Shaiel Ben-Ephraim has been a sportswriter for over two decades and a baseball fan for four. He was the founding editor of Cardlines, and his work has appeared in Al Jazeera and the New York Times, among other places. In his spare time, Shaiel is sobbing into his bourbon when the Mets lose and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In a past life, Dr. Ben-Ephraim was a political science professor, journalist, and diplomat, but baseball is his true passion. Follow Shaiel on <a href="https://x.com/academic_la" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">X</a>.
Shaiel Ben-Ephraim 
Last Updated: October 14th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimIt was June 28th, 1976, Monday Night Baseball on ABC. That week, it was the only game on television. And what a game it was: a 21-year-old rookie that no one outside of Detroit had heard of yet pitching against the Yankees at Tiger Stadium. It had 47,855 fans there. They had to turn away 10,000. Talking to the Ball and Grooming the Mound Picture this: he beat …
Last Updated: October 13th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimEveryone remembers Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Almost nobody talks about the other Game 6, played ten days earlier. It was the better game. And the Mets won it because they were scared. Why Mike Scott Loomed Over Game 6 October 15, 1986. The Astrodome. The Mets led the NLCS three games to two. A loss meant a Game 7, and a Game 7 meant Mike …
Last Updated: October 8th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimUnless you win the World Series, being a manager is a pretty thankless job. Everyone remembers your biggest blunders, and when things go right, they give credit to the players. So we have to say that a lot of these managers had so many great decisions that everyone forgets; they just remember that one blunder. And then, of course, there's another thing: sometimes the decisions that seem like …
Last Updated: October 1st, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimIt used to be simple: if you were good enough and legendary enough, you belonged in the Hall of Fame. But things started to get complicated. It turned into a referendum on morality, honor, character, popularity, even politics. And today a lot of people who statistically and in terms of their fame should be there, or not. So it becomes a question of so much more than who …
Last Updated: October 14th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimLook, I'm just going to say it: first basemen are very underrated in terms of the importance of their defensive contribution. They touch the ball more than anyone; their mistakes can be absolutely crucial in every game. They scoop the balls up, they block them, dig cold runners, do all sorts of things that are very different, and it doesn't really show up in the stats, and everyone …
Last Updated: October 14th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimProbably worth remembering that the Hall of Fame isn't a place for great players; it's a place for the absolute greatest players, for 300 among the more than 20,000 men who have played a Major League game. That is a very exclusive club, and there are players out there who for some years of their career definitely belonged in that club but couldn't stay in it the whole …
Last Updated: September 9th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimFor the Houston Astros, being left out of the Hall of Fame is the norm. In all the years that they've existed, they've had only three players brought up: Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, and Billy Wagner. So there are a lot of players that Astros fans rightly or wrongly feel like they should be there, and there's a reason a lot of these players can feel hard done …
Last Updated: September 4th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimHall of Fame is about the best players of all time, and that's very different from what matters to fans, which are who are the players that were there for them when they were watching important games. And that's why fans are often very unhappy with who gets selected for the Hall of Fame, and much more often with who doesn't get selected for the Hall of Fame. …
Last Updated: October 7th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimFive-tool player is the kind of term that you hear pretty often, but not everyone knows exactly what it means. It started off as a scouting term. It's the kind of thing you say about an 18-year-old kid just coming up who has potential in everything: hitting for average, hitting for power, running, fielding, and throwing. Scouts grade these on the 20 to 80 scale, and ideally it's …
Last Updated: September 10th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-EphraimThe Angels are a really fun team with a unique story in history. First of all, obviously, the name: Los Angeles Angels, the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and now again the Los Angeles Angels. Even though they are not in Los Angeles, the fan base has had to get used to different names. The Redskins fans complain a lot; you guys …
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