Infinite Inning 365: When the Yankees Tried to Be the Cardinals

Infinite Inning 365: When the Yankees Tried to Be the Cardinals

From The Infinite Inning by Steven Goldman

March 7, 2026 · 50 min · Episode 365

About this episode

The episode explores the parallels between historical figures and baseball innovations, focusing on the Yankees' struggles and the influence of Branch Rickey.

How the King of France once had an illicit love life that bore both a great resemblance to that of some of our current villains, but was also kind of similar to one of Branch Rickey’s greatest innovations. Then we join a glowering Yankees owner who absolutely wrecked his team because he was Vince Coleman-dreaming before that was even a thing. The Infinite Inning is a journey to the past to understand the present using baseball as our time machine. America's brighter mirror, baseball reflects, anticipates, and even mocks the stories we tell ourselves about our world today. Baseball Prospectus's Steven Goldman shares his obsessions: history from inside and outside of the game, politics, stats, and Casey Stengel quotations. Along the way, we'll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?

People in this episode

Host: Steven Goldman

Topics covered

  • baseball history
  • Yankees
  • Branch Rickey
  • Vince Coleman
  • sports politics
  • American culture

Keywords

  • Yankees
  • Cardinals
  • Branch Rickey
  • Vince Coleman
  • baseball history
  • sports politics
  • Casey Stengel

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Baseball Prospectus, Yankees, Cardinals

Places: France

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