Mike Vaccaro
MLB
open microphone
July 15, 2023 | 5:27 p.m
I am addicted.
It’s helpless. It is hopeless. This was the week that the Immaculate Lattice came into my life and it is impossible to explain how deep that rabbit hole has gotten. It’s a bit like when I discovered that every Cheers episode was on Hulu, a bit like when the Beatles documentary Get Back was released on Disney+ and a week in mine for the first time since 1979 House passed while ESPN wasn’t on my TV.
only better.
(Or worse, I suppose.)
Immaculate Grid is the brainchild of a famed man named Brian Minter, a software developer in suburban Atlanta, and it’s exploded in popularity lately because Baseball-Reference.com – which, as I’m sure you know by now, already specializes in rabbit holes is – bought up It.
(And if you will allow me a serious side note on all this fun, please read the wonderful story my friend Tyler Kepner wrote about it in the New York Times this week, along with him and a bunch of very good and talented people running the sports department of the Times were sold out by their bosses in the most cold-blooded — and short-sighted — office brawl imaginable.)
Immaculate Grid has become a popular baseball game over the past few weeks.Screenshot
Immaculate Grid – named “immaculate inning” for the three strikeouts in nine pitches – is a simple game: each day there is a grid, three across and three down, for nine boxes. Six of these involve naming a player who has played for two teams that started the line-up. Three more include three of the teams and a random stat – 500 homers, 300 wins, etc.
The beauty of this is that you get your best score by guessing the pairing used by the fewest other participants. That’s half the fun. And it can actually incite some anger too: My first try at this game earlier this week was the pairing of Giants and 500 Home Runs. I proudly typed in “Willie Mays”… but the percentage given was only 4 percent – which is actually a good thing for your overall score, but sure also means the overwhelming percentage went to Barry Bonds (unless there’s a big Mel Ott). faction out there).
But like any other great rabbit hole, even the frustrating things are overcome – and overwhelmed – by the good things. I remember one of my favorite podcasts, the Mike Duncan series Revolutions, which was referred to me by a friend. While there are sections of, say, the French Revolution that last for an episode or two, the overall grandeur of the work always shines through.
Willie Mays was a possible answer in a recent Immaculate Grid.African American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images
Ditto for Immaculate Grid when trying to find the least likely player to have played for both the Mets and Royals, for example (I’m proud to say I picked Amos Otis , just like only 2 percent). of the other players on Saturday) or the Cardinals and Orioles (Andre Miller, 10 percent!).
Now you might be wondering: do I really need one more pastime in my life? You already have daily crosswords. You already have Sudoku. You already have Wordle and the various music games “Heardle” and are probably playing some form of Scrabble or Word Chums on your phone (with multiple opponents no doubt) and if all else fails there isn’t a device in the world that won’t let you is to play solitaire.
And we won’t even bother binge-watching “The Bear,” “Jack Ryan,” or “The Righteous Gemstones,” or binge “Mad Men,” “Eastbound and Down,” and “Truth Be Told” again -Watching or taking time for example the documentaries about Bill Walton, Rock Hudson and Mary Tyler Moore, or by incorporating your regular podcasts like SmartLess, The Rewatchables or The Woj Pod, and maybe Would you still like to take the time to read a book from time to time again ….
Yes. You probably don’t need anything else.
But if you’re a baseball fan? You need the Immaculate Lattice. i know i do It’s helpless. It is hopeless. I am addicted.
Vac’s Whacks
I don’t know why the NBA thinks this bonus tournament, which nobody seemed remotely interested in, is so groundbreaking. We’ve seen it for years, but it used to be called “the NIT”.
One of the most entertaining aspects of writing this 1988 article that appeared in the Post on Thursday was speaking to Darryl Strawberry, who sounds and looks great. He has visited schools, hospitals and places of worship to speak about the evils of opioids, and next week he will be at two maximum-security prisons in Missouri delivering the same messages to inmates: say no to drugs.
Daryl Strawberry throws the first pitch at the Mets-Yankees game in July 2022.Getty Images
There is a wonderful event taking place at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale on Tuesday evening at 7:30pm. Old friend Ed Randall will interview Steve Garvey and Roy White focusing on the 1977-78 Dodgers-Yankees rivalry. Proceeds go to Fans for the Cure, a charity dedicated to the education, awareness and early detection of prostate cancer. Ticket information: http://www.fansforthecure.org/talkingbaseball.
It’s always good to feel the pulse of the Pilgrims at Stan’s, just around the corner from Yankee Stadium. The general consensus on a visit last Saturday: The Americans look as dead as Bud Light right now.
Hit back on Vac
Jay Cummings: After seeing the Starr insurance patch on the pinstripes, I called and they offered heart attack and depression insurance for watching the Yankees games, and they also had a special offer of throwing in the Mets. At least the Mets were on Apple+ on Friday; Too bad the Yankees weren’t on Amazon Prime.
Vac: Ladies and gentlemen, New York baseball in July 2023!
Alan Hirschberg: The NBA’s new fake “in-season tournament” sounds just as exciting as LIV golf.
Vac: I’m open-minded about a lot of things, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard a single NBA fan cry out for an NBA tournament this season, and I know a lot of NBA fans.
Adam Silver and the NBA announced a seasonal tournament earlier this week.Getty Images
@MyersLorne: As for your column on the 1988 Mets, I was always disappointed that they didn’t bring back Ray Knight and traded Kevin Mitchell after winning the 1986 World Series.
@MikeVacc: You’ll be hard pressed to find a member of the 1986 team who doesn’t insist they would have won another had Knight been on the team.
Steve Sachs: Do you think Daniel Vogelbach even owns a baseball glove?
Vac: See, there are a lot of cheap, plain jokes about old Vogey. But this one has that little something extra. Bravo.
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