Backwards K Pod

This week we take an introspective look at the life and baseball journey of one Peter Lawrence "Yogi" Berra, who would become one of baseball's greatest characters and catchers. The World War II veteran and unprecedented 13 time World Champion as a player. was best described by his manager Casey Stengal, " As a very strange fellow with remarkable baseball abilities." He served as the anchor and bridge between the Joe DiMaggio and the Mickey Mantle era of the Yankees of the 1940's and 1950's, the storied franchise's most dominanat era. Not only would he craft a legendary playing career through grit and determination, he would also become a cultural icon, whose fame transcended the baseball diamond with his Yogiism style of speech, with phrases such as, "It aint over till it's over." and, " A Nickel aint worth a dime anymore." #YogiBerra #TheHill #JoeGaragiola #StLouisCardinals #BranchRickey #NewYorkYankees #LeoBrown #GeorgeWeiss #BrooklynDodgers #MelOtt #JackieRobinson #DonLarsen #CaseyStengel #GeorgeSteinbrenner #CarmenShort #BillDickey #GilHodges #PhilLinz

When a plumber's blowtorch accidentally causes Washington D.C's Boundary Field to burn to the ground in 1911. engineers from the Cleveland based Osborne Company quickly construct Griffith Stadium inside the skeletal remains of Boundary Field. and it would serve as the Senators home park from 1911 to 1961. The stadium would become a centerpiece for baseball in the district housing the Senators and the Homestead Grays Negro League team, as well as the Washington Redskins NFL football team, that relocates from Boston to Washington in 1937. It would also feature boxing and wrestling matches, concerts, the circus. religious revivals, George Washington University, the Georgetwon Hoyas, Howard University and Maryland Terrapins college sports during this time. This week's profile is on this throwback crib's profound construction and history that would leave an indellible impression on the sporting theater of the Nation's Capital. #ClarkeGriffith #GriffithStadium #WashingtonDC #WashingtonSenators #WashigtonNationals #WilliamHowardTaft #FranklinDelanoRoosevelt #GeorgeWashingtonUniversity #GeorgeTownHoyas #MarylandTerrapins #HowardUniversityHospital #WashingtonRedskins

Whenever Willie McCovey had a bat in his hands, he meant business. Whether it's a tight pennant race game in September against the Dodgers or a batting practice in May, his focus was to cut the ball in half and smoke line drives. His path to Major League immortality was oddly uneven, mostly due to circumstance. But despite all of the obstacles, mishaps and injuries he endured, he still managed to squeeze out a 22 year playing career that saw him belt 521 career home runs, earning him the admirations and respect pf seemingly every person he ever encountered, especially in his adopted hometown of San Francisco Giants. For the city by the bay, the loss of Stretch, was more than just the loss of a ballplayer. It was the loss of a local and civic institution, just as proinent as Alcatraz Prison, the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable cars, and they hills they race up and down. Willie McCovey was San Francisco. #WillieMcCovey #EsterMcCovey #FrankMcCovey #JessThomas #AlexPompez #MobileAlabama #SanFranciscoCalifornia #SanFranciscoGiants #WillieMays #OrlandoCepeda #CandlestickPark #SanDiegoPadres #OaklandAthletics

This week we profile the baseball life and journey of the legendary skipper Bobby Cox, who was became one of the most successful managers in the game's history, chartering the course for the Braves' dominanace during the 1990's and early 2000's. His teams would hold the unique distinction of winning 14 consecutive division pennants, and he would go onto become the fourth winningest manager in baseball history. The seeds of National League supremacy hardly happened overnight. It was a seed that would take 14 seasons to bear fruit, with an international sojurn along the way. #BobbyCox #AtlantaBraves #RalphHouk #NewYorkYankees #BillyMartin #TedTurner #PatGillick #TorontoBlueJays #JohnSmoltz #TomGlavine #GregMaddux #JohnSchuerholz #ChipperJones #MarquisGrissom

This week we take an introspective look at the fascinating History Of Baseball In Queens, New York. A story that begins in 1886, when Queens was the only municipalty in New York City that disregarded the Sunday Blue Laws, which prohibited commerce and personel ammusement on Sundays. The borough's landscape was dotted with three ballparks at this time, Ridgewood Parks One and Two in Woodhaven, and Dexter Park located in Jamaica, Queens, and because a blind eye was turned on the Sunday Blue Laws of New York City, Queens became the tourist destination spot on the day of the Sabbath, for the hard working blue-collar citizens of the city, as the Brooklyn baseball team, who would eventually become the Dodgers, begin scheduling Sunday games in the borough, Soon thereafter teams as far away as Jersey City begin scheduling home Sunday games there as well, when the Brooklyn ball team is out of town. 76 years later after the Dodgers and Giants flee the city for California, the expansion franchise team, New York Mets becomes the team most famously celebrated for calling Queens home, is born. This comes with two baseball stadiums in the team's history in Shea Stadium and Citi Field, and we will cover the construction and colorful histories of both cribs. #QueensNewYork #BrooklynGrays #SundayBlueLaws #GeorgeGrauer #GrauersRidgewoodPark #CharlieByrne #WilliamWallace #WallacesRidgewoodPark #JimKennedy #BrooklynGladiators #NatStrong #BillShea #GeorgeVMcLaughlin #WalterOMalley #WilliamShea #WillieStargell #JimBunning #JohannSantana #OJSimpson #BillBuckner #MikePiazza

