Eventually.

For instance, in September, 1928 the Boston Braves played nine consectuive double headers. Thankfully, they did have a couple of days off in that stretch. http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1928...

Now that I think about it, he may have written they're the highest ever.

This also applies to the "modern" brand of stats derived by Bill James and his friends. I don't dispute that they have some meaning, but a 1-0 oomplete game pitched today is a much greater achieverment than a game with identical statistics would have been in 1920.

I would say, though, that Bill James has done everything possible to take the changing conditions of baseball into account. I think he once said that if you didn't, you'd conclude that 80% of the greatest hitters of all time played from 1925 to 1940 and most of the great pitchers played from 1900 to 1915.

Speaking of pitcher's graveyards, Dontrelle Willis is going to give it another shot tomorrow night.

One thing I learned from James is that after Ray Chapman was killed by a pitch in 1920, a pitch he most likely lost sight of, the umpires began putting new balls in play much more often. This meant the pitches were more visible and easier to hit.

However you would also be sending Jeter to play his career (starting in 1960) in Candlestick Park, one of the worst hitting parks in baseball.

<Jim Bartle> That's an interesting point about new baseballs in 1920. I had only heard the traditional explanation that the ball was livened up to help Babe Ruth and other sluggers attract fans after the 1919 Black Sox.

"Stu Miller throws, Maury bunts.
Cepeda runs to field the ball and Hiller covers first, Haller runs to back up Hiller,
Hiller crashes into Miller,
Miller falls, drops the ball, Conlan calls "Safe!" "

Miller was called for a balk when he was blown off the mound during his pitching motion.

The day started out so great, glorious sun, no wind. But with all the substitutions an All-Star game takes a lot of time, and as it dragged on until the late afternoon the wind really whipped up, with hot dog wrappers and beer cups blowing across the field.

The resulting sunburn was bad enough that I probably should have gone to a hospital, but didn't. After all, I couldn't afford to miss any of the tournament! My only highlight was beating a Master in round 8, probably because my face was peeling so badly that he must have been grossed out.

But the offensive term “skill position” somehow lives on in football. What does that say about the other sixteen players on the field?

The one that bugs me is a different type: this tendency to rename the "foul pole" in baseball the "fair pole". Yes, I understand the logic. I might even agree with it. But if you're going to use it, be consisent and call that chalk line on the field the "fair line", not the "foul line".

John Antonelli
Ferris Fain
Frankie Crosetti
Johnny Sain
Harry Brecheen and
Lou Boudreau
Frankie Gustine and
Claude Passeau
Eddie Basinski
Ernie Lombardi
Huey Mulcahy
Van Lingle
Van Lingle Mungo

Ah, well--baseball now seems like nothing more than a joint effort by a Baseball Industry to mine money from the public. Ou sont las nieges d'antan?

<Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, >and< Tony LaRussa> all have the opportunity to become five-decade managers next year (and why wouldn't they still be around?). After a little searching, I can find only three other five-decade managers. Two will probably spring to mind immediately, but the third might take some thought.

Trading Cepeda was fine, but they needed to get more than just Sadecki. Problem was, Sadecki had shut down the Giants a few weeks earlier, so they thought he was great, and he wasn't. Actually he was good a couple of years later, but terrible at first.

By the way, LaRussa has to have the strangest World Series record ever. He's managed in five, but only 22 games (9-13)! Forget a seventh game, no team of his has ever played a sixth game.

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