Bergino Baseball Clubhouse

A special presentation from the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse.  Our first podcast during these pandemic times…   In the Fall of 2017, the now shuttered brick-and-mortar location of the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse hosted “Baseball in Black and White: The Watercolor Paintings of James Fiorentino.”   In the Fall of 2021, the Studio 7 Fine Art Gallery in Bernardsville NJ hosted James Fiorentino and “Baseball in Black and White: Extra Innings.”   I sat down at the beautiful Studio 7 gallery with my long-time friend and we had a wide ranging “inside baseball” discussion that touched on memories through the years, the life — and gifts — of an artist, mentors, watercolor painting, ballplayers, the cake boss, passion, process, the feeling when a painting is finished, and more.   On Friday, December 10, we'll be back at the Studio 7 Fine Art Gallery in Bernardsville NJ.  If you're anywhere close to the area, stop by between 6:00 - 9:00 PM.  Meet James and see his spectacular original black and white watercolor paintings, while enjoying treats and a glass of wine.  I'll be conducting in-person video interviews for my multimedia project — “The Memory of America: Remember Your First Baseball Game.”  The interviews take only 15 minutes or so.  Would love to capture your story that evening.   Hope to see you then.  In the meantime, pull up a chair, relax, and enjoy our conversation…   With love from New York, Jay  

San Francisco Year Zero: Political Upheaval, Punk Rock, and a Third-Place Baseball Team with Lincoln Mitchell Special Roundtable Guests: Jennifer Blowdryer and Kenneth Sherrill A wide-ranging conversation touching on San Francisco in the 1970s, George Moscone, Harvey Milk, Dan White, urban America, political campaigns, city government, the San Francisco Giants leaving the city, segregation, diversity, bubbles, Dianne Feinstein, Jello Biafra, the Dead Kennedys, the punk rock scene, Joe Dirt, East Bay Ray, David Peel, the 1978 Giants, being a gay elected official in the 1970s, and Reggie Jackson’s role in reforming the judiciary.   Lincoln Mitchell is an adjunct associate professor of Political Science at Columbia University, where he also serves as an associate scholar in the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies.  He has authored many books on the former Soviet states, democracy, and baseball, including Baseball Goes West: How the Giants and Dodgers Shaped the Major Leagues and Will Big League Baseball Survive.  He has also written extensively about San Francisco’s history in Instant City, Roads and Kingdoms, Parts Unknown and the New York Observer. Jennifer Blowdryer got her name from singing in The Blowdryer in 1978.  They played in San Francisco at the Mabuhay Gardens and The Deaf Club.  She published her first book, Modern English, a photo-illustrated trendy slang dictionary with Last Gasp in 1984, and moved to New York City the same year on a fellowship to the Columbia Writing Division.  She just finished a new album called She’s Got The Weirdness, and her next book is slated for Spring 2020, with Pedestrian Press, working title of The 86ed Project. Kenneth Sherrill is Professor Emeritus at Hunter College and the City University of New York graduate school.  In 1977, he became the first openly gay elected official in New York.  He is the author of Power, Policy and Participation, as well as Gays and the Military.  His current book in progress, Identity and Consciousness in LGBT Political Behavior, is expected to be completed next year.  Ken is also the author of articles, papers and reviews in various scholarly journals.   Thanks to our delectable sponsors: Sauce Pizzeria and St. Marks Wine & Liquor   San Francisco Year Zero.  Listen in...  

War in the Ring with John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro -- and special Roundtable Guest: Mitch Nathanson. A wide-ranging conversation touching on a behind-the-scenes look at the writing process and the challenges of a Young Adult book, Joe Louis and the IRS, Max Schmeling’s actions during the Nazi regime, Jim Bouton, Dick Allen, Willie Horton and the Detroit riots