As a player, Billy Martin was a fundamentally sound second basemen with a .257 batting average over an 11 year playing career, most notably for the Yankees fom 1950 to 1957. On the World Series stage, he was a clutch beast with a .333/.371/.369 slash-line, 5 Home Runs and 19 runs driven in, with flawless defensive play. As a manager, he developed the reputation of a strategical genius, who could ostensibly turn almost any team into a contender. But he was also considered a longterm liability whose erratic personal behavior, usually due to his excessive alcohol consumption. and his inability to handle veteran players, or young pitchers, led to early dismissals. In his 16 seasons as a field general, he would win five divisional titles with four different franchises; two American League Pennants and a World Championship in 1977 with the Yankees. This week we profile the baseball journey of this brash, fearless, and pugnacious leader who would hone his craft on the Oakland sandlots, before implementing his lessons on life and winning in the majors. #BillyMartin #BerkeleyCalifornia #CaseyStengal #MickeyMantle #WhiteyFord #AlfredManuelPesanoJr #JoanPesano #JimmyPiersell #ClintCourtney #JackieRobinson #MattBatts #ReggieJackson #GeorgeSteinbrenner #MinnesotaTwins #DetroitTigers #OaklandAthletics #TexasRangers #NewYorkYankees

San Francisco Giants right-handed ace Juan Marichal was among the elite pitchers during the "The Golden Age Of Pitching" of the 1960's, but he always seemed to live in the shadows of Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson during that era. He was the winningest pitcher of the decade, and his 2.57 era during that span is third best behind only Koufax and his 2.37 and closer Hoyt Wilhelm's 2.16. This week we will cover the baseball journey of the kid who from humble beginnings as the poor farmer's kid from the Dominican Republic, would change his stars, becoming the first Dominican superstar player and a baseball immortal, changing the face of baseball forever. #JuanMarichal #SanFranciscoGiants #RamfisTrujillo #SandyKoufax #BobGibson #JohnnyRoseboro #LagunaVerde #JesusAlou #MattyAlou #FelipeAlou #AlmaCaravajal #AndyGilbert #AlDark #WarrenSpahn #BostonRedSox #LosAngelesDodgers

This week's focus is on the legendary pitching icon Ferguson Jenkins, who is arguably the greatest ballplayer that Canada has ever produced (with all apologies to Larry Walker) and indeed one of the country's finest all-around athletes ever. During a time that many consider "The Golden Age Of Pitching", Fergie stood shoulder to shouler with the era's greats, and he towered above the rest. He is the only (and most likely the last, considering the evolution of the bullpen in the modern game) pitcher in the last 50 years to win at least 20 games a year, for six consecutive seasons, and along with Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, they are the only four pitchers in the game's long history with 3,000 strikeouts to their credit, and less than 1,000 walks surrendered. From Chatham, Ontario to Cooperstown, NY, I give you the life and baseball journey of this pitching great. #FergusonArthurJenkins #Fergie #DeloresJenkins #ChathamOntario #ChathamVocationalHighSchool #TerrysCoalYard #GerryMcCaffery #DaveDziadura #PhiladelphiaPhillies #ChicagoCubs #TexasRangers #BostonRedSox #JimBunning #BobGibson #HarlemGlobetrotters #GaryTempleton

Frank Robinson accomplished as much in the game of baseball, as anyone ever has; National League Rookie Of The Year, An MVP in both leagues, MVP of a World Series. MVP of an All-Star game, a Gold Glove Winner, American League Manager Of The Year, a Triple Crown winner, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal Of Freedom. His accomplishments on the diamond, led to his Hall Of Fame induction in 1982, in recognition of being one of the finest players in the history of the game. In 1975, he becomes the first black manager in the history of Major League Baseball, fulfilling Jackie Robinson's dream, and cementing his own legacy as a racial pioneer. But Frank wouldn't want to be remembered as a racial pioneer. He would prefer to be immortalized as a baseball player who perfected his craft, and a leader of men, to do things they never thought possible. This is the great Frank Robinson. #FrankRobinson #McCleymondsHighSchool #VadaPinson #CurtFlood #BillRussel #GeorgePowels #BobbyMattick #CincinnatiReds #BaltimoreOrioles #LosAngelesDodgers #CaliforniaAngels #ClevelandIndians #SanFranciscoGiants #MontrealExpos #WashingtonNationals #JimPalmer #BrooksRobinson #EarlWeaver

The game of baseball is introduced to the East Bay region as far back as the 1840's when entrepreneurial, risk-takers from the east move to Neuva Claifornia in search of gold, and bring the game with them, in their westward expansion of the young country. By 1866, the city is gripped with baseball fever, and Oakland semi-pro teams begin to compete with teams in neighboring San Francisco for regional baseball supremacy. This week we do a deep-depth profile on the History Of Baseball In Oakland from 1866-2024. From the game's infancy, the vaunted Pacific Coast League run as the Oaks, The rich and vibrant Negro League Teams such as the Marysville Colored Giants, the Athens Colored Elite and the Oakland Larks, as well as the third leg of the A's MLB journey by way of Philadelphia and Kansas City. 56 years of Oaland Athletics baseball; from the colorful and successful Charlie Finley era of three consecutive World Championships during the early 1970's, the Bash Brothers era of the late eighties, the Billy Beane Moneyball Era of the 2000's, to their planned departure for the Mojave Desert Of Nevada. This week we say good-bye to one of the brightest stars in the baseball universe being snuffed out of existence, and study the region it called home for all those summers. #NuevaCalifornia #AlexanderCartwright #ColonelTomRobinson #OaklandColonels #PacificCoastLeague #MarysvilleColoredGiants #AthensColoredElite #OaklandLarks #OaklandOaks #Acorns #OaksStadium #Emeryville #OaklandAthletics #CharlesOFinley #EdwardHassJr #BillyBeane #BashBrothers #Moneyball #SutterHealthStadium #LasVegasNevada

This week we profile the baseball life of the iconic Willie Stargell. Willie, the feared power-hitting slugger and clubhouse leader on and off the diamond, signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1958, and will forever be associated with the franchise. The seemingly larger than life Stargell, after his retirement in 1982 would leave a legacy of winning, leadership, focus and fun in his wide wake, During the magical " We Are Family" season of 1979, he won the National League MVP, as well as the NLCS and World Series MVP, the only player in the history of the game to sweep all three MVP honors durinng a season. His 25 total bases in the 1979 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles stood as the seven game series benchmark until Astros outfielder George Springer bested the output in the 2019 World Series. Manager Chuck Tanner once said that having Willie on your roster is like walking around with a priceless diamond ring on your finger. #WilverDornellStargell #WillieStargell #Pops #BobZuk #PittsburghPirates ##DannyMurtaugh #RobertoClemente #SteveBlass #ChuckTanner #DaveParker #DeloresStargell

