Ring Lardner’s Mysteries of the Central League

My point is that Ring Lardner’s stories helped shaped our nation’s sense of itself and its pastime, but these stories wouldn’t have existed without his experience in the Central League. That raucous baseball conglomerate of Midwest toughs and shady business dealings is down there in our cultural DNA.

2023-10-28T10:24:26-04:00October 23, 2023|

The Real Field of Dreams

That tiny patch of Iowa might well have been returned to corn production when the movie makers left town, but was not. It was preserved, haltingly at first, with nothing more than a rusted coffee can nailed to a post to solicit preservation donations, and now has become an industry, a revenue stream for both Iowa and big league baseball.

2023-07-11T17:07:50-04:00July 8, 2023|

The Ax Man Cometh, Again

Among the sleeve of tattoos on his left arm is a still frame from his favorite film, the neo-noir classic Le Samouraï. He wears his former Brewers number, 59, on his red Canadian jersey. He is two weeks shy of his 40th birthday.

2023-05-22T08:55:07-04:00May 17, 2023|