Infinite Inning 347: Spahn, Bringer of Screwballs; Mars, Bringer of War

We begin by fixing the Rockies with the 1987 Cardinals, stopping off at the intersection of George Steinbrenner gaslighting and (one more time) my Chuck Knoblauch Story. Then we journey back to World War II and look at some dire events adjacent to some future Hall of Famers and try to place them in context of some current events involving today’s fighting forces. And then we come back to the Rockies, who turn out to be the key to the whole thing.

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?