Hello, fellow earthlings! It is time for our annual mailbag newsletter. I must, right from the start, admit that I am breaking a promise to you. I vowed that I would answer every single email I received in this mailbag. And I tried to! But it turns out that Substack actually has a character limit: You can only have one of these emails be so long. And you asked so many questions that I hit the limit on characters. So! If I didn’t get to your question, do not fret! There are so many questions that I didn’t get to that we’re going to start a weekly Q&A segment moving forward, to make sure I get to all of them (and answer any questions you have in the future). I was worried I’d only get one or two of these, and instead I got more than a hundred. So thank you. In all honesty, this newsletter is my creative focal point of my week, and I spend most of the days I’m not working on it thinking about what I’ll say when I get to. I am honored and humbled by every single one of you for reading it. So please: Holler at me anytime.
We’ve broken the questions up into categories. And again: If yours didn’t make it, it’s only because I ran out of space, which is a shame, because space is the one good thing the Internet has anymore.
Here goes!
SPORTS STUFF
I’m a diehard cardinals fan also — born and raised. I sometimes wonder what I would obsess about if it wasn’t them. Not just the Cardinals, but sports in general. What do you think you would obsess about in a world without sports?
I think about this question all the time. I’m envious of people who don’t have any interest in sports. They must have so much free area in their brains for things that actually matter. What worlds could I have conquered if I wasn’t wasting valuable cranial real estate on the name of the backup catcher for the 1986 Cardinals? (Mike Heath, by the way.) Dropping sports from my brain might make me like one of the Big Brains in Defending Your Life. I could be unstoppable.
Alas: If there were no sports, I’m sure I’d fill my skull with something equally bad for me. Drugs? Probably drugs.
Since his career WAR trails Jim Sundberg, Darrell Porter and 508 other baseball players, would anyone consider Yadier Molina a likely Hall of Famer if he had left the Cardinals via free agency in the middle of his career?
— Tim Stewart
Maybe, but probably not. But WAR is hardly the end-all and be-all of players, particularly catchers. I try not to put too much stock in what players think of other players, but if you ask any baseball player whether Yadier Molina is a Hall of Famer, they will look at you like a moron for even asking. He and Buster Posey are both getting in, and they both deserve to. Though, honestly, I can’t really care about the Hall of Fame until Barry Bonds is in. It’s just a dumb building until that happens.
By the way, isn’t that above picture the most insane thing you’ve ever seen? Make sure to look in the crowd. This incredible moment of joy has the spectre of doom looming over it, just waiting to destroy everything.
What in your opinion on the egregious behavior of Houston? It is appearing to be a cultural mindset from the top down and with each transgression they learn nothing. Can a World Series championship be void? They have more than pushed the envelope. Manford needs get testicles and hammer them.
— John Clay
I’ve written about this, but: I have a hard time getting too worked up about the sign-stealing scandal. People have been stealing signs in baseball since baseball has existed. Is it cheating? Yes. I don’t like it. But I think people’s general (and totally understandable!) dislike of the Astros has made this baseball’s version of Deflategate: We want to kill them because we hate them more than we want to kill them because it’s the measured, correct punishment. Their first press release after the Brandon Taubman incident has always seemed more an egregious, punishable offense than, you know, hitting a plastic trash can with a bat.
In how many Big Ten home basketball arenas have you attended games, and can you rank them from favorite to least favorite?
—Jeff
I covered the Illini basketball team in college for the Daily Illini and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, so I used to drive the DI car all over the Midwest for road games. I filed my stories on a laptop that ran BASIC that I had to plug into a telephone line. It is disturbing how much I miss it.
I’ve been to all Big Ten arenas but Maryland and Nebraska. Ranked!
Assembly Hall, Indiana
Kohl Center, Wisconsin
State Farm Center, Illinois
Breslin Arena, Michigan State
Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa
Mackey Arena, Purdue
Williams Arena, Minnesota
Crisler Arena, Michigan
Value City Arena, Ohio State
The RAC, Rutgers
Bryce Jordan Arena, Penn State
Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern
When in doubt: Assume Northwestern is always in last.
have you visited all the baseball stadiums in the country? if not, how many remain?
