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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Nov 13, 2026 · 1:02:26
A young man shows his love for baseball by running all the way to the Cardinals game—and likes it so much he buys the team! But this is the Infinite Inning, so he only gets to…
Nov 6, 2026 · 56:46
Thank you for supporting the show through (more than) 400 episodes! In addition to the usual celebrations and ruminations about what it all means, we have the usual two stories.…
Oct 31, 2026 · 50:05
Our first post-World Series episode asks if the Brewers’ inflexible budget will help or hinder them in the defense of their championship. Examples from the past provide a…
Oct 24, 2026 · 51:11
The Tampa Bay Rays’ return to the World Series inspires a look at the best players to come out of Florida, and—surprise—we discover that the most prominent Hall of Famers may not…
Oct 17, 2026 · 55:40
Meet the Milwaukee Brewers of yesterday and today—1944, 1982, and 2026—as well as that time Casey Stengel managed them to a pennant and had to leave anyway. Then we go back to…
Oct 9, 2026 · 59:14
Two players who destroyed their careers before they got anywhere close to the major leagues. Maybe they never would have, but who can say? A first baseman with a high on-base…
Oct 3, 2026 · 1:01:38
A .500 Astros team that slipped into the playoffs because of a faulty league structure bashes its own fans, something for which a long-ago cranky sportswriter had an answer that…
Sep 26, 2026 · 49:23
In a column that suggests that sportswriters never change, a “writer’s wing” scribe makes a weak excuse for the negative qualities of one of baseball’s greatest hitters and…
Sep 19, 2026 · 45:49
First we visit a very close-by alternative reality in which a momentary weakness on the part of the original Yankee Stadium gives someone in a position of power the opportunity…
Sep 12, 2026 · 50:03
An odd tale of a pitcher unboxing a stuffed and mounted boar in the clubhouse leads to speculation about the nature of marriage and the trial of giving gifts and getting what you…
Sep 5, 2026 · 41:18
The 1938 Pittsburgh Pirates blow the pennant race in one of the most dramatic losses of baseball history, but according to one of the current lords of our realm the Cubs should…
Aug 29, 2026 · 1:07:12
Two tales of children whose adult life in baseball might have been influenced by childhood fears real and imagined (but mostly real). First, the speed-king of 1880s baseball…
Aug 22, 2026 · 53:33
Two stories featuring one of the more rage-addicted pitchers of all time (no, not Johnny Allen, but good guess), one in which he overestimated a Hall of Famer’s rigidity and got…
Aug 15, 2026 · 35:48
Two stories in which the players’ absence from the narrative is the point: First, we go back to John McGraw’s first right fielder with the Giants, a speed-based player who was…
Aug 8, 2026 · 1:03:12
Over a hundred years ago, a forward-thinking sportswriter suggests that a certain Yankees slugger might solve a munitions crisis much like the one the United States military is…
Aug 1, 2026 · 1:02:36
In 1922, two New York teams make July trades that provoke a change in the way the game is played. Both were successful in their way, but how successful were they, really? And why…
Jul 25, 2026 · 53:27
Hall of Fame Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog gets stuck in the Yankees system—and the Army—leading to a discussion of social responsibility when it comes to risking the lives of…
Jul 18, 2026 · 56:56
Two instructive tales of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who, as Casey Stengel said, were at that time in Brooklyn. The 26-inning man places a clever comeback among his last words, but not…
Jul 11, 2026 · 59:43
We ask of various figures past and present (as Mark Twain once did) “Is He Alive or Is He Dead?” finishing with the time Babe Ruth was reported to have fatally crashed his car.…
Jul 3, 2026 · 55:40
A July 4th episode: Lou Gehrig’s farewell and slight return, Joe DiMaggio flashes back to the Iron Horse streak, the National League is founded in the Centennial year as things…
Jun 27, 2026 · 48:09
A young Yogi Berra battles his own pitching staff just as Dalton Rushing struggles to call pitches for Shohei Ohtani, Casey Stengel drags Yogi into the Joe McCarthy mess in…
Jun 20, 2026 · 47:56
The San Francisco Giants’ botched attempt at Pride Night prompts a look at Billy Sunday, the Cubs outfielder who had a religious awakening and became one of the most popular…
Jun 13, 2026 · 47:44
Trigger Warning: Discussions of self-harm. A Reds pitcher confuses the end of his arm for the end of his life, several other players take the easy way out, a bizarre trade is…
Jun 6, 2026 · 30:35
A shorter episode about bad timing as exemplified by the time that Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel was run over by a car. The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to…