Yankees former Hall Of Fame Manager once said of Mickey Mantle. " He has more speed than any slugger, I've ever seen, and more slug than any other speedster. Nobody has ever had more of both of them together. This kid aint logical. He's too good and it's very confusing. This week we profile the the MLB journey of the "Commerce Comet", the great Mickey Mantle, who would define the 1950's and 60's era with his stellar play. #MickeyMantle #MuttMantle #SpavinawOklahoma #CommerceOklahoma #CaseyStengal #RogerMaris #WhiteyFord #JoeDiMaggio #GeorgeWeiss #ChuckStobbs #StuMiller #DennyMcLain

This week I profile the Japanese slugger who rewrote the Japanese and international baseball record books in his image, during his 22 year Nippon Baseball League career. No player outside of the great Babe Ruth ever dominated the game for so long, in any of the game's top professional leagues around the world. His 868 career home-runs is over 100 more than MLB Home Run King Barry Bonds. And if baseball is ultimately a game of numbers, then no single batter in any of the world's top baseball leagues, has left behind a more enduring statistical legacy. I dig into his journey from his humble beginnings as the son of a Chinese immigrant father, stigmatized by his foreign ancestry, digging their way out of the rubble of a war-torn Tokyo after World War II, to a career that would utlimately define the rise of the Japanese superstars, we see today on the MLB stage. #SadahauOh #ShifukuOh #TetsuhiroOh #WasedaCommercialHighSchool #Koshien #FlamingoStance #HiroshiArakawa #ShigeoNagashima #TheEmporersGame #BabeRuth #HankAaron #YomiuriGiants #KyokoKoyae #SadaharuOhMuseum

At the height of his powers, Roberto Alomar could beat you in a myriad of ways. The five-tooled freak could beat you with a timely bunt. He had the ambidextrous power to yank a home-run from both sides of the dish. He could hit an opposite field double seemingly at will, and he had the speed to swipe a bag, and the base-running instincts to take the extra base on a bloop single by a teammate. And oh yeah, his dazzling defense was second to none at the second basemen position. This week i detail his major league journey from Salinas, Puerto Rico to the National Baseball Hall Of Fame in New York. #RobertoAlomar #SandyAlomar #SandyAlomarJr #SanDiegoPadres #TorontoBlueJays #BaltimoreOrioles #ClevelandIndians #NewYorkMets #ChicagoWhiteSox #ArizonaDiamondbacks #JimSkaaland #CitoGaston #PatHentgen #BJSurhoff #JoeCarter #FredMcGriff #TonyFernandez #LarryBowa #PatGillick #CalRipkenJr #OmarVizquel

This week I do an introspective dive into the life and baseball journey of Bob Feller. A major league journey that begins at the age of 17, as Feller is the youngest pitcher in big-league history to both win and lose a game. From humble beginnings, the Iowa farm boy and his Heater From Van Meter would see him become the game's second great power arm, after Walter Johnson. #BobFeller #RapidRobert #TheHeaterFromVanMeter #CySlapnicka #ClevelandIndians #USSAlabamaba #SatchelPaige #HalNewhouser #AlLopez #BillVeeck #OscarVitt #HankGreenberg

This week I examine the city of Washington D.C., and it's connection with the national pastime. A connection with the game, that goes back to the first game in the District's recorded history of July 2, 1860. It was the shared home of one of the most legendary Negro National League teams, as well as owning a complicated history with Major League Baseball, that features three different franchises and five stadiums, in their over 100 year relationship with one another. Also I will profile four of the stadiums that have dominated the baseball landscape in the city; Swampoodle Grounds, American League Park, RFK Stadium and their current home Nationals Park #WashingtonNationals #WashingtonSenators #SwampoodleGrounds #GriffithStadium #AmericanLeaguePark #RFKStadium #NationalsPark #WashingtonDC #ArtGorman #ColonelJones #WilliamHowardTaft #JohnKennedy #WashingtonPotomacs #WalterJohnson #BaltimorePastimes ##TheGreatWesternTour

Rickey Henderson used the ultimate combination of power and speed to break numerous Major League records during his career. But what solidifies his place in baseball history was his unbridled passion to his craft and the game. He is the all-time stolen base king in the history of baseball. The greatest lead-off hitter the game has known and the most prolific run scorer to ever grace the diamond. There is only one Rickey Henderson, and this week I profile his life and baseball journey. #RickeyHenderson #OaklandTechnicalHighSchool #TomTreblehorn #BillyMartin #DaveHenderson #RonnieLott #CarneyLandsford #OaklandAthletics #NewYorkYankees #NewYorkMets #SanDiegoPadres #AnaheimAngels #BostonRedsox #SeattleMariners #BostonRedSox #LosAngelesDodgers #BobbieHenderson

This week we profile the baseball journey of right-handed power pitcher Curt Schilling who's 3,116 career strikeouts is the 17th most ever in baseball history. He is the only pitcher to ever win a World Series game for three different teams. His 11-2 postseason win/loss record is the highest winning percentage, for pitchers in the game's history, for any pitcher with more than 10 appearances in the post. His 5-0 record and 1.37 ERA in elimination games, and his 3-0 record and 1.12 ERA in series clinching games, establishes him as one of the most clutch performers to ever lace them up. Even with all these aclompishments, Schilling finds himself on the outside looking in, on a Hall Of Fame induction. A casualty of the " cancel culture wars" being fought in a polarized America. #CurtSchilling #BaltimoreOrioles #HoustonAstros #PhiladelphiaPhillies #ArizonaDiamondbacks #BostonRedSox #BloodySockGame

