Outside The Confines: Craft beer and bad hats

We’re going to keep it light to kick things off, because next week it’s going to be a non-stop bombardment of division-clinching and Wild Card races as experts begin to weigh in on which teams are best suited to go all the way and which postseason matches will be the most fun to watch.

So before we get into all of that... how about more ugly hats?

New Era cannot be stopped, and this time around someone was like “how about paisley, but instead of a completely paisley hat, which might make sense, let’s just put a PATCH of paisley on them?”

While certainly not the worst thing we’ve seen this year, that doesn’t mean they’re good.

Now on to the rest of today’s links!

• Eno Sarris asks a very legitimate question: craft beer is incredibly popular all over the country, so why aren’t we seeing more of it at stadiums? (The Athletic subscription required.)
• If you read only one piece from this post, let it be Peter Sagal’s wonderful spotlight piece on White Sox announcer Jason Benetti.
• Ben Clemens continues his series on the best bunts of the season, but don’t worry, if misery is more your thing, he also has the worst bunts of the season.
• The AL Wild Card race is going to be a weird one, and Nick Selbe looks at the players who might be the biggest factors in who gets to the postseason.
• Zach Buchanan goes behind the scenes with the camera operators who capture the amazing moments we witness all season long. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• The Mariners were all-in on wanting to host the 2023 All-Star Game, and...
• They will indeed be hosting the big event, shares Daniel Kramer.
• David Laurila talks to Josh Donaldson about hitting.
• Is this my new favorite team?

• Stephen J. Nesbitt looks at MLB’s plans and approach to expanding their global reach. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Bill Shea reports that it’s getting more expensive to be a baseball fan, and looks at the average cost of attending games for every team’s fans. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• In absolutely bizarro news, the Orioles ground crew was ejected from a game? Story by Nick Selbe.
• The Royals could be mulling over the idea of building a new ballpark downtown, writes SportsBusiness.
• ESPN looks at how Shohei Ohtani might be done for the season in terms of pitching.
• Jonathan Judge considers an alternative baseball salary system. (Baseball Prospectus Premium required.)
• Michael Baumann considers the unbelievable season of Max Scherzer, and its place in baseball history.
• Will Leitch has assembled a comprehensive list of the best player every season since 1969.
• I can’t stop laughing at this story.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.