{"product_id":"baseball-and-the-blame-game","title":"Baseball and the Blame Game","description":"\u003cp\u003e   Most baseball fans know what links Fred Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, Mickey Owen and Bill Buckner. It's a pantheon of public failure. They would be harder put to say what links Eric Byrnes, Tony Fernandez, and Babe Ruth, though these players made misplays every bit as egregious.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   In this smart, highly readable history of scapegoating, John Billheimer identifies the elements that combine to condemn one player to a life sentence while another gets a wrist slap for the same offense. As it turns out, the difference between a lower-case e in some forgotten box score and a lifetime of ignominy can hinge on a number of factors, including timing, geography, reputation, misunderstanding, media bias, and just plain bad luck.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McFarland \u0026 Co Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54233225462104,"sku":"9780786429066","price":36.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780786429066_d334ef56-b738-45f4-9262-c0aaf0be6e43.jpg?v=1764987334","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/baseball-and-the-blame-game","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}