The Baseball Listicle Lineup for May 1-15, 2024

Issue #180

The latest edition of a regular feature here at Now Taking the Field—a roundup of my favorite recent baseball articles, many though not all in the form of “listicles”—articles framed around a list of some sort or other. I continue to focus this for now on articles by other Substack baseball authors, and articles directly from MLB.com itself.

Here are my favorite articles for the weeks May 1-15, 2024, starting with articles written by other baseball-focused Substack authors:

• Setting the pace, magic in Baltimore, and the best shortstops, by at 5/14/2024

• Fastball Foundations: Starters Dominating with their Primary Fastball, by at 5/14/2024

• 5 Baseball Cards the Make Perfect Mother's Day Gifts, at 5/12/2024

• Yankees Had 20-Game Losers Too, by Paul Semendinger, at 5/11/2024

• What Will a Hall of Fame Pitcher Look Like in 20 Years?, by at 5/10/2024

• Shohei Ohtani Could Become First Player Ever to Win MVP as a Designated Hitter, by at 5/10/2024

• Some Brief Thoughts on Christian Scott, by at 5/10/2024

• The Best Players in Baseball Since 1901 (Part 2), by at 5/9/2024

• Why Triples Are The Best ... And Why They're Dying Out, by Mark Kolier, at

• Most (and Least) Valuable Players, Chicago’s favorites, and base thieves, by at 5/7/2024

• 2024 Breakout Hitter Watch, by at 5/7/2024

• 5 Baseball Cards that Steal the Show, at 5/5/2024

• Are the Royals for Real?, by at 5/4/2024

• The Top 5 No. 1 Overall Picks In MLB History, by Paul M. Banks, at 5/2/2024

• The Best Players in Baseball Since 1901 (Part 1), by at 5/2/2024

• Mike Trout and What Might Have Been, by at 5/1/2024

• Five No. 1 MLB Draft Picks Who Didn't Live Up To The Hype, by Paul M. Banks, at 5/1/2024

Beyond Substack, these were my favorite articles from the writers at MLB.com these past two weeks:

• Surprise! One encouraging prospect-related development for each team, by Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo, 5/15/2024

• 1 quick fix each team can make to take the next step, by MLB.com writers, 5/15/2024

• 7 biggest surprises from first quarter of the season, by Will Leitch, 5/14/2024

• The likeliest players to be dealt by July 30 Trade Deadline, by Mark Feinsand, 5/14/2024

• Who takes the hardest swings on each MLB team?, by Cole Jacobson, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, and Theo DeRosa, 5/13/2024

• Nine everyday phrases that actually come from baseball, by Michael Clair, 5/13/2024

• Is Skenes the best pitching prospect ever? Let's take a look ..., by Jonathan Mayo, 5/9/2024

• The most surprising developments for each team, by MLB.com writers, 5/9/2024

• Potential future closers—one for each team, by Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo, 5/8/2024

• 8 former Top 100 prospects who are excelling in 2024, by Brent Maguire, 5/8/2024

• Execs talk teams on the rise, which clubs are at the top, by Mark Feinsand, 5/5/2024

• They were good as rookies. This season? Even better, by Brian Murphy, 5/5/2024

• These 9 hitters have made changes for the better, by Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, 5/5/2024

• Biggest surprises, disappointments so far according to execs, by Mark Feinsand, 5/4/2024

• These are MLB's most improved units, by Thomas Harrigan, 5/4/2024

• Inbox: Early favorites for AL and NL ROY, by Jonathan Mayo, 5/3/2024

• 2 former top prospects heating up and other fascinating storylines, by Will Leitch, 5/2/2024

• 9 baseball storylines to watch in May, by MLB.com writers, 5/2/2024

• Here is the hottest hitting prospect in each organization, by Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo, 5/1/2024