Home Run Research Articles

Comics and the Body: Drawing, Reading and Vulnerability by Eszter Szép

Reviewed by: Comics and the Body: Drawing, Reading and Vulnerability by Eszter Szép José Alaniz (bio) Eszter Szép, Comics and the Body: Drawing, Reading and Vulnerability. The Ohio State University Press, 2020. 208 pp, $129.95, $32.95. Click for larger view View full resolution Hungarian comics scholar Eszter Szép scores a home run with her first monograph, Comics and the Body: Drawing, Reading and Vulnerability, a landmark work which expands upon and productively advances the "embodied turn" in comics studies. I daresay it is destined to become a canonical book, which draws on affect/reader response theory, gender studies, analysis of the drawn line and material culture for an extended, mostly persuasive case that nonfiction comics (on both the production and reception sides) operate through an oft-unacknowledged ethical framework of bodily vulnerability. Szép has an active career as an author, instructor, curator, and popularizer of graphic narrative in a Central European country which—like some other former Soviet bloc states—has only recently and fitfully embraced comics culture in the Western sense. Szép co-organizes the annual International Comics Festival at Budapest, curated the first comics exhibition on the history of Hungarian comics in the National Széchényi Library in 2018, and co-edited Gendered Identities in Contemporary [End Page 85] Literary and Visual Cultures (2018). She graduated from the Modern English and American Literature and Culture Doctoral Program at the Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Humanities, Budapest, in 2018, and taught at the Milestone Institute, also in Budapest. Comics and the Body: Drawing, Reading and Vulnerability is partly based on her dissertation.1 In the book, Szép synthesizes concepts from Judith Butler (philosophy/ethics), Vivian Sobchak (phenomenology/Film Studies), Hillary Chute (trauma/graphic narrative), Suzanne Keen (empathy), and Aaron Kashtan (materiality), among others, to argue that comics studies has historically attended overmuch to the mind and not enough to the body. Yet there are always three bodies involved in the engagement with comics, she maintains: those of the drawer, the reader, and most provocatively the object (the comics work itself). The book's first line is in fact: "Reading comics is not only a performance of our cognitive skills, it is also a performance and interaction of bodies" (1, my emphasis). And as bodies, all bear a common fragility and mortality—in short, vulnerability. The book goes on to map out a framework "in which the embodied processes of drawing and the embodied processes of interpretation can be related in dialogical engagement" (4–5) through the common anchor of human vulnerability. Turning to nonfiction works as the best evidence for her thesis, Szép highlights vulnerability as implicitly and explicitly articulated in the graphic narrative of Katie Green, Joe Sacco, Ken Dahl, Miriam Katin, and Lynda Barry. These artists, through often brutal self-presentations/examinations and/or explorations of real-world trauma, center the precarity at the core of what Gillian Whitlock calls "autographics." Building in particular on the work of Charles Hatfield, Elisabeth El Refaie, and others, Szép argues that "drawing one's avatar in comics is based on encounters with the Other within the self, and because of this, it is inseparable from experiencing and expressing vulnerability" (81). It's important to emphasize as well that Szép intends this approach as an alternative to identificatory models of comics consumption; she stresses the "fundamental nature of vulnerability" (10) as a precondition for a dialogical, ethical recognition of the Other (both within and without). Such attention to the embodiment of comics-making/reading leads to a number of repercussions, which the author handily explores in case studies. Citing art historians like Simon Grennan and Philip Rawson, Szép maintains focus throughout on the central role played by the drawn line in graphic narrative, as both physical trace of the artist (what Jared Gardner calls "the hand") and as fabulously productive and performative agent of (re)creation. (Some of her insights resonate with those of Andrei Molotiu in his 2020 essay on cartooning in Comics Studies: A Guidebook, edited by Hatfield and Bart Beaty.) She follows Jennifer Higgie's conceptualization of Matisse's drawings as "thinking...

