Hey. My dad was born in 1945, so I've probably only got two or three decades left to talk with him, and I'm trying to develop some shared interests.
He liked this mornings Ethan Strauss newsletter defending Nate Silver and wrote a funny, passionate response, so I want to try following this year's World Series with him.
Does anyone know of other good resources to help me prepare? Not, like, deep dive books, but maybe a good primer to just have a basic knowledge of baseball. My dad grew up in the 50s, so he was really into the sport with his friends—but I don't know what he'd have chosen if he'd grown up in a decade with more than one sport. In the 90s, he signed me up for soccer and didn't lose any interest at all when I switched to stage crew and mock trial. So I know he knows a fair amount about baseball and I just want to learn enough to bond a little—maybe one or two thin books, no big tomes.
Also, how many weeks do I have before the first game? I think it's pretty soon.
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Notes -
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33291/33291-h/33291-h.htm
Pitching in a Pinch by Christy Mathewson, old timey hall of famer of the Tungsten Arm O'Doyle era. It's a quick, easy read. In my mind, it does a great job of getting inside what is happening from the player's perspective during a game. Baseball is all about the anticipation, sudden acts of incredible athleticism punctuated by periods of standing around. The pitcher is picking his pitch, where to throw it, a fastball or a curveball. The batter is anticipating that choice, trying to guess correctly. The fielders are all prepared for the ball to come to them, and what they need to do in a split second after they catch it.
Don't get into Sabermetrics, I think they're fun and fascinating, but they have nothing to do with one series. Get into the drama of the game. The storylines. Learn about the Rangers losing two world series in a row a decade ago, and how that heartbreak has fans ready to finally taste victory. Learn about how the Diamondbacks have been a mostly bad to terrible franchise, except for being the team that ended the Dynasty Yankees in 2001, and this is their first real shot back at the big time.
If next year you want to watch more baseball with him and learn more about the sport, consider watching Ken Burns' Baseball (which is also the single greatest document encapsulating the beliefs of End-Of-History Washington Consensus Clintonite Liberalism), and reading Michael Lewis' Moneyball. One is the history and the romance of the game, the other is the statistics and strategy underlying team construction. Understanding both is key to an in depth understanding of the game.
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