Last season, the Dodgers lost the World Series in the early days of November. They lost after drawing the series out to its full seven games, wringing every ounce of drama and emotion they could out of it — so much so that the defining seventh game was itself anemic, drained of any real conflict….
Mookie Betts stole second base in Game 1 of the 2018 World Series. He was anointed a hero for this. He was deemed the individual responsible for giving us all one free taco next week if we so desire one, because he was the first to steal a base in the best-of-seven contest. Mookie Betts…
We do not each have our own true purpose, Albert Camus theorized in his The Myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was happy because he had a specific purpose and fulfilled it, and that’s the end of the list of folks who can find pleasure down that avenue. But that is okay! Now you know. Folks are…
Before composing Canto 34 to conclude his epic poem Inferno, Dante Alighieri was witness to the elimination of all four of his favorite teams in the 1318 National League and American League Division Series. Experts believe that in response, Dante composed a short poem titled, simply, Canto DS, in order to comfort fellow fans in…
The 1999 Mets are haunting me. Mike Kinkade keeps leaping out from corners to shout “Boo!” as I walk with four iced coffees. Jermaine Allensworth whispers my deepest darkest insecurities in my ear every night as I try to sleep. It’s rather rude. I tolerate this because they were members of the first baseball team…
I started playing Civilization recently. I really don’t know why–I’m incredibly busy with work I need to be doing and have little to no time to be spending building faux-historical empires on my computer screen, but one does what they will. It’s been a long time since I’ve played video games, really, since the Nintendo…
The Astros are blazing with power and flair, Bregman, Altuve, and Cole has his share, An ace with a 5.2 WAR and a Dragon, They’re hitting and running and stealing and tagging. The Astros could be a new dynasty, yet For my part, I’d rather see Betts. The Brewers have Miley and Yelich and Cain,…
Baseball’s hieroglyphic system is a point of pride to pass on from nerd to nerd, usually between those who share a bloodline. Being able to trace the action of a full nine innings through the scribbles of a scorecard is a source of pride and satisfaction. “I can just check the box score online,” you…
He spoke directly, individually, and personally to them. Not to a mass audience, but to them, right there in their home… [Godfrey] launched his revolutionary notion by saying into the microphone the simple phrase, “How are you?” (Dick Cavett, Brief Encounters, 2015) This simple phrase helped Arthur Godfrey become one of the most influential legends…
Chris Carpenter touched first base and the Cardinals exploded in a firestorm, springing around the field like children at a party on a hot summer’s day. Ryan Howard crumpled on the first base line. One swing ended all his hopes of restoring himself as the player he once was. I wondered if anyone noticed. My…