Great post on Novak and the top three. The closest comparison -- and it is actually closer than I thought when I actually looked up the results -- was the domination of tennis by Connors, McEnroe, Lendl and Borg from say 1974 through 1987. Connors, McEnroe or Lendl won 12 of 14 U.S. Opens during that period. Connors, McEnroe and Borg (mostly Borg) won 10 of 11 Wimbledon titles from 1974-1984 and Borg won 6 French Opens from 1974-82 (Lendl won two in 86-87). The Australian Open was an afterthought back then -- the top players skipped the tournament because of the travel and because it didn't have the prestige that it now has as a 4th major. Of course, now we are talking about only 3 players (although for a number of years, Andy Murray was clearly the 4th best in the world until his body gave out) and the domination by the top three in the majors is more pronounced.
Joe - just a note of encouragement to say thank you. I can't even imagine how exhausted you are. And yet, as I read every day about banging schemes and Codebreaking, your series keeps reminding me of why I love baseball. Ironically, your articles wind up weaving through so much more "real" stuff - segregation, WW II, and the way that history and baseball are both fortunately and tragically intertwined... but it's a reminder of why, warts and all, I've loved this game since I was a boy and am glad to share it now with my own sons. Thanks for making my morning wonderful for the last 55 days and the next 45 to come.
Hi Joe - you say that writing the 100 GBPE is exhausting? I can tell you, trying to catch up reading that is not that much easy either ;-) Slow down, if you want or need to. I am certain, we all give you all the time you need.
I know that sports like life is full of what-ifs, wouldas, couldas, shouldas. But I can't help but wonder what Novak's GS totals would have been if he had accepted in the 2nd half of 2016 that he needed elbow surgery and had it done. As it turned out, his 2017 was a forgettable season going into 2018. And he would not have had to deal with the younger players who are definitely going to be a formidable challenge in his getting to 20 GS titles.
Joe, Take a short break from writing the Baseball 100, for your readers as for your self. You are now approaching the most difficult period of this project, capturing the artistry of the “best of the best.” I fear that if you are exhausted going in it will get harder and harder to summon that extra bit of energy and quirkiness that makes you favorite sportswriter. Selfishly, I want to read about Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle or Ted Williams when you are at the height of your writing power not when internally you are pushing yourself to the finish line. You are a true professional so I know you would never deliberately give anything but your best. But, I can tell you as a psychologist the unconscious is a powerful force. Take a few days off. Think about it. Neil D
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
This baseball 100 list is an American treasure. It's a little bit of happiness in an otherwise grey winter here. :)
As for "fixing" baseball, I'm sure getting tired of the commissioner whittling around the edges and putting strange new ideas in place which dont address the real problems. What are those real problems? The way I see it:
1. The cost of attending games has gotten so outrageous that many families cannot afford to take their kids anymore
2. The lateness of the games. It's not just that the games are long (although that's a factor too). It's that they go so late in the night, kids cannot watch. This is especially evident during the playoffs - the time when drama should be at its highest.
3. The cost of watching games on TV. When I was a kid (80s), baseball games were free to watch over broadcast TV. Now many markets need to subscribe to various cable networks and some may even be shut out of watching in-network games altogether (LA for the Dodgers and parts of NY when the YES network debuted). Who knows what the percentage of the the Chicago area will get the new Marquee network this year?
So there you have it. At at time when the commissioner says he wants to increase viewership, the exact opposite is happening - all in the name of money.
This Baseball thing will never see reality. Manfred is what he has been since he became commissioner. A guy with no filter who vomits out every idea he has, and says it in a way that it sounds like the decision has already been made. Everyone panics and wonders where his brain is at like he hasn't done this several times before, there is much discussion for a week, and nothing happens. Then he has a new "idea", throws it out in an interview or press conference and it all starts again.
Joe, you should push the end date. I know there is a beauty in being done on Opening Day, but I think you would be much better off having #10 publish on opening day, and then finishing the countdown to be complete on April 4th. This has many advantages.