— your favorite photo editor Leonor
Well, I assume we’re not counting minor leagues, because no, I haven’t been to all of those. (Go see the Greenville Drive sometime if you can, though.) But last year, I completed a lifelong goal to see all 30 MLB stadiums by at last attending a Rangers game at Globe Life Park. Unfortunately: It was the last year for that stadium, so now I have to go see one at the new place to complete the collection. My favorite is Oracle Park. My least favorite is Marlins Park.
Ok... First off... Love your work, been reading since Black Table.
With MLB doing a bunch of neutral site games... Which location in the continental US do you see the MLB trying next? Field of Dreams is 2020. Omaha, Williamsport, Fort Bragg, etc have been done. What's next?
—Scott from Indianapolis.
A boat! I want them to play a baseball game on a boat.
You know what would make an incredible visual? Central Park. It even already has “Park” in the name!
As someone who grew up where you did, I am surprised you never gravitated to any form of motorsports, like Indycar in particular, since you grew up not far from its spiritual home. Why is that?
—Jim Casey, DC native, now residing in Savannah
I wonder if there was a subconscious rebellion here. Frankly, most of my classmates were really into NASCAR, and recognizing myself as someone who was different than NASCAR people was a key part of my self-identification in high school. And when you don’t like a certain form of entertainment as a kid, it can be particularly difficult to pick it up as an adult. (This is also probably why I don’t like professional wrestling and mainstream country music.) Also: It always struck me as weird to cheer for an individual person rather than a collective team. Having a Jeff Gordon bumper sticker on your truck always felt more like sycophancy than fandom.
I read your article about how the NBA’s style of play had moved on w/o Melo. He seems to have found a nice landing spot in Portland. Is this just a case of his style meshing with a team that doesn’t have any other options?
BTW, I’m Syracuse born and bred and bleed Orange.
—Phil from Syracuse
Carmelo was always good. He’s still good! But teams don’t put rosters together around guys like him anymore. The Trail Blazers strike me as just desperate enough to hand him the keys. I’m happy for him. I’ve always liked him. Also, fun story, his personal assistant was the first person I told, including my family, that I was going to be a father. I was doing this story for New York and about an hour after finding out my wife was pregnant, I headed out to meet him and his people. He wasn’t there yet, but I was vibrating and had to tell somebody, so I told her. I don’t remember her name. She was so nice, though, and so happy for me. I like being able to have a moment like that with a total stranger.
Also: CUUUUUUUUSE.
MOVIE STUFF
Big fan of the Grierson and Leitch podcast! As someone who isn't a film critic and has a two year old it has become a lot harder to watch longer movies in one sitting. With the Irishman being 3.5 hours I saw a lot of people breaking this into two or three parts and it working well. How do you feel about watching movies in multiple parts?
Ben Hietanen
Ten years ago, I would have been militant about this: See it a theater, or in one sitting with all the lights off and your phone shut off … or don’t watch it at all. It’s amazing how having children changes your viewpoint on such matters. I’m just glad anyone who has Netflix and interest has the opportunity to watch it, however they watch it. That’s not how I do it, and it’s not how I ever will. But I understand, and I am no longer a zealot about it.
I heard this helps, though, if you need it:
Hey Will,
Love the newsletter. Wish I had subscribed long ago, but I'm glad I found it eventually.
Here's my question ... you seem like a busy guy with a lot going on, and one thing I haven't noticed you writing much about is television. Do you watch much television? And if you do, what are your must-watch shows that are airing right now (network or streaming) and what are some of your all-time favorites?
Thanks,
Randy Shemanski, Dunmore, Pa.
This is well-observed. Honestly, I just don’t have that much time to watch television. I have 2-5 movies a week to watch, I have all this sports to keep up with, I obviously have a ton of writing to do and also there are three people who live in my house that must be attended to on occasion. Television shows are always what fall by the wayside. The only shows I watch live when they air are Better Call Saul (which is back in February, by the way) and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, which I only watch because it’s my reward for editing and producing the Grierson & Leitch podcast that night. I have a notebook full of shows that I’m going to sit down and watch whenever I have time (Chernobyl, Watchmen), but I need to be honest with myself and admit it’s never going to happen. The only shows that aired new seasons last year that I watched every episode of:
Barry
Better Things
Fleabag
The Good Place
Mindhunter
What We Do in the Shadows
When They See Us
Veep
Other than that: Just no time. I’m gonna have to get caught up with everything when I retire. That’s why my parents have now seen everything on television. I ask them to watch now.
