Nobody can hit in MLB. It's just too hard. Oh! Also: We're about to see home run history. Don't yell at me, I only work here. markkreidler.substack.com/p/baseballs-...

Check out the incredible #RSV package from @sciam.bsky.social. Articles from me, @lizszabo.bsky.social @markkreidler.bsky.social, Suzette Brewer & editing frm @emilybazar.bsky.social. All editorially independent reporting. www.scientificamerican.com/report/innov... (we didn't know who sponsors were)

MLB games with huge playoff implications tonight --Rays at Blue Jays, Tigers at Red Sox -- safely locked away behind Apple TV+ paywall. But, hey, thanks so much for your season-long MLB.TV payments! Tough one about the potential Friday clinchers

So Anthropic paying a $1.5 billion settlement for illegally pirating writers' original works to train Claude is just a speed bump. Maybe buy the books next time www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/a...

Robert Redford made some really good sports movies. (They weren't about sports.) They constitute a small part of the larger body of his work, but they resonate all the same. markkreidler.substack.com/p/natural

The Kawhi Leonard story is so old school! This is a very 1970s flavor of side-stepping the rules (allegedly). No-show job -- such a throwback. markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-pro-ga...

Across the country, union representation has been falling for decades. But in California, it remains at 16.3%—five points higher than the national average. It shows that the labor movement remains strong in the state. From @markkreidler.bsky.social‬ for ‪@capitalandmain.bsky.social‬:

This piece by @markkreidler.bsky.social in @capitalandmain.bsky.social does a great job of putting our State of the Unions report in context. A must read as we enter Labor Day weekend. capitalandmain.com/unions-are-s...

Roger Clemens played golf with Donald Trump, after which Trump demanded that Clemens be inducted into the Hall of Fame. *After* which, Clemens posted their foursome's scorecard. (DJT dead last.) That's just plain solid strategy right there. markkreidler.substack.com/p/roger-clem...

Auburn deciding to retroactively claim seven football titles might strike you as a little...stupid. But we're in the post-intelligence era! The truth is what I say it is! Who are you to deny me my truth? So...yeah. Stupid. markkreidler.substack.com/p/how-to-win...

Cal Raleigh is on pace for 61* homers, the kind of solid, understandable number that we can enjoy extrapolating with a clean conscience. Fun with stats! (*Not a Maris asterisk, but a rounding down. It's actually 61.26.) markkreidler.substack.com/p/youre-on-p...

Thirty bucks for an ESPN app that contains everything they own, including (now) the NFL Network. Thirty bucks to see sports and nothing but, with none of that pesky news or current events to distract you. Pay up. markkreidler.substack.com/p/coming-to-...

Here's to the teams in mid-level hell, close enough to that third wild-card to want to stay in, but ultimately deciding they can't. These are the MLB trade deadline surprises -- teams with talent that nevertheless pull the plug. markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-dark-a...

An MLB player did something really cool Monday night. Like career-defining cool. Rare-air cool. Don't worry -- you barely know him. markkreidler.substack.com/p/joses-almo...

With its 'ghost runner on second' rule, MLB announced some time ago that extra innings aren't real baseball -- so why stop there? They just decided the All-Star Game with a HR derby in the 10th. Why not use that method all the time? Are you not entertained? markkreidler.substack.com/p/we-could-l...

Kid from 504 population town draws No. 1 MLB draft! (Not that simple.) Small towns unite! (If you've got connections.) Oklahoma stand up! (It did -- check the comments after the story.) markkreidler.substack.com/p/if-youre-g...

RIP Lee Elia. There's so much more to the back-story of his epic rant, and it's remarkable how right he turned out to be (about some of it). Free read! Maybe don't play the audio at work. markkreidler.substack.com/p/all-hail-t...

Robot* umps at the All-Star Game!** Danger!*** (* not really robots) (** just the one game) (*** only danger is a bad call gets fixed) markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-bots-a...

Another gambling scandal in the NBA (allegedly). But, hey, FanDuel and DraftKings still feel great about the direction of the league! markkreidler.substack.com/p/uh-oh-697

In the age of ICE deportations, undocumented people are foregoing medical care. @markkreidler.bsky.social reports on the deadly consequences of surprise ICE raids. https://trib.al/3y2JuR4

In the "You'll get nothing and like it!" department, MLB officials confirm that this season's baseballs are relatively deadened and they can't fix it and, you know, listen, hey. markkreidler.substack.com/p/baseball-h...

Family ownership of sports franchises is mostly dead -- not exactly breaking news. The Buss family held out quite a while. But competing in pro sports in 2025 takes the kind of cash flow that even truly wealthy families can't usually muster. markkreidler.substack.com/p/deeper-poc...

If you ever drove five hours round-trip for a two-hour game or knew the Subway menu by heart, this one's for you markkreidler.substack.com/p/one-for-th...

Shohei Ohtani is such a great offensive player that it's always shocking to realize his 2025 numbers are being *dominated* right now by somebody across the country. It's a cool thing at a time when MLB offense is at such a premium. markkreidler.substack.com

NBA Finalists Shea Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton are both thriving with their teams -- their *second* teams. It's incredibly common in sports, for a whole host of reasons. We'll start with vision. Free to read! markkreidler.substack.com/p/all-hail-y...

The Steelers are signing Aaron Rodgers, who threw the second-highest number of passes in the NFL last season. And that's great, because -- oh, wait. The Steelers *hate* passing the ball. Cool uniforms, though. markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-steele...

Last time the Knicks went this deep into the NBA playoffs, "All In the Family" was the No. 1 show on TV. What do do if you're the Knicks' brain trust? Oh, definitely: Fire the coach. markkreidler.substack.com/p/hey-should...

The USC head coach would love for you to shut up about him being willing to blow up a rivalry with 100 years of tradition because he's chasing a bitcoin-era playoff spot. All systems go! markkreidler.substack.com/p/lincoln-ri...

Last November, California voters approved #Prop35 in a landslide. The proposition was meant to attract doctors to care for low-income Californians. Instead, it’s looking like a cash cow for Sacramento, writes @markkreidler.bsky.social. #inequality capitalandmain.com/ambulance-ch...

For the second consecutive year, California food banks are serving 6 million people each month. Those are unprecedented numbers in the state, writes @markkreidler.bsky.social. capitalandmain.com/the-great-fo...

Colts owner Jim Irsay, gone at 65. The past decade was messy and way too public, which is another way of saying that Irsay was a person, not a caricature. He left a legacy, but it may not be the one you're thinking of. No paywall. markkreidler.substack.com/p/death-of-a...

one thing the Dem establishment doesn’t understand is that Rogan is *downstream* of the right-wing misinformation machine. he doesn’t originate reactionary conspiracies, he absorbs them, and that’s why he turned toward Trump

In a thimble: None of the MLB commissioners who followed Bart Giamatti could stomach watching Pete Rose walk through the front doors at Cooperstown. They needed a side door. Found one. But only if Rose wasn't alive to use it. markkreidler.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...

Aaron Judge cannot hit .400 (unless he does). Can't be done (although it's been done). Anyway, the season's way too long to sustain that kind of performance (whoops -- now we're getting somewhere). Free to read & subscribe! markkreidler.substack.com/p/can-aaron-...

Weekend reading: Gregg Popovich crafted an absolute legacy career as an NBA head coach. First, though, he had to bump off a guy to get the process started. No paywall -- but please consider subscribing! markkreidler.substack.com/p/popovich-t...

After reading the column below, a friend suggested relegation as a possible solution to MLB's chronically underperforming franchises. Yes? No? Any downside there? It seems to work for most pro soccer leagues around the world. markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-record...

Just saying what we all think: The NBA's two-minute report is written for...somebody, I guess, but not us. We already know. markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-two-mi...

An injured Lonzo Ball won't play for the Bulls against the Heat tonight. If you never saw Ball hoop while healthy, it might be hard to believe that so many NBA folks had him ticketed for greatness. He was that gifted. A story we won't get to tell. markkreidler.substack.com/p/career-mis...

The QB wanted to renegotiate his deal. The franchise decided to stand its ground. Things got ugly = football divorce. Old tale. New twist! It's college, not the pros. (Free read -- please subscribe!) markkreidler.substack.com/p/pros-in-co...

Kansas, one and done in a truly bizarre season — and a brutal injury at the end.

The Detroit Lions want the NFL to change how it seeds the playoffs. (You would, too, if you played in the NFC North.) Here’s why it’s a no-go:

The Chilean group accused of ripping off high-profile stars (Mahomes, Kelce, Burrow etc.) did so many things right! And one thing ruinously, hilariously wrong. markkreidler.substack.com/p/dont-do-th...