Our profile this week will be on Roger Clemens. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner, and eleven-time All Star, who would rewrite the modern age record books, by establishing himself as the preeminant power arm of his generation. Only to find himself exiled from the very game he dominated, as whispers and suspicions of steroid-use cloud his impressive resume and all of his accomplishments. #RogerClemens #Rocket #DaytonOhio #SugarlandTexas #SpringWoodsHighSchool #SanJacintoJUniorCollege #UniversityOfTexasAustin #BostonRedSox #GregKosc #TorontoBlueJays #NewYorkYankees #HoustonAstros #RandyClemens #BrianMcNamee #WayneGrahm #CliffGustafason #JohnMcNamera #CitoGaston #TerryCooney

This week. Notorius November rolls on, as I take this month to focus on some of baseball's more controversial players, when I detail the life and career of baseball's home run king Barry Bonds. He had a stellar career, made a mountain of money, and holds many records in baseball, but his own actions and words have made him a pariah in the game, perhaps never to attain the Hall of Fame status that he craves and that his career numbers suggest he has earned. He was the most feared hitter since Babe Ruth and he is far and away, the best speed/power combo player to ever live. His connection to the PED era of baseball in the 1990's and early 2000's have stained his legacy, while many other of his contemporaries, with similar suspicions have gone on to be inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. A sad ending for a career that promised so much, and that promise was delivered. #BarryBonds #BobbyBonds #PatriciaBonds #WillieMays #SanFranciscoGiants #PittsburghPirates #ArizonaStateUniversity #JuniperroSerraHighSchool #JimLeyland #AndyVanSlyke #BobbyBonilla #JeffKent #MarkMcGwire #SammySosa #GregAnderson #BALCO #VictorConte #BackwardsKPod #JakeRobinson #LetsTalkBaseballPodcastNetwork #BKP

The curtain has been drawn on the 2024 MLB season, with the Texas Rangers abdicating their throne in favor of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat the New York Yankees in five games, to claim the crown of baseball champion in this year's Fall Classic. Jake opens the show with an analytical breakdown of what happened during the history making championship victory, and what to look forward to in the upcoming Hot Stove offseason. Notorious November kicks off with a month of BKP profile-bios of some of baseball's more controversial topics. Thise week we start the month off, with a posthumous dig into the life and career of baseball's all-time HIt KIng, the exiled pariah Pete Rose. No player in any sport ever maximized as much production from their god-given skills. A pugnacious catalyst who played in more winning games than any other player in the history of the game, and he played each one of them with Game Seven of the World Series intensity. He was the rare player who could blow through an 162 game season, with a do or die reckless abandon in each contest. Unfortunately, the same attributes that endeared him to millions of fans, for his style of play, would be the same characteristics that precipitated his fall from grace, when the icon violates baseball's cardinal sin of betting on the game, while serving as the manager for the Cincinnati Reds. #PeterEdwardRose #AndersonFerryOhio #RayFosse #HarryFrancisRose #LaverneBloebaumRose #WesternHillsHighSchool #BuddyBlebaum #AsaBrooks #TonyPerez #DonBlassingame #CharlieHustle #SparkyAnderson #BigRedMachine #EricShow #JohnDowd #DowdReport #BartGiamantti

This week we do a deep tissue autopsy on the life and career of the "Big Unit" Randy Johson. As a youngster in the game, his tall stature created problems and setbacks to his immense potential and development. After some sage advice from Strikeout king Nolan Ryan, and after the tragic death of his father, Randy changes his approach to the game, and becomes one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in the history of the game. In a 22 season career, The "Big Unit" would lead his league in strikeouts nine times, earn four ERA titles, record 100 complete games with 37 shutouts, finish with over 300 career wins and be the starting pitcher in four All Star games. #RandyJohnson #TheBigUnit #WalnurCreekCalifornia #LivermoreHighSchool #AtlantaBraves #USCTrojans #MarkMcGwire #RodDedeaux #MontrealExpos #JoeKerrigan #RickWilliams #SeattleMariners #MarkLangston #HoustonAstros #ArizonaDiamondbacks #CurtSchilling #NewYorkYankees #SanFranciscoGiants #JakeRobinson #LetsTalkBaseballPodcastNetwork #BackwardsKPod

For over 100 years, the cries of baseball fever have echoed across the San Diego County region in Southern California. From Oceanside to Otay, from the neighborhood sandlots to the engineering marvel, that is PETCO Park. Baseball has been an integral part of the San Diego sports conscious, that stretches all the way back to May of 1871, when the game is introduced to the city, with it's first recorded game, out in the town plaza. While most of today's San Diegans know the major league Padres best, since their inception into the Major Leagues in 1969, there are over 60 years of rich baseball heritage, from their minor league predecessor, the Padres of the Pacific Coast League. This week, i examine the city's timultuous love affair with the sport, and the humble roots of this connection. As well as the baseball life of the three ballparks, that have dominated the San Diego baseball landscape through the years; Lane Field, Jack Murphy Stadium and the modern day baseball cathedral PETCO Park, #SanDiegoPadres #LaneField #JackMurphyStadium #PetcoPark #SanDiegoTribune #SchillersAndMurthas #ThePickwicks #SanDiegoElectrics #BayCityClub #GeorgeMarston #WWAvrill #LutherDummyTaylor #PacificCoastLeague #HollywoodStars #BobLane #CabrilloBaseballClub #SanDiegoBaseballManagersAssociation #TedWilliams #BobbyDoerr #JohnnyRitchie #RayKroc #TonyGwynn #BruceBochy #DickWilliams #TrevorHoffman #SteveGarvey #LarryLuchino #BackwardsKPod #JakeRobinson #LetsTalkBaseballPodcastNetwork

