Why We Love Baseball (A List)

Not sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’m currently writing a book called WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL. It will be a countdown of the greatest, funniest, wildest and most legendary moments in the history of baseball put together in such a way that (I hope) it will serve as a beautiful little history of this game.

And as part of forming the book, I’ve been putting together a bunch of little lists. Lots of them. They serve as inspiration. They serve as reminders. Most famous home runs in baseball history. Best defensive plays in baseball history. Funniest moments in baseball history. Greatest baseball books. Greatest baseball calls. Etc.

I might share some of these lists down the line after I’ve finished a bunch of the writing.

But I figure today’s a good day to share a small part of this long, rambling list I’ve got going called, well, “WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL.” The list is massive and I add to it every day.

Here are a few of the items in no particular order.

• Triples

• Diving infield plays

• Amazing throws from the rightfielder

• Home runs yanked down the line

• Curveballs that make the hitter freeze in place

• Stolen bases

• Perfect catcher throws that catch base stealers

• Home run-saving catches

• Line drive singles up the middle

• Home runs smashed to straightaway center

• Pitcher with fading stuff trying to get one more out

• Baserunner trying to stretch a single into a double

• A hitter trying to catch up to a high, hard fastball

• A baserunner trying to steal home (of course)

• A first baseman scooping a bad throw out of the dirt

• 3-1 pitches

• Bases loaded, nobody out

• Sweet lefty swings

• Whipping the ball around the horn

• Pitchers jumping over foul lines when heading back to the dugout

• Managers physically taking the ball away from starting pitchers

• Seeing-eye grounders that sneakily slip between two gloves

• That instant when you realize the hitter is going for a triple

• Last at-bats needing a double for the cycle

• No-hitters through six innings

The list goes on, of course … it could go on endlessly. I’m sure you’ll throw a bunch into the comments because, hey, that’s what we do here at Joe Blogs.

Yes, it is bittersweet to look at the list now, obviously, while we lose the pleasant purposelessness of March baseball in the petty but never-ending American fight for our money. You want to shout. But at some point, you realize, all shouting does is make your throat hurt.

Come back, baseball! (John McCoy/Getty Sports Images)

And life does go on — for me that does mean talking baseball. This weekend, for instance, I will be in Cincinnati to accept the Casey Award for The Baseball 100. If you’re in the Cincinnati area on Sunday at 2 p.m., hey, would love to see you — the event will be at Poor Michael’s Sports Bar in Fairfield, Ohio. It should be a lot of fun.

Next weekend, I’ll be talking more baseball — as part of the incredible Tucson Festival of Books. I will readily admit that the reason I was going to the festival was because I planned on being in Arizona for spring training … obviously that’s been scotched.* But I’ll be there all the same for two different sessions of baseball talk at the festival.

*What a great word — scotch. It can be used to mean “decisively put an end to,” which is fabulous. And it’s also the drink, scotch, and I have to tell you that although I rarely drink, and know almost nothing at all about types of liquor, I’ve always wanted to be referred to as a scotch drinker. I don’t know, it just seems like a thing to be. Like I envision someone, a countess maybe, looking at me across a crowded room and saying, “Tell, me what kind of man is he?” And my dream response is either what Rick said of Louis in “Casablanca” (“Like any other man, only more so”) or simply, “I hear he’s a scotch drinker.”

Alas, it goes without saying that whatever a scotch drinker is, I’m the opposite of that.

Finally, two quick bits of housekeeping:

One, because of all the baseball stuff happening this week (and I am working on yet another rabbit hole deep dive revolving around the luxury tax for tomorrow) I’m going to skip a week on the Football 101. Back with No. 47 next week!

And two, I’m adding a new feature next week — I’m going to put together a special occasional PosCast newsletter with some PosCast extras, a few lists, some bonus comments from me and Mike Schur, etc. If you are signed up for Joe Blogs — as a paid or free subscriber — you don’t have to do a thing; you will get it automatically in your email. But you do have to sign up; the PosCast newsletter will not appear on the Joe Blogs website itself. If will only come via email.

Thanks. Oh, and here’s a subscribe button if, you know, you’d like to join us on this wild ride.