Performance prediction in major league baseball by long short-term memory networks

Player performance prediction is a serious problem in every sport since it brings valuable future information for managers to make important decisions. In baseball industries, there already existed variable prediction systems and many types of researches that attempt to provide accurate predictions and help domain users. However, it is a lack of studies about the predicting method or systems based on deep learning. Deep learning models had proven to be the greatest solutions in different fields nowadays, so we believe they could be tried and applied to the prediction problem in baseball. Hence, the predicting abilities of deep learning models are set to be our research problem in this paper. As a beginning, we select numbers of home runs as the target because it is one of the most critical indexes to understand the power and the talent of baseball hitters. Moreover, we use the sequential model Long Short-Term Memory as our main method to solve the home run prediction problem in Major League Baseball. We compare models’ ability with several machine learning models and a widely used baseball projection system, sZymborski Projection System. Our results show that Long Short-Term Memory has better performance than others and has the ability to make more exact predictions. We conclude that Long Short-Term Memory is a feasible way for performance prediction problems in baseball and could bring valuable information to fit users’ needs.

StockWatch: Minerva's a Home Run with N.Y. Mets Owner

GEN EdgeVol. 4, No. 1 Neurological DisordersStockWatch: Minerva's a Home Run with N.Y. Mets OwnerWhat the HAE? As clinical hold sinks Pharvaris shares, rivals scramble to treat rare disorder; Aerie soars on $770M Alcon buyout; Foghorn falls on full FDA holdAlex PhilippidisAlex PhilippidisSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:25 Aug 2022https://doi.org/10.1089/genedge.4.1.105AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View articleFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 4Issue 1Jan 2022 Information© 2022 by GEN PublishingTo cite this article:Alex Philippidis.StockWatch: Minerva's a Home Run with N.Y. Mets Owner.GEN Edge.Jan 2022.642-647.http://doi.org/10.1089/genedge.4.1.105Published in Volume: 4 Issue 1: August 25, 2022PDF download

Phosphorus influences annual bluegrass competitiveness at seeding in perennial ryegrass and creeping bentgrass

AbstractAnnual bluegrass (AB; Poa annua L.) infestation is aided by phosphorus (P), but there is no information evaluating the effect of P on AB encroachment into turfgrass at seeded establishment. We hypothesized AB seedling survival and vigor will increase with P rates, compromising establishment of desired turfgrass species. Greenhouse pot studies evaluated the effect of P application rate on AB establishment or cover when seeded with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) or creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L. ‘007’). Two experimental runs were repeated in time. In perennial ryegrass, five P rates (0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 kg P ha−1) and two cultivars (‘Black Cat II’ and ‘Home Run LS’) were tested in sand media (11 mg kg−1 Mehlich‐3 extractable P). In creeping bentgrass, five P rates (0, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 kg P ha−1), which were modified in the second run (0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 kg P ha−1), were tested in sand media (3 mg kg−1 Mehlich‐3 extractable P). Regardless of cultivar, AB establishment in perennial ryegrass improved when P was applied and was 90% of maximum at 1.7 kg P ha−1. In creeping bentgrass, both AB and creeping bentgrass cover increased when P was applied and AB was 90% of maximum at 12.1 kg P ha−1. Creeping bentgrass cover was not compromised by P application rates as low as 6.25 kg ha−1. Phosphorus enhances AB cover from seed when sown with perennial ryegrass or creeping bentgrass seed in low P soils.

Henry “Hank” Aaron, Radiation Oncology, and Me

Many of you know we lost a truly great American and sports icon this year when “Hammering” Henry “Hank” Aaron passed away. Some of you may also know he was my uncle. I was around him quite a bit in the years leading up to his historic 715th home run. I still cannot believe I was sitting in the family box when Babe Ruth's record was broken. On numerous occasions to follow, we shared celebrations and family gatherings, even after he retired from baseball. I also had the honor of hosting him on wine tasting excursions and in my home in San Francisco (Fig.

