In my business, that knee-jerk response comes in handy. Fending off blame is a survival skill. A columnist knows he can’t fight a tidal wave of angry emails and social-media posts and, at some point, gives up trying to argue that he is not, in fact, a nitwit. From there, it’s a short hop to a renunciation of any personal responsibility.

Willie McGee won the National League MVP or the 1985 season, in which he hit just 10 home runs. McGee also batted .353. Vince Coleman scored 107 runs that season, and he had more than three times as many stolen bases (110) as he had extra-base hits (31). The leading home run hitter on the team, Jack Clark, hit just 22 homers.