In the long and storied history of baseball, there have been a collection of street corners that have become synonymous with the throwback cribs that have claimed domain there. At the corner of Michigan and Trumbull once stood the iconic Tigers Stadium. 21st and Lehigh was the home of Shibe Park, You had the corner of Findlay and Western, where the Reds played at Crosley Field, and on the south side of Chicago, at the corner of 35th and Shields, stood Comiskey Park. Today that tradititon still holds firm with Clark and Addison housing the Cubs at Wrigley. To the old school St. Louis baseball fan, the corner of Grand and Dodier can be added to that list. This week we will examine the rise and fall of the structure that stood there, and housed two St. Louis MLB teams from 1860 to 1963, Sportsman Park. A plot of land, on the north side of the city, where the game takes it's roots, and fans of the game witness amazing chapters in the baseball story. #SportsmanPark #StLouis #StLouisBrowns #StLouisCardinals #GrandAvenue #DodierStreet #CharlesComiskey #AugustSolari #AugustBusch #BrownStockings #ChrisVanDerAhe #Perfectos #StanMusial #SamBreadon #UrbanShocker

This week. BKP chronicles the baseball life and career of the sport's first great manager. Cornelius MacGillicuddy, better known in the MLB universe as Connie Mack, spent 71 years in organized baseball, from 1884 to 1955 as a bare-handed catcher, a manager, a front office executive and an owner. He carried himself with a quier dignity, and he commanded respect from friends and rivals alike. Along the way through his journey, he would evolve along with the game, constructiong one of the greatest "Dead Ball Era" teams, with his dynastic Philadelphia A's, during the 1910's, as well as a second Philly dynasty with one of the more dominant "Live Ball" squads, at the end of the Roaring 20's. Statuesque, stately and slim, you could always find the "Tall Tactician" in a high starched collar business suit and tie. with a rolled up scorecard in his hand, standing on the dugout steps, observing his chess pieces out on the diamond. He was baseball" grand old gentleman, for the early generations of fans, as the young game grows into a national phenomenon. #ConnieMack #PhiladelphiaAthletics #PittsburghPirates #FederalLeague #WesternLeague #MilwaukeeBrewers #RubeWaddell ##EddiePlank #JackCoombs #ChiefBender #HermanLong #NapoleanLaJoie #EddieCollins #JackBarry ##FrankBaker #BenShibe #BanJohnson #JohnMcGraw

This week we do a deep character profile bio on the Wizard, Osborne Earl Smith. Ozzie Smith was one of the few players who could beat you with just his glove, and phenomenal defensive feats. The 15 time All Star, winner of 13 consecutive Gold Gloves, is widely regarded as the greatest defensive shortstop ever, if not the greatest defender at any position, in the history of the game. From being overlooked because of his diminutive stature, to owning the shortstop stage at Busch Stadium, the Wizard's climb to baseball immortality, is a story of resillence and perseverance. #OzzieSmith #SanDiegoPadres #RayKroc #WhiteyHerzog #GaryTempleton #JackBuck #TomNiedenfuer #JeffBurroughs #LockeHighSchool #EddieMurray #CalStatePoly

Ever since 1915, with the exception of the World War Two years, the Koshien Japanese High School Baseball Tournament has beome a national institution, with it's championship game broadcast throughout the country. pulling in millions of viewers who tune in to watch the drama unfold. The annual spring and summer tournament is the culmination of thousands of high school teams competing in regional tournaments for a coveted spot. This week we do an in-depth study of the country's most attended sporting event, where new heroes are made every year. #KoshienTournament #HanshinKoshienStadium #NishinomayaJapan #YuseiKikuchi #ShoheiOhtani #NipponProfessionalBaseballLeague #MajorLeagueBaseball #HiroshiSasaki #KyotoInternationalHighSchool #TetsuyaMizutani

In 1858, Cincinnati, Ohio is the second most populated city, per capita outside of Manhattan, New York. It is also one of the final destination spots for the Underground Railroad, freeing runaway slaves from the oppressive south, and the young and evolving sport of baseball, takes it's roots in the city. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings become the first professional baseball team in America. This week, we examine the long and storied history of baseball in the Queen City, including a rich Negro League tradition, the rise and fall of Riverfront Stadium, and the construction of today's baseball cathedral The Great American Ballpark, where the Reds have called home since 2003. #CincinnatiReds #RiverfrontStadium #GreatAmericanBallpark #CrosleyField #BigRedMachine #RedStockings #RedLegs #TownBall #BomDeBeck #WilliamCoolidge #UnionCricketClub #EdRoush #FrankRobinson #PeteRose #JoeMorgan #CincinnatiBengals #CincinnatiTigers #CharlieGrant

During the 1976 Major League Baseball season, a shooting star blazes across the baseball universe, as the kid from nowhere is seemingly everywhere, becoming a 1970's pop-culture icon. Mark " The Bird" Fidrych captures the imagination and hearts of seamheads everywhere with his dominanat pitching prowess, and his on-mound antics, becoming a character of the game, who won't be soon forgotten. #MarkFidrych #VirginiaFidrych #PaulFidrych #AnneFidrych #JessicaFidrych #DetroitTigers #BostonRedSox #JoeCusick #MonrgomeryRebels #LakelandTigers #EvansvilleTriplets #ClevelandIndians #NewYorkYankees #ElrodHendricks #BobUecker #BobPrince #ABCMondayNightBaseball #PawtucketRedSox

With players contractually bound to their respective MLB teams, via the oppressive Reserve Clause. 22 Major League players defect to the Mexican Baseball League in 1946. New commissioner Happy Chandler drops the hammer. and levies five year bans to all the players who jump the league, This week we take a look at the 22 players involved, and the consequences they faced, because of their actions. Nearly three decades before Curt Flood would smash the compensatory system, that shackled players to their clubs, these were the first 22 players who dared to challenge the system. #JorgePasquel #SalMaglie #MickeyOwens #HappyChandler #MonteIrvin #TedWilliams #BobFeller #StanMusial #MaxLanier #FredMartin #LouKlein #JoeGaragiola #DannyGardella #GeorgeHausmann #AdrianZabala #AceAdams #RoyZimmerman

