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Mariners Moose Tracks, 12/2/16: 86 years ago baseball became less fun, and other sort of interesting links

By Isabelle Minasian
Thank goodness those aren't the pants they wear nowadays, huh?
Thank goodness those aren't the pants they wear nowadays, huh?

Up until 1930 a ball that bounced in fair territory, and then over the outfield wall was considered a home run. Can you imagine what modern home run totals would be like if that rule was still in play today? Think about how different games would be if all those bouncing doubles actually got to be home runs. I was a history minor in college and it was always these little things that fascinated me, and the idea that a seemingly inconsequential change could have huge ramifications years down the road. My favorite historians are the ones who can look back at a single, small event and weave together a story from that point to explain the development of a major moment in history. It's a concept you've likely heard referred to as the butterfly effect, which subsequently is best represented in this short story from Ray Bradbury (I know y'all aren't actually doing any work on a Friday, and I highly recommend this as a worthwhile way to spend a couple minutes). Anyway, you're not here to listen to me wax on about history, or butterflies or Ray Bradbury. You're here about baseball, so baseball you shall have.

In Mariners news:

* The Mariners' very own Team Italy WBC representative will live to pitch another day in beautiful Cheney Stadium

* Edwin Diaz officially has his own emoji, and it's just about the best MLB has done with these silly little things

* Number 1 ranked prospect, and recovering victim of a collision with a catcher colossus that still haunts my memory to this day, is making great progress in rehab. If you weren't sold on Andrew Moore as your favorite prospect after Kate's piece yesterday, Kyle Lewis is a very excellent alternative favorite

In MLB news:

* Former Mariner and futile outfield hopper Norichika Aoki has avoided arbitration and apparently settled for $5.5 million with the Astros, rather than the $6.8 million he was supposedly up for

* In case you thought the new CBA could prevent MLB from getting its way no matter what, the new rules appear to be flexible for certain personalities

* Let this be your daily giggle prompt for the wasteland of the Angels farm system, and let this also be my plea to you all to think before you pun. There is so much funny in the world, and so rarely is it found in puns

FLLashback: Wherein Jeff Sullivan (next time it'll be a different writer, I swear, but when you go back a certain number of years it really was just all him and Matthew producing content and wow, okay, are you impressed yet?) cyber harasses Brandon McCarthy and confesses his sins via Lookout Landing

Days until pitchers and catchers report: 73

P.S. Sorry for the wonky asterisks instead of bullet points. My computer didn't like the tweet embeds paired with the bullets, and it's too late to fuss around with it all that much. I hope that for what this lacks in aesthetic appeal it makes up for in Edwin Diaz emojis

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