Oh, and my favorite show of all time is The Sopranos. Boring, I know.
Hey Will,
I’m a 35 year old film guy. Went to film school and work in the business in LA. Watch all the streaming stuff and go to the movies once a week if possible.
I finally watched my first episode of Columbo this week. Holy shit. Peter Falk is so good. I’m so embarrassed that I never watched this show. So I guess my question is, do you like the TV show Columbo? And if so do you have a favorite episode? Not that I’m going to jump around. I’m excited to watch all 10 seasons in order.
—Wes in LA
How much do I love this question? As Grierson will tell you, I have been a Columbo nerd for years. I was on the Extra Hot Great podcast last year and talked for about half an hour on my favorite episode, “Murder by the Book,” which was directed by none other but Steven Spielberg. You can listen to it right here. It is possible I wore a trenchcoat for two years of college because of Peter Falk.
FAMILY AND LIFE STUFF
Will,
As the father of a bright three-year-old boy, I would like to hear more about how you taught yourself to read at this age? Forgive me for being skeptical. You are obviously a sharp & talented guy, but I don't believe you are like Will Wheaton D.A.R.Y.L. level intelligence (I could be wrong).
Is it perhaps one of those things that loving parents speak enough in to the world that it becomes canon despite a lack of historical accuracy? Example: My mom tells anyone that will listen that my sister had, "perfect pitch" as a child. I assure you, she did not.
As ever,
Tom P., Denver, Colorado
I will confess to being curious about this myself. Being able to read at the age of three is a story I was told as a young age and have sort of internalized, perhaps similar to your “perfect pitch” story. Fortunately, I happen to have Marshall McLuhan right here, and by Marshall McLuhan, I mean “my mother.”
Sally Leitch responds: “You and I spent a lot of time in a car with no radio. I started teaching you to read traffic signs. Once you mastered “STOP,” with a bit of coaching from me you were soon figuring out “slow; pass with care; do not pass,” etc. Then at Christmas time, you were at [Mom’s late best friend] Rose Mary’s and she said “Sally, Will can read, he read me my Christmas cards today.” Mom also confirms that this was Christmas 1978 because she wasn’t pregnant yet, and my sister was born in April 1980. See? I was a genius. What a waste of potential.
In the spirit of the holidays, I ask you a simple question:
What is the greatest tangible gift you have ever given to someone? What is the story behind it? Why was it so significant and memorable?
Cheers,
Mike
About 10 years ago, I bought my Dad a neon Cardinals Bud Light bar sign for his basement. The gift itself wasn’t the point, though it was a perfect fit down there. As established earlier, my parents spent many years, well into my thirties, watching me barely be able to pay my rent, so when I finally got a steady job with a little money in my pocket (essentially, Deadspin), after years of ties and cheap trinkets, I bought him that. I always overgift now, because there were so many years that I couldn’t give anyone anything.
Hi Will. I spent 8 years of my adult life in Champaign-Urbana. I enjoyed it, but I left. Some of my friends chose to stay and remain there, some 15 years later. They’ve never given me a satisfactory reason why, exactly. Given all the places in the world to live, why do folks choose to live in central Illinois?
Thanks,
Matt Hoffman
I too left Central Illinois and never returned. But I miss it every single day. Why do people choose to live in Central Illinois? Family. Security. Quiet. Calm. The ability to take a pause, catch your breath and slow the hell down for a goddamned second. The fact that I’ve never been anywhere in the world where I can see the stars more clearly than in Central Illinois. It’s a terrific place to run because it’s so flat and uncrowded. Because autumn is basically perfect there. People in Central Illinois actually know how to drive. Because the Illini play in Central Illinois, and the University of Illinois is a proud institution that I’m honored to be an alumnus of. Because when someplace is your home—and Central Illinois is my home—it is always going to feel more like home than anywhere else on the planet. I sometimes feel like a traitor for leaving.
WRITING STUFF
I'm desperate to give my money - i'm willing to offer thousands! willing to pay a hefty monthly subscription! - to reunite my favorite Deadspin bloggers at a new website. I can't be alone here, right? surely there are even MILLIONAIRE readers (e.g., Daniel Radcliffe, Jon Hamm) who would be willing to the same. Is this possible? How can we do this? Is anyone even talking about it?
