Ballpark quest - 60 ballparks

      How unlucky are the Chicago Cubs? Even casual baseball fans know that the Chicago Cubs went a long time between winning World Series. Most Chicago fans probably know that “a long time” means that after a 1908 win, their next one was 108 years later, in 2016. About 60 years into that streak, I remember reading an item in my local newspaper, the Macomb Daily Journal (the Cubs and Cardinals were the two teams   that most kids in Macomb followed), which quoted some mathematician who had calculated that the odds against a streak that long were so high that the Cubs must be remarkably unlucky. Even as a teenager, without having had any courses in statistics, I could see flaw in that reasoning. But first, here’s how the calculation works. Right now, there are 30 teams in MLB. One will win the World Series, so that means you have a 1 in 30 chance of winning the World Series this year. That also means that you have a 29 in 30 chance (96.7%) of NOT winning the...

    With the ivy-covered outfield walls, the rooftop bleachers across the street, the left-field “well” on the playing field, and the Chicago skyline in the distance, this can only be Wrigley Field. Wrigley Field, along with Fenway Park in Boston, is one of the two most famous (and oldest) stadiums in the major leagues. As a baseball fan, and a fan of baseball history, why haven’t I loved it? Although this is the first time we’ve been to Wrigley Field on this quest, I’ve actually been here three previous times, and Kerry’s been here once, so I consider this a fourth impression, rather than a first impression. And I’ve got to say, I’m growing to love it. Wrigley Field , built in 1914 and originally christened “Weeghman Field,” has a long and interesting enough history to be worthy of being   a National Historic Landmark (which it is). I’m not going to go into any of the details before the year 2000, when I first attended a game at Wrigley on my 45 th birthday. I...