…Baseball owners, writers, fans and lots of others found themselves beset with questions for which nobody has any real answers. Was attendance keeping pace with the population growth? Were ball parks really outmoded? Was the game declining in popularity? Were ball players getting too commercial? Was the game too old fashioned for an audience getting more and more used to speed and action?
Among some typical squawks [from fans] were these: Tickets sometimes cost too much….Some games are just too darn long and slowly paced. It is sometimes easier and more relaxing to watch the game on television….Apparently fans don’t mind spending time in the park; they just don’t like to be bored by innumerable mound conferences.
—John T. Casey, “Seven Answers to What’s Wrong With Baseball,” Baseball Magazine, July 1956
Would you rather hit .340 with absolutely no power or .240 with 45 homeruns?
Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est (The designated hitter has got to go). Agree or disagree?
Greatest season of all-time: Rogers Hornsby in 1922 (.401, 42 HRs, 152 RBIs) or Lefty Grove in 1931 (31-4, 2.06 ERA)? Is there someone else you’d like to enter into the discussion?
Pick an Evans: Dwight or Darrell?
What was the most lopsided trade in history? (I might take Houston’s swap of Larry Anderson for Boston’s Jeff Bagwell.)
Has an outfielder ever thrown for the cycle (thrown out runners at every base in a single game)?
Has a centerfielder ever recorded a put-out in foul territory?
Who is the most underrated player of the current era?
You have the first pick in your faux-baseball draft. Which player do you choose?
Who is the worst player ever to wear a Twins uniform?
Who was (or is) the most unslightly player ever to wear a Twins uniform?
Do you sometimes feel like people are laughing at you behind your back?
Who was the greatest disappointment in Twins’ history (in terms of failure to live up to potential)?
The Wave: do you participate, or sit it out?
Which player’s name was embossed on the mitt you used as a kid?
Wrigley Field or Fenway Park?
What is the greatest baseball book of all-time?
Wally the Beerman: Pro or con?
Pitcher’s duel or slugfest?
Finally, A bit of memorabilia for the fan who has everything…
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