Baseball Talk

Seattle University faces Grand Canyon in the 2021 Western Athletic Conference MBB Tournament

Fresno Grizzlies pitcher Jarrod Cande talks about the differences between California versus his home area of Tampa. Plus he shares what it was like to play summer college baseball on the same site where Jackie Robinson attempted to make his Brooklyn Dodgers spring training debut

Doug Bernier works as a defensive coordinator with the Colorado Rockies minor leaguers. The former Rockies and Minnesota Twins infielder talks about his role as a coach plus his baseball company. He also praises his Twins manager Ron Gardenhire

Former second baseman Placido Polanco discusses his upbringing with the St. Louis Cardinals. He shares what it was like to play for Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland. The three-time Major League Gold Glove Award winner is a special assistant in the minor leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers

Ben Sems first homer with Fresno

San Francisco Giants Special Assistant Ron Wotus joins me to discuss his current role with the club which involved work at the major and minor league levels. We kick it about his 24 years on the Giants big league coaching staff and his minor league managing days. Ron defines baseball lifer

Rick Mathews is a Special Assistant in Player Development for the Colorado Rockies. He's one of the few who has been with the club for all 30 years. Prior to Colorado he managed Mark Gubicza, Bret Saberhagen and David Cone in the minor leagues for Kansas City. He brings around 50 years of professional baseball experience

Jim Eppard is the minor league coordinator of hitting for the Oakland Athletics. He's been in professional baseball season for 42 years. He and I talk about many of the places where baseball has taken him and about a conversation he had with George Brett after Jim achieved his first major league base hit

Recorded in 2009; Jim Davenport spent his entire major league playing career with the San Francisco Giants (1958-70). The former third baseman was the first batter ever in San Francisco Giants history. We cover him being teammates with Willie Mays, and he discusses watching Mays play in the Negro Leagues for the Birmingham Black Barons. Jim was also the first manager of the Fresno Grizzlies in 1998

Fresno Grizzlies left-handed Mason Greens joins me to discuss the team's success and his 27-0 record at Central Missouri University. Plus he's yet to pitch a night game this season

This was recorded in 2010 when Tim Wallach managed the Albuquerque Isotopes which were then the AAA-Los Angeles Dodgers. Some of the discussion includes his first major league All-Star Game in 1984 and playing in Dennis Martinez perfect game in 1991

Recorded in 2008; Tony Gwynn talks about what it's like being a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and watching his son Tony Jr. working his way to the big leagues

From 2010, I interviewed umpire Cory Blaser then in the Pacific Coast League. He's been a full-time Major League Baseball umpire for over a decade. Cory explains the long road from umpire school to the big leagues and how he got interested in the profession

Fresno Grizzlies right fielder Yanquiel Fernandez hits a Grand Slam

From May of 2010 before Buster was called up for good. Little did we know what would be accomplished by him and the team so it's fun to listen about his maturation as a pro catcher and when he played all nine positions in one game at Florida State

Former major league outfielder Daniel Nava shares memories of coming up with the Boston Red Sox and hitting a Grand Slam in his first major league at-bat, only a handful have accomplished that. Plus he will tell you his favorite baseball player was growing up. Nava is the bench coach for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the California League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Former major league manager Clint Hurdle is now a Special Assistant to the General Manager of the Colorado Rockies. We cover his days as a minor league player in the Kansas City system to what it was like to manage the Rockies to the National League pennant in 2007. And much much more

Fresno Grizzlies outfielder EJ Andrews and I talk about what it's like to play professionally in Fresno after being an All-Mountain West player at Fresno State

Braiden Ward was just promoted from Low-A Fresno to High-A Spokane. He led the California League in hitting at .367

Former minor league baseball broadcaster Mark Hauser shares his tales from the Northwest & Southern Leagues. He began his pro baseball broadcasting career in Oregon with the Bend Phillies (A-Northwest) in 1985. In 1987 he stayed in that league by moving to Medford with the Southern Oregon Athletics. The following year he started a 17-year run in the AA-Southern League with the Jacksonville Expos (1988-90) and the Greenville Braves (1991-04). Mark served at the play-by-play voice of the Wofford University Terriers football & men's basketball from 1992-2017. He now lives in Fields, Oregon—(southeast Oregon) which has a population of about 120

Mike Saeger is in his 11th year as the radio broadcaster of the San Antonio Missions (AAA-Milwaukee). The Cal State Northridge alum started his pro broadcasting career in Georgia with the Augusta Pirates (Low-A South Atlantic League) in 1991. After two seasons there he spent 1993-94 with the Vero Beach Dodgers (A-Florida State League). His longest stint was in the A-California League with San Bernardino from 1995-2009 when it was a Dodgers & Mariners farm club