Seattle Sports: Play, Identity, and Pursuit in the Emerald City

Seattle Sports, edited by Terry Anne Scott, is a welcome addition to the Sports, Culture, and Society series edited by David Wiggins for the University of Arkansas Press. As Wiggins notes in the preface, the series provides a forum for “a variety of disciplinary areas and methodological approaches” (ix). Based on these criteria, Seattle Sports hits a home run. Of the book's ten authors, only four are traditional academics, while the remainder are former athletes or simply fans of the sports they write about. All the essays are clearly written and accessible. While some academic sports historians may wish for more historiographical context in some of the essays, others will find the mix of academic and nonacademic essays refreshing.Editor Scott's contribution on basketball great Lenny Wilkins examines the complex relationship between race, sports, and social mobility. Scott tells the engaging story of Wilkins's rise to Hall of Fame player and coach. As only the second African American coach in the NBA, Wilkens led the Seattle SuperSonics to a 1979 NBA championship. Scott's biographical approach details the obstacles faced by African American players and coaches. In Wilkins's case, that meant childhood poverty, housing discrimination despite his star status, and lack of recognition for his early coaching achievements.Three other chapters address issues of race and sports. Sherry Lee shows how Seattle's Japanese American community used segregated baseball in the interwar years to forge a distinct ethnic identity while simultaneously proving their Americanness. Shafina Khaki uses W. E. B. DuBois's concept of “double consciousness” to examine the complexities of race and identity among four NFL players who spent time with the Seattle Seahawks. While modern athletes have embraced the Black Lives Matter movement, Khaki shows us that Black players have long used their platforms to address racial injustice. Finally, Anthony Washington's contribution makes for a fascinating primary source. Washington, a Seattle high school basketball star, never made it to the NBA. After playing professional basketball in Europe, however, he did something more: he became a social worker in Seattle and founded “Off the Court,” a nonprofit that helps youth in underserved communities pursue academic, not just athletic, scholarships.Three essays in Seattle Sports address gender identity. Maureen Smith examines the life of Seattle swimmer Helene Madison, who won three gold medals at the Summer Olympic Games in 1932. Madison became one of the “sports heroes” of the 1920s and 1930s, but, like many other great female athletes, she had no opportunity to parlay her gift into a professional career. Rita Liberti examines the world of amateur gay softball teams in Seattle during the 1980s. Like her earlier work on Black women in college basketball, Liberti shows how sports complicate our notions of “masculinity” and “femininity.” Jamie Barnhorst rounds out the essays on gender with an engaging look at women's roller derby in Seattle. Barnhorst, who skated professionally, provides a history that is both personal and sociological. Women's roller derby, she concludes, “included female athletes of varying ages and body types, disrupting traditional notions of femininity” (155). Like the men in Liberti's gay softball league, the women of roller derby pushed the boundaries of gender identity.The remaining essays focus on the fate of conventional and unconventional sports in Seattle. Elliot Trotter places “Ultimate” (a form of frisbee football) within Seattle's unconventional urban culture. Chris Donnelly chronicles the Mariners’ success (or lack thereof) from the 1970s to the 1990s. While much of the essay narrates the ups and downs of each season, Donnelly also offers insights into the politics and economics of team relocation. Christine Maggio's essay on the fate of professional hockey in Seattle also speaks to the politics and economics of location and relocation, examining Seattle's quest for an NHL expansion team.A single review cannot do justice to the ten essays. Nonetheless, the book illustrates the potential of focusing on the development of sports within a single city. At times, the editor and the individual authors struggle too hard to make the case for using Seattle as a focal point. However, one does not need to show that Seattle is a world-class city deserving of the same attention as New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles; nor does one need to argue that there is something either “special” or “representative” about Seattle that makes it worthy of study. Focusing on a particular city—any city—allows a more in-depth examination of sport and its interactions with other urban institutions. The strength of this collection lies not in giving Seattle its due but in exploring the diverse ways that different groups experience sports.

A home run for human NaCT/SLC13A5/INDY: cryo-EM structure and homology model to predict transport mechanisms, inhibitor interactions and mutational defects.

