Caught Looking

As a follow-up to the previous installment about home runs, Eric and Andrew tackle the Steroid Era. Points of discussion: the complexity of asking “Who’s to blame?”, American innocence and scapegoating to avoid moral reckonings, and where the line is drawn on cheating.

Eric and Andrew discuss how the increasing emphasis on the home run has transformed baseball, and the ways in which baseball culture has tracked alongside of American culture writ large. Mentioned: Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Harry Potter, Bill Clinton, and Next's smash hit from 1998, "Too Close."

Andrew Forbes reads from his recent dispatch, "Gradually, then all of a sudden."

With a winning record and the roster back to full health, there doesn't look to be much more need for Ichiro Suzuki on the Seattle Mariners. With that in mind, we wonder: how do you know when it's the end, and whose job is it to know?

Eric and Andrew talk Shohei Ohtani, who, after a tough Spring Training, has been incredible for the Los Angeles Angels in the first two weeks of the season. The hype and criticism surrounding Ohtani made us wonder: why are Japanese ballplayers always judged differently than American ones?

Sinkhole editor Eric Fershtman talks to contributor Andrew Forbes about his new column, Go! Go! Ichiro! Points of discussion: the Spring Koshien baseball tournament (Japan’s March Madness), the appeal of Ichiro, why we love baseball, and playoff picks.