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Nathaniel Rakich

@baseballot.bsky.social

18K followers 220 following 2.2K posts

Until March 5, I was the senior editor and senior elections analyst at FiveThirtyEight. Email, don't DM: nrakich at gmail dot com.

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · Mar 5

Not sure what's next for me. I'm going to take some time off but then will be looking for ways to stay in political journalism. In the meantime, please hire my fantastic colleagues, and stay in touch by signing up for my newsletter: baseballot.substack.com/subscribe

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 2h

Slaughter in Cooperstown (4)

Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 4h

After more than a decade of writing about it, today I’m finally visiting the @baseballhall.org.

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Reposted by Nathaniel Rakich

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 1d

Beau Bayh is running for secretary of state in Indiana, where his father Evan was governor and senator (and a top contender in the 2008 veepstakes) indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/06/d...

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Reposted by Nathaniel Rakich

JJ Cooper @jjcoop36.bsky.social · 1d

This game has had 23 101+ mph pitches.

That's more than were thrown in the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020 or 2024 postseasons.

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 1d

Smithers, I’m beginning to think that Rob Thomson isn’t the brilliant tactician I thought he was.

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 1d

I had a blast visiting @syracuseu.bsky.social @newhousesu.bsky.social @maxwellsu.bsky.social today as part of my fellowship with the Syracuse Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship. The kids are all right, guys.

Nathaniel Rakich lecturing in front of a classroom of students.

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Reposted by Nathaniel Rakich

Lookout Landing @lookoutlanding.bsky.social · 3d

Dear Stan Javier, you had a good run. Julio's home run is the first run scored at home for the Mariners in the playoffs since Javier homered in 2001 off Mike Mussina.

(Stan Javier is 61 years old, btw.)

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 5d

Undecided voters are a thing! They exist in polls but won’t exist in the final results. That alone will push him close to 50%.

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 5d

It’s getting late Early out there

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 5d

Oh man, José Ramírez is great but you cannot risk that out

Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 5d

A study in why we may have gone too far to devalue starting pitching!

Jeff Passan @jeffpasan.bsky.social · 5d

The Tigers smacked five hits in the seventh inning off Erik Sabrowski and Hunter Gaddis to blow the game wide open and now lead 6-1. The familiarity penalty with bullpen arms becomes a real issue this time of year, and the Tigers had seen Sabrowski and Gaddis in Games 1 and 2.

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 6d

Clip and save

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 6d

NEW: November general elections are around the corner, so it’s time to launch my cheat sheet of what’s on the ballot this fall!

I guide you thru the *185* elections I'm watching, & why: lawmakers, governors, judges, DAs, mayors, school boards, & dozens of ballot measures.

Explore, share, save:

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2025 General Elections - Bolts

Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California’s redistricting measure. But there’s so much else... Read M...

boltsmag.org

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 6d

Those of us who write about polls need to experiment more with radically different presentations like this in order to communicate better with the public. I'll have more on this soon.

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 6d

This story on WaPo's shutdown poll is a clinic in how to present polling data in an accessible way. Look at that headline—couldn't be simpler, but it's a perfect way to describe a poll! www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 6d

Someday Mason Miller’s arm is going to burst into flames on national television and we will have no one to blame but ourselves

Brent Maguire @bmags94.bsky.social · 6d

Mason Miller struck out Carson Kelly on a perfectly-placed 104.5 mph fastball.

That is, unsurprisingly, the fastest strikeout pitch by any pitcher in the playoffs in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008).

No other pitcher has even hit 104 mph. Aroldis Chapman has five strikeouts of 103+ mph.

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 7d

Former #Royals great Frank White, not so popular anymore…

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 7d

RESULT: Voters in Jackson County, Missouri (home to Kansas City) have recalled County Executive Frank White tonight. (By a really overwhelming margin.)

White, a Democrat, has been in office since 2016. His successor will be chosen by the county 'legislature' and will have to be a Democrat as well.

Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 7d

Meanwhile, even crazier budget stuff is going down in Michigan.

Andrew Roth @roththereporter.bsky.social · 7d

The Michigan Legislature has failed to pass a budget by the constitutional deadline of Oct. 1, joining the federal government.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says via press release that state departments will continue operating, though the mechanics and constitutionality of such a maneuver are unclear.

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 7d

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 7d

Links! www.insideelections.com/news/article... www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/hou...

Tennessee 7 Special: Upset in the Making?

Inside Elections is a non-partisan newsletter covering U.S. House, Senate, and gubernatorial campaigns, Presidential politics, and political developments.

www.insideelections.com

Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 7d

TFW @erincovey.bsky.social and I publish #TN07 previews within minutes of each other

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 9d

☠️

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 9d

It’s that time of year where it’s very inconvenient that the two sports leagues I decided to care about are MLB and the WNBA

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Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 9d

Yes, that’s a good point too. They’re kind of proxy fighters in this case but they each have their own roles.

Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 9d

Yes, it’s a spectrum for sure

Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 9d

Both are worthy goals, of course, although it’s easy to see how you can go overboard with either position. The utility of a party is figuring out how to strike a balance: winning elections while still standing for something tangible.

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