NaCT (SLC13A5) is a Na+-coupled transporter for citrate, which is expressed in the liver, brain, testes, and bone. It is the mammalian homolog of Drosophila INDY, a cation-independent transporter for citrate, whose partial loss extends lifespan in the organism. In humans, loss-of-function mutations in NaCT cause a disease with severe neurological dysfunction, characterized by neonatal epilepsy and delayed brain development. In contrast with humans, deletion of NaCT in mice results in a beneficial metabolic phenotype with protection against diet-induced obesity and metabolic syndrome; the brain dysfunction is not readily noticeable. The disease-causing mutations are located in different regions of human NaCT protein, suggesting that different mutations might have different mechanisms for the loss of function. The beneficial effects of NaCT loss in the liver versus the detrimental effects of NaCT loss in the brain provide an opportunity to design high-affinity inhibitors for the transporter that do not cross the blood-brain barrier so that only the beneficial effects could be harnessed. To realize these goals, we need a detailed knowledge of the 3D structure of human NaCT. The recent report by Sauer et al. in Nature describing the cryo-EM structure of human NaCT represents such a milestone, paving the way for a better understanding of the structure-function relationship for this interesting and clinically important transporter.

Obtaining optimum screw placement for revision acetabular prostheses using the sciatic notch as reference

BackgroundThe use of transacetabular screws aid greatly in attaining acetabular component stability during acetabular revision surgery. There are, however, definite risks involved when using this technique. Inserting screws in the posterior superior safe zone has been advocated as a way to do this safely, but recent studies have shown that this does not hold true in conditions where acetabular anatomy is distorted or where the hip centre of rotation has moved. A method to insert these screws more accurately and safely is proposed. Questions/Purposes(1) Can using the greater sciatic notch as reference point when inserting transacetabular screws for revision acetabular cups ensure accurate and safe placement of screws? (2) How does this proposed new method compare with the posterior superior safe zone method? MethodsWith the use of an observational anatomic study we have developed a new method for the insertion of long transacetabular screws. This method uses the greater sciatic notch as a reference point. Our method was tested on 16 cadaveric hips (reamed to simulate revision conditions) and compared to the safe zone method. ResultsOur method achieved placement of 1–3 screws in the target area in all hips without penetration into the pelvis or sciatic notch. With the use of the safe zone only as reference the pelvis was penetrated 7 times and the sciatic notch twice. ConclusionUsing the greater sciatic notch as a reference guide enables the surgeon to engage a supportive bar of bone for one or more long home run screws whilst minimizing penetration of the pelvis and sciatic notch. In this study our method was superior to using the safe zone in isolation.

Private Laurence Arthur Coe DCM: dental technician to prisoner of war escapee.

Private Coe of the Army Dental Corps is thought to be the first soldier in the British Army to escape captivity in the Second World War and achieve the 'home run' back to the UK. He was captured near Dunkirk on 30 May 1940 by the German Army and was transported to camp Stalag XXA (Thorn) in Poland. He successfully escaped from the prisoner of war camp and made his way back to the United Kingdom. King George VI thought the escape a fine performance on the part of Private Coe and awarded him the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Home Run Derby Participation in Major League Baseball Players: Is There Associated Injury Risk and Impact on Second-Half Performance?

Background:The Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game (ASG) Home Run Derby (HRD) remains a highly anticipated event, during which contestants can take hundreds of maximum-effort swings en route to hitting a multitude of home runs. Critics have openly questioned the risk-benefit of HRD participation as it pertains to injury, alterations in swing mechanics, and timing.Purpose:To determine whether participation in the MLB ASG HRD was associated with both increased injury risk and decline in second-half performance in MLB players.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:MLB players who participated in the HRD between 2006 and 2019 were identified through publicly available internet databases. A control group of ASG participants who had the highest home run totals in the first half of the corresponding MLB season were selected as a control group. Multivariable linear regression was used to determine independent associations between HRD participation and batting metrics in the second half of the season. Multivariable logistic regression also assessed the impact of HRD participation on injured list placement during the second half of the concurrent MLB season.Results:A total of 114 HRD participants and 114 ASG participant controls competed during the study period. No statistically significant differences were seen in batting metrics in the second half of the MLB season between HRD participants and ASG controls, although HRD participants had a significantly lower wins-above-replacement statistic for the season compared with controls (4.69 ± 2.06 vs 5.33 ± 2.08; P = .021). HRD participation was not significantly associated with injury during the second half. The number of HRD rounds in which a player participated did not result in a statistically significant increased odds of injury during the second half of the MLB season.Conclusion:HRD participants did not have increased odds of being placed on the injured list during the second half of the MLB season compared with controls, nor did they experience second-half performance declines in offensive production versus controls when multivariable linear regression analysis was performed.

