Tools*Buttplunger!”*Gold Glove Pitchers*Christy Mathewson Cameo/The [Redacted]...
May 06, 2022•1 hr 50 min