The new radio voice of the Reno Aces (AAA-Arizona) is Zack Bayrouty. He joins the Pacific Coast League after the last 14 seasons in the California League with Stockton (A-Oakland). His winter time play-by-play assignment is with the University of Pacific men's basketball. Zack hails originally from Worcester, Massachusetts and went to college at Northeastern

Joe Mock is the Owner/President/CEO/COO/Managing General Partner/General Manager of Baseballparks.com. You name the ballpark in the United States or Canada in the last 25 years he's been there to evaluate it. His list of stadiums visited whether professional or college is well over 200. He also is a contributor to USA Today's Baseball Weekly writing about stadiums. Joe is a 1980 graduate of West Virginia University and grew up in Huntington, WV. He is anxiously awaiting the opening of Marshall University's new baseball facility scheduled for next year. He resides near Round Rock, Texas

Steve Selby talks about a funny story while broadcasting for the Durham Bulls in the Carolina League

Steve Selby talks about driving the team bus during his first year in broadcasting with the Kinston Eagles

This season marks Steve Selby's 35th broadcasting professional baseball and his 21st with the Memphis Redbirds. Steve has been all over the south calling pro baseball with stops in Kinston, Sumter, Durham, Huntsville, Nashville and his current post. We talk Memphis BBQ and his time driving the team bus. Enjoy this three-part segment

Steve Klauke began the Utah portion of his sports announcing career in 1991 which was parlayed into a AAA baseball assignment there in 1994. He's broadcast at that level in Salt Lake City for 26 seasons. In addition, he also is the radio voice of Weber State University men's basketball & football. Klauke is originally from Winnetka, Illinois—north of Chicago

Mike Capps is the only radio play-by-play voice in history of the Round Rock Express (AAA-Houston Astros) which began in 2000. Baseball is a smidge of his time in broadcasting as we discuss his working at CNN as a war correspondent and the assignments he had in television around Houston & Dallas. From Nolan Ryan to Ernie Harwell we cover it here

Alex Cohen a 2011 alum of Indiana University is in his third season as the lead radio play-by-play broadcaster with the Iowa Cubs (AAA-Chicago Cubs). Prior to the Pacific Coast League, he's worked in a similar capacity in Huntsville, Alabama, Idaho Falls, Idaho and Bowling Green, Kentucky. His other baseball assignments include the Australian Baseball League in Melbourne and international tournaments in Colombia, Japan, and Taiwan. He's originally from Philadelphia

Tim Hagerty is in his 17th professional baseball season radio play-by-play. His stops include Idaho Falls(Rookie-Pioneer), Mobile (AA-Southern League), and including this year 13 at AAA: Portland, Tucson and has now seven years with El Paso. The last 14 seasons he's been broadcasting a San Diego Padres affiliate. Tim is an author and student of baseball history. He grew up in the Boston area and went to college at Lyndon State in Vermont

Rey Silva grew up in Pharr, Texas which is part of the Rio Grande Valley. Rey runs a You Tube site called South Texas Border Sports. He covers University of Texas Rio Grande Valley athletics, the RGV Vipers (Houston Rockets G-League) and the RGV FC Toros who play professional soccer

While the Wichita WindSurge (AAA-Miami Marlins) are new to the Pacific Coast League, its radio man Tim Grubbs is not. After 18 years as the play-by-play voice of AAA baseball in New Orleans he makes the move to Kansas. The alum of Robert Morris University broadcast his first year of professional baseball in 1995

Russ Langer, 20th year as the radio voice of AAA baseball in Las Vegas and 34th professional season overall

In 2020 Jake Eisenberg joins the Pacific Coast League as the radio broadcast play-by-play voice of the Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA-Kansas City). The 2017 graduate from the University of Maryland. His prior time as a broadcaster has been with Short Season A-Brooklyn (New York-Penn), A-Winston-Salem (Carolina League) and AA-Richmond (Eastern League)

Albuquerque Isotopes radio play-by-play voice Josh Suchon is in his eighth year in that capacity. Josh has worked at just about every level of professional baseball which has included covering the San Francisco Giants & Oakland Athletics for the Oakland Tribune. He's an alum of San Diego State

Alex Freedman is in his 9th season as radio play-by-play voice of the AAA-Oklahoma City Dodgers of the Pacific Coast League. OKC is his second baseball assignment as he's the former voice of the A-High Desert Mavericks of the California League. The Boston native grew up in St. Louis and is an alum of Northwestern University

Jeff Hem is in his 9th season as radio play-by-play voice of the Nashville Sounds

Russ Langer is the radio play-by-play voice of the Pacific Coast League's Las Vegas Aviators (AAA-Oakland). This season marks his 20th year broadcasting AAA baseball in Sin City and his 34th overall in professional baseball radio. He will talk about his extended time at home as a dad and husband this spring