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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

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Defector

The Defector Crewneck Sweatshirt Is Back In Stock

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Merch v3

<div dir="auto"><a href="https://twitter.com/NotTheBobbyOrr">Robert Orr</a> is an author of Baseball Prospectus.</div>

Robert Orr

Tampa Bay Rays Randy Arozarena and Brandon Lowe celebrate Lowe's two-run homer in a May game.

Tampa Bay Rays v New York Mets

How The Rays Raised Their Offensive Game

Russell A. Carleton is an author at Baseball Prospectus and of the forthcoming book <a href="https://www.triumphbooks.com/the-new-ballgame-products-9781637272268.php?page_id=30&amp;cid=434862" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.triumphbooks.com/the-new-ballgame-products-9781637272268.php?page_id%3D30%26cid%3D434862&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1680985638870000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0_Ie5IAhP6DgMCeMB7in79">The New Ballgame: The Not-So-Hidden Forces Shaping Baseball</a> from Triumph Books, available in June 2023.

Russell Carleton

Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres' high-fiving after a Yankees win on April 2, 2023.

San Francisco Giants v New York Yankees

Welcome To Nowhere

Rob Mains is a writer at Baseball Prospectus.

Rob Mains

Cincinnati Reds CEO Bob Castellini and disgraced Reds legend Pete Rose yuk it up at an event honoring Rose's hit record, in 2010.

Pittsburgh Pirates v Cincinnati Reds

What The 2023 Forbes Data Tell Us About The Business Of Baseball

2019-01-01 00:15:14.989

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson looking very sad after making an out against the Royals in July of 2022.

Kansas City Royals v Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers Flipped The Switch And Nothing Happened

Rafi Schwartz

Political Cartoon Of Benjamin Harrison

Overexplained Lists

The 10 Dumbest Congressional Caucuses, Ranked

<div id=":g4.ma" class="Mu SP" title="January 26, 2021 at 2:34:42 PM UTC-5" data-tooltip="January 26, 2021 at 2:34:42 PM UTC-5"><a href="https://twitter.com/GoStevenGoldman">Steven Goldman</a> is a former BP editor-in-chief and current consulting editor. He is the author of the Casey Stengel biography <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Forging-Genius-Making-Casey-Stengel/dp/1574888749">Forging Genius</a> and host of the long-running <a href="https://www.baseballprospectus.com/show/the-infinite-inning/">Infinite Inning podcast</a>, which sits at the crossroads of baseball, history, politics, and culture. His most recent book, which has an introduction by David Roth, is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Baseballs-Brief-Lives-Inspired-Infinite/dp/B0BBJTPGDF">Baseball&#8217;s Brief Lives: Player-Stories Inspired by the Infinite Inning</a>.</div>
<div id=":g5.ma" class="Mu SP" data-tooltip="January 26, 2021 at 2:34:45 PM UTC-5"></div>

Steven Goldman

Jackie Robinson and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King talk before a press conference as part of their campaign against segregation in 1962.

Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King

What Is Baseball History For?

Ginny Searle is a writer and editor at Baseball Prospectus.

Ginny Searle

Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy congratulate each other after another Dodgers win against the Giants, this one on September 17, 2022.

Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants

The Dodgers Have Broken The Scale

<a href="https://twitter.com/jaseidler" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jarrett Seidler</a> is the senior prospect writer and evaluation coordinator at Baseball Prospectus. He is a proud Jersey Shore local.

Jarrett Seidler

<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffpaternostro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeffrey Paternostro</a> is the Lead Prospect Writer at Baseball Prospectus and has spent over a decade waiting for the Mets to develop one fourth-round ACC infielder.

Jeffrey Paternostro

The minor league Tampa Tarpons, under manager Rachel Balkovec, stand for the national anthem in an April 2022 game.

Dunedin Blue Jays v Tampa Tarpons

To Form A More Perfect Union

Jack Crosbie

Swiss Marines

Elder Wisdom

For Your Consideration: Diet Coke For Breakfast

Marc Normandin currently writes on baseball’s labor issues and more at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marcnormandin.com/">marcnormandin.com</a>, which you can read for free but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patreon.com/marcnormandin">support through his Patreon</a>. His baseball writing has appeared at SB Nation, Deadspin, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Sports on Earth, The Guardian, The Nation, and TalkPoverty.

