The Conversion of Baseball from Religion to Science

For the first 100 years or so of baseball’s history, there was a near widely held belief in the keys to winning baseball games.  On the defensive side, it was the starting pitcher who was central to team success; he was credited with the win or loss.  Over time, the starting pitcher increasingly turned the game over to the bullpen and the last pitcher in the game on the winning team was credited with saving the game for his starter.   As starters began exiting games even earlier, a stat was created to credit other relievers with holds.   Pitching was 90% of defense as the old axiom held. 

Over on the offensive side of the equation, the key to victory was scoring runs.  Stats kept track of who scored the run and who batted in the runner.  Common wisdom was that the critical element to the scoring of the run was the action that immediately preceded the run, which was usually a hit which enabled a runner or runners to cross home plate.  The home run was king to the run scoring action as hitter drove himself in.  It didn’t hurt that chicks dug the long ball. 

Is Radio the Wave of the Future?

At every sporting event there exists a small legion of fans who watch the game alone in their own little world, aided by a couple of soothing voices over the radio.  They seem connected to the past and a time before television.  They remember the days of youth when they would hide off in their room with their radio and listen to stories about their heroes.  Personally, I have never understood the need to listen to the game when you are at the game.  It almost seems antisocial.  The course of play is pretty obvious to even the casual fan and there are scoreboards and big screens to show the replays.  What could the radio broadcast possible add beyond the typical rhetoric and empty analysis that seems to permeate sports television today?