ClimbingSky

Why Baseball, Books, and the Grateful Dead matter

Baseball History

  • Greatest Living Player

    With the death of Willie Mays, the discussion of “who is the greatest living player” has begun. While Willie was with us, there was (of course) no debate. Here are the names I have heard mentioned so far: The last name on the list, Pujols, doesn’t really belong on the list. Sure, Pujols was a… Read more

  • On the Yankees and Other Crimes Against Humanity

    We are told by many commentators of the game that as fans we should be angry at the players who “cheated” the game of baseball by using steroids. Their argument is that steroids and human growth hormones hurt the “integrity of the game.” Personally, I think the Yankees (beginning with the purchase of Babe Ruth)… Read more

  • Baseball & Digital Distraction

    My concerns about the future of baseball—a $10 billion sport enjoying an unprecedented era of financial success and labor peace—are not based on misplaced nostalgia for a “pure” game that never existed. They are based on the dissonance between a game that demands and depends on concentration, time, and memory and a twenty-first-century culture that… Read more