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Mark Kreidler

@markkreidler.bsky.social
72 followers 60 following 118 posts

Capital & Main, NY Times, etc. Reformed Baseball HOF voter. Three books. Columns: markkreidler.substack.com

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Reposted by Mark Kreidler
UC Berkeley Labor Center @ucblaborcenter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Despite living in a largely pro-labor state, with a Democrat-controlled Legislature and dozens of cities & counties w/ wage floors higher than the state minimum, low-wage workers in California are losing ground. @markkreidler.bsky.social @capitalandmain.bsky.social capitalandmain.com/she-leaves-h...
capitalandmain.com
She Leaves Home Before Dawn to Get to Her Low-Wage Job. She’s 83.
Salud Garcia’s struggles echo those of millions of low-wage workers across the nation, where mounting costs erode their already precarious footing.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
As writers, as journalists, we like to believe (need to believe) that we know our subjects. Listen, do we ever? A conversation with Barry Bonds -- 30 years ago now -- still has me wondering about that. markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-time-b...
markkreidler.substack.com
The Time Barry Bonds Wanted To Talk.
It wasn’t about baseball
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Over the next several months, we @capitalandmain.bsky.social will be examining the plight of some of the millions of working Californians who are losing ground in their attempt to make a life in the Golden State. My thanks to Doña Salud for sharing her story. capitalandmain.com/she-leaves-h...
capitalandmain.com
She Leaves Home Before Dawn to Get to Her Low-Wage Job. She’s 83.
Salud Garcia’s struggles echo those of millions of low-wage workers across the nation, where mounting costs erode their already precarious footing.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The kickoff of our months-long dive @capitalandmain.bsky.social into the high costs of being a low-wage worker in California -- a tough reality for millions of residents of the Golden State.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
For most MLB teams, it's a long, quiet goodbye. Weird melancholy this time of year. We're with them. markkreidler.substack.com/p/riding-the...
markkreidler.substack.com
Riding the MLB Ghost Train.
May the journey be brief
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The five largest U.S. pro sports leagues acknowledged today that perhaps the most easily predicted outcome of their getting in bed with gambling sites (besides the one about the leagues getting rich) has come to pass: Their athletes are under siege. markkreidler.substack.com/p/gambled-wi...
markkreidler.substack.com
Gambled With Players’ Safety. Lost.
But made a fortune
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I loved catching up with Dusty Baker, whose memoir "Crossroads" recently published. Good man, remarkable life, generous as always in sharing his time and his experiences. Rob & Elyssa at Sactown Magazine made this possible -- thanks to them as well. www.sactownmag.com/dusty-baker-...
sactownmag.com
Dusty Baker: The Baseball Champ on His Memoir, "Crossroads" - Sactown Magazine
Dusty Baker shares details from his new memoir, "Crossroads," about how a Sacramento-area teenager became a beloved baseball champion.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The Angels will be owned by a person (and company) associated with winning. Will it happen in time for Mike Trout to get an October sendoff? markkreidler.substack.com/p/can-mike-t...
markkreidler.substack.com
Can Mike Trout Be Saved?
We’re about to find out.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The Angels are one of MLB's most unrealized major-market works. If nothing else, Stan Kroenke, who once moved the Rams (one of his company's many, many pro sports franchises) from St. Louis back to L.A. to mine the region's riches, understands the value play at work here. Big sale.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
My friend runs an annual event that every dude in America would think he'd crush. (Spoiler: You'd get slaughtered, or possibly just hammered.) Here's what to know about the Working Man's Triathlon. You're welcome. markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-event-...
markkreidler.substack.com
The Event You Didn't Know You Needed!
The Working Man's Triathlon™, back and bro-ier than ever
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Roger Craig took a subject the NFL hates to discuss and placed it center stage on Hall of Fame weekend, and he did it gracefully, which seems impossible. All credit and best wishes to this man. markkreidler.substack.com/p/he-said-th...
markkreidler.substack.com
He Said the Quiet Part Out Loud.
