Against home runs

Baseball is in the midst of a home run boom. That's a bad thing.

San Francisco Giants' slugger Barry Bonds hitting a home run in 2001.
(Image credit: JOHN G. MABANGLO/AFP/Getty Images)

Everything I love about baseball boils down to a 1-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning of a one-game playoff in 1995.

My Seattle Mariners had finished the strike-shortened season 78-66, as had the California Angels. To decide which team would win the American League West crown — and its attendant playoff berth — they would play a single tiebreaker game.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.