me too. Please explain the asterisk.
Mal: Cut it out. Job's not done until we're back on Serenity. Zoe: Sorry, sir. Didn't mean to enjoy the moment.
'Ariel'
Bureaucracy 4: Like Job. No, really, just like Job
A thread to discuss naming threads, board policy, new thread suggestions, and anything else that has to do with board administration and maintenance. Guaranteed to include lively debate and polls. Natter discouraged, but not deleted.
Current Stompy Feet: Jon B, P.M. Marcontell, Liese S., amych, msbelle, shrift, Dana, Laura
Stompy Emerita: ita, DXMachina
Sophia Brooks - Sep 22, 2008 8:41:38 am PDT #3180 of 6786
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here
Kristen - Sep 22, 2008 8:48:47 am PDT #3181 of 6786
When Roger Maris was going after Babe Ruth's record for most home runs in a season, it was suggested that there be an asterisk after the number to indicate that he had accomplished his record during a longer season. (So the record books would have read 61*.)
ETA: That's the very brief, glossed over version of the story.
Tom Scola - Sep 22, 2008 8:49:59 am PDT #3182 of 6786
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
In 1961 Roger Maris hit 61 home runs for the Yankees, which beat Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60, which was set in 1927. People HATED Maris because of this. How could anyone be better than the Babe? He really did get death threats and stuff.
Also in 1961, the number of games played in a season was increased from 154 games to 162, and Maris needed some of the extra eight games to break the record. So when Maris' accomplishment was put in the record books, there was an asterisk next to the 61, which was Major League Baseball's way of saying that Maris wasn't really as good as Babe Ruth.
tommyrot - Sep 22, 2008 8:52:14 am PDT #3183 of 6786
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Natter 61: Babe Ruth can bite me
Kristen - Sep 22, 2008 8:52:33 am PDT #3184 of 6786
The asterisk was never actually used. Instead, they split the record book into two parts. The first set of records being for pre-1961 and the second set being for 1961 and later, to account for the difference in the season length.
§ ita § - Sep 22, 2008 8:59:23 am PDT #3185 of 6786
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
In general an asterisk means "stats set under different circumstances."
Not being a baseball fan it fails to have any resonance for me. Tommyrot's makes me laugh, though.
Allyson - Sep 22, 2008 9:00:24 am PDT #3186 of 6786
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica
Natter 61: What's an age-appropriate word for "wanker?"
sumi - Sep 22, 2008 9:01:30 am PDT #3187 of 6786
Art Crawl!!!
I like Natter 61: Revisited.
Frankenbuddha - Sep 22, 2008 9:02:35 am PDT #3188 of 6786
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
People HATED Maris because of this. How could anyone be better than the Babe? He really did get death threats and stuff.
Also, wasn't it a case where if the record was going to be broken, the majority of NY fans wanted Mickey Mantle to be the one to break it?
I like the idea of Tommy's plus the asterisk. But not enough to supersede my love of "Revisited".
aurelia - Sep 22, 2008 9:20:48 am PDT #3189 of 6786
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.
In general an asterisk means "stats set under different circumstances."
That much I got. I just didn't know the specific reference. Thanks for all the answers.