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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Science

When baseball meets mathematics: Ruth-Aaron numbers

By Anushka Singh | October 20

If you’re passionate about baseball and are familiar with the history of the sport, you may be familiar with the player Babe Ruth and his record of 714 home runs set in 1934. This record stood strong until Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974 — a historic day for baseball and an inquisitive day for mathematicians.

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Viewpoint

A game worth playing: the importance of celebration in sports

By Maxwell Shoustal | October 18

In the 10th inning of a scoreless game, Freddie Freeman bloops a single into short center field at Petco Park to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1–0 lead. The Dodgers won the game and set a new franchise win record with 107 wins.

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University

Tufts breaks ground on new Sol Gittleman baseball park

By Matthew Sage | October 14

Students, alumni and faculty joined renowned Tufts professor Sol Gittleman, the Alice and Nathan Gantcher University Professor emeritus, on Saturday to break ground on the school’s new baseball park named after him.

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Columns

Extra Innings: Playoff preview 2022

By Henry Blickenstaff | October 7

It’s the first year of the new 12-team format for the MLB postseason, which begins tonight. The first round will feature four wild card series, each of them a best of three games. The top two division winners in each league get first round byes. The Astros and the Yankees are the top two seeds in the American League, while the Dodgers and Braves secured byes in the National League. Those clubs will face the winners of the wild card round in a best of five games division series, which will be followed by the best of seven games championship series and the World Series, which begins on Oct. 28. This is a breakdown of the wild card matchups, predictions for each and some thoughts on who will win it all. 

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Baseball

Q&A: Audio engineer Sean Matsukawa on taking creative charge, maintaining motivation in music

By Geoff Tobia Jr. | April 29

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

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Baseball

Baseball sweeps NESCAC series against Bates

By Arielle Weinstein | April 14

The Tufts men’s baseball team continued its run of good form, sweeping its weekend doubleheader against Bates College. Ranked 15th in the nation among Division III teams, the Jumbos have cruised past their competition thus far. With Saturday’s game being postponed due to weather, only two out of three scheduled games were played, but Tufts prevailed both times.

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Baseball

Baseball wins thrilling opening series

By Arielle Weinstein | April 6

Tufts baseball got the series win in its conference opener, beating Colby twice in a three-game set. Both teams were coming off of their respective spring break trips with strong records, with Tufts sitting at 12–1 and Colby’s record at 10–1. Going into the series, both teams knew it would be a tough matchup.

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Columns

The Intangibles: Fixing Major League Baseball

By Aiden Herrod | March 4

As the MLB owners and players association have repeatedly clashed over the past several months, going back and forth hashing out a new collective bargaining agreement, a painful truth has become increasingly clear: baseball is in deep trouble.

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Columns

Sports and Society: Locked out

By Oliver Fox | December 8

Nobody thinks of an American labor union and pictures multimillionaires fighting against a multibillion-dollar corporation. Nor does anyone usually assume that the union holds the upper hand in negotiations. Major League Baseball’s latest dramatic implosion, however, checks both boxes.

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Baseball

6 Class of 2025 recruits look toward their futures at Tufts

By Brigitte Wilson | May 11

While COVID-19 posed a significant threat to the Tufts Class of 2025 athletic recruits, six incoming student-athletes were able to make the most of the situation and land with the Jumbos. 

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Baseball

Senior baseball player Ryan Daues reflects on his career, upcoming season

By Keila McCabe | March 23

Beyond simply practicing and playing, Daues said he is grateful for the opportunity to play for the Tufts baseball team. He said his coaches and fellow teammates created a nurturing culture and have taught him valuable lessons.

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Track And Field

Coaching in COVID-19: How athletics staff adapted

By Keila McCabe | March 11

For almost a year, Tufts athletics has faced limited and distanced practices, uncertainty regarding when competition will resume and teams left waiting for the day when things turn back to normal. For coaches, scheduling, recruiting and connecting with their teams continues to be difficult. In the face of extraordinary circumstances, Tufts coaches have been forced to adapt to the challenges. 

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