First, it acknowledges that you need to rest and recharge or the quality may suffer. And considering how fantastic the series has been so far it would be really sad for it to decrease in quality as we get to the legends! Second, as a project manager of many years, a plan that relies on things going perfectly every day for six weeks is a very bad plan. You need a buffer not only to do your best work, but to allow you to get sick, or have travel delays, or a family issue, without feeling like you are letting yourself and your readers down; because the stress and worry from having no buffer can, ironically, cause some of those exact problems.
Third, I assume that The Athletic will see a surge of subscribers in the first week when more casual baseball fans discover that ALL the best writers are now there. The Athletic should want those people to be seeing the end of the ranking happening in real time, so that when they get their 7 days trials they see the final countdown happening, read the amazing writing, and then say, "Holy crap! I get to read 90 more of these with a subscription (because 7 days sure won't be enough)" It seems to me, admittedly without access to any subscriber data, that finishing #1 on opening day is missing an opportunity to ride the wave of the baseball excitement and interest during opening week. Heck, the Tigers won't even have been eliminated from the playoffs yet.
Great points. I second the motion. Seems like a win-win. And it may help guarantee that you’ll get to the end this time. (Although I have to admit I’ve kind of enjoyed the fact that you’ve had to take 3 shots at this. We get over a hundred actual players, and for some of them we get 2-3 versions of your stories. What a guy, here’s hoping third time’s the charm!
It was all but guaranteed that there would be more playoff teams and a 3-game wildcard round soon. It's more money and if there's anything the players and owners care about, it's money. So I'm actually very happy about the news. At least they put all three games at the better team's park, and at least the #1 team gets a bye. I even like picking who you're going to play and have thought that would be neat for 20 or 30 years. I wish it were starting this year instead of 2022.
I don’t want more teams in the playoffs. Regular season has been watered down enough. But that is the way of greed. The picking of the teams? Really? I can see them thinking we’ll create a show like selection Sunday for the college basketball tourney. Everyone will be on pins and needles waiting to see who plays who. How exciting - NOT!
And adding more playoff games? Maybe we need to expand the Tampa/Montreal idea to all teams. Start the season in mid March, finish in late November at the southern city.
And if it comes to that I can’t wait to see how baseball fans would react to a shorter season- especially one less than 154 games - vis a vis comparing season and career stats of players to those of the past. Yikes, what fun!
I'm having my own Old Man Yelling at Clouds moment, but I'm old enough to remember when winning the AL or NL pennant actually MEANT something. Now I don't even know what it means to win the AL pennant (if such a thing actually still exists). Is it the team with the most wins? Is it the team who won the semi-final playoff series? The regular season has become almost NBA level meaningless.
If baseball wants to do something radical, copy Club Football. Make the regular season important, and let the two pennant winners only play for the World Series. Let number 3-14 play off separately for the Bowie Kuhn Cup or something equally appropriate..
👋 Reach out to some o your favorite JoeBloggers & task them w 5 - 10 vignettes per player apiece. They’ll know your voice well enough to get useful stuff. Be safe on your trip.
Joe, once again: thank you for the Baseball 100. I can’t imagine how difficult your task is, but you’re bringing happiness to a lot of people. And yeah, I’ll buy the book.
Also, agreed on the new playoff proposal. There are so many things wrong with it, it boggles the mind.
Man I can’t imagine what it’s like to do your Baseball 100 project. A year ago I was trying to do a five-part retrospective of Randy Johnson’s 300th win, a project I thought would only be 200,000 words long but in the end it totaled almost 500,000 words. I gave myself six months to write it but in the end I had so little time before the June 4 deadline that I couldn’t proofread it. But it was still six months, and I didn’t have to post a finished project every single day. So major props to you, Joe! (Also can’t wait to see how high the Big Unit would rank. I assume it’ll be higher than Big Six.)