Changes in Maximal Strength and Home Run Performance in NCAA Division I Baseball Players Across 3 Competitive Seasons: A Descriptive Study.

The purpose of this longitudinal, descriptive study was to observe changes in maximal strength measured via isometric clean grip mid-thigh pull and home runs (total and home runs per game) across three years of training and three competitive seasons for four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 baseball players. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed, revealing significant univariate effects of time for peak force (PF) (p = 0.003) and peak force allometrically scaled (PFa) (p = 0.002). Increases in PF were noted from season 1 to season 2 (p = 0.031) and season 3 (p = 0.004), but season 2 was not significantly different than season 3 (p = 0.232). Additionally, increases in PFa were noted from season 1 to season 2 (p = 0.010) and season 3 (p < 0.001), but season 2 was not significantly different than season 3 (p = 0.052). Home runs per game rose from the 2009 (0.32) to 2010 season (1.35) and dropped during the 2011 season (1.07). A unique aspect of the study involves 2010 being the season in which ball-bat coefficient of restitution (BBCOR) bats were introduced to the NCAA competition.

Radio and media history as a methodology for conviviality

This article illustrates how research into the history of radio and media can become a methodological ‘tool for conviviality’ by discussing my research into the very low-powered Tokyo station, Radio Home Run. In 1986, Ivan Illich visited Radio Home Run to participate in a programme that not only exhibited characteristics of his concept of conviviality, but that was also partially inspired by this concept as well as his critiques of industrial society and institutional life. During this programme, Illich sat on the floor of a small Tokyo apartment – the station’s make-shift studio – to share food, drink and a microphone with members of the station as he discussed his ideas with those in attendance. About five years prior to his visit, early members of Radio Home Run and its predecessor Radio Polybucket had been inspired by the writings of Illich and other progressive thinkers to develop their own theory and practice of radio-making, which they described as narrowcasting. They implemented this theoretically inspired practice throughout the station’s tenure (roughly 1983–96) both discussing and demonstrating conviviality with Illich during his 1986 visit. In 2016, 30 years after Illich’s visit, I met with former Radio Home Run members to collect oral histories, facilitate group interviews and conduct archival research about the station and its practices. I implemented a methodology that combines traditional practices of media and radio history with practices of art history focused on the perspectives and accounts of creators, such as those advocated by Lucy Lippard and Kristine Stiles. As I travelled throughout Japan to sit, share food and drink and discuss the past with groups and individuals, I experienced what it was like to participate in Radio Home Run’s convivial practices of narrowcasting. I also participated in the collective reconstruction of Radio Home Run’s collective history by documenting conversations as members pieced their memories together and revisited material from their personal archives, which shed new light on the station and its convivial practices. This article discusses and reflects upon the convivial nature of my research experiences in order to propose a methodology of radio and media arts history research that can serve as a methodological tool for conviviality in the present and the future.

“Make a Home Run for Suffrage”: Promoting Women’s Emancipation Through Baseball

At specific moments in history, women publicly entered the masculine realm of baseball to advance female suffrage in the United States. Girls and women took to the field in the nineteenth century, enjoying newfound bodily freedoms and disrupting Victorian constraints. While their performances may not have always translated into explicit suffrage activism, their athleticism demonstrated strength at a time when many people used women’s supposed weakness as an argument against their political enfranchisement. However, as the popularity of baseball increased at the turn of the century, the number of female ballplayers decreased. Activism in the sport therefore changed. In the mid-1910s, suffragists advertised at men’s baseball games. The women recognized the value of promoting suffrage through sport; yet, they also acknowledged that by entering ballparks, they entered a male space. Suffragists therefore exhibited conventional White gender norms to avoid aggrieving male voters. Women’s different engagements with baseball, as either players or spectators, had varying consequences for women’s political and sporting emancipation. Women’s physical activism in baseball demonstrated female prowess and strength in sport, but only abstractly advanced women’s political rights; suffragists’ promotional efforts through men’s baseball more directly influenced the eventual passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, but their actions supported women’s position on the sidelines.

