Summary[]
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about players playing for their lives, Bryce Harper rumors, Harper’s fame vs. Mike Trout’s, feeling less intense anticipation than they used to, the Red Sox signing the previously permabanned Jenrry Mejia, and uncertainty surrounding the latest labor strife. Then (30:06) Ben talks to Chris Enns, author of The Death Row All Stars, about baseball in the Old West and the strange saga of the 1911 Wyoming State Penitentiary team, an all-convict squad that played to stave off execution and caused a statewide scandal. Lastly (1:00:21), Jeff rejoins for a conversation with Wes Abarca (co-founder, commissioner, and Crestline Highlanders captain) and Joe Billheimer (Highlanders “behind”) of the Southern California Vintage Base Ball League to discuss the popularity of vintage baseball, the strategic intricacies of playing under 1886 rules, the challenge of playing with period equipment, the importance of staying in character, whether they prefer old or new baseball, and more.
Topics[]
- What lead you to write about the death row all stars
- How did you source the book
- Did this idea travel?
- How was this team formed
- The prison environment
- Was the rule of loss understood or said?
- What does this do for the players psyche
- Movie possibility
- Did anyone escape their fate
- Nicknames of players
- Where did this idea come from
- How do you pitch players on playing this version of the game
- Equipment used
- Rules
- Main strategic differences
- Other vintage baseball leagues
- Terminology
- Fan (crank) interest
- Would you rather this style of baseball over modern baseball
Interstitials[]
- Skip James, "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues"
- Paul McCartney, "Vintage Clothes"
Banter[]
- Baseball and death
- How would players react if death was the result of a loss
- Minor moves
- The team-less Bryce Harper
- Q rating of Bryce Harper v Mike Trout
- Lack of anticipation
- The possibility of labor unrest
- Jenrry Mejia signed
- What is revenue?
Notes[]
- “Look at the bright side everyone, at least players don't die if they lose” - Ben
- “No, we're not talking about those” - Jeff about the minor moves.
- The death row all stars were integrated, becoming the real first integrated team.
- “The team was very short lived, in more ways than one” - Ben
Links[]
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/effectively-wild-episode-1328-national-past-time/ Link to Rosenthal article Link to Ben’s old article about the MLB revenue split Link to Chris Enss site Link to Conan’s vintage baseball video Link to Vintage Base Ball Association site Link to SoCal Vintage Base Ball League site Link to Crestline Highlanders site Link to SoCal league video Link to Highlanders game photo album Link to SCVBB Rules Link to preorder The MVP Machine