FURMAN BISHER COLUMN: Cleaning out the closet

The meeting will come to order, please. Herewith are matters that have collected on my desk, like dust in a basement.

— This is, of course, a reflection of my vintage, but it strikes me as being totally sinful that the Rookie of the Year in the National League is a pitcher who played only one inning at a time. True, indeed, that Craig Kimbrel played his part in the Braves’ charge toward the National League pennant, but consider where they might have finished without Freddie Freeman’s daily appearance at first base. This “closer” thing has become a baseball disease.

Freeman was in the lineup every day, with a .282 batting average, 76 RBI