Kyle Seager, long-time Mariners third baseman, known for terrorizing my Texas Rangers throughout his career, announced his retirement recently. Actually, in a sign of the times, his wife tweeted the announcement. I saw that he had hit 242 homeruns in his career with a .251 batting average. That made me wonder if that was the…
The Last Solo Umpire
July 11, 1923 was a sunny, seasonal day in Philadelphia. As National League umpires, Ernie Quiqley and Cy Pfirman were accustomed to living out of a suitcase and spending nights and game days in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Boston, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis. Quigley had been at this for more than a decade, starting…
One-Run and Extra-Inning Games (Part 2 of 2)
This is the 2nd part of a two-part article. We’re exploring a couple questions posed on the Bill James Online site: Hey Bill! Is it possible to calculate an expected number of 1-run games for a team in a season? The reason I ask is that the Mets played in 66 1-run games this year,…
One-Run and Extra-Inning Games (Part 1 of 2)
When the 2021 regular season concluded, there was the following exchange in the “Hey Bill” section of the Bill James Online baseball community, with Bill’s response starting at “Answered”: Hey Bill! Is it possible to calculate an expected number of 1-run games for a team in a season? The reason I ask is that the…
COVID Dispatches: Day 18
Friday, January 22, 2021 Well, honestly, I didn’t plan on writing another one of these. I do expect this to be the last one. I’m happy if yesterday allowed you to drop the worry level about me significantly. Having returned home and started getting back into the swing of things, if sitting on your ass…
COVID Dispatches: Day 17
Thursday, January 21, 2021 I got over 4 hours of sleep last night – a couple of that on my side. All of it after a seemingly-random respiratory guy decided to throw me a curveball and cut my oxygen to 1 liter just before I turned in. That could have derailed me, but just strengthened…
COVID Dispatches: Day 16
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 It was a good day. I wrote this on Tuesday evening, so excuse the confusing timeline. Feeling good. On target to get out Thursday, maybe even tomorrow. Had my best oxygen level of 97 just a little while ago. I pushed up my breathing exercise record by the tiniest amount. That’s…
COVID Dispatches: Day 15
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 Today’s theme: Less talk, more work. I went through a sentimental phase yesterday (happily) and made sure to reach out to some of you personally. So, I apologize for this message being short on details, gonna kick some more ass today. Vitals trending in the right direction. Lungs sounding good. Getting…
COVID Dispatches: Day 14
Monday, January 18, 2021 I went to bed with my best vitals yet: Pulse of 78!! (It’s been 95+ for days) BP 127/87 (still elevated for me, but improved) Oxygen 96 – we’re moving up slowly Temp remains good Blood sugar of 150 – much too high, but down from its peak of 169. The…
COVID Dispatches: Day 13
Sunday, January 17, 2021 Received round 1 of Remdesivir last night. Round two is dripping in now. The steroids are spiking my blood sugar, which is apparently normal. They’re treating me as a diabetic and gave me insulin. Got about 5 hours of sleep. Drinking plenty of fluids. Didn’t have a fever all day after…