Great post on Novak and the top three. The closest comparison -- and it is actually closer than I thought when I actually looked up the results -- was the domination of tennis by Connors, McEnroe, Lendl and Borg from say 1974 through 1987. Connors, McEnroe or Lendl won 12 of 14 U.S. Opens during that period. Connors, McEnroe and Borg (mostly Borg) won 10 of 11 Wimbledon titles from 1974-1984 and Borg won 6 French Opens from 1974-82 (Lendl won two in 86-87). The Australian Open was an afterthought back then -- the top players skipped the tournament because of the travel and because it didn't have the prestige that it now has as a 4th major. Of course, now we are talking about only 3 players (although for a number of years, Andy Murray was clearly the 4th best in the world until his body gave out) and the domination by the top three in the majors is more pronounced.
Joe - just a note of encouragement to say thank you. I can't even imagine how exhausted you are. And yet, as I read every day about banging schemes and Codebreaking, your series keeps reminding me of why I love baseball. Ironically, your articles wind up weaving through so much more "real" stuff - segregation, WW II, and the way that history and baseball are both fortunately and tragically intertwined... but it's a reminder of why, warts and all, I've loved this game since I was a boy and am glad to share it now with my own sons. Thanks for making my morning wonderful for the last 55 days and the next 45 to come.
Hi Joe - you say that writing the 100 GBPE is exhausting? I can tell you, trying to catch up reading that is not that much easy either ;-) Slow down, if you want or need to. I am certain, we all give you all the time you need.
I know that sports like life is full of what-ifs, wouldas, couldas, shouldas. But I can't help but wonder what Novak's GS totals would have been if he had accepted in the 2nd half of 2016 that he needed elbow surgery and had it done. As it turned out, his 2017 was a forgettable season going into 2018. And he would not have had to deal with the younger players who are definitely going to be a formidable challenge in his getting to 20 GS titles.
Joe, Take a short break from writing the Baseball 100, for your readers as for your self. You are now approaching the most difficult period of this project, capturing the artistry of the “best of the best.” I fear that if you are exhausted going in it will get harder and harder to summon that extra bit of energy and quirkiness that makes you favorite sportswriter. Selfishly, I want to read about Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle or Ted Williams when you are at the height of your writing power not when internally you are pushing yourself to the finish line. You are a true professional so I know you would never deliberately give anything but your best. But, I can tell you as a psychologist the unconscious is a powerful force. Take a few days off. Think about it. Neil D
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
This baseball 100 list is an American treasure. It's a little bit of happiness in an otherwise grey winter here. :)
As for "fixing" baseball, I'm sure getting tired of the commissioner whittling around the edges and putting strange new ideas in place which dont address the real problems. What are those real problems? The way I see it:
1. The cost of attending games has gotten so outrageous that many families cannot afford to take their kids anymore
2. The lateness of the games. It's not just that the games are long (although that's a factor too). It's that they go so late in the night, kids cannot watch. This is especially evident during the playoffs - the time when drama should be at its highest.
3. The cost of watching games on TV. When I was a kid (80s), baseball games were free to watch over broadcast TV. Now many markets need to subscribe to various cable networks and some may even be shut out of watching in-network games altogether (LA for the Dodgers and parts of NY when the YES network debuted). Who knows what the percentage of the the Chicago area will get the new Marquee network this year?
So there you have it. At at time when the commissioner says he wants to increase viewership, the exact opposite is happening - all in the name of money.
All so true, Jake. Great post!
I agree with those about slowing down the articles. I can't imagine the time to write these. I am having trouble keeping up just reading them!
This Baseball thing will never see reality. Manfred is what he has been since he became commissioner. A guy with no filter who vomits out every idea he has, and says it in a way that it sounds like the decision has already been made. Everyone panics and wonders where his brain is at like he hasn't done this several times before, there is much discussion for a week, and nothing happens. Then he has a new "idea", throws it out in an interview or press conference and it all starts again.
I love the part you wrote about Novak. Thank you! 🙏🏽
Joe, you should push the end date. I know there is a beauty in being done on Opening Day, but I think you would be much better off having #10 publish on opening day, and then finishing the countdown to be complete on April 4th. This has many advantages.