Quality Assessment in FDG-PET/CT Imaging of Head-and-Neck Cancer: One Home Run Is Better Than Two Doubles.

2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) is indicated in head-and-neck cancer for the initial workup when clinically indicated (e. g., large tumors, clinically positive neck, cervical adenopathy from an unknown primary, etc.), for the assessment of treatment response 12 weeks after completion of (chemo)radiotherapy, and during follow-up when there is suspicion of relapse. The successful implementation of FDG-PET/CT in routine clinical practice requires an in-depth understanding of the recent advances in physics and engineering that have significantly improved the imaging capabilities of PET/CT scanners (e.g., digital silicon photomultipliers, point-spread function modeling, and time-of-flight, and Bayesian penalized likelihood reconstruction). Moreover, a coordinated harmonization effort from professional societies (e.g., EANM) and international bodies (e.g., IAEA) has resulted in the creation of quality assurance frameworks (e.g., QUANUM, EARL, GMP) and guidelines that collectively cover the entire spectrum from tracer production, hardware calibration, patient preparation, and scan acquisition, to image interpretation (e.g., PERCIST, Hopkins criteria). The ultimate goal is to standardize the PET/CT technique and to guarantee accurate and reproducible imaging results for every patient. This review summarizes the recent technical breakthroughs in PET/CT scan design and describes the existing quality assessment frameworks with a focus on applications in head-and-neck cancer. Strict adherence to these harmonization efforts will enable leveraging the full potential of PET/CT and translate the proven benefits of this technique into tangible improvements in outcome for patients with head-and-neck cancer in routine clinical care.

Frankie's Home Run

Frankie's Home Run

The geopolitical ramifications of COVID-19: the Taiwanese exception

ABSTRACT This commentary positions the Taiwanese response to COVID-19 in the larger geopolitical arena. It explores the politicized nature of the global pandemic through Taiwan’s relations with the US, China, the World Health Organization, and Southeast Asia, and reflects on the politico-economic environment Taiwan has to navigate post COVID-19. Discussion shows that the emergence of Taiwan as an exceptional entity in the containment of the virus is very much predicated on the failings of China and the US in their roles as world leaders. Moreover, as much as China needs Taiwan for its nationalistic narratives, the US is dependent on a defiant Taiwan to stall China’s progress in threatening its global hegemon status. However, despite scoring a geopolitical home run in its engagement with COVID-19, Taiwan is by and large a pawn in Sino-US relations. The commentary postulates that the political future of Taiwan is likely to be determined by geopolitical externalities beyond its control. Taiwan should not be too carried away by its success in balancing the US-China tightrope hitherto. So long as Taiwan remains a pawn in the contestation of global power between China and the US, its leaders have to tread carefully as to its future options.

Norma: Participant 1,001 and the Value of Clinical Research.

Norma: Participant 1,001 and the Value of Clinical Research.

Frontiers in combining immune checkpoint inhibitors for advanced urothelial cancer management.

This review provides an overview of currently ongoing clinical trials evaluating the combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) with other therapies in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer and the rationale for this combination approach. We discuss the preliminary results from early data presented at recent meetings regarding the efficacy and safety of novel combination therapies including a CPI for metastatic urothelial cancer. CPI emerged as novel first-line or second-line treatment options in advanced and metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). Although the response rates and their sustainability are promising, it is far from a home run. Combination therapies have already shown improved efficacy in several other tumor entities. Numerous clinical trials currently investigate combinations of CPI with other CPI, previously established systemic chemotherapy, targeted therapies, vaccines, or accompanied with radiotherapy. Preliminary data shows promising results. These results suggest that targeting pathways of immune response combined with established or novel oncological therapies may lead to a synergistic antitumor effect.

