Punishment Almost Fits the Crime
The dominoes have fallen – well most of them, anyway. Around Thanksgiving I wrote my initial opus regarding the Astros’ cheating scandal. Little did I know that the cancer would spread eastward to New England, and right into the dugout of my beloved Red Sox. But here we are. MLB is still investigating the BoSox,…
“What If”: The Butterfly Effect
One on my favorite things to think about when watching baseball is the “what if…” “What if” that last pitch had been called a strike…? “What if” that ball had been an inch to the right? “What if” the third baseman caught that foul ball? But now that the baseball season has been in the…
Crime and Punishment
A few weeks ago the child of a good friend got in trouble at school. When the dust settled and the punishment was doled out, he/she was suspended for five weeks. You read that right, he/she was essentially given a grade-level death sentence. I am not sure what the school hoped to accomplish with this…
The Two-Strike Pitch (Redux)
Four years ago I wrote an article about what I love most about baseball. In case you have forgotten, or – more likely – in case you never read it, what I love most about baseball is the two-strike pitch. And if that is my favorite aspect of the game, then boy-oh-boy did I get…
Head First Strikes Out…Again
As a writer (am I a writer?), I love an evergreen topic. It makes it so much easier to create content. As a baseball fan (I am a baseball fan), however, certain evergreen topics are infuriating. Last week I was listening to the Executive Access podcast (a must-subscribe if you love the inner working of…
Head Shots and Humanity
In honor of Dustin May’s 22nd birthday, there is an issue that has been on my mind for a while. When my son was seven years old, he took a comebacker to his left eye. On impact, he dropped to the ground, the batter advanced to first base, and, as you might expect, everything stopped…
What We Do For Our Kids
When we decided to send our youngest to sleepaway camp in Wisconsin four years ago, I didn’t appreciate that it would require me to make two trips to the Midwest each summer. Of course, there is always the possibility that she could fly alone, but insofar as she was seven years old her first time, we…
Actions Should Have Consequences
Last weekend, in what turned out to be his final act as a member of the Cleveland Indians, Trevor Bauer hurled a ball from the pitcher’s mound into the batter’s eye beyond the center field fence – some 375 feet away. It was a moment of pique. It was, in Bauer’s words, “unbecoming, childish, and…
Baseball: The Tie That Binds
About eight months ago my son decided he would do a summer program at the University of Texas. This would be an opportunity for him – while still in high school – to live in a dorm, experience college life, and be on his own for a few weeks. It would be an opportunity for…
Three Million Reasons Not to Care
Since 2001, the Dodgers have drawn more than three million fans every year, save for 2011, when they fell 65,000 short. Not only are they on pace to hit the mark again this year, they might set their all-time record (2007’s 3.85 million is the number to beat). To paraphrase an Iowan ghost, if you…