May 30, 2026 · 32:49
A shorter episode that takes a quick look at the Homestead Grays and the attenuated career of the late Bob Horner. The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the…
May 23, 2026 · 41:53
A grab-bag episode in which the title says it all: The 40th anniversary of the 1986 Mets, how failed Yankees shortstop Bobby Meacham would have performed if Baseball-Reference…
May 16, 2026 · 51:50
Infinite Inning 375: The A's, Murder in Camden, and the Spiders from Cleveland Several attempts at finding empathy through self-denial this week: We ask if it’s right to laugh at…
May 9, 2026 · 51:03
We go back to the early days of the Angels (California, Los Angels, Anaheim, or anywhere in-between) for the untimely death of a pitcher, then look forward to next year, when one…
May 2, 2026 · 56:55
Two managers dropped this week, but four teams haven’t fired a manager in-season since the last century. Which were they, and is there even a point? Then we travel back to 1887,…
Apr 25, 2026 · 52:09
A major metropolitan newspaper contends a pitcher “blows,” while he insists he is in “the best shape of his life.” Which would prove to be closer to the truth? Then we revisit…
Apr 18, 2026 · 53:46
We note the recent passing of some stalwart ballplayers, some of all too recent a vintage, then travel back to the 1950s and the breaking of the Braves color line by an…
Apr 11, 2026 · 48:48
In which we track the posthumous career of one of baseball’s earliest players, who might simultaneously lie in three different places or maybe nowhere at all. Then we wish Parker…
Apr 4, 2026 · 54:28
Infinite Inning 369: An Odd Cardinals Walk-Off or a Typical Cubs Loss? First we ask an evergreen question prompted by Konnor Griffin’s promotion: Were Casey Stengel’s…
Mar 28, 2026 · 56:04
Two players who might have made the Hall of Fame if not for time missed to national service during World War II stand in for all of those whose trajectories were deflected by the…
Mar 21, 2026 · 49:10
In which we talk about some of our own broken relationships, the war of Billy Martin’s ear and what George Steinbrenner’s plan to bring him back for a sixth tour says about his…
Mar 15, 2026 · 38:37
A pitcher named Bob becomes Sailor Bob all because his wife wanted him out of the house in a fatal way, then we revisit the 1880s and a truly ridiculous ballpark that led to a…
Mar 7, 2026 · 50:28
How the King of France once had an illicit love life that bore both a great resemblance to that of some of our current villains, but was also kind of similar to one of Branch…
Feb 28, 2026 · 40:28
This week, a light-hearted tale of a pitcher who braved the injury nexus in a body that just refused to flinch when under hostile fire, preceded by the story of a favorite…
Feb 21, 2026 · 1:00:56
A player who is remembered as “Jumbo” even though that was neither his name or his shape is described in both complimentary and critical terms, oysters are considered, and one of…
Feb 14, 2026 · 59:19
A future Hall of Fame outfielder gets into a tiff with the first Hall of Fame umpire and the umpire says a rude word, but how rude was it? Then we briefly consider the worst…
Jan 31, 2026 · 53:53
A rare three-segment episode this week. First, in what is very much NOT a story, the host quotes Casey Stengel in a totally context-free way. Then a pitcher has to work hard to…
Jan 24, 2026 · 1:02:21
An episode in which yesterday’s headlines are today’s. First, we find not William Bell the Negro Leagues great, but William Bell the victim of a false accusation in 1920s…
Jan 10, 2026 · 54:50
A wide-ranging journey inspired by the impulse-control problems of a 1950s catcher that provked, depending on Billy Martin’s mood, two, no three, no four on-field fights, with…
Jan 7, 2026 · 41:31
In this week’s new discussion, the story of a Yankees prospect who might have made it if not for a certain United Nations police action overseas. Then we return to 2017 for a…
Jan 3, 2026 · 27:20
In our second and last holiday mini-episode of the season, we wonder how a sore-armed Yankees pitcher went on a crash diet, then turn to Kid Gleason, manager of the 1919 Chicago…
Dec 27, 2025 · 32:40
Infinite Inning 357 Angels Up the Where? and Baseball True Love In a holiday mini-episode we talk about secular vs. religious holidays in America, the films of Powell and…
Dec 20, 2025 · 53:25
Infinite Inning 356 Did a Hall of Fame Manager Break Three Prospects? A long-promised Casey Stengel episode asks why the press reacted badly when the Ol’ Perfesser was named…
Dec 18, 2025 · 37:31
In this week’s new commentary, we wonder how major league strikeout leader James Wood can reduce his strikeouts by 600 percent in 2026. Then we return to early 2008 for a look at…
Dec 13, 2025 · 51:20
Pete Alonso’s exit from New York triggers an exploration of an earlier first baseman who was not only dispensable, but mocked for the very fact of his aging. Expect more John…
