On Walks and Walk Offs
Nick Kurtz extends his streak and the Phillies win two more in exciting fashion
Happy May Day! Here’s your splash of joy:
Brilliant Reader Andrew: I am 64 and still have tens of thousands of cards in my bedroom closet (thanks, Mom, for not throwing them out). My favorite: the 1971 Topps Vida Blue. I was 9 going on 10 in 1971, and I needed Blue to finish my set. Almost every day that summer, I pedaled my bike to Gould’s Stationary a mile away (uphill, of course) in Lake Hiawatha, NJ, and bought a pack or two. The thrill when I opened a pack and finally saw that card is still with me today.
Brilliant Reader Brian: Tom Hume, 1981 Topps. My friend Chris taught me about baseball cards, and generously shared his doubles and played poker for them when my collection was inferior. He only needed one card for the whole set - and in those pre-Internet days, there was no way to get it. His parents finally reached out directly to Tom (God knows how). He ended up with the card, a kind letter, and I think a signed glossy photo.
Brilliant Reader Dan: 1987 Topps Juan Bonilla, with the wood paneling border. Bonilla was a mediocre journeyman. I'd never seen him play and never would. But I was 6, and this card looks just like my dad. How can you not love a card that looks like your dad hanging out in your basement?
I’m on a plane right now heading for Boston, where I will take part in some sort of sports psychology discussion group — to be perfectly honest, I am still not entirely sure what this is, but the New Yorker’s Louisa Thomas asked me to be a part of it, and I both adore and idolize Louisa, so I agreed. It will definitely be interesting: There are some really cool journalists and really cool psychologists talking about the nexus between sports and psychology (I think). I’m supposed to talk for a few minutes about the psychology of fandom, I guess, and I’m thinking now that I really should have prepared something.
I’ll give you a full report next week.
The reason I’m talking about the psychology of fandom is, of course, because BIG FAN — the book Mike Schur and I wrote about what it means to be a fan — comes out THIS MONTH. I know it’s close because on Thursday, I got a box of books.
I did a little Instagram reel opening that box:
What a blast. The tour begins May 17, two days before the book officially comes out. Here are the tour dates again:
May 17, 2 p.m.: Charlotte — Barnes & Noble Arboretum.
Monday, May 18: The Strand, New York with Seth Meyers (sold out — waitlist here)
Tuesday, May 19: The Brattle Theater, Cambridge, with Howard Bryant (few tickets left).
Wednesday, May 20: St. Louis County Library, St. Louis, with Gerald Early (tickets going fast)
Thursday, May 21: Unity Temple on the Plaza, Kansas City, with Jason Kander (tickets going fast)
Friday, May 22: Hermosa County Community Center, Los Angeles, with Colin Hanks (tickets going fast)
And, these are the final days for preordering the book. I’ve talked before about how important preorders are to the success of a book, and that’s still very much true. But I also hope you preorder this book, because Mike and I are so proud of it, and we really and truly believe it will bring you some happiness.
In The Clubhouse today, I write a bit about Nick Kurtz’s amazing walk streak, bring back the Intentional Walk Rage Scale (remember that) ,and offer a few choice words about LIV Golf dying. Well, actually, I’ll give you those words right up front. Here they are:
On the one hand, the crashing of LIV Golf ends the most shameful money grab in the history of that or maybe any sport.
On the other hand ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha …
If you’re a Clubhouse member, the door’s now open. And, if you’d like to be a part of the clubhouse — not for more, exactly, but to be a bigger part the JoeBlogs world — we’d love for you join.