In this week's biographical chapter of ballplayers and their stories, the focus is on the baseball journey and life of the great Eddie Matthews. In tandem with Hank Aaron, the duo would become baseball's most lethal power-hitting combo to ever play the game, As the two players developed into the game's prolific power-hitters of the day, the same Braves team that had just fled the city of Boston, for the greener pastures of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, only 5 years earlier, find themselves in back-to-back World Series appearances versus the dynastic New York Yankees. One of the toughest third-basemen to ever grace a diamond, he is the only player in Major League history to play for the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, setting an enduring legacy, that will surely span generations of time and eras at the Hot Corner. #EddieMatthews #TexarkanaTexas #SantaBarbaraCalifornia #BostonBraves #MilwaukeeBraves #AtlantaBraves #WarrenSpahn #ConnieRyan #FrankRobinson #DonDrysdale #LewBurdette #BobBuhl #BobGrim #BabeRuth #ErnieBanks #JuanMarichal #HarryKalas #DonWert #DetroitTigers #HoustonAstros #JimCampbell #MayoSmith #EddieMatthewsStadium

The 1981 MLB season is best remembered for two things; a strike shortened season breaks the season into a story of two halves, and the birth and rise of Fernandomania in Los Angeles. Fernando Valenzuela, was the youngest of 12 siblings, from the backwater town of Etchohuaquila, Mexico. He would rise from abject poverty, to become the bightest star, in the baseball universe in the early 1980's. His play would elevate the game to more new fans to the Major League product, than any player before or since. He would also unite the Dodgers organization with the Mexican population in Los Angeles, 20 years after Dodgers Stadium at Chavez-Ravine was built on a stretch of land, that saw three prominent Mexican-American communities, wiped off the map by eminant domain, for a failed public housing project. #FernandoValenzuela #LosAngelesDodgers #EtchohuaqilaMexico #MikeBrito #AlCampanis #TommyLasorda #Fernandomania #BlueMonday #BobbyCastillo #CarlHubbel #Screwball #BKP #BackwardsKPod #JakeRobinson

This week I do a deep dive into the history of baseball in the Steel City. I will give you the genesis backstory on a major league team that has been around since 1882. When a rag-tag group of guys from the Burgh, who called themselves the Alleghenies, would play the then young sport of baseball, after working all day in the mills. I will discuss the rich Negro League heritage of the city, where two of the most consequential Negro League teams, the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays called home. And I dig into the history and construction of Three Rivers Stadium and the Buccos current baseball cathedral, PNC Park. #PittsburghPirates #RobertoClemente #HonusWagner #BillMazeroski #PittsburghCrawfords #HomesteadGrays #PNCPark #ThreeTiversStadium #ExpositionPark #Alleghenies #WillieStargell #ForbesField

With his famous corkscrew stance, off balanced follow through, and inside-out swing; line drives came off of Stan Musial's bat like bullets. He spent 22 years in the majors, all with the St. Louis Cardinals. He played in three World Series. and 24 All Star Teams, while winning 7 batting titles, and three league MVP Awards. This week we do a deep character profile dig on " The Man", who is best remembered for his brilliant consistency and gentlemanly disposition. #StanMusial #TheDonoraGreyhound #TheMan #Stashu #LucaszMusial #MaryMusial #OllieVanek #BranchRickey #DickieKerr #LilMusial #SaintLouisCardinals #SportsmanPark

I've had to re-learn the Ty Cobb story, that I've heard all of my life, because a fraudulent, hack sportswriter had always set the false narrative. This week i will do a deep character profile study of the great Tyrus Raymond Cobb. Discern between the researched facts and the myths, that made up this most complex man. And hopefully i can be but a piece of justice, for the Ty Cobb legacy, that has been unfairly maligned, in the generations after his death. #TyCobb #GeorgiaPeach ##NarrowsGeorgia #RoystonGeorgia #WHCobb #AmandaCobb #DetroitTigers #GeorgeLeidy #NapoleanLaJoie #TrisSpeaker #BanJohnson #ConnieMack #PhiladelphiaAthletics #WillieMays #RoyCampanella

At every level of baseball, Jim Abbott had doubters and skeptics. They doubted him in grade school little-league, high school, college, and the major leagues. He had model size, and a 95 MPH fastball. By any standard, he would be considered great. What made Abbott stand out during his amateur and pro career, were the challenges he overcame to compete at the highest level. Jim was born with a deformed right arm, and ostensibly played the game one-handed. This week we dive into his inspirational story. #JimAbbott #1998Olympics #MichiganWolverines #FlintMichigan #CaliforniaAngels #NewYorkYankees #ChicagoWhiteSox #MilwaukeeBrewers

This week we dive into the history of the Baker Bowl, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887-1938. There were two versions of the ballpark. While both were considered state of the art engineering marvels of their day, both would be beset by tragedy, and both would devolve from sugar to shit. #BakerBowl #NationalLeaguePark #PhiladelphiaPhillies #AlfredReach #ColonelRogers #WilliamBaker #ReadingRailroad #PhiladelphiaAthletics #ShibePark #TheHump #EdDelahanty #GroverClevelandAlexander #GeraldNugent #ConnieMack

This week we do a deep dive into the legend of the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig. While the roaring 20's was the perfect age, for the larger than life, overindulgent, and bombastic Babe Ruth. The 1930's saw the country headed for dark times, and economic collapse. Baseball now needed a hero who was solid, dependable and dignified. The baseball universe would find that hero in Lou Gehrig. #LouGehrig #NewYorkYankees #EleanorGraceTwitchell #HeinrichGehrig #ChristinaGehrig #CommerceHighSchool #ColumbiaUniversity #JohnMcgraw #AndyCoakley #MillerHuggins #BabeRuth #PeeWeeWanniger #WallyPipp #JoeMcCarthy #ALS

