The National Pastime

“Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball,” Jacques Barzun, the social commentator, wrote back in 1954. Although professional baseball has changed considerably in the 60-plus years since Barzun rhapsodized about it, the beauties of the game itself remain unchanged, and it is the timelessness of those beauties that make Barzun’s declaration timeless.

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Apr 11, 2017 Washington Senators catcher Morris "Moe" Berg never made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but ...

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Was Fidel Castro Given a Tryout by the Washington Senators?

May 21, 2003 Fidel Castro never regularly played, much less starred, on any baseball team.

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Did the Yankees Adopt Pinstriped Uniforms to Hide Babe Ruth's Girth?

Aug 24, 2004 "No other person outside of public life so stirred our imaginations or so captured our affections."

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Did Dock Ellis Pitch a No-Hitter on LSD?

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Are Abbott and Costello Members of Baseball's Hall of Fame?

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Wally Pipp's Career-Ending 'Headache'

Aug 3, 2003 Baseball folklore holds that Lou Gehrig's famous consecutive game streak began when the Yankees' ...

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1908 Pirates-Cubs Pennant Controversy

Sep 28, 2008 A lawsuit brought by an injured fan purportedly revealed that an umpire blew an important call i ...

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The Cost(ner) of Love

Jun 27, 2001 Rumor holds that the Baltimore Orioles deliberately created a lighting malfunction before a 1997 ...

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Billy Ripken's "F**k Face" Baseball Card

Jul 10, 2000 Bill Ripken's 1989 Fleer baseball card features a hidden obscenity. How did it get there?

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