Fifty-four days until pitchers and catchers … and here’s your daily splash of joy.
Why do you love baseball?
Brilliant Reader Eric: “The genuine joy players express for themselves and others, like George Springer clapping after a hit, or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. constantly laughing and enjoying himself.”
Brilliant Reader Bob: “Anything and everything Ernie Harwell ever said on the radio — but especially, ‘It’s a long fly… Could be… It’s LONG GONE!!’”
Brilliant Reader Dave: “I’ve reached the point in my life where I have trouble remembering the reason why I just grabbed my phone, but I can still recall the results of the first two games I attended. May 30, 1976, Mets vs. Cardinals at Shea — Helmet Day, very close to my birthday, Tom Seaver pitched, but the Mets lost 6-5 in 11. Three weeks later, the Mets got shelled by the Giants, 9-2, with Jon Matlack throwing his glove when he got to the dugout.”
Brilliant Reader Jack: This is my grandson Jack, an all-American kid if there ever was one, on June 1 at Kauffman Stadium, for the Royals and Tigers game, brightly shining with the baseball the ballboy slipped under the netting to him. What’s not to love?
If you would like to send in the reason why you love baseball, we’d love to hear it. And in that spirit, we’re also now collecting photos and artwork too — old snapshots, ballpark scenes, favorite scorecards, kids’ drawings, ticket stubs, whatever captures the joy of the game for you. Some people are sending song lyrics. Some are sending poems. It’s utterly wonderful. Just send along your baseball joy to [email protected].
The True Wonders of AI
This utterly wonderful post made the rounds on BlueSky on Tuesday, bringing great happiness to so many of us.
For anyone worried AI will replace all of us. Courtesy of Gemini for the prompt “create an infographic of all the World Series winners since 1986” I dare you to find 10 things that are right.
— Mordy Oberstein (@mordyoberstein.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T19:45:19.948Z
Oh, those Boston Yook Yarters of 2013. Who can forget them?
Well, it’s clear that Mordy has found the true use of AI, and so I immediately went to Gemini to create a few sports infographics of my own. They are all fun — I highly recommend you do this for yourself — but I don’t think I can top this list of home run champions since 1986.
I could spend the next year writing about this glorious chart. I mean, it starts with that great home run hitter Mike Schmitt, who apparently won home run championships in 1986 and then again 10 years later — and predicts that the 2029 home run title will be shared by six people in 2029, and these six people are:
Shorei Ohtani (apparently, he will change his first name)
Ghamta (a Brazilian baseball player?)
Dcud Sisop
Francisco Giants
Couch Ist Cas (finally living up to his potential)
And my personal favorite, Bunal Yats. I believe Bunal is in the lower reaches of the Rockies organization right now — or maybe he’s playing baseball on a playground in Maputo — and it’s exciting to know that he will develop quickly.
Endless delight. I didn’t even ask Gemini to go back before 1986, but it kindly did anyway, taking us all the way back to 1019 AD, the very same year that the Third Goryeo-Khitan War ended. I thought Goryeo-Khitan War II was the best one, and they never should have introduced Ewoks for the third one, but no matter, the world was enthralled with Alex Rodrebs, who led the American League in home runs. This, incidentally, was the American League 488 years before cartographer Martin Waldseemüller named the New World after Amerigo Vespucci.
Taking a trip down memory lane, ah, when Spad Yatarr and Semn Barkley led their leagues in homers in 1918 …When Barry Bonds (playing for the Srancisco Giants) led the league with 73 homers in 2019 (tying with Sranta Sutents). That, you might remember, was also Suinka Sitøu’s big year … When Seattle Ask Marners won the AL title in 1998, one year after Seattle Markers won it (Seattle is such a good first name) … Last year when Skootla Sicales led the AL in dingers, oh, Skootla is such a thrilling talent …
But you know what my favorite one on the whole list might be?
Jesse Barfield leading the AL in 1986.
That’s actually correct.
I have no idea how Gemini got that one right.
