Josh Pahigian's new book explores baseball's most essential and inane debates

Who was the best hitting pitcher of all-time? Which movie stands above all others as the best baseball flick?

Those are just a couple of the questions University of New England Adjunct Faculty Member Josh Pahigian addresses in his latest book, The Seventh Inning Stretch: Baseball's Most Essential and Inane Debates.

Baseball fans are by nature philosophical creatures, prone to engaging fellow devotees of the Grand Old Game in such inherently subjective, often ridiculous, and thoroughly enjoyable debates as: Who are the best players left out of the Hall of Fame? Which team dressed its players in the worst uniforms? What was the most lopsided trade ever? 

Such questions fall into a wide range of categories and are pondered during pauses in the game, happy hours at the bar, and commercial breaks at home.

The Seventh Inning Stretch by Pahigian, author of seven books on baseball, addresses (and answers!) all of the most interesting baseball arguments that fans have been engaging in for decades, and even a few they may have never stopped to consider before. 

Pahigian is the author of 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out and The Ultimate Minor League Baseball Road Trip, as well as The Spring Training Handbook and The Red Sox in the Play-offs. He is co-author of The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip and Why I Hate the Yankees. He also writes the popular Travel Ten column on ESPN.com’s Sports Travel page.

He teaches writing in UNE Department of English and Language Studies.