Mark Kreidler

You're On Pace to Read One of These Today. Catching up: fun with Cal's numbers!

Cal Raleigh is on pace for 61* homers, the kind of solid, understandable number that we can enjoy extrapolating with a clean conscience. Fun with stats!
(*Not a Maris asterisk, but a rounding down. It's actually 61.26.)
markkreidler.substack.com/p/youre-on-p...

Coming to an App Near You: Everything. ESPN just skinned the NFL

Thirty bucks for an ESPN app that contains everything they own, including (now) the NFL Network.
Thirty bucks to see sports and nothing but, with none of that pesky news or current events to distract you.
Pay up.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/coming-to-...

The Dark Art: Declaring Your Team DOA. Trade deadline special

Here's to the teams in mid-level hell, close enough to that third wild-card to want to stay in, but ultimately deciding they can't. These are the MLB trade deadline surprises -- teams with talent that nevertheless pull the plug.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-dark-a...

Jose's Almost Invisible Excellent Adventure. Full name Jose Ramirez. Still don't know?

An MLB player did something really cool Monday night. Like career-defining cool. Rare-air cool.
Don't worry -- you barely know him.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/joses-almo...

We Could Live With a Home Run-Off. Hey, it beats 'ghost runner on 2nd'

With its 'ghost runner on second' rule, MLB announced some time ago that extra innings aren't real baseball -- so why stop there? They just decided the All-Star Game with a HR derby in the 10th. Why not use that method all the time? Are you not entertained?
markkreidler.substack.com/p/we-could-l...

If You're Good, They'll Find You. We've got (arguable) proof

Kid from 504 population town draws No. 1 MLB draft! (Not that simple.)
Small towns unite! (If you've got connections.)
Oklahoma stand up! (It did -- check the comments after the story.)
markkreidler.substack.com/p/if-youre-g...

All Hail This Rant. Lee Elia and the one great thing

RIP Lee Elia. There's so much more to the back-story of his epic rant, and it's remarkable how right he turned out to be (about some of it).
Free read! Maybe don't play the audio at work.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/all-hail-t...

The Bots Are Coming for You. Don't worry -- they only check for strikes

Robot* umps at the All-Star Game!** Danger!***
(* not really robots)
(** just the one game)
(*** only danger is a bad call gets fixed)
markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-bots-a...

Uh-Oh. Players and gambling hit the NBA (again)

Another gambling scandal in the NBA (allegedly). But, hey, FanDuel and DraftKings still feel great about the direction of the league!
markkreidler.substack.com/p/uh-oh-697

A Fear Pandemic Grips Safety Net Hospitals and Their Patients With immigration raids on the rise, many in need of health care are choosing to remain at home.

In the age of ICE deportations, undocumented people are foregoing medical care. @markkreidler.bsky.social reports on the deadly consequences of surprise ICE raids.

https://trib.al/3y2JuR4

Baseball Has a Baseball Problem. It just can't fix it

In the "You'll get nothing and like it!" department, MLB officials confirm that this season's baseballs are relatively deadened and they can't fix it and, you know, listen, hey.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/baseball-h...

Deeper Pockets, Please. Lakers tell the family goodbye

Family ownership of sports franchises is mostly dead -- not exactly breaking news. The Buss family held out quite a while. But competing in pro sports in 2025 takes the kind of cash flow that even truly wealthy families can't usually muster.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/deeper-poc...

One For the Grinders. Happy Father's Day

If you ever drove five hours round-trip for a two-hour game or knew the Subway menu by heart, this one's for you
markkreidler.substack.com/p/one-for-th...

The Dope | Mark Kreidler | Substack Deconstructing the sports world one paragraph at a time, by national award-winning writer Mark Kreidler. Because context is king. Click to read The Dope, by Mark Kreidler, a Substack publication.

Shohei Ohtani is such a great offensive player that it's always shocking to realize his 2025 numbers are being *dominated* right now by somebody across the country. It's a cool thing at a time when MLB offense is at such a premium.
markkreidler.substack.com

All Hail Your Second Team. The NBA Finals' two brightest stars are on pro stop No. 2

NBA Finalists Shea Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton are both thriving with their teams -- their *second* teams. It's incredibly common in sports, for a whole host of reasons. We'll start with vision.
Free to read!
markkreidler.substack.com/p/all-hail-y...