Milwaukee has a rich baseball tradition, and a legacy that goes back to the 1870's. Granted, it's never been the center of the mid-west baseball universe, and never will, considering Chicago's close proximity. But the last quarter of the 19th century, and the first half of the 20th century, often found the city of Milwaukee, in the thick of major league baseball, but never quite able to sustain a big-league club, for the long term. All that changes in 1953, when the Boston Braves came to town. Milwaukee is a baseball town. From the dedicated fandom for their World Series Champion Milwaukee Braves of 1957, to the way a small market Brewers team, stands among the ten best attendance totals year after year. This week we do a deep dive into the history of baseball in the region, and the three stadiums that have been home to the city's teams; Borchert Field, County Stadium and American Family Field. #Milwaukee #MilwaukeeCreams #MilwaukeeBrewers #LloydStreetGrounds #WrightStreetGrounds #MilwaukeeBraves #MilwaukeeBrewers #OttoBorchert #BorchertFields #CountyStadium #BudSelig #MillerPark #AmericanFamilyField

Denton True "Cyclone" Young left a baseball legacy behind that is ulikely to ever be matched. He won 511 games, which is almost 100 more than Walter Johnson. His resume of records also include, most starts, complete games, innings pitched, hits surrendered, earned runs allowed, losses and batters faced, as statistically speaking, he stands head and shoulders, above any pitcher who has ever played the game. This is the story of the kid, from the humble beginnings, who would go onto astound the young baseball world with his powerful right arm, and set the standard for all hurlers of the future to aspire for. Cy Young is a name familiar to all but the most casual fan, all these years later, and his name is synonomous with pitching excellence. We all know the numbers, now hear his story. #DentonTrueYoung #CyYoung #GilmoreOhio #PeoliOhio #ClevelandSpiders #BostonAmericans #ClevelandNaps #StLouisPerfectos #BostonRustlers #RobbaYoung #CapAnson #ChicagoColts #FrankRobison

In 1966, a fresh-faced. twenty year old kid arrives on the baseball scene, and puts the immortal Sandy Koufax on the shelf, when he beats the icon, in his last baseball appearance; Game three of the World Series, 17 years later, he's beating Hall Of Famer, Steve Carlton in game three of the 1983 World Series. In between those amazing book ends, Jim Palmer became the most consistent, and dominant pitcher, in the American League, during the 1970's. Beset by arm injuries early in his career, his career seemed stalled to the point, where he contemplated giving up the whole pitching thing, and becoming a position player. However, through the coaxing and prodding, of an adversarial manager, with whom he incessantly and publicly feuds with, he becomes one of the all-time greats. #JimPalmer #Cakes #MoeWiesen #PollyKIger #MaxPalmer #HarryDalton #CalRipkenSr #JimBouton #SandyKoufax #EarlWeaver #DaveMcNally #MikeCuellar #PaulBlair #JockeyUnderwear

According to legendary Negro Leagues pitcher Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Belll was so fast, he once hit a line drive up the middle, that hit him in the ass, when he was sliding into second base. This week we do a case study on the great speedster. Just the mere mention of his name, would conjur up, many fantastical stories, by teammates and opponents alike, about his blazing speed. Some true, some no doubt exagerated. This week we examine the man, the myth, the legend, and try to distinguish between reality and the apocryphal. #JameNichols #StarkvilleMississippi #StLouis #StLouisStars #HomesteadGrays #PittsburghCrawfords #JudyJohnson #JoshGibson #OscarCharleston #BuckLeonard #SatchelPaige #ComptonHillsCubs #BillGatewood #MulesSuttles #CienfuegoElefantes #BirminghamBlackBarons #GusGreenlee #SamBankhead EastWestAllStarGame #ClaraBell #RafaelTrujillo #WendellSmith #MonteIrvin

Even though the San Francisco Giants have won three chips in the past 14 years, the fan base has seen it's share of cold days and hard times. There were the windy, foggy days, out at Candlestick Park. The happless teams of the1980's and 90's. Being seductively wooed by Toronto in the 1970's, and by the city of Tampa in the 1990's. As well as the two years of watching Armando Benitez as their closer. This week we examine the baseball history of the venerable city by the bay. Even though the Giants have been residents of the Northern California city for a mere 66 years, the history of the game reaches far back to 1860, when spectators would sit in the stands and fire off their six-shooter pistols in the air. From the San Francisco Seals, to the Giants, being the most successful baseball team of the 21st century, I gotcha hook up. Holler If Ya Hear Me. #SealsStadium #CandlestickPark #OraclePark #RecreationPark #DansOysterSaloon #CincinnatiRedStockings #LeftyODoul #JoeDiMaggio #IkeBoone #WillieMays #OrlandoCepeda #BoozeCage #SanFranciscoChronicle #CaseyStengal #BillyMartin #MissionReds #HoraceStoneham #BobLurie #PeterMagowan

It's another year, which means another round of the Manager's Dead Pool. Jake will pull listener's name from a hat and pair it with an MLB manager's name, that is pulled from another hat' and if that manager loses his manager's gig first, for any reason, be it retirement, getting fired, or for any reason, the listener paired with that manager's name will win this years trophy. Last year's winner was Adam Hebbel, a schoolteacher from Baltimore, when the Giants fired Gabe Kapler first last season. Who will bring this year's trophy home?

