Ron Darling won a World Series. He was a Major League All-Star and a Gold Glove winner. He pitched a record-setting eleven hitless innings in an NCAA playoff game at Yale Field. He threw 2,742 and one-third professional innings over 15 professional seasons, winning 157 professional games.
And so for his new book, he's chosen to focus on a specific three and two-thirds innings where he happened not to pitch very well. On the one hand, this sounds unnecessarily self-flagellating. On the other hand, the three and two-thirds innings were in the deciding game of the World Series. On the other other hand, Darling's Mets won that deciding game and its concomitant championship.
This hour, we talk to Ron Darling about his book Game 7, 1986: Failure and Triumph in the Biggest Game of My Life.
There's a big controversy around whether there has or has not been a big innovation in the big world of serious Scrabble. And there's a big, related controversy in the big world of serious Scrabble journalism. We'll unpack all of that, as well as this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee and a little of the upcoming NBA Finals, with Slate's Stefan Fatsis.
GUESTS:
- Ron Darling - Former Major League All-Star, 1986 World Series champion, Emmy Award-winning baseball analyst, and author of Game 7, 1986: Failure and Triumph in the Biggest Game of My Life
- Stefan Fatsis - Panelist on Slate’s weekly sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, and the author of Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players
MUSIC:
- “Willie, Mickey, and the Duke (Talkin' Baseball)” by Terry Cashman
- “The Scrabble Song” by Emily Kaitz
- “Spelling Bee Battle” by Alphabet Rockers
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Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Betsy Kaplan, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