Marc Normandin

Rob Manfred, seen here perhaps inevitably wearing a vest and talking on the phone.

Allen And Company Annual Meeting Brings Business Executives, Media Moguls, And Politicians To Sun Valley, Idaho

MLB Owners Would Rather Play PR Games Than Negotiate

<a href="https://twitter.com/cdgoldstein">Craig Goldstein</a> is the editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus and the co-host of <a href="https://www.baseballprospectus.com/show/five-and-dive/">the Five &amp; Dive podcast</a>.

Craig Goldstein

An image of Rob Manfred, blessedly altered to obscure his face.

ManfredDubuqueSaveImage

Artificial Scarcity Is Baseball’s Present, And Our Future

Beijing To Raise Car Emission Standards For 2008 Olympics

Life Lessons

We Have Confirmed That Headlights Are In Fact Too Bright

<a href="https://twitter.com/justin_klugh" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Justin Klugh</a> is a writer for Baseball Prospectus. His work has appeared on FanGraphs, The Athletic, and  SB Nation. He hosts &#8220;The Diry Inning,&#8221; a podcast about the dumbest, funniest, or most obscure innings in Phillies history.

Justin Klugh

The 38-foot-high leftfield wall in York, Pennsylvania's minor league stadium, the Arch Nemesis.

York Arch Nemesis 3

In The Shadow Of The Arch Nemesis

<a href="https://twitter.com/cdgoldstein">Craig Goldstein</a> is the editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus and the co-host of <a href="https://www.baseballprospectus.com/show/five-and-dive/">the Five &amp; Dive podcast</a>.



Patrick Dubuque is a writer and editor at Baseball Prospectus.

Craig Goldstein and Patrick Dubuque

The K-Zone featured in MLB broadcasts, seen here during a 2019 Cardinals/Braves game.

K-ZoneGrab

It’s Time To Get Rid Of The K-Zone

Robert Arthur

Max Scherzer is very patiently inspected for sticky stuff contamination during a September Dodgers game.

San Diego Padres v Los Angeles Dodgers

The Sticky Stuff Crackdown Has Worn Off

Katherine Krueger

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Defector At The Movies

‘The Card Counter’ And The Sins Of A Nation

<a href="https://twitter.com/ericnus">Eric Nusbaum</a> (words) is a writer based in Tacoma, Washington. He is the author of the book <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/stealing-home-los-angeles-the-dodgers-and-the-lives-caught-in-between-9781541742222/9781541742215">Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between</a>. He is also a former editor at VICE.
<a href="https://twitter.com/adamvillacin">Adam Villacin</a> (pictures) is an illustrator based in Joshua Tree, California. He has written, illustrated, and self-published roughly one hundred zines. He has worked with clients such as Nike, Jordan Brand, Adidas, Dr. Martens, and Fender in addition to editorial work for VICE and The Ringer. He’s also been drawing a musician every day for the last year and a half.

Eric Nusbaum and Adam Villacin

Bodybuilder Rachel McLish, as drawn by Adam Villacin.

mclish2

History

Women’s Bodies, Men’s Rules, And The Indiscreet Draw Of ‘Pumping Iron 2: The Women’

Patrick Dubuque is a writer and editor at Baseball Prospectus.

Patrick Dubuque

Asdrubal Cabrera, perennial trade deadline mover, seen here with the Diamondbacks. (He's with the Reds now.)

San Diego Padres v Arizona Diamondbacks

It’s “Free Couch” Season In Major League Baseball

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Tennis

U.S. Open Begins Following World Tennis Events Marked by Suspected Match-Fixing

Caitlin Schneider

state-flags-ranked

State Flags, Ranked

An illustration by Adam Villacin of Eddie Feigner's barnstorming softball crew "The King And His Court"

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The Blustering, Barnstorming Softball Brilliance Of ‘The King And His Court’

castaway

Let’s Remember Some Iconic Cinematic Hair Changes That Show The Passage Of Time

Adam Villacin's illustration of German tennis star Gottfried von Cramm

Von Cramm 2 s

The Baron Of Wimbledon

Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Richards leaving the mound after one of his three bad starts since the sticky stuff ban.

republished