The Dead-Ball Era was a key time in Major League Baseball, lasting from 1900 to 1919. It was hard for teams to score, with an average of just 3.4 runs per game. The batting average hit a low of .239 … Read more
Author: Avery Collins Page 2 of 3
Luis Arraez going to the Philadelphia Phillies is more than a deadline upgrade for a club chasing October contact. It is a trade that reopens one of baseball’s oldest arguments: what does batting average still mean? On Aug. 3, 2026, … Read more
By Avery Collins | August 7, 2026
In 2026, every Major League front office employs quantitative analysts, but few organizations operate with the cold precision of the Tampa Bay Rays. Long before oddsmakers shifted daily lines based on real-time roster … Read more
The Washington Nationals’ 2026 draft signings are a modern front-office transaction, but they still carry the old scouting-room feeling that has fueled baseball books for generations. A club gathers reports, weighs risk, studies bodies and swings, argues over projection, and … Read more
On June 9, 2026, former Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker released his 416-page autobiography, Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life. Co-authored by veteran sports writer Steve Kettmann, the text arrives on the shelves of … Read more
In the hyper-analytical landscape of 2026, we have grown accustomed to a game played on spreadsheets before it ever reaches the grass. We track bat speed, calculate spin efficiency, and debate the merits of load management. Yet, whenever the modern … Read more
By Avery Collins Originally Published: 2012 Updated: March 19, 2026
In the landscape of 2026, where every swing is decomposed into a series of biomechanical data points and exit velocities, reading Bernard Malamud’s 1952 masterpiece, The Natural, feels like … Read more
We’re not just eating hot dogs; we’re enjoying the luxury of literary box seats. The real question is not if baseball novels make great films, but why they excel. They offer a treasure trove of material.
Take Jim Bouton’s Ball … Read more
What does a box score tell you about Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run? It shows it was a walk-off in Game 1. But it doesn’t tell you about Gibson’s injured legs or the crowd’s roar. The story is … Read more
By Avery Collins Books on Baseball January 26, 2026
The verdict is in, and appropriately for a subject who hated bunting, the judges of the 43rd annual CASEY Award have swung for the fences.
Spitball Magazine has officially named John … Read more