The Infinite Inning

Latest Episodes:

Infinite Inning 070: A Bit of a Dog Whistle Sep 01, 2018

Show notes

WARNING: One excretory cussword.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tony Horton and Dolphin Shows of the Apocalypse*Extinctions and an Apology*Jeff Heath’s Bat*The West Coast is on Fire*The Kendrys Morales Sublimations*Don’t Gamble on Baseball Because the Orioles*Goodbye for Now, Troy Tulowitzki*Fare Thee Well, Josh Donaldson*Do the Blue Jays Need to Bottom Out?*The Thrill of Discovery at Baseball-Reference*Expertise/Finding Jeff Heath*The Intersection of Sharing Knowledge and Sharing Emotion*Misogyny: The Socially-Acceptable Prejudice*Daniel Murphy (“Piazza, New York Catcher”)*What Went Wrong in the 1880s/The Imperialism of Stupid*Goodbyes.

Infinite Inning 069: Holiday Road with Rogers and Andy Aug 24, 2018

Show notes

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Casey Stengel removes a pitcher*The Babe Ruth Visitors Center*Potential, with Andy Cohen and Rogers Hornsby*Hairstons and Harstons*The Great Gee Walker*Goodbyes.
THE INFINITE INNING ARCHIVE: All episodes available, popcorn extra.
THE INFINITE INNING FACEBOOK GROUP: Socialize with like-minded people!
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 068 Punching Mookie Betts Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

TABLE OF CONTENTS
WARNING: The odd cussword is spoken aloud and sometimes thought in this episode. In addition, there is a discussion of an ancient case of rape and manslaughter in the second segment.
Pea Ridge Day chooses free will*Fatty Arbuckle and Benny Kauff*David Roth: Bodega cats*The one bad review (Your mother-in-law and the Portland Sea Dogs)*Offending Will Pennyfeather*Easy-access basketball and a visit to Revolutionary War Princeton*David dreams “The Terminal” and other digressions*Smoking on camera*Re-signing Jose Bautista, Re-signing Joe Niekro*The Mets have an analytics department?* “Veteran leadership” and Amed Rosario*Should Jacob DeGrom and/or Noah Syndergaard be traded?*The Rick Ankiel Story*Anxiety and muscle memory*Daniel Bard*Hashtag Crazy Relief Pitcher*Punching Mookie Betts*Fun times in baseball (“The Natural” sucks)*Goodbyes.
THE INFINITE INNING ARCHIVE: All episodes available, popcorn extra.
THE INFINITE INNING FACEBOOK GROUP: Socialize with like-minded people!
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?

The Infinite Inning 067: This Fandom is Mine Aug 11, 2018

Show notes

TABLE CONTENTS
Tall Tales of Josh Gibson*Call-In Radio and WAR*Will Leitch: Productivity*Writing while disappointed*Don’t check the numbers*Cutting High School Memories*Why social media?*Cookies from Twitter*Jaded in the press box*“My fandom is mine”*Mike Matheny and Mike Schildt and The Matheny Manifesto*Ranking 900 Woody Harrelson movies*”Star Wars” vs. “Annie Hall.”*Goodbyes.
THE INFINITE INNING ARCHIVE: All episodes available, popcorn extra.
THE INFINITE INNING FACEBOOK GROUP: Socialize with like-minded people!
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 066: They Don't Care About You Aug 04, 2018

Show notes

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Hartnett, Landis, and Capone*Willie Montanez: Tap-Tap*Jesse Spector: Rockies players like tacos and chess*Pregame non-conversations with Derek Jeter and Paul O’Neill at the old Yankee Stadium*Reconciling with Paul O’Neill’s affiliations*The Trevor Story story*The Dome Over Fenway Park*Why take owner finances on faith?*David Wright and Brandon Webb*The parsimony of the Lerners*Roberto Osuna*A glance askance at Josh Hader et al*The Astros throw Justin Verlander under the bus*The Asdrubal Cabrera trade as a teachable moment*An Asdrubal moment with Roger Angell*A note on Ian Desmond*Goodbyes.
THE INFINITE INNING ARCHIVE: All episodes available, popcorn extra.
THE INFINITE INNING FACEBOOK GROUP: Socialize with like-minded people!
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 065: Listening, Inquiring, and Touching Base at the Deadline Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ken Hunt’s Half-Season of Glory*Jack Morris/Yoenis Cespedes*More on Luke Heimlich*Cliff Corcoran: Diseases of cattle and ballplayers*The pointlessness of trade coverage*Trades that ripple through history*Revising opinions of the Francisco Mejia trade*The Jesus Montero analogy*Everything wrong with the Indians*Red Sox needs*Moving Salvador Perez*The Billy Hunter digression*Mike Moustakas, lame duck*Why Cole Hamels? And other pitchers*How do you make a package for Jacob DeGrom?*Zack Britton and The Cup We All Race 4*Should the Nationals sell?*The Hall of Fame inductions (Lost in Jack Morrisland)*The missing HOF pitchers of the 1980s*Lou Whitaker, Willie Randolph, and Bobby Grich*Goodbyes.
WARNING: For the second and, it is to be hoped, last time, there is a discussion of Luke Heimlich.
THE INFINITE INNING ARCHIVE: All episodes available, popcorn extra.
THE INFINITE INNING FACEBOOK GROUP: Socialize with like-minded people!
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?

