Tag Archives: baseball

April 6, 2017

Backlist Bop: Lifters and jaffas and twin killings and homers

Posted by rkcunningham
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I once tried to explain baseball to a British friend while we watched a Cubs game. By the sixth inning, after going aground on the dropped third strike and tagging up on a fly ball, I said that baseball, like … Continue reading →

October 7, 2016

Karmageddon II

Posted by rkcunningham
in Chicago, sports history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Karmageddon II

Tonight, the world once again courts apocalypse, as the Chicago Cubs put on their best woolens to embark on the long, untrod road to the World Series. Winners of over 100 games for the first time since the Great Depression, … Continue reading →

September 8, 2016

Throwbacklist Thursday: Ready for some football

Posted by rkcunningham
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Tonight, the National Football League and the betting on same return to thrill America. Sure, you know the quarterback rating of all the miserable underperformers who have gone under center for your team since the Kennedy administration. Why not add some … Continue reading →

August 12, 2016

Afternoon of a Centaur

Posted by rkcunningham
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Evolving (?) from fresh-faced wunderkind and secret marketing savant to reviled steroid-using superjock damned for his cleats of clay, Alex Rodriguez was the marquee baseball player of his era, reflecting Major League Baseball’s unprecedented financial growth—the man signed two contracts worth over $250 … Continue reading →

July 5, 2016

Fixed That For You

Posted by rkcunningham
in Chicago, sports history | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Fixed That For You

In 1921, with Independence Day festivities out of the way, jury selection began on the biggest scandal to hit the sports world in years: the Black Sox case, with a clutch of eight White Sox players facing justice for throwing … Continue reading →

May 24, 2016

Release Party: Game Faces

Posted by rkcunningham
in law, sports history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Release Party: Game Faces

Sports figures have a public profile once reserved for the likes of reigning monarchs and movie stars. In the new UIP book Game Faces, Sarah K. Fields looks at six people faced with what they considered attacks on their privacy and images, … Continue reading →

April 28, 2016

Throwbacklist Thursday: The Pitching Hour

Posted by rkcunningham
in american history, sports history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Throwbacklist Thursday: The Pitching Hour

For a boring sport, baseball sure produces a lot of interesting writing. Maybe because writers have a lot of time to think, take notes, nap, and so on waiting for something to happen during a game. And then when something … Continue reading →

April 27, 2016

Kind of Blue

Posted by rkcunningham
in Illinois / regional, sports history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Kind of Blue

With the Cubs shocking the monkey in the early going, the cry goes out: Kris Bryant for president. Or Anthony Rizzo. Or Jake Arrieta. Alas, they are all too young and, in Arrieta’s case, too bearded. We could nominate Chicago manager … Continue reading →

February 23, 2016

Reno’s little helper

Posted by rkcunningham
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As winter turns up its final furies on the Northern Hemisphere, those snowbirds in stirrups depart for Florida and Arizona, there to prepare body and soul for the baseball season ahead. This is the time of year when baseballers get the party … Continue reading →

February 8, 2016

Q&A with Team Chemistry author Nathan Michael Corzine

Posted by sfast
in american history, author commentary, authors, sports history | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Q&A with Team Chemistry author Nathan Michael Corzine

Nathan Michael Corzine is an instructor in history at Coastal Carolina Community College. He recently answered some questions about his book Team Chemistry: The History of Drugs and Alcohol in Major League Baseball. Q: Are there any surprises when it comes to … Continue reading →