The Infinite Inning

Our first post-World Series episode asks if the Brewers’ inflexible budget will help or hinder them in the defense of their championship. Examples from the past provide a surprising answer! First, though, we remind ourselves that we’re more than our jobs, and especially who we report to, as exemplified by a lost (and shockingly short) player named “Toad” Satterfield. The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the present using baseball as our time machine. America's brighter mirror, baseball reflects, anticipates, and even mocks the stories we tell ourselves about our world today. Baseball Prospectus's Steven Goldman shares his obsessions: history from inside and outside of the game, politics, stats, and Casey Stengel quotations. Along the way, we'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 Tampa Bay Rays’ return to the World Series inspires a look at the best players to come out of Florida, and—surprise—we discover that the most prominent Hall of Famers may not be the ones who have the most to teach us. Then we visit with Babe Ruth’s two daughters, one delighted, the other disappointed, and track down a story that broadcaster Mel Allen told about the Bambino concerning an improbable Yankees comeback that took place even as the best player in baseball left to hang out with Ty Cobb. The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the present using baseball as our time machine. America's brighter mirror, baseball reflects, anticipates, and even mocks the stories we tell ourselves about our world today. Baseball Prospectus's Steven Goldman shares his obsessions: history from inside and outside of the game, politics, stats, and Casey Stengel quotations. Along the way, we'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?

Meet the Milwaukee Brewers of yesterday and today—1944, 1982, and 2026—as well as that time Casey Stengel managed them to a pennant and had to leave anyway. Then we go back to the world of 1982, take a high-level view of the American League pennant winners, and spend a regrettable amount of time with a very sick teacher named Carl. TRIGGER WARNING: The episode contains a discussion of recent violent episodes in the United States and some from the past, including our most recent school shooting.SFX: Ding.wav by tim.kahn License: Attribution 4.0 The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the present using baseball as our time machine. America's brighter mirror, baseball reflects, anticipates, and even mocks the stories we tell ourselves about our world today. Baseball Prospectus's Steven Goldman shares his obsessions: history from inside and outside of the game, politics, stats, and Casey Stengel quotations. Along the way, we'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?

Two players who destroyed their careers before they got anywhere close to the major leagues. Maybe they never would have, but who can say? A first baseman with a high on-base percentage throws it all away just to get some pants—a lot of pants. All the pants. Then, in our own time, a college pitcher is charged with sexual assault, but despite his lawyers insisting that the victim had “put herself in harm’s way,” the accusers just kept on coming. TRIGGER WARNING: Once again, this episode contains extensive, and I mean extensive, discussion of sexual assault and related issues. That discussion begins at roughly the 24:00 mark of the show. The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the present using baseball as our time machine. America's brighter mirror, baseball reflects, anticipates, and even mocks the stories we tell ourselves about our world today. Baseball Prospectus's Steven Goldman shares his obsessions: history from inside and outside of the game, politics, stats, and Casey Stengel quotations. Along the way, we'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?

A .500 Astros team that slipped into the playoffs because of a faulty league structure bashes its own fans, something for which a long-ago cranky sportswriter had an answer that still obtains. Then we discuss the Cornell Rape Inquiry and note how some of the responses to it echo two long-ago cases involving major league ballplayers, one a completely incident in the career of a St. Louis Cardinals team captain. TRIGGER WARNING: Extensive, and I mean extensive discussion of sexual assault and related issues, one involving an underaged victim, beginning a little after the 20:00 mark. The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the present using baseball as our time machine. America's brighter mirror, baseball reflects, anticipates, and even mocks the stories we tell ourselves about our world today. Baseball Prospectus's Steven Goldman shares his obsessions: history from inside and outside of the game, politics, stats, and Casey Stengel quotations. Along the way, we'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?