Don't answer this question if the answer is basically no. I'm not sure I'm ready to hear that.
Kindly,
Laila
There were many, many questions about Deadspin. This one will have to stand in for all of them.
I guess I can say this now, but I was initially part of a group of outside investors who tried to put together a bid to buy Deadspin back from Great Hill Partners after that whole shitshow. We had dedicated people who were willing to put down real money to make it happen. And then we talked to Great Hill Partners themselves. We were told, immediately, in zero uncertain terms, that Great Hill Partners was not interested in selling Deadspin, not at any price. Word-for-word: “Deadspin is not for sale. Ever.” Private equity ghouls would rather burn down the whole world than admit that it’s possible they were wrong about anything. (Also, as Tommy Craggs pointed out on the G&L podcast this week, for them it was less about greed than it was control.) As for a Deadspin 2.0, I know that’s something that was being floated for a while, but you may have noticed some of the staffers (Laura Wagner, for one, and I’m not sure there’s anyone who was more key to what Deadspin was at the end than Laura Wagner) taking new jobs (she’s at Vice now), which doesn’t strike me as a great sign.
The whole thing still just makes me want to bash my head against the wall.
Hi Will, When people write to you in your letter writing campaign, how many letters are hand written vs typed, and can you somehow classify what people write to you about?
Love the weekly newsletter. I look forward to receiving it every Saturday morning.
Best regards,
Tim from Toronto
I have been surprised that about 60-70 percent are typed. I love every letter I get, and I respond to each single one, but I’ll confess it feels a little more special when someone physically touches pen to paper. There’s something about the fact that I’m the only person who will ever read it: It is solely for me.
For what it’s worth, the letter-writing project has been one of the most emotionally satisfying creative ideas I’ve ever had, and I think I’m going to do it forever. I have made friends, I have shared stories, I’ve learned things about myself and others that I never would have otherwise. It has become a big part of my life.
From one music lover (and list maker) to another, give me your top 10 musical moments of 2019 - the songs, shows, moments that made you stop and really listen!
I’ll hang up now and let you talk.
—Some guy stuck in Pennsyltucky against his will...
This is embarrassing to admit, but I don’t think I could come up with 10. I still have two small kids, man! I listen to music constantly, but in the background: As I think I’ve mentioned, I play all the albums I own on iTunes (because I still buy albums, because I’m very stupid) in chronological order while I work. My Top 10 albums of the year would look similar to Craig Jenkins’. And here are the bands I saw in concert this year:
Caamp. (They were not good.)
Jason Isbell.
The Sundogs.
Matthew Sweet.
Wilco.
That’s it! It’s a goal of mine to get to more shows in 2020, but it’s a goal of mine to get my kids older too, and that one’s gonna have to come first.
I thought you'd be a good person to ask this. What are your thoughts on paying for online content? Do you personally pay for a lot of sites? Are you offended when you hear from friends, family or random people that use private browsing or other methods to get free access? Personally I pay for two newspapers, 2 sports sites and a political site. However, I read one of your employers, NY Mag, in private mode. A lot. Also, do you think in the future we'll pay differently, micropayments or something similar?
Thanks,
Barry
I am not offended when people use private browsing or other methods to get access to my stuff. I pay for many, many sites personally, but I understand that I’m fortunate and privileged to get to do that and not everybody has that opportunity. I’m honored anyone wants to read at all. I do get irritated when people will respond to me with “I would have read that, but NOPE PAYWALL.” It’s OK sometimes to just not say anything. I recommend we all try it.
Hey Will--
You're one of my favorite sports and culture writers around, one of the few that I'll read regardless of the subject you're covering. What writers do you make sure to read, even if the topic of a piece is something you'd normally not spend any time on?
Thanks for all you do,
Adam in DC
There are too many to mention here, so I’m going to just start typing names and eventually put them in alphabetical order. I am going to hate myself for the 400 I don’t mention, and I apologize to any one of them reading that I don’t mention. Also, this is a really mean question to ask a writer.
