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'Moneyball' is Entertaining, and Not Accurate

Since I’m the co-author of a recent book critical of the book Moneyball , folks have been asking what I think about the new movie based on the book. The answer may surprise them: I liked it. What’s not to like? Brad Pitt brilliantly plays the hero in an entertaining melodrama in which the …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Saturday October 8, 2011

An Easy Change for Faster Baseball Games

Recent four hour affairs between the Yankees and Red Sox triggered another round of complaining about the ever-increasing length of baseball games. It isn’t just the fans who grouse. Newspapers quoted Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira sounding dyspeptic: “It’s brutal. I can’t stand playing a …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday September 9, 2011

Are There Any Good People Left in Baseball?

Recent issues of Sports Illustrated implicitly raised and perhaps answered an intriguing question. The August 15 issue features a cover story on Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Tom Verducci presents Pedroia as combining off-the-charts ability with an off-the-charts attitude. Pedroia lives …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday August 26, 2011

God Does Not Play Baseball

As if Jews haven’t suffered enough, it turns out that Ralph Branca is a member of our tribe. The man who served up Bobby Thompson’s Shot Heard Round The World in 1951 recently learned that his mother was a closeted Jew. The full story, told in poignant detail in a recent New York Times …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday August 19, 2011

No One Likes A Loser

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Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday August 12, 2011

Baseball: The Quirkiest Sport

Since I’m the coauthor of a recent book revolving around baseball’s quirky side, I was delighted to read last month that a minor league pitcher struck out five batters in one inning. Believe it or not, it wasn’t the first time this had happened. The trick had been performed in the very same …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday August 5, 2011

Josh Hamilton: Haunted by Guilt?

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Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday July 22, 2011

Gays Don't Need a League of Their Own

Whatever one thinks of gay sports leagues, we should hope that, before long, they become entirely unnecessary. Just a few days after New York’s historic approval of same-sex marriage, the Onion ran a piece about a lawsuit against the North American Gay Athletic Alliance alleging discrimination …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Saturday July 9, 2011

What "Moneyball" Misses About Baseball

The mammoth best seller Moneyball revolutionized baseball. Sheldon and Alan Hirsch have provided the first sensible rebuttal to the Moneyball approach. Over the last decade mathematicians have overrun the world of sports. Experts now scoff at conventional statistics like win-lose records, passer …

Written by Nat Frum on Friday June 17, 2011

What Washington Can Learn from Baseball's Commish

Tim Geithner and Obama could learn a lot from baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s bold decision to take over management of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Major League Baseball moved this week to protect one its most storied franchises: the Los Angeles Dodgers. In doing so, Bud Selig, the commissioner of …

Written by Hank Adler on Friday April 22, 2011

Can We Prevent Sports Blowouts?

Recently, a high school baseball game in Texas was halted by the mercy rule after one team went up 57-0. But is there a better way to prevent crushing, lopsided defeats? Earlier in this the cruelest month, a high school baseball team in Texas won a game 57-0. You read right – that’s baseball …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday April 15, 2011

Why Did Baseball Diss the Duke?

In the 1950s, Duke Snider was seen as the equal of Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. But since his playing days, they've received all the attention. When Duke Snider passed away last month, his obituaries noted the raging debate during the 1950s over the three great New York City centerfielders – …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday March 25, 2011

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