A Hall of Famer stands tall
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Trade deadline bearing down, 21 of 30 MLB teams still firmly in the post-season hunt. Congrats, owners! You solved your own "Level the Playing Field" problem without a salary cap. Well done you! (Free weekend read.) markkreidler.substack.com/p/playing-fi...
markkreidler.substack.com
Playing Field: Level.
Most of MLB is playoff-capable. Parity award unlocked
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Iker voted Most Likely to Suave by classmates
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
It's Daktari time in baseball (trade deadline = thinning of the herd), and here are a couple of mostly-guaranteed-to-probably-not-actually-happen possibilities: markkreidler.substack.com/p/time-to-fe...
markkreidler.substack.com
Time To Feed the Monsters.
It's Daktari at the MLB trade deadline
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Messi got red-carded out of his first-ever international match at age 18 -- and it took less than a minute. Plus other Lionel trivia! (Look for the "Say You, Say Me" connection.) Free read on World Cup Final Day! markkreidler.substack.com/p/man-myth-m...
markkreidler.substack.com
Man, Myth, Messi.
A quick salute on his way off the stage
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Seven MLB umpires will take buyouts and retire at the end of this, the first season of the ABS challenge system. That's three times the norm. Coincidence? markkreidler.substack.com/p/baseballs-...
markkreidler.substack.com
Baseball's Run On Umpires.
As in, running away from an ABS future
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Justin Verlander's pending retirement clinches it: There is no 300-win pitcher anywhere in the MLB pipeline. 300 wins are an anachronism in MLB...unless! markkreidler.substack.com/p/300-wins-y...
markkreidler.substack.com
300 Wins? You Been Day-Drinking?
A warm adios to another gold chalice
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Reposted by Mark Kreidler
memeorandum @memeorandum.com · 10/07/2026
The Logo for Donald Trump International Airport Appears to Be AI Slop (Frank Landymore/Futurism) Main Link | memeorandum Permalink
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Reposted by Mark Kreidler
Jason Scott @textfiles.com · 03/07/2026
I'll summarize this: Mamdani asked NYers to keep air conditioning at 78 degrees. A wave criticism hit online. A MSNBC broadcast pointed out the US Department of Energy recommends that 78 degree figure. Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Cool!* It is now okay to play a college sport on which you also place bets -- even on your own team! (*possibly not cool) markkreidler.substack.com/p/finally-no...
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The NBA's latest idea for curbing tanking. (This will almost surely fail, but you gotta respect the effort) markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-anti-t...
markkreidler.substack.com
The Anti-Tanking Crusade.
It's not really a crusade
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
I’d call Rick Adelman a mad scientist, but he was way too good a coach to fit that description. The way this low-key man turned his pro athletes loose to play their freest, most abandoned basketball — it was really something. The finest era of Sacramento Kings basketball was on his watch.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
What pushed Kyle Busch to push *himself* to the brink may remain unknowable -- but we've got a pretty big clue. It comes from one of his fiercest rivals. open.substack.com/pub/markkrei...
open.substack.com
Driven.
Kyle Busch wouldn't stop -- or was afraid to
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Joey Chestnut will still be allowed in the Nathan's Hot Dog contest on July 4 because his misdemeanor battery incident occurred out of competition. (Yes, I wrote that). Free read. markkreidler.substack.com/p/id-still-t...
markkreidler.substack.com
I'd Still Take a Drunk Joey Chestnut For the Win.
And I just might!
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
No question there's a new vibe around the Phillies, who are 15-4 since elevating Don Mattingly. Here's one thing that helped: six straight series against mediocre to well-substandard opponents. Or, hey -- Donnie Baseball magic! You can choose. markkreidler.substack.com/p/did-donnie...
markkreidler.substack.com
Did Donnie Baseball Just Save Philly?
