The Infinite Inning

Infinite Inning 390 Baseball and Children Forever Frightened

Two tales of children whose adult life in baseball might have been influenced by childhood fears real and imagined (but mostly real). First, the speed-king of 1880s baseb

Infinite Inning 389: The Pitcher Who Quit Midgame

Two stories featuring one of the more rage-addicted pitchers of all time (no, not Johnny Allen, but good guess), one in which he overestimated a Hall of Famer’s rigidity

Infinite Inning 388: A Ghost from the Negro Leagues

Two stories in which the players’ absence from the narrative is the point: First, we go back to John McGraw’s first right fielder with the Giants, a speed-based player wh

Infinite Inning 387: If Babe Ruth Were a Patriot Missile

Over a hundred years ago, a forward-thinking sportswriter suggests that a certain Yankees slugger might solve a munitions crisis much like the one the United States milit

Infinite Inning 386: The Yankees, the Giants, and the First Trading Deadline

In 1922, two New York teams make July trades that provoke a change in the way the game is played. Both were successful in their way, but how successful were they, really?

Infinite Inning 385: The Fourth-Worst Self-Own in Red Sox History

Hall of Fame Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog gets stuck in the Yankees system—and the Army—leading to a discussion of social responsibility when it comes to risking the l

Infinite Inning 384: Dodgers of Dubious Abilities & Moralities

Two instructive tales of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who, as Casey Stengel said, were at that time in Brooklyn. The 26-inning man places a clever comeback among his last words,

Infinite Inning 383: When Babe Ruth's Car Turned Turtle

We ask of various figures past and present (as Mark Twain once did) “Is He Alive or Is He Dead?” finishing with the time Babe Ruth was reported to have fatally crashed hi

Infinite Inning 382: Joe DiMaggio Weeps for Lou Gehrig

A July 4th episode: Lou Gehrig’s farewell and slight return, Joe DiMaggio flashes back to the Iron Horse streak, the National League is founded in the Centennial year as

Infinite Inning 381: Yogi Berra versus Roy Cohn

A young Yogi Berra battles his own pitching staff just as Dalton Rushing struggles to call pitches for Shohei Ohtani, Casey Stengel drags Yogi into the Joe McCarthy mess

Infinite Inning 380: The Cubs Outfielder Who Hated Evolution

The San Francisco Giants’ botched attempt at Pride Night prompts a look at Billy Sunday, the Cubs outfielder who had a religious awakening and became one of the most popu

Infinite Inning 379: Requiem for a Reds Pitcher

Trigger Warning: Discussions of self-harm. A Reds pitcher confuses the end of his arm for the end of his life, several other players take the easy way out, a bizarre tr

Infinite Inning 378: Casey, the Muscle or the Bone

A shorter episode about bad timing as exemplified by the time that Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel was run over by a car.  The Infinite Inning is a journey to the pas

Infinite Inning 377: The Negro Leagues were a Ceiling

A shorter episode that takes a quick look at the Homestead Grays and the attenuated career of the late Bob Horner. The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to under

Infinite Inning 376: A Dog's Breakfast with the Yankees, Mets, and Shanty

A grab-bag episode in which the title says it all: The 40th anniversary of the 1986 Mets, how failed Yankees shortstop Bobby Meacham would have performed if Baseball-Refe

Infinite Inning 375: The A's, Murder in Camden, and the Spiders from Cleveland

Infinite Inning 375: The A's, Murder in Camden, and the Spiders from Cleveland Several attempts at finding empathy through self-denial this week: We ask if it’s right to

Infinite Inning 374: The 100th Anniversary of the 1927 Yankees One Year Early

We go back to the early days of the Angels (California, Los Angels, Anaheim, or anywhere in-between) for the untimely death of a pitcher, then look forward to next year,

Infinite Inning 373: Baseball and Helen's Missing Cup

Two managers dropped this week, but four teams haven’t fired a manager in-season since the last century. Which were they, and is there even a point? Then we travel back t

Infinite Inning 372: The Yankees' Owner’s Mistress and the Bomb

A major metropolitan newspaper contends a pitcher “blows,” while he insists he is in “the best shape of his life.” Which would prove to be closer to the truth? Then we re

Infinite Inning 371: One of the Jackie Robinson Generation Weak Arm and All

We note the recent passing of some stalwart ballplayers, some of all too recent a vintage, then travel back to the 1950s and the breaking of the Braves color line by an o