Welcome to The View Level
Hi! My name’s Matt Welch. Usually, I write and talk and broadcast about politics and media, most often these days for Reason magazine and The Fifth Column podcast. Over the past quarter-century, however, I have managed to sneak in a surprisingly large amount of verbiage (and ... is numberage a word?) about my favorite sport, baseball; and my favorite team (God help me), the Angels.
This output was previously scattered all over the damn place (L.A. Times, ESPN.com, Baseball Prospectus, The Hardball Times, The Baseball Analysts, The National Post, Halos Heaven, Paloma Media, Online Journalism Review, Sportsjones, my old malware-addled blog, and God knows where else), so part of the impetus here was just to track it all down so that I could share with an interested audience. Also, though, I have been seeking an excuse (and venue!) to write more about béisbol ... and there’s just something about the 2023 season that seems to carry the air of divine providence. (Click the link for the whole creation myth.)
You certainly don’t have to be Angels fan or stat-nerd to enjoy these and future readings; beginning as soon as April 1 there will be a loooong cultural/generational/societal analysis here on the 1989 film Field of Dreams, for example. There are several pieces about Cuba, race relations, about the federal crackdown on steroids, stupid stadium subsidies, lousy sportswriting ... and yeah, I get into the weeds on Angels history and numbers geekery.
To help you more easily navigate the archive and see whether you’ll find this stuff of interest, I have broken down some best-ofs into sub-categories below. You can also follow the links gathered in this cheeky piece from last summer to give you an accurate sense.
What do you get for signing up? Basically an email in your in-box every time I write about baseball or other sports going forward. No promises about productivity/periodicity, no intention to ever charge for subscriptions or have paywalled content (though there is the little “Pledge” prompt on the subscription page in case people are REALLY EAGER to encourage me). Some day I would like to execute my long-gestating Los Angeles Angels: An Analytical History, as well as a longer examination of Field of Dreams; hopefully this site helps get me there quicker.
All right, let’s break some of the pre-existing content into more accessible bits:
WEIRD PERSONAL HISTORY
My Olympic Mis-Education (2008), The Exorcism (2002), Watching Dave Hansen (2005)
CUBA
Foul Ball (2002), The Perils of Nostalgia (2000), The Cuban Senators and the Twinkie Hall of Famers (2022)
SPORTS AND CULTURE
Locker-Room Liberty (2005), Why We Need Creation Myths: An Interview with John Thorn (2021), Hunter Thompson, Online Columnist (2000)
RACE
When Jackie Robinson Fought Back (2013), It Takes Exactly Four Tweets From Non-Eyewitnesses to Tar a City as Racist (2016), How a Baseball Non-Fight Illustrates Our Weird Journalistic Discourse on Racism (2022)
STEROIDS
George Bush vs. Barry Bonds (2004), Jock Sniffing (2005), Baseball’s Steroid Collusion with the Feds (2013),
SUBSIDIES
Field of Welfare: How COVID Funds Might Build a Money-Losing Ballpark in a Cornfield (2022), The Ultimate Baltimore/Baseball Symbolism: Millionaires to Play in Empty, Taxpayer Financed Stadium (2015), Yankee Welfare (2009)
STUPID POLITICIAN TRICKS
How Government Devastated Minor League Baseball (2021), 9 Lessons from the Trump/NFL Anthem Wars (2017), Baseball’s Cruel Political Satire (2000)
TROUT/OHTANI PORN
The Historic Squander of Mike Trout (2022), How Rare Is the Trout/Ohtani Squander? (2022), 7 Reasons Why I Should Be the Next Owner of the Angels (2022)
ANGEL-ANALYSIS FOR EGGHEADS
The Los Angeles Angels: A Crime Scene (2014), No Mo, Thank Heavens (2001), Adrian Beltre’s Walk Seasons, and Other Illusions (2010)
ANGEL-HISTORY DEEP-DIVES
Dizzy About Mike Trout? Recall the Cautionary Tale of Ed Kirkpatrick (2010), Jim Fregosi, NOT Maury Wills, Was the Shortstop of the ‘60s (2010), What I Learned From Reading Tim Salmon’s New Book (2010)
HIGHLY FORMATTED RABBIT-HOLE EXCURSIONS
The Year in Cards, 1961: Painted Mercenaries, Sacrificial Aspromonte (2015), Top 10 Seasons by an Angels DH (2006), Top 10 Seasons by an Angels Left Fielder (2006)
OK, that should give you enough to work with. You can email me at: theviewlevel@substack.com.
I’ll still be adding archival stuff, cleaning up link-rot, and harmonizing style; just wanted to get the rolling before Opening Day. Look for some new writing soon!
