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Fall Classic, 5 GoodReads & Happy Diwali
Fall is the season for baseball’s fall classics. Earlier this week, we saw Shohei Ohtani play the game of his life, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series once again. What a game! What a player! What a winner! Three home runs and 10 strikeouts over six innings – this is our new Mr. October.
The Dodgers spend their money smartly. They win smartly. They do things the way the Yankees used to do. And they win. And win. And win. Even when they don’t win, they try. It’s no surprise that all the best players in the world want to play for them—not for the Yankees.
There was a time when the New York Yankees were built for the Fall Classic. Not anymore. These days, they’re a team of almost-rans, lacking the killer instinct of Derek Jeter’s Yankees. They’ve become a team run by numbers, managed by a paint-by-numbers crew, and owned by a guy whose dad built this dynasty. The Yankees of today exemplify what happens when inherited wealth takes charge. No one is firing Hal, or his lickspittle, Brian Cashman. I once compared the Yankees to Microsoft. Now, like Microsoft, it’s time for their moment of Satya, aka their moment of truth.
On the upside, I did win my Fantasy Baseball League, thanks to two Yankees who had an amazing year: Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham. With the venting done, let’s turn to some good stuff to read and enjoy. What follows are high-quality long reads.
It’s very good, even compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I know this because, well, I’m a photography nerd and the iPhone is my primary everyday camera. But don’t take my word for it. The team behind the Halide app does a deep dive into Apple’s camera technology every time there’s an upgrade, and they’re suitably impressed. “This is a tremendous telephoto upgrade, and if you were as much of a telephoto lover as I am, it might well be reason alone to upgrade,” they note. Read their review — it’s measured, coming from people who live and breathe smartphone photography.
If you’ve been to London (or anywhere in the UK), you know your iPhone could be snatched at any moment. Here’s a good read about how 40,000 phones stolen from the UK ended up in China. According to the story, London phone thefts ballooned from 28,609 in 2020 to 80,588 in 2024. Nearly 75% of all phones stolen in the UK are snatched in London. While not quite a “long read,” it serves as a compelling reminder of how the supply chain of crime operates.
There is no shortage of shallow writing about artificial intelligence. Ted Chiang, one of the more thoughtful writers and thinkers on AI and technology, has always been a favorite of mine, even when I don’t agree with many of his arguments. In this interview, he talks about living with the rapid pace of change brought about by AI and the omnipresence of technology. One of my top reads.
This is Chapter 9 from the book The Techno-Humanist Manifesto by Jason Crawford, Founder of the Roots of Progress Institute. A timely reminder of the why of science and innovation, a way of thinking that is becoming victim to late stage hyper-capitalism.
Has industrial design died in the post-technology age? When reading this piece, I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement, despite my love the iPhone Air.
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And to close the letter today, I want to congratulate my partners Jon Callaghan and Phil Black, who twenty years ago started a brand new venture capital firm when early-stage capital was scarce. Jon is a friend from the early web days. True was different, and I often referred founders to them. Later, True invested in my company, and Jon became a member of the board.
Later, I joined the firm and, until recently, was an investment partner. I have never been more proud to be part of a team. It’s no surprise two decades have flown by. As my friend Hiten Shah said in response to Jon’s post on LinkedIn, “You folks are some of the best early believers in the business. I know this first, second, and third hand.” Amen. Jon’s post is worth a read.
Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali from warm, sunny San Francisco.
October 20, 2025. San Francisco
Happy Deepavali Om !
Thanks and right back at you.
Om,
I have to push back on your lushing of the Dodgers. Is it good for baseball that the Dodgers payroll tax is higher than the Milwaukee Brewers total salary? Don’t the Dodgers have a free agent at most every position plus their top 4 starters? Wouldn’t a salary cap and floor truly show who the smart teams are in terms of drafting, developing, recruiting, timing and free agent spending? Sure they’re winning against the deep pocket Yankees, Mets and Padres. But, isn’t baseball better when most teams have a shot at the playoffs and anything can happen?
Jay
The rules of the game are what they are. Dodgers are leveraging their big market presence, heritage and availability of easy money to win and build franchise value. They are a good business. And they are putting a good product on the market. For me, Dodgers are the new gold standard of dynastic team building, something Yankees used to do Wel. As a Yankees fan, it is hard pill to swallow.
As for salary cap, well, I think I be long gone before that happens. Everyone is making too much money from the non-cap. And as far as little teams are concerned they are getting their share of the money too. They are good at what they do, and thus are the david’s that you root for.
There were more teams in the hunt this year than ever before including Toronto, Seattle, Indians, Tigers, and Brewers. Everyone had an equal shot at winning. So not sure, I agree that more teams don’t have a shot at the playoffs.
Thanks for that report on the new iPhone’s telephoto. I’ve still got a 13 Pro, and I have been pondering an upgrade.
Marc
You might be pleasantly surprised with the camera if you upgrade.
Cheers
Phone cameras have improved a lot. I’m not a photographer, but even I can see it. A decade ago, Blues Traveler came to Atlanta, and I was near the front, so I snapped a picture. You can barely recognize that it’s a picture of a band playing on a stage. The other night, we saw Little Feat and I snapped another one, quite casually. It was crystal clear. (They still rock, BTW.)
I could not agree more about the Yankees. MLB is a joke because of the extreme payroll disparities.
In the NBA, for example, OKC, despite its market size, can pay SGA $70m a year, the supermax. In MLB, a handful of teams can pay the very top salaries.
So we have the Yankees run as a fiefdom in which accountability is a four letter word, and where winning a WS is subjugated to cronyism.
And they only spend 49.7% of revenue. The Dodgers spend 79%.
So there is no incentive to compete at the highest level.
“And they only spend 49.7% of revenue. The Dodgers spend 79%.”
that says more than anything else