The enduring history of baseball is filled with accomplishments that strain credulity, and force us to rethink the limits of human potential. Whether it's Babe Ruth calling his shot in the 1932 World Series vs the Cubs, or Reggie Jackson hitting three homeruns on three swings in the 1977 World Series, or Nolan Ryan tossing no-hitters in his 40's. But on June 12th, 1970, Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis, does the impossible when he throws a no-hitter, while under the influence of LSD. For those of you who have taken acid before, please explain to the people around you, who have never done it, how hard that is to do. This week we take a long strange trip, and do a deep dive into this amazing story. #DockEllis #PittsburghPirates #WillieStargell #RobertoClemente #MannySanguillen #DaveCash #SanDiegoPadres #SteveHuntz #NateColbert #JackMurphyStadium #LSD #AlFerrara

Tom Seaver was one of the greatest right-handed power pitchers, the game has ever known. He won 311 games, for four major league clubs, most notably for the Mets, whom he led from last place laughingstocks to an "Amazin" and improbable world championship in 1969. Seaver at work, was a mechanical picture of kinetic grace. He had a smooth, tight windup, and a stride so long and explosive off the rubber, that his right knee often grazed the dirt. He was a fearless leader, always chomping at the bit, to sully his right knee in the next contest. What can you say about Tom Seaver? In one word, he was "Terrific." This week, BKP does a deep dive into the life and career, of this iconic baseball immortal. #TomTerrific #TheFranchise #TomSeaver #NewYorkMets #CincinnatiReds #ChicagoWhiteSox #BostonRedSox #GilHodges #SparkyAnderson #JerryGrote #CleonJones #DickYoung #RodDedeaux #USCTrojans #AtlantaBraves #SolleyHemus #EarlWeaver #HankAaron #NolanRyan #NancySeaver #SeaverVineyards #BigRedMachine

The world of Major League Baseball, has seen more than it's share of of controversies and scandals. Among the most significant of these, was the collusion of team owners during the 1980's. A period of time that impacted the sport's integrity and it's players. This week we dive into the deep waters, of the intricate history of this collusion unraveling; how it unfolded, and the lasting impact it had on the National Pastime. #KirkGibson #AndreDawson #TimRaines #JackMorris #PeterUeberroth #LeeMcPhail #AndyMcPhail #JerryReinsdorf #BudSelig #HankPeters #GeorgeSteinbrenner #TedTurner #RonGuidry #CarltonFisk #LanceParrish #RichGedman #MarvinMiller #DonaldFehr #BillLaJoie #ThomasRoberts #GeorgeNicolau

Paul Molitor's path to baseball immortality took many strange twists and turns along the way. Hamstrung by a series of injuries early in his career, and a horrific cocaine addiction, Molitor developed a reputation for fragility, and at one time, it appeared as though his career was cursed and snake-bitten. But the soft-spoken native from St. Paul, Minnesota would persevere to achieve numerous milestones and baseball accolades. The seven-time All Star, with the smooth right-handed swing, outstanding base running skills, finished his career with a .306 average, and became just the fifth player in baseball history to collect 3.000 hits and swipe 500 bags. #PaulMolitor #MilwaukeeBrewers #TorontoBlueJays #MinnesotaTwins #RobinYount #DaveWinfield #JackMorris #GeorgeBamberger #HarveyKuenn #CecilCooper #GormanThomas #MikeFlanagan #CretinHighSchool #UniversityOfMinnesota #DickSeibert #DeeFondy #SalBando #BuckRodgers #JimGantner

For 50 years, 1939-1989, Red Sox Nation had three successive Hall Of Famers, guarding the Green Monster of Fenway out in left-field. Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice. With the Splendid Splinter's story already in our collection, and Jim Rice on the horizon, this week we take a dive into the life and career, of the man New Englanders would affectionately call Yaz. The two things the Polish immigrant Yastrzemski family knows, is growing potatos and playing baseball. Under the omnipresent and watchful tutelage of his father and uncles, Yaz would rise from the farm to Cooperstown, with a dominant 23 year baseball career for the Red Sox, as one of the greatest all-around left-fielders who ever lived. #CarlYastrzemski #BostonRedSox #NotreDame #RayGarland #TedWilliams #LakeRonkonkoma #FrankNekola #TomYawkey #FenwayPark #RaleighCapitals #MinneapolisMillers #JakeRobinson #CharlieGunz #BackwardsKPod #NewEngland

This week, we examine the life and career, of the forgotten Hall Of Famer, the greatest southpaw pitcher of the dead-ball era, Eddie Plank. From the humble beginnings of a farming family, born just twelve years after the bloody conclusion of the Civi War battle, bearing his hometown name. Plank would develop his game, on the battleground farms of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, before moving on to the major leagues, and becoming a major cog, for the dynastic championship machine, Philadelphia A's, at the turn of the 20th century, under the watchful managerial eye, of the legendary Connie Mack. His 326 wins are the third most in baseball history, by a lefthand pitcher, behind only Warren Spahn and Steve Carlton. His 69 shutouts are still the standard for port-siders, and will likely never be broken, considering how pitchers are used today, in the modern game. From Gettysburg to the Hall Of Fame pantheon in Cooperstown, NY, this is the incredible baseball journey of Gettysburg Eddie. #EddiePlank #GettysburgEddie #GettysburgPennsylvania #GoodIntent #RobertMajor #MorrisMusselman ##FrankForeman #GettysburgCollege #ConnieMack #PhiladelphiaAthletics #ChiefBender #RubeWaddell #WalterJohnson #JackChesbro #ChristyMattewson #JackCoombes #StLouisBrowns #FederalLeague

A tragic situation exist, when virtue doesn't triumph, and it is felt when our hero is nobler, than the forces that conspire against him and ultimately destroy him. This week we will look at the amazing career and life of Ken Griffey Jr. A player who would usher in the 1990's brand of major league baseball, and become the decade's face of the National Pastime. He had everything. The physical genetics, he inherited from his father; the confidence, arrogance and swagger. He transcended race, and he had a smile you could see from the last row of the upper deck at the Kingdome. He seemed surely destined to go down as one of, if not the greatest player ever, before numerous injuries would rob him of his destiny. Even though the fairytale has an almost tragic ending (in baseball terms), with twisting, unexpected storylines, it is still gratifying to to marvel at what it was, instead of giving in to the temptation of contemplating what it could have been, #KenGriffeyJr #TheKid #KenGriffeySr #DanoraPennsylvania #BigRedMachine #BirdieGriffey #TomMooney #RogerJongwaard #SeattleMariners #HaroldReynolds #MoellarHighSchool #KingDome #RandyJohnson #EdgarMartinez #CincinnatiReds #ChicagoWhiteSox