#134: Cheating in Baseball and Innovation in Sports with Dan Levitt
Welcome to one of the most exciting times in sports — the baseball postseason is upon us! And that means it’s the perfect time to talk about innovation in baseball and how the sport has evolved, particularly from a breaking-the-rules perspective.
Dan Levitt is an award-winning researcher and board member of the Society for American Baseball Research. In short, he knows his baseball history. Alongside Mark Armour, he’s the co-author of multiple books and articles. Their recent collaboration, Intentional Balk: Baseball's Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating, has a ton of cool stories about…well, the thin line between being cunning and being a straight-up cheater.
We’re chatting about how baseball innovation has grown over the years, some of our favorite silly baseball plays, and what the future of baseball diamonds could look like amid a changing rulebook.
Highlights of our conversation
Why baseball seems to have a reputation for cheating and why its rulebook makes it more robust than other sports. (2:31)
Why the balk is such a fascinating rule. (4:06)
How cheating and innovation in baseball has evolved over the years and why the farm system is a major part of that evolution. (6:02)
A look at the thin line between cheating and innovation. (10:03)
Some of our favorite moments of players being cunning, such as this fancy catch switcheroo from Todd Frazier and this tremendous baserunning from Javy Baez. (12:26)
The role technology is playing in improving innovation and why teams and players take a cost-benefit analysis approach whenever they’re bending the rules. (16:47)
The end of the defensive shift and the wild types of fields we could see in the future. (19:00)
Something that surprised Dan while he was writing Intentional Balk. (21:31)
Dan’s favorite baseball movie and a few postseason predictions. (23:55)
Some of Dan’s top “remember that guy” guys. (26:51)
Where to find Dan Levitt
Pick up a copy of Intentional Balk at intentionalbalkbook.com.
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