The Infinite Inning

Latest Episodes:

Infinite Inning 189: We All Have Groin Problems Jun 05, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 188: Hot Takes, Dodger Blues, and Past Relationships May 30, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 187: The Ballpark Village People May 22, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 186: All the World's a Baseball Diamond May 13, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 185: Who Loves the Sun? May 06, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 184: He is the Crater Apr 28, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 183: The 15 versus the 85 Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 182: The First Fine Careless Rapture Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 181: No Reconciliation, But Truth Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

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?

Infinite Inning 180: Champions of the Heart Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

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?

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