Dec 10, 2025 · 54:19
Infinite Inning Reissue 025 (077) The Death of Addie Joss Explained and Old-Time Cheating Too In this week’s new segment, we talk about some fringe major leaguers named Truck and…
Dec 7, 2025 · 52:43
We return from the IL with Casey Stengel’s endorsement of the designated hitter, and of astronauts too, then springboard from the recent Red Sox-Pirates trade into a discussion…
Nov 15, 2025 · 44:16
A pitcher throws a great game in the World Series and is congratulated by a backstop unknown to him, but once he was known to the game. Then we travel back to 1917 when gamblers…
Nov 13, 2025 · 1:02:23
In this week’s new material, we compare a team signing a low-OBP player to the girl you were crushing on choosing the only suitor you would have had her avoid (not that it was up…
Nov 8, 2025 · 55:20
We look at an ordinary day of baseball, May 8, 1949, and some extraordinary—and tragic—things that happened. First, a couple of good pitchers get shelled, then we witness some…
Nov 6, 2025 · 41:01
In the new commentary segment of this week’s reissue episode, we talk about childhood fears of the end times, the degraded state of Times Square in the 1970s and 1980s, the…
Nov 1, 2025 · 1:13:28
We spend the episode in 1933. First, Will Rogers comments on the broadcasts in a way which suggests that not much has changed between the start of on-air baseball commentary and…
Oct 31, 2025 · 56:34
A slightly discursive rainy-day episode in which we question the unlikely players who have hit three home runs in a game and ask if the Rockies-Pirates season series was really…
Oct 25, 2025 · 57:07
First we make amends to a great of the game who was not only left out of last week’s Shohei Ohtani-Babe Ruth approbation, but was poorly served by baseball (and Baseball). Then…
Oct 23, 2025 · 57:08
In both this week’s new remarks and our reissue, we go back to pre-Pearl Harbor 1941 and the days when Joe DiMaggio was, day by day, counting up hits and the president, without…
Oct 18, 2025 · 53:46
We observe the passing of the Milwaukee Brewers out of the championship picture via Casey Stengel (who once managed the minor league Brewers to a championship) mourning a day…
Oct 16, 2025 · 48:08
In this week’s new remarks, we observe how quaint the racial dialogue of 2018 was (or at least your host’s was) in light of what was coming down the line for the nation. After a…
Oct 11, 2025 · 1:00:27
We note the passing of Mike Greenwell and an odd time to be an injured player with the Red Sox, and observe the cruel turns fate can take. Continuing on that theme, we go back to…
Oct 8, 2025 · 47:11
In both this week’s new remarks and in the reissue segment we revisit our obligation to think critically and how the concept of WAR can help us frame the abstract concepts of…
Oct 4, 2025 · 44:48
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…
Oct 1, 2025 · 33:13
We revisit an early episode about two great ballplayers who sickened at midcareer and, sadly, could not come back in any sense. What can we learn from them? This week’s new…
Sep 27, 2025 · 52:17
Collapsing teams this September inspire a visit with a Twins journeyman who has a huge day at the plate, keeping an unexpected contender in first place for a little longer…
Sep 25, 2025 · 1:10:41
Before we go back to 2018 for a discussion of the only Cubs general manager who was moonlighting from his job at the fish-market and a non-baseball tale, one of the more obscure…
Sep 20, 2025 · 56:56
Babe Ruth backs the attack as Babe Ruth gets married, but to a guy named H.C., not a former model named Claire. Cal Raleigh goes on a rampage and Mickey Mantle finishes 1961…
Sep 17, 2025 · 40:43
...Because you might just field the ball with your skull. This week’s new remarks include further reflections on the national calamity unleashed last week, leading into a reissue…
Sep 13, 2025 · 48:05
In which the outfielder called Zaza is rediscovered, as is the hit “dirty” turn-of-the-century play that gave him his name. We then briefly pause for a Dodgers outfielder’s…
Sep 10, 2025 · 1:08:19
We return to 2018 and a conversation with the late great manager Davey Johnson, with a cameo from his very excited dogs. This week’s new remarks expand on Johnson’s Hall of Fame…
Sep 6, 2025 · 47:59
First a catcher and an umpire supposedly participate in a physically impossible act, a computer program vexes the host and leads to a discussion of one possibly beneficial use of…
Sep 4, 2025 · 1:14:10
This week’s new remarks are occasioned by the Florida surgeon general’s decision (which he may or may not have the power to enforce) to repeal all vaccine mandates in the state.…
Aug 30, 2025 · 53:04
An obscure umpire-punching incident by a Washington Senators outfielder helps cement the death of the franchise, the slowness of catchers is recalled when a famously leadfooted…
