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The first week of Summer Camp was eventful, with some players opting out, others continuing to voice concerns, and huge delays in COVID-19 testing making some people wonder if baseball could continue safely.
Well, so far things haven’t fallen completely off the rails, so let’s proceed with the notion that baseball is still going to happen — for now — and jump right on into news.
- In “do computers know too much” news, Joshua Silver has a story about how a neural network was trained with nine years of baseball outcomes to attempt to predict plate outcomes. MLB-AI!
- For Tony Clark and other Black players, the Black Lives Matter movement isn’t their first time fighting for equal rights.
- Grant Brisbee asks a question for the ages: Just how soon did San Francisco realize what a nightmare Candlestick Park was? (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Sarah R. Ingber, Davy Andrews, Renee Andrews, and Roger Cormier (what, a sneaky fourth author in the mix!) share the story of the Lowell Spinners in their minor league spotlight series.
- Marc Carig has the story of the ongoing quest to save Hinchcliffe Stadium, one of the last remaining Negro Leagues park. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Ben Clemens really wants to know which pitcher has MLB’s fastest changeup.
- Miguel Cabrera has found an alternative to the high five.
Low fives are all the rage. pic.twitter.com/Yoo5abh9wi
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 8, 2020
- Some baseball players make a lot, but others are taken advantage of. Jen Mac Ramos looks at the devaluation of labor through the lens of the 2010 Giants. (Baseball Prospectus subscription required.)
- My favorite KBO team, for entirely mascot related reason, is the NC Dinos, and Tony Wolfe shares that they’re dominating the KBO right now.
- The Athletic dive into the hard work that goes into crafting and publishing a sports book. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Sports Illustrated are on team Los Angeles Dodgers leading into the 2020 season.
- Sean Doolittle loves a humble brag.
wow this is a really good book pic.twitter.com/FW3hXEGBFv
— Obi-Sean Kenobi Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) July 9, 2020
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.