Narratively

Swinging for the Fences

Home runs, double plays and even a few game-changing errors; nothing ignites American passions like baseball.

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The Centerfield Soldiers of the 7 Line Army

Riding the emotional rollercoaster with “Loogy,” “Barefoot” and the most dedicated family of Mets superfans as they root, root, root for the hardest-luck team in sports.

The Hidden Queer History Behind “A League of Their Own”

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League did everything it could to keep lesbians off the diamond. Seventy-five years later, its gay stars are finally opening up.

This All-Amputee Softball Team is Changing the Way We Think About Treating Trauma

As the number of veterans with both physical and psychological injuries balloons, this squad of 11 wounded warriors wards off PTSD by playing a little ball.

There’s No Crying in Professional Wiffle Ball

With strict rules, stiff competition and cash on the line, this is nothing like the breezy backyard ballgame you remember.

(Photo: Jay-Dell Mah Collection, courtesy of Marvin Ligon)

The Secret History of Black Baseball Players in Canada’s Great White North

When Jackie Robinson broke the Major League color barrier, it was a step forward. It also meant the end of the Negro Leagues, sending hundreds of players across the border.

The Cocaine Kings of the Pittsburgh Pirates

In the ’80s, an A/C repairman, an unemployed photographer and a Major League mascot became dealers for the city’s sports stars – and changed baseball history along the way.

The Embattled Bad Boy of Major League Baseball

Thirty years ago today Kevin Mitchell played a crucial role in the '86 Mets' miraculous World Series championship. Ever since, he’s been called a clubhouse cancer and a violent thug. Finally, Mitchell shares his side of the story.

Meet the World’s Greatest Batting Stance Imitator

Gar Ryness has spent his whole life perfecting spot-on impressions of the way baseball players stand. But can he turn “the least marketable skill in America” into an actual career?

The Very Respectable Adventures of Gentleman Matty and Dime-Novel Frank

At the turn of the twentieth century, two impossibly perfect heroes captured America’s hearts and minds. Did hall-of-fame pitcher Christy Mathewson inspire pulp fiction heartthrob Frank Merriwell, or was it the other way around?