Sam Anderson
Jami Attenberg
Nicole Auerbach
Rachel Bachman
Dan Barry
Amy Blair
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Emma Carmichael
E. Jean Carroll
Justin Chang
Robert Christgau
Jane Coasten
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Lauren Collins
Tommy Craggs
Dave Cullen
Chuck Culpepper
A.J. Daulerio
Noah Davis
Sopan Deb
John Dickerson
Dave Eggers
Seth Emerson
James Fallows
Ashley Feinberg
Franklin Foer
Jason Fry
Ken Gasaway
Steven Godfrey
Lizzy Goodman
Emily Gould
Megan Greenwell
Tim Grierson
Vanessa Grigoriadis
John F. Harris
Rob Harvilla
Jeet Heer
David Hirshey
Dave Holmes
Linda Holmes
Steven Hyden
Rany Jazayerli
Craig Jenkins
Chris Jones
Lindsay Jones
Tom Junod
Hannah Keyser
Mina Kimes
Phil Klay
Chuck Klosterman
Keith Law
Richard Lawson
Mark Leibovich
Mark Lisanti
Ivan Maisel
Clare Malone
Ben Mathis-Lilley
Kelsey McKinney
Lisa Miller
Bernie Miklasz
Tim Miller
Wesley Morris
Diana Moskovitz
Amanda Mull
Jim Newell
Matt Norlander
Mike Petriello
Amanda Petrusich
Charles Pierce
Jessica Pressler
Tasha Robinson (anyone from the old Dissolve crew, really, and now I have to list all of them: Noel Murray, Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps, Matt Singer, Nathan Rabin, Genevieve Koski, Rachel Handler)
Robert Rosenthal
Joe Sheehan
Jennifer Senior
Alan Sepinwall
Tom Scocca
Nate Silver
Louisa Thomas
Jia Tolentino
Rebecca Traister
Darren Urban
Grant Wahl
David Wallace-Wells
Charlie Warzel
Alison Wilmore
Jada Yuan
Edith Zimmerman
Claire Zulkey
I know that’s a lot of people. But if they’ve written something, I’ve read it.
I need to sit down. Again: Thank you.
Here is a numerical breakdown of all the things I wrote this week, in order of what I believe to be their quality. You may disagree. It is your wont.
Data Decade: The Best Franchises of the Decade, MLB.com. I’ve spent the last week getting yelled at by Cardinals fans for putting the Cubs above them in these rankings, which is, all told, rather hilarious.
Under the Radar Kids Movies for Disney-Plus, New York. Ended up in the mag with Grierson this week, which allowed us to praise WALL-E some more.
Predictions for the Next Decade in Sports, New York. I got very sloppy with a self-referential joke here, and took a ton of justified heat for it. People are always reading and paying close attention, a lesson I should have internalized a long, long time ago.
Charlize Theron Movies, Ranked and Updated, Vulture. With Bombshell.
Debate Club: The Best Moments from The Last Jedi, SYFY Wire. This movie is just gonna look better and better as they years go by.
The Thirty: Every Team’s Best Player of the Decade, MLB.com. Yadi! Yadi!
PODCASTS
Grierson & Leitch, we went deep on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which sort of stunned us by how bad it was. We also discussed (deep breath) Uncut Gems, Little Women, Richard Jewell, Bombshell and Just Mercy. Also! It’s a three-podcast week, as I did my annual chat with the great Tommy Craggs.
Waitin' Since Last Saturday, no show this week.
Seeing Red, no show this week.
GET THIS LUNATIC OUT OF HERE 2020 POWER RANKINGS
Uncle Joe had his best debate on Thursday night. A couple more of those, and I’ll confess, I’ll be feeling a lot better about however this turns out.
1. Elizabeth Warren
2. Joe Biden
3. Amy Klobuchar
4. Bernie Sanders
5. Cory Booker
6. Pete Buttigieg
7. Julian Castro
8. Michael Bloomberg
9. Deval Patrick
10. Michael Bennet
11. Andrew Yang
12. Tom Steyer
13. William Weld
14. John Delaney
15. Marianne Williamson
16. Tulsi Gabbard
17. Joe Walsh
ONGOING LETTER-WRITING PROJECT!
You people have the best holiday cards. I love this time of year: So much mail!
Will Leitch
P.O. Box 48
Athens GA 30603
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO
“Lodi,” Creedence Clearwater Revival. I am not sure I have ever turned off a Creedence song before it was finished.
I saw the David Byrne Broadway show this week. It will make you feel like it’s all going to be OK, even if it isn’t.
Be safe, everyone, and have a wonderful holiday.
Best,
Will