The Steelers' Store-Bought Misfit. Ghosts chasing ghosts

The Steelers are signing Aaron Rodgers, who threw the second-highest number of passes in the NFL last season. And that's great, because -- oh, wait. The Steelers *hate* passing the ball. Cool uniforms, though.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-steele...

Hey, Should We Fire Him? Sure! It's only our best performance in 25 years

Last time the Knicks went this deep into the NBA playoffs, "All In the Family" was the No. 1 show on TV. What do do if you're the Knicks' brain trust? Oh, definitely: Fire the coach.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/hey-should...

Lincoln Riley Would Like For You To Zip It. P.S. He still doesn't want to play Notre Dame

The USC head coach would love for you to shut up about him being willing to blow up a rivalry with 100 years of tradition because he's chasing a bitcoin-era playoff spot. All systems go!
markkreidler.substack.com/p/lincoln-ri...

Ambulance Chaser: Can Gov. Newsom Siphon Off Medi-Cal Funding to Balance Budget? Proposition 35 was meant to attract doctors to care for low-income Californians. Instead, it’s looking like a cash cow for Sacramento.

Last November, California voters approved #Prop35 in a landslide. The proposition was meant to attract doctors to care for low-income Californians.

Instead, it’s looking like a cash cow for Sacramento, writes @markkreidler.bsky.social. #inequality

capitalandmain.com/ambulance-ch...

The Great Food Bank Robbery: Hungry Californians Face Losing Their Daily Bread A new landscape of scarcity is threatening even the state’s food basket regions.

For the second consecutive year, California food banks are serving 6 million people each month. Those are unprecedented numbers in the state, writes @markkreidler.bsky.social.

capitalandmain.com/the-great-fo...

Death of an Original. The Colts' Jim Irsay was his own man to the end

Colts owner Jim Irsay, gone at 65. The past decade was messy and way too public, which is another way of saying that Irsay was a person, not a caricature. He left a legacy, but it may not be the one you're thinking of.
No paywall.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/death-of-a...

one thing the Dem establishment doesn’t understand is that Rogan is *downstream* of the right-wing misinformation machine. he doesn’t originate reactionary conspiracies, he absorbs them, and that’s why he turned toward Trump

What Do You Do With Pete? (Open the side door and walk away)

In a thimble: None of the MLB commissioners who followed Bart Giamatti could stomach watching Pete Rose walk through the front doors at Cooperstown. They needed a side door. Found one. But only if Rose wasn't alive to use it.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...

Can Aaron Judge Hit .400? C'mon. No. Unless maybe

Aaron Judge cannot hit .400 (unless he does).
Can't be done (although it's been done).
Anyway, the season's way too long to sustain that kind of performance (whoops -- now we're getting somewhere).
Free to read & subscribe!
markkreidler.substack.com/p/can-aaron-...

Popovich: That's One Way to Do It. Whack somebody. Replace him with yourself. Boom. History

Weekend reading: Gregg Popovich crafted an absolute legacy career as an NBA head coach. First, though, he had to bump off a guy to get the process started.
No paywall -- but please consider subscribing!
markkreidler.substack.com/p/popovich-t...

The Record Nobody Wants. Colorado is still owned by the same guy

After reading the column below, a friend suggested relegation as a possible solution to MLB's chronically underperforming franchises. Yes? No? Any downside there? It seems to work for most pro soccer leagues around the world.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-record...

The Two Minute Report Blows. But the NBA sort of has to do it

Just saying what we all think: The NBA's two-minute report is written for...somebody, I guess, but not us. We already know.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-two-mi...

Career Missing. The unresolved story of an epic talent

An injured Lonzo Ball won't play for the Bulls against the Heat tonight. If you never saw Ball hoop while healthy, it might be hard to believe that so many NBA folks had him ticketed for greatness. He was that gifted. A story we won't get to tell.
markkreidler.substack.com/p/career-mis...

Pros in College Ball? You Got It. And it certainly does suck

The QB wanted to renegotiate his deal. The franchise decided to stand its ground. Things got ugly = football divorce.
Old tale.
New twist! It's college, not the pros.
(Free read -- please subscribe!)
markkreidler.substack.com/p/pros-in-co...

Kansas, one and done in a truly bizarre season — and a brutal injury at the end.