Some of you have let me know that you primarily read the Substack for the baseball stuff – and that you don’t always want the politics to get in the way.
I understand, even if I believe that these two aspects of American life at this present moment are – like it or not – unavoidably intertwined, as Bart Giamatti told us. Not always overtly (although I’m sure if you were at an Opening Day game, there would have been some form of performative military element) but because they are two parts of the whole that is America – and that whole is, well, going through some stuff right now.
But I get it – so I set up this spin-off page for this season where I’ll post only links to the weekly baseball column, starting with the WBC, which was maybe as close as the game will get to a “peaceful form of war”.
You can still find the full States of Play archive here
Thanks always for reading and any thoughts, drop me a note at steve@statesofplayproject.com
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- For The Ages – April 10
The soul of the game is in the passage of time.
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- Better Angels – April 2
What’s past and what’s to come.
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- Time Begins – March 26
And the clock is ticking towards elimination…
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- Felicidades! – March 19
Venezuela overcomes Team USA to win a first-ever WBC title.
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- Hey Again, Neighbour – March 13
Elbows up.
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- Fantasy World – March 6
Once again, the nation’s pastime offers escape from unsettling times.
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States of Play 