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The Infinite Inning

The Infinite Inning

By: Steven Goldman
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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?Copyright (c) Foul Territory Gorilla Enterprises Baseball & Softball Political Science Politics & Government World
Episodes
  • Infinite Inning 338: Superman Almost Defunds the Negro Leagues
    Jul 12 2025
    The baseball content in Action Comics no. 1 has a bad effect on those who appeared, particularly the Yankees, the new Superman film, the nature of the character, and Superman vs. the gamblers in a 1939 issue with a Casey Stengel (Braves) and Ducky Medwick (Cardinals) appearance. Then we revisit a statement of values (the opposite of “Nazi” is “baseball”) and dip into Baseball’s Brief Lives to review the career of player, coach, and manager Billy Hunter, who passed away last week at the age of 97.

    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?
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    52 mins
  • Infinite Inning Reissue 10 (053): On Cobb, Robinson, American Values, and 3000 Hits
    Jul 9 2025
    In new remarks for this week’s baseball, history, and politics reissue, we discuss the Infinite Inning creed and ask what it is we can infer about whole groups if Johnny Bench was a better player than Johnny Roseboro or Lou Gehrig more of a slugger than Vic Power? (Hint: not a damned thing). Then we return to stories of Paul Waner’s 3000th hit and Ty Cobb’s racism and how it intersected with American attitudes during his formative years.

    The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the present using baseball as our time machine. Baseball, America's brighter mirror, often reflects, anticipates, and even mocks the stories we tell ourselves about our world today. Baseball Prospectus's Steven Goldman discusses the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect history, politics, stats, and frequent 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?
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    57 mins
  • Infinite Inning Reissue 9 (079): Cubs in the Stands, Giants on the Breadline, and Lou Reed in New York
    Jul 2 2025
    In new remarks for this week’s baseball, history, and politics reissue, we apply Lou Reed’s classic 1989 album New York to this week’s events in Washington and elsewhere, a discussion which also affords us a momentary visit to that year’s Yankees trying to make some absurd trades (and the Mets actually consummating one of the worst). The flashback segment revisits Hack Wilson’s trip into the stands to thrash a misbehaving milkman and the much-neglected founders of the Giants franchise, among other discarded laborers.

    The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the present using baseball as our time machine. Baseball, America's brighter mirror, often reflects, anticipates, and even mocks the stories we tell ourselves about our world today. Baseball Prospectus's Steven Goldman discusses the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect history, politics, stats, and frequent 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?
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
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