On no planet is it that simple. Or, possibly, we're wrong
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
A chemist died this week. You won't remember his name. But he was part of one of the great sports scandals of the last quarter century -- and the people it brought down *will* ring some bells. markkreidler.substack.com/p/he-helped-...
markkreidler.substack.com
He Helped Superstars Wreck Themselves.
An architect of one of the great sports scandals is dead
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
The check-swing challenge is *very* cool and *very* weird, and also invisible to you: MLB isn't doing it -- yet. I just saw it in the minor leagues. Enthused details below. markkreidler.substack.com/p/what-sorce...
markkreidler.substack.com
What Sorcery Is This?
I just saw the check-swing challenge in action. Life will never be the same
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd tore meniscus in his knee while playing with his kids. That's brutal -- and it also isn't even close to the weirdest sports injuries we've heard of. (A partial list, free to read.) markkreidler.substack.com/p/weve-seen-...
markkreidler.substack.com
We've Seen Worse.
These aren't even close to the weirdest injuries to come along
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Turner didn't create it personally, but the early days of his network featured "CNN Sports Tonight," with Freddie Hickman and Nick Charles -- a *very* worthy competitor to ESPN for years and years. It was good times for sports fans.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
There are so many hacking candidates on X with reason to fear Julie Brown. Sucks but not surprising.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
March Madness is expanding to 76 teams, with a "First Four" that will now comprise 24 teams and 12 games -- aka the Dirty Dozen. (Editor's note: The NCAA will not actually employ this moniker.) Sounds like a lot -- but we're just getting warmed up. markkreidler.substack.com/p/coming-att...
markkreidler.substack.com
Coming Attraction: Some Really Rough NCAA Games.
March Madness -- puke level achieved
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
A GM once explained to me his theory that managers are good for four, maybe five years at any one stop. After that, he said, it gets dicey. Alex Cora and, now, Rob Thomson were both redlining it, under this theory. (Which may be total crap.) Free read: markkreidler.substack.com/p/he-was-twi...
markkreidler.substack.com
He Was Twice the Average!
Still -- fired
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
You'd probably get punched for it, but you could win a bar bet by asking baseball fans what ABS actually stands for. (Also -- it's working just fine so far.) Free Friday read. markkreidler.substack.com/p/robot-ump-...
markkreidler.substack.com
Robot Ump Update: Not at All Bad.
Also, they're not really robots
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Rory McIlroy figured it out. All you need is your own jet, full access to Augusta National, and enough money that you can skip the other PGA Tour events for as long as you like and only play at Augusta in the weeks leading up to the Masters. Easy peasy! markkreidler.substack.com/p/the-rich-d...
markkreidler.substack.com
The Rich Did Get Richer.
Standing headline!
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
The guy at the top, is that Hopper from A Bug's Life?
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
I am so sorry to hear it. A great baseball man, generous in sharing what he knew, tolerant of often-inane questions from under-informed writers. (Hand in the air.) Pancreatic cancer sucks.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
The Sacramento Kings got cleared of tanking accusations because the NBA determined that, in truth, the Kings just didn't know what they were doing. That's...an issue. markkreidler.substack.com/p/they-weren...
markkreidler.substack.com
They Weren't Tanking. They Just Didn't Know What They Were Doing.
Is that better?
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Reposted by Mark Kreidler
LA Progressive @laprogressive.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
A County Sales Tax to Save California Health Clinics: The Least-Bad Option www.laprogressive.com/california-po… Mark Kreidler: Bay Area and L.A. residents weigh a regressive fix as funding cuts threaten basic care for the uninsured.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
I've carried an awesome sports memory with me for more than 30 years. I see it perfectly even now. So I got a few details wrong. What, you never mis-heard the lyric to a song and then couldn't un-hear it? On the enduring power of a great sports moment: markkreidler.substack.com/p/making-it-...
markkreidler.substack.com
Making It Unforgettable.
It takes a lot to create a sports memory
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Tiger Woods is the oldest 50 in the world. markkreidler.substack.com/p/sos
markkreidler.substack.com
SOS.