Aug 27, 2025 · 53:17
In this week’s new remarks, we consider a revival of the baseball musical Damn Yankees which may let the bigoted owners of the original Washington Senators off the hook for…
Aug 23, 2025 · 1:09:01
We’re back after an unanticipated medical time out! Casey Stengel gives a medical report and so does the host; why the bad parts of American history give meaning to the good…
Jul 30, 2025 · 48:10
In this week’s new remarks, a sentimental farewell to the great Ryne Sandberg, the traffic en route to Citi Field and the world outside our windows, and a lesson from position…
Jul 26, 2025 · 47:22
In a Yankees-centric episode for deadline week, we revisit a rare homegrown Yankees third baseman at a moment he refused to sit down even as injuries ate him alive. Then we take…
Jul 23, 2025 · 38:22
The recent tragic flooding in Texas causes us to revisit the passing of one of baseball’s greatest and strangest southpaws and, in this week’s new remarks, wonder just when it is…
Jul 19, 2025 · 38:09
We revisit one of the greatest baseball trade deadline deals. Hint: It came on June 15, 1964, and then visit early 20th century Los Angeles and take a look at a neglected corner…
Jul 12, 2025 · 52:13
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.…
Jul 9, 2025 · 57:11
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…
Jul 2, 2025 · 59:09
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…
Jun 28, 2025 · 49:33
Infinite Inning 337: Yankees and Cubs Have Wants and Desires Babe Ruth asks for a small favor from Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert—well, 100,000 small favors—and is rebuked in the…
Jun 25, 2025 · 45:54
In new remarks for this week’s baseball, history, and politics reissue, we consider the heat dome hovering over half the country and wonder what it means for baseball. Then we…
Jun 21, 2025 · 38:20
Emotional trades happen, and the Cardinals—anticipating the exile of Rafael Devers from Boston—made one with a future Hall of Famer (who eventually wound up in Boston). Then a…
Jun 18, 2025 · 37:26
In new remarks for this week’s baseball, history, and politics reissue, notes from the 1500s on kings and princes vs. the mob and what that might tell us about the Rafael Devers…
Jun 14, 2025 · 51:18
A 1980s designated hitter is traded to the National League, a fish-needs-a-bicycle baseball moment reminiscent of recent US diplomacy, and a 20-game winner who pitched as…
Jun 11, 2025 · 1:00:47
In new remarks for this week’s baseball and history reprise, we argue about bunts, kites, and kings—why would anyone wish for any of them? Kites are okay, of course, but the…
Jun 7, 2025 · 39:14
There are very few general managers in the Hall of Fame, but that doesn’t mean your local team executive doesn’t know what he’s doing—it’s just that there are only so many…
Jun 4, 2025 · 1:15:26
In early February 2021 it seemed as if the danger of internally-inflicted fascism might be over, and so we looked at an occasion when Lou Gehrig was confronted with the same kind…
May 31, 2025 · 52:09
We take another trip around a past sun with the Brooklyn Dodgers, wondering about the origins of Uncle Robbie’s pronounced facial scar and then question a couple of old stories…
May 28, 2025 · 41:27
We return to the program’s first year for two of our more fun baseball profiles, both featuring Brooklyn Dodgers—one from the 19th century, one from the 1940s, and both a little…
May 24, 2025 · 1:06:45
Infinite Inning 332: Women at the Park and Dictators in the Dugout The Chicago Cubs push hard on Ladies Day promotions, but a few object claiming that women don’t know the game…
May 21, 2025 · 37:21
Before we revisit episode 13 and it’s discussion of the O’Connell-Dolan scandal, starring a player and a coach lately sprung off the banned list by Rob Manfred, we have a new…
May 17, 2025 · 58:48
The secret to managers’ success is revealed and dispensed with, in a hypothetical version of 1976, George Steinbrenner gifts Reggie Jackson with a plane, Hal Chase isn’t off the…
May 14, 2025 · 31:34
In this return to one of this baseball podcast’s earliest episodes, we discover two utility infielders, the Yankees’ Wayne Tolleson and, well, nobody’s Snooks Dowd (he was a…
May 10, 2025 · 55:27
A pope who supposedly wanted baseball but caved to the Nazis instead, an amateur pitcher who cost a team a pennant, the Perdicaris incident, a Pirates manager is fired and the…
May 8, 2025 · 1:07:44
For the show’s first reissue, we return to an episode from almost precisely five years ago which compares players who wouldn’t follow rules and inspired their clubs not to follow…
May 3, 2025 · 1:03:46
We consider the legacy of the great Venezuelan players who have graced the game going back to Alex Carrasquel in 1939, constructing an all-star team of players from that…
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