Columns

Full Court Press: MLB is striking out on DEI

By Noah Goldstein | April 18

On April 7, the Los Angeles Dodgers visited the White House to celebrate their 2024 World Series title with President Donald Trump. Just over a week later, they took the field wearing No. 42 for Jackie Robinson Day, honoring the former Dodger who famously broke baseball’s color barrier. In the span of eight days, the same team posed with a president who has championed policies that undermine diversity, equity and inclusion and then celebrated the life’s work of a man who embodied them.

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Columns

Lay of the Leagues: MLB edition

By Brian Becker | April 17

I’m genuinely torn on Major League Baseball’s future. On one hand, baseball is a revived product with high-scoring games, intense extra-inning battles and engaging pitching personalities that finish off the most intense matchups. I made the trip to Fenway Park on April 10, where I witnessed a feisty Boston Red Sox team close out a win in their four-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays. While I only witnessed the final six innings, due to the brutal Thursday 4 p.m. start time, I certainly caught the majority of the relevant action, as the teams brought a 2–2 game to extra innings, featuring heavy hitters such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and pitching talent like Aroldis Chapman.

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Baseball

Tufts baseball resets, responds, rolls over Amherst

By Luke Fredericks | April 10

For the Tufts baseball team, the weekend against Amherst was about doing the hard things well. No frills, no fireworks — just a group of players digging in, fighting back and finding something that had been missing in the early part of the season. A quiet Friday gave way to a spirited Sunday, and the Jumbos dropped the opener but roared back with a doubleheader sweep to take the series. It was a weekend that showed Tufts still has the fight — and the talent — to compete when the margins tighten.

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Columns

Extra Innings: Extensions for everyone!

By Henry Blickenstaff | April 8

We’re just two weeks into the baseball season, and there have already been several big contract extensions handed out. These are my thoughts on the most notable extensions signed since the start of the year.

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Baseball

Tufts baseball wins first NESCAC series over Bates

By Lauren Baker | April 3

Two consecutive wins for the Tufts baseball lifted them to a series win over Bates in their first NESCAC games of the season. After an eight-game tour of California and two games last week, the Jumbos had a record of 6–9.

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Baseball

Steadying the Ship: Tufts baseball builds confidence entering NESCAC play

By Luke Fredericks | March 27

The story of Tufts baseball hasn’t always been smooth, but signs of a turnaround are beginning to show. After a challenging start, the Jumbos, whose record is currently 6–9, recently grabbed some momentum, winning two of their last three games as they head into NESCAC competition.

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Columns

Extra Innings: MLB preseason power rankings

By Henry Blickenstaff | March 27

The Red Sox had one of the most productive offseasons in the league, as they traded for ace Garrett Crochet to boost their rotation and added veteran third baseman Alex Bregman to the lineup. Boston is also expecting three blue-chip prospects — Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer — to make their big-league debuts in 2025.

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Baseball

Tufts baseball splits doubleheader with walk-off in extra innings

By Lauren Baker | March 14

Coming off an opening day win against Brandeis, Tufts baseball split a windy doubleheader with Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday. In a six-hour face-off, the Jumbos came away with an 11-inning 14–13 win and a subsequent 8–1 loss.

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Columns

Extra Innings: The lasting legacy of ‘The Machine’

By Henry Blickenstaff | March 6

This column started as an attempt to compare New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge with St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols. But after a particularly long session of Baseball Reference scrolling, I decided I didn’t want to write about Judge at all. That’s because I discovered something that I’ve never heard discussed by any baseball journalists: There will never be another hitter like Albert Pujols.

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Baseball

Full Court Press: What the Jurickson Profar incident can teach us about fan etiquette

By Noah Goldstein | October 11

It’s tough to go from Little League to The Show. Only around 0.5% of those who play baseball in high school make it to the professional level. But what if we all want to be involved in America’s favorite pastime? We don’t all possess the strength or talent required to throw a ball in the 90s or hit one 400 feet, but we all can come to the ballpark as fans, with our mitts and souvenir cups, and experience the game from the bleachers.

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Baseball

Extra Innings: MLB's lifeline

By Henry Blickenstaff | September 3

During this summer’s Olympics, I watched Katie Ledecky absolutely demolish her competition in the women’s 1500 freestyle final, breaking her own Olympic record and winning the gold medal by over 10 seconds. Ledecky has been so dominant in the event throughout her career that the race was over before it began and everyone knew it. And yet, I was absolutely captivated. Knowing what the outcome would be didn’t take away from the joy of watching one of the most dominant athletes of all time excel at her craft.

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Baseball

Extra Innings: It's time to change how we think about greatness

By Henry Blickenstaff | July 16

Today, I’m appealing to fans of every other team sport to explain something that baseball fans already know. Something that is so basic yet incomprehensible to many fans and, worst of all, sports media talking heads. Ready? Team championships are won by teams, not individuals.

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Columns

Extra Innings: Let us watch baseball

By Henry Blickenstaff | January 30

MLB’s TV policy is asinine. For a league that ostensibly wants (and actually needs) to grow the game of baseball, they sure do enjoy making it hard for fans to watch it. Right now, the money MLB makes from regional sports networks is more important to them than making the game more accessible.

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Columns

Extra Innings: The two sweepstakes

By Henry Blickenstaff | November 20

There are two players that teams looking for a superstar this offseason will be all-in on. The first is, of course, Shohei Ohtani. We’ve been waiting all year to see where the two-time American League MVP plays next. The other is Juan Soto, who no one thought would be available this offseason, and who still might not be (it’s complicated). Here are my thoughts on where these two end up.

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Columns

Extra Innings: The greatest teams of the 21st century

By Henry Blickenstaff | November 7

We all love a good underdog story, and both the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks had one this year. But we also love to witness greatness — teams that dominate, break records and win awards. These teams, the five greatest of the 21st century, did just that.

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Columns

Sports and Society: The walk to end all walks

By Oliver Fox | April 7

I’m going to level with you. Among the “Big Four” American sports, baseball is my least favorite. It’s both the slowest and least athletic, yet also the most confusing and time intensive. But I still went to the Red Sox-Pirates game on Monday night and remembered why I still love it.

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Columns

Extra Innings: This one's for Dusty

By Henry Blickenstaff | November 7

Almost everyone in America outside of Houston, Texas, wanted the Philadelphia Phillies to take down the Astros in the 2022 World Series. After all, the Phillies were the unquestioned underdogs of this story. They were the last team to clinch a spot in the playoff field at 87–75, were making their first postseason appearance since 2011 and no one expected them to make it to the Fall Classic. 

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