Constantly afraid to see Tiger Woods in a headline
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
It was a small ripple in a big pond, yet the whole story of college sports in 2026 was told within it. Happened this week, in fact.
open.substack.com
This Is How the Dominoes Fall.
Life in the NCAA food chain.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
What might've happened if LeBron James had just kept his talents in South Beach all those years ago? Pat Riley still ponders it -- because the Heat exec thinks he knows the answer. markkreidler.substack.com/p/could-lebr...
markkreidler.substack.com
Could LeBron Have Had More?
Superstars and second thoughts
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Reposted by Mark Kreidler
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
This sounds unbelievable but its true: since Bezos acquired The Post, his wealth has grown tenfold and the Post has been cut in half. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-trust-...
More than 75,000 Post readers cancelled their subscriptions after the recent cuts. An even larger number bailed after Bezos killed the endorsement of Harris, but now the decline feels terminal. Bezos does not want a great paper with a conservative opinion page (like the Wall Street Journal). He seemingly barely wants a paper at all, treating one of the most important American media institutions like an embarrassing child from a previous marriage that no longer fits his lifestyle.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Is your best player "best" if he can't stay in games? Is your most valuable player "valuable" if you never know whether he'll show? While you ponder: Congrats! You're Kansas coach Bill Self. markkreidler.substack.com/p/building-a...
markkreidler.substack.com
Building a Mystery.
The potential No. 1 NBA draft pick can't -- or won't -- stay in games
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Reposted by Mark Kreidler
Jon Green @jongreen.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
X's algorithm is in fact doing what you think it's doing. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Article: The political effects of X’s feed algorithm

Abstract: Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects1. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk’s platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users’ feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X’s algorithm has persistent effects on users’ current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.Figure 2. ITT estimates of feed-setting changes on engagement and political attitudes. ITT effect estimates of switching the algorithm on and off (in s.d.). Left, effect of moving from the chronological to the algorithmic feed for users initially on the chronological feed. Right, effect of moving in the opposite direction for users initially on the algorithmic feed. For each outcome, the results of two specifications are reported. Blue, unconditional estimates with robust s.e., controlling only for the initial feed setting and, where applicable, pre-treatment outcome levels. Orange: conditional estimates, controlling for pre-treatment covariates using GRFs; 90% and 95% CIs are reported. Numerical effect sizes and P values correspond to the conditional estimates (all tests are two-sided). The unit of observation is respondent. From top to bottom, sample sizes are n = 4,965, n = 3,337, n = 4,965, n = 4,965, n = 4,596, n = 4,596 and n = 4,850. Tests are described in Methods. Supplementary Information Table 2.16 reports the exact numerical point estimates, s.e., CIs and sample sizes for every specification. All outcomes are standardized. Additional results are presented in Supplementary Information section 2. PCA, first principal component from principal component analysis.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
For a guy who could basically pick his projects, Robert Duvall was in a surprising number of sports movies. Wait: Movies with sports *in* them. (There's a difference.) markkreidler.substack.com/p/natural-fd3
markkreidler.substack.com
Natural.
Robert Duvall even made sports movies look normal
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
The Seahawks won it all with one of the lowest payrolls in the NFL. Inspiring!* (*Don't read the fine print.) markkreidler.substack.com/p/spend-it-t...
markkreidler.substack.com
Spend It to Win It.
Seattle's bill comes due
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Highest such award ever. Skubal jumps from $10.15M to $32M in a year -- all through the magical wonderland of arbitration
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Reposted by Mark Kreidler
Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
(Bloomberg) -- US companies announced the largest number of job cuts for any January since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009, according to data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
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Mark Kreidler @markkreidler.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Best estimates: Washington Post loses $100M/year. Best estimates: Jeff Bezos makes $321M/day. Bezos could wipe out the Post's annual loss in 1 minute on his phone while dropping his personal net worth from $248.7B to $248.6B. "Mistakes were made"
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