“Is this it?” Your friend walks up and stands beside you. “Yup.” You look, aghast, at the immense pit of mud and fencing in front of you. Though the fencing separates you and the pit, as you continue to stare at it, you feel like it’s expanding, like it might swallow you up at any…
On August 26, Ruben Alaniz was called upon to finish the ninth inning for his Durham Bulls against the Norfolk Tides. It was a four-run lead, so it wasn’t a save situation, and therefore not too much pressure. His catcher, Andrew Moore, a major league veteran for parts of nine seasons, dug in to start…
My brother-in-law Tom Stofka was gentle and kind. He loved the outdoors, earning an advanced degree in forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tom probably should have spent his life climbing trees, but somehow he wound up working for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. By the time of his untimely death,…
I don’t talk about myself with as much vivacity as my fellow Short Relievers because, well, I just don’t. Keeping retaining walls around myself is part defense mechanism, part security blanket, formed from years of Being Online. But Monday I had a bad day at work. Because… well, no reason to get into it! I…
I don’t remember the name of the bar. I do remember it was late, though, and I also remember not really wanting to be in Clackamas with coworkers on a Saturday night. But funny things happen when you are in your mid-20s working a job that seems designed to suck out all your bone marrow…
Anthony Rizzo: Okay, it’s a workplace sitcom but everyone works at, like, a furniture store. Business is bad, but this millennial comes in and tries to change everything. The well-meaning store owner, you could get someone like the dad from Family Ties, keeps going at odds with this new hire, a girl out of college….
1966: Lyndon Johnson declares he’ll stay the course in Vietnam. The Beatles are now officially more popular than Jesus. Richard Speck carries out a murder spree in Chicago; the Gemini 10 launches spaceward; Cleveland, OH has its first racial uprising in the Hugh Riots; out in LA, Walt Disney dies. And down South the Arkansas…
The Portable Dictionary of Baseball Idioms-Turned-Americanisms (Part 2) Baseball has always positioned itself as the All-American pastime, tying itself to our nature’s culture. But even I (writer, baseball enthusiast, nerd) hadn’t realized how much baseball has shaped American English. Part 1 of this list appears here. And a few more follow: Home Run In baseball:…
If you were the lucky soul whom Kurkjian called, although it is unlikely you are aware of being part of baseball lore, this one’s for you. The Portable Dictionary of Baseball Idioms-Turned-Americanisms (Part 1) Baseball has always positioned itself as the All-American pastime, tying itself to our nature’s culture. But even I (writer, baseball enthusiast,…
As a writer of war literature, I’ve had my share of existential crises. Hell, I imagine most writers — even those who aren’t consistently elbow-deep in trauma — do. In moments like these, when (one of) our nation’s humanitarian emergencies feels so raw, so urgent, I find it difficult to think about anything else. I…
Hey you! Yes, you! Do you have a heritage night or pride-based festival that’s coming up? Do you want to have the spotlight and reach that only a major league baseball team can bring? Are you committed to having the Philadelphia Phanatic make a mockery of your beloved culture? If you answered yes to these…
Recently my wife asked me how Stephen Strasburg was doing, as if we text regularly. Her memory of baseball is frozen in the late aughts-early tweens of baseball, before we were married, and while I was tweeting something after every dang plate appearance. She remembers when Strasburg starts were big deals, and it turns out…
Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way—ours is a family of Mets fans. My dad and his younger brother have always loved baseball, but my grandma was by far the biggest diehard in the family. This is our first season, and the Mets’, without her. My grandma liked to tell the story of…
After a 10-year study, countless hours of research and several per diem meals reimbursed, scientists and analysts in professional baseball in conjunction with the Tabletop Gaming Association of America have reached the following conclusion about the changing shape of the baseball over the past few decades. The baseball as we know it, gradually changed from…
Mets closer Jeurys Familia’s 15-game suspension for domestic violence came to an end Thursday.
It’s going to take more than a Mr. Met with eyelashes to create a modern, diverse fan base.