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The pace of baseball encourages talk. Every situation brings discussion and speculation. Should we steal here? Bunt? Play the infield in? Walk him? Pitch him inside? Outside? Even in its slightly sped‑up form, the game allows time for this. And there is time after to analyze. The Toronto Blue Jays’ narrow defeat in last year’s World Series provided a wealth of second-guessing opportunities. Should Kiner-Falefa have taken a bigger lead? Should they have used someone other than Hoffman to pitch the ninth? Should they have sent the runner to prevent the series-ending double play?

Baseball people love to talk. Sometimes it’s not that interesting — as in the moment right after the game when the home-run hitter tells the reporter he just looked for his pitch and tried to put a good swing on it — but as the moment recedes into memory, the talk becomes more frank, less formulaic.

Jane Leavy loves to talk too. She has written books about Babe Ruth, Sandy Koufax...