The New Ballgame

Watching a game of baseball today means witnessing phenomena that would have been novel, if not completely unheard of, not so long ago. Starting pitchers sling 100 mile-per-hour heat for just four or five innings before departing; third basemen often station themselves much closer to second (to say nothing of the shortstop's whereabouts); home runs and strikeouts dominate at-bats; all while the length of contest tips toward the four-hour mark. There's no getting around it: the game looks different now. And as Major League Baseball scrambles with rule changes, equipment modifications, labor negotiations, and more, fans are left grasping for the true essence of this beloved pastime among the moving pieces. In The New Ballgame, Russell Carleton (The Shift) deftly identifies and examines the many levers and inflection points that have shaped the game into what we see on the field today. Through a singular blend of statistical