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…