First, it acknowledges that you need to rest and recharge or the quality may suffer. And considering how fantastic the series has been so far it would be really sad for it to decrease in quality as we get to the legends! Second, as a project manager of many years, a plan that relies on things going perfectly every day for six weeks is a very bad plan. You need a buffer not only to do your best work, but to allow you to get sick, or have travel delays, or a family issue, without feeling like you are letting yourself and your readers down; because the stress and worry from having no buffer can, ironically, cause some of those exact problems.
Third, I assume that The Athletic will see a surge of subscribers in the first week when more casual baseball fans discover that ALL the best writers are now there. The Athletic should want those people to be seeing the end of the ranking happening in real time, so that when they get their 7 days trials they see the final countdown happening, read the amazing writing, and then say, "Holy crap! I get to read 90 more of these with a subscription (because 7 days sure won't be enough)" It seems to me, admittedly without access to any subscriber data, that finishing #1 on opening day is missing an opportunity to ride the wave of the baseball excitement and interest during opening week. Heck, the Tigers won't even have been eliminated from the playoffs yet.
Lou I agree with almost everything you wrote. Not sure about the Tigers still being in it though. Njtigfan
Great points. I second the motion. Seems like a win-win. And it may help guarantee that you’ll get to the end this time. (Although I have to admit I’ve kind of enjoyed the fact that you’ve had to take 3 shots at this. We get over a hundred actual players, and for some of them we get 2-3 versions of your stories. What a guy, here’s hoping third time’s the charm!
It was all but guaranteed that there would be more playoff teams and a 3-game wildcard round soon. It's more money and if there's anything the players and owners care about, it's money. So I'm actually very happy about the news. At least they put all three games at the better team's park, and at least the #1 team gets a bye. I even like picking who you're going to play and have thought that would be neat for 20 or 30 years. I wish it were starting this year instead of 2022.
I don’t want more teams in the playoffs. Regular season has been watered down enough. But that is the way of greed. The picking of the teams? Really? I can see them thinking we’ll create a show like selection Sunday for the college basketball tourney. Everyone will be on pins and needles waiting to see who plays who. How exciting - NOT!
And adding more playoff games? Maybe we need to expand the Tampa/Montreal idea to all teams. Start the season in mid March, finish in late November at the southern city.
And if it comes to that I can’t wait to see how baseball fans would react to a shorter season- especially one less than 154 games - vis a vis comparing season and career stats of players to those of the past. Yikes, what fun!
I like the mid-March to late November idea. :)
I'm having my own Old Man Yelling at Clouds moment, but I'm old enough to remember when winning the AL or NL pennant actually MEANT something. Now I don't even know what it means to win the AL pennant (if such a thing actually still exists). Is it the team with the most wins? Is it the team who won the semi-final playoff series? The regular season has become almost NBA level meaningless.
If baseball wants to do something radical, copy Club Football. Make the regular season important, and let the two pennant winners only play for the World Series. Let number 3-14 play off separately for the Bowie Kuhn Cup or something equally appropriate..
👋 Reach out to some o your favorite JoeBloggers & task them w 5 - 10 vignettes per player apiece. They’ll know your voice well enough to get useful stuff. Be safe on your trip.
Joe, once again: thank you for the Baseball 100. I can’t imagine how difficult your task is, but you’re bringing happiness to a lot of people. And yeah, I’ll buy the book.
Also, agreed on the new playoff proposal. There are so many things wrong with it, it boggles the mind.
Man I can’t imagine what it’s like to do your Baseball 100 project. A year ago I was trying to do a five-part retrospective of Randy Johnson’s 300th win, a project I thought would only be 200,000 words long but in the end it totaled almost 500,000 words. I gave myself six months to write it but in the end I had so little time before the June 4 deadline that I couldn’t proofread it. But it was still six months, and I didn’t have to post a finished project every single day. So major props to you, Joe! (Also can’t wait to see how high the Big Unit would rank. I assume it’ll be higher than Big Six.)