The Infinite Inning 064: The Greeks Had a Word For It Jul 21, 2018

Show notes

Mary Craig (Baseball Prospectus, The Hardball Times podcast) returns to talk Manny Machado, Papa John-style privilege, and the Home Run Derby. Plus, Steve tells stories of a Hall of Famer with a bigger heart than Josh Hader and the Brooklyn Dodgers defeat the America First Committee.
WARNING: Luke Heimlich, an amateur pitcher with a record of child abuse, is discussed extensively during the second half of the show. Also, there is one brief profanity in the first half of the show.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Josh Hader, Arky Vaughan, Jackie Robinson*The Brooklyn Dodgers vs. The America First Committee*Mary Craig: Reading naughty books in the original Greek*Shocking enthusiasm for the Home Run Derby*Bryce Harper doesn’t help the Cubs*The Manny Machado trade and the talent imbalance*Against Commissioner Manfred*Marketing and minor league wages*Look for the union label*Luke Heimlich*Jose Reyes and Bud Norris*The Mary Craig Credo*Brian Cashman on the Supreme Court*The Papa Slam is no more*Goodbyes.

Infinite Inning 063: Watching the Detectives Jul 14, 2018

Show notes

Steve is joined by Christopher Bonanos, author of Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous to discuss the photographic great who documented what went on in the naked city, the nighttime New York of the 1930s and 40s, after the ballplayers had put their gloves away for the day. Plus, Tom Seaver is traded as the ‘70s Mets force a big-market team into a small-market suit, and a Dodgers fan gets ribbed with fatal results.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Mets Get Small*Toxic Dodgers Fandom and twin .45s*Christopher Bonanos: Who was Weegee?*“Balcony Seats at a Murder”*The wild New York of the 1930s*The brief, wondrous life of PM*Why doesn’t center-left media thrive?*Photographs that comment on themselves*Social justice Weegee/Misogynistic Weegee*His slow rise and rapid fall*“What success does for a man”*Descent into distortions*“The Critic” (Truthful without being factual)*Darkroom in the trunk?*George Selkirk Signs!*“Their First Murder”*Carrier pigeons at Ebbets Field*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?

The Infinite Inning 062: The Great Disposable Ballpark Society Jul 06, 2018

Show notes

Business of baseball writer Maury Brown (Forbes) joins Steve to talk about the future of labor relations in the game, the shift from television to on-line viewing, the stadium-financing boondoggle, and more, plus tales of Pepper Martin and Joe DiMaggio in distress.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pepper Martin’s breaking point*Joltin’ Joe’s lack of leverage*Maury Brown: The usual hat talk*Do the players get a cut?*The players and online revenue*The legal landscape of a baseball labor war*Maury Year One (a Bay Area baseball upbringing with the Finley robot rabbit)*Remembering Doug Pappas*Grasping for balance in MLB business coverage*Gimmie Some Truth*The persistence of the ballpark boondoggle*The 2018 attendance slide*Does revenue-sharing create negative incentives?*Is Portland, Oregon a viable major league market*Maury shook you all night long*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?

The Infinite Inning 061: Me and My Fancy Stats Jun 29, 2018

Show notes

Sam Miller (ESPN, Baseball Prospectus, The Only Rule is It Has to Work) joins Steve to talk about joy in baseball, which fun facts matter and which don’t, and how to alienate your colleagues your first day on the baseball beat. Plus, overlapping tales of puppy love and Billy Herman and a remembrance of the late Harlan Ellison.
WARNING: There is one cussword, baseball’s “magic word,” at about the 24-minute mark. Hide the children.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Billy Herman’s first day*Goodbye, Harlan Ellison*Sam Miller: The Only Rule is It Has to Work*A Very Bad Handshake Situation*The Only Rule is You Go to Moscow*The Braves’ all-time first baseman, and does it matter?*Mark Langston’s best season*The Secret Origin of Sam Miller (The Mommy Blogger! Frankie Rodriguez for MVP!)*Inspirational quote: “A lot of people don’t like a lot of people.”*The Shohei Ohtani of Despond*Are we allowed to have distractions in 2018?*How little we know (Jose Bautista version)*Tales of PECOTA and how to say “FRAA”*Goodbyes.

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