Did baseball chemistry lead to home run spike?

Home run rates in Major League Baseball (MLB) games increased by over 60% between June 2014 and June 2019—prompting fans, players, and researchers alike to question whether the balls were deliberately altered, or “juiced.” Chemists have now cracked the balls open to see whether changes to their cores have helped them fly farther. Computed tomography scans and other analytical techniques revealed changes in the density and composition of the cores that could partially explain the surge in homers, though more research is needed to solidify any connection (ACS Omega 2019, DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b00405). In 2018, ESPN asked scientists at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine to look inside the balls using computed tomography scans. The researchers scanned four baseballs used in MLB games between 2014 and the 2015 All-Star Game and found that the cork cores were 56.7% denser than four balls used through the 2017 season. Building

Baseball Connections

Baseball Connections John Shorey (bio) I gaze out the window from the front passenger seat of the motor coach, watching the recently tasseled cornfields whiz by. It is midmorning on a late July day in America's heartland. Seated across the aisle is my friend and colleague, Bill Ricketts. Behind me, dispersed throughout the bus, are twenty-two baseball fans, ranging from retired couples to recently graduated high school seniors and everything in between. We are on day three of a week-long baseball class/tour through the Midwest. As the bus rambles along I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis, an excerpt from the "First Inning" of Ken Burn's documentary Baseball plays on the video monitors, and I think to myself, It doesn't get much better than this. Just about every baseball fan has experienced the generational connections of baseball within their family. I know I have. But on this occasion, I shared my love of baseball with twenty-two people I had not met until two days before. By the end of the week, the connections inspired by baseball forged a special bond within the group. For me, baseball is about connections. It connects me with my childhood; it connects me with my parents and grandfather, my brother and sisters, childhood friends, Little League, and trips to County Stadium in Milwaukee to watch my favorite player, Henry Aaron. It connects me with my recent past and my present; this includes my wife and daughters, friends, colleagues, fantasy baseball, attending games ranging from t-ball, to collegiate, the minor leagues, and the majors. Baseball connects me with our country's history and culture. The game has definitely impacted the course of US history. The first large group gathering in New York City after 9/11 was the Mets versus Braves baseball game. A Mike Piazza home run late in the game gave New Yorkers something to cheer about after the long days of suffering and grief. Baseball also helped launch the civil rights movement. Shortly before his death in 1968, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. remarked, "Jackie Robinson made my success possible. Without him, I never would have been able to do what I did." Baseball is interwoven throughout our culture, from baseball caps to dozens of baseball phrases [End Page 16] used in everyday conversions. Baseball is ubiquitous throughout our culture, which lays the foundation for how baseball promotes connections. Over a recent twenty-year span of my life, I was fortunate enough to experience connections through baseball in a very unique way. For two decades, I developed and taught a course called "Baseball and American Culture" at Iowa Western Community College. The idea for the class was inspired by an article I came across in a professional journal about a college course offered by the University of Southern Maine, in which the professor and class went on a week-long bus trip traversing the Northeast to tour various baseball sites and attend games. With that as my inspiration, I thought, "Why not develop a Midwest version of the class?" I needed a cohort to help teach and handle the logistics of a week-long trip. I turned to friend and fellow instructor Bill, and he agreed to help develop the course with me. The wheels for the class started in motion early in the spring semester of 1998. The timing to start a baseball class couldn't have been better. At that time the United States was embroiled in the Clinton impeachment proceedings; the country needed a lift and a distraction. As in many other times throughout our history, baseball came to the rescue. Excitement was building for the upcoming Major League Baseball season in anticipation of a possible run at Roger Maris's single-season home run record. Bill and I had to really sell our community college president and the executive board on our idea of getting paid to teach a class on baseball. We jokingly told our president that if we caught a Mark McGwire home run ball, we would donate it to the college if the class and week-long trip was approved. The class was approved. Little did...