Jack Lohrke is a central figure in "Season of Shattered Dreams," my book about the 1946 Spokane Indians.

Here is your periodic reminder that Stan Musial was very, very good at baseball. His career batting average against: Sandy Koufax .342 Warren Spahn .321 Robin Roberts .384 Juan Marichal .314 Don Drysdale .324 Hoyt Wilhelm .375 This accounts for 6.1% of his career at-bats.

My cat channeling Glenn Close in The Natural.

First post in a while…

If I were a managing editor, and my sports editor approved a headline this distasteful, that sports editor would be out of a job. www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giant...

If anyone is looking to close out the year with a great read about 19th century women’s baseball, I finally read this, and LOVED it. Obviously for the women’s baseball aspect, but also because it’s everything I want in a baseball history book. Give me all the social context!

WTF

In 1994, you could eat two boxes of Ritz Crackers and get Bob Gibson, Frank Robinson, or Duke Snider's autograph for five bucks.

Finished my seventh book of 2026. "Opening Day," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Eig, chronicles Jackie Robinson's first year in the major leagues. A terrific read.

One of my newsletter readers sent me pictures he took of an abandoned ballpark in Frederickstad, St Croix (US Virgin Islands) Anyone know anything about this place?

With this signing the Dodgers will have everyone from their World Series roster back except Clayton Kershaw and Anthony Banda. Those two have been replaced by Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz.

Many thanks to Marshall Garvey for the wonderful review of my book Big Loosh: The Unruly Life of Umpire Ron Luciano, from @univnebpress.bsky.social.

Just finished this excellent book. It’s about events that occurred a century ago, but the parallels to what’s happening in our country currently are striking. Who will be our Madge Oberholtzer?

A lot of people don’t know this, but Ken Griffey Jr invented the broken hamate bone in 1996.

This might've been the most fun I've had on a podcast. It's me and Jeff Pearlman talking not only about "Moses and the Doctor" but also about the process of writing a book in general and the state of book publishing. Give it a listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

#Mariners projected to win 93.1 games in the initial PECOTA standings, trailing only the Dodgers (105.2 wins). PECOTA gives the M’s a 91.5% chance to make the playoffs, 69.3% to win the AL West.

"This is a significant piece of baseball history, and a story brimming with figures soon to become boldface names." —Bob Costas (Yes, somehow I got BOB COSTAS to blurb my book.)

Bob Gibson turned Hall of Famers into Mario Mendoza. Check out these opposing batting averages (min 50 PA): Henry Aaron .215 Roberto Clemente .208 Ernie Banks .229 Willie Mays .196 Orlando Cepeda .222 Dick Allen .211 Tony Perez .121 Johnny Bench .204

How much of a crapshoot is the MLB amateur draft? The second most productive player from the 1998 draft, according to WAR, was Mark Beuhrle, 38th round pick of the Chicago White Sox.

For St. Louis Cardinals fans needing a glimmer of hope for 2026 (and beyond): Cal Raleigh's first three seasons (ages 24-26): .217/.287/.448, 59 HR, 151 RBI, 107 OPS+ Nolan Gorman's first three seasons (ages 22-24): .222/.301/.435, 60 HR, 161 RBI, 103 OPS+

One of my favorite obscure baseball facts ... Leroy Stanton played nine seasons in MLB and produced these splits: vs RHP: .244 BA, .388 SLG vs LHP: .244 BA, .388 SLG Home: .244 BA, .388 SLG Road: .244 BA, .388 SLG Career: .244 BA, .388 SLG

Found this photo in my phone from five years ago. I've seen some strange things in my life, but perhaps none stranger than a Tom Lawless jersey ... in Tirana, Albania.

Charlie Hough is one of six players in major-league history with at least 800 games pitched and 200 wins. The other five are in Cooperstown: Cy Young Walter Johnson Nolan Ryan Phil Niekro Jim Kaat

Kudos to the Mariners front office. Now is the time to go all in. Donovan could be what Mark McLemore was to the early 2000s M’s. A huge pickup for a team on the precipice.

Fun fact from "Before They Wore Dodger Blue," my new book on the Dodgers' 1968 draft class. The 11 future big leaguers the Dodgers drafted & signed that year produced a collective 234.5 WAR, the best of all time. The Red Sox '83 (Roger Clemens and Ellis Burks) class ranks 2nd with 191.8 WAR.

His autobiography would be a fascinating read.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Royals are providing free admission to the @nlbmuseumkc.bsky.social through February for Black History Month.

Congratulations to Robert Elias, winner of the 2026 SABR Seymour Medal for "Dangerous Danny Gardella: Baseball’s Neglected Trailblazer for Today’s Millionaire Athletes": sabr.org/latest/dange...

As I sipped my coffee and read the news with a cat on my lap this morning, I thought, "Why can't we all treat each other like we treat our pets." And then I remembered that the Secretary of Homeland Security murdered her dog.

Fun fact: Your local bookstore is doing more to protect you and your neighbors than Amazon is.

Dave Matthews and Tim Ryenolds playing Neil Young’s Ohio last night and ends with some Rage Against the Machine.

We adopted a cat seven years ago on the same day Edgar Martinez was elected to the Hall of Fame. Naturally, we named him Edgar. Two years ago, he underwent life-saving surgery because of an obstructed ureter. Today, he’s thriving and loves to go for walks on sunny days.

If you are not subscribed to Will Leitch's Substack, I highly recommend it.

The 11 oldest ballparks in the Minor Leagues were initially constructed between 1914 and 1951. How many have you been to? www.mlb.com/milb/news/fe...

"After everything he'd been through, here he was telling me how we'd helped him with the movement. I'll never forget that." - Don Newcombe #MLKDay

Seems like a good day to remind people that @jonathaneig.bsky.social wrote a phenomenal, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of MLK.

Just got a new shipment of books. If anyone is interested in a signed copy, shoot me a DM.

So it turns out dystopian nonfiction is for sure the least enjoyable genre

Farewell to the great Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead who kept the long, strange trip rolling long after the death of Jerry Garcia. variety.com/2026/music/n...

The latest edition of the Sports Writers Inc. podcast is live with @ericvickrey.bsky.social, author of "Before They Wore Dodger Blue"! #Dodgers! #SportsWriting! #MinorLeagueBaseball! Great talk! Do it up! Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/50Ka...

“I’m a physician!” —bystander, neighbor “I don’t care.” —ICE agent

I may never recover from this inequity:

With the Kansas City Chiefs poised to leave Arrowhead Stadium and the Truman Sports Complex for a new Kansas stadium, it’s now time for team owners and city officials to decide on a new Kansas City Royals ballpark. #MLB #sportsbiz #baseballbiz ballparkdigest.com/2025/12/29/w...

"I think any list of the top teams ever has to include the 1970 Spokane team." - @ericvickrey.bsky.social

The Dodgers have won 8 games since the Raiders last won a game

Slo-mo Satchel

They had some amazing camera angles in 1955.

Ozzie turns 71 today. Seems like it was just yesterday that he turned two.

That’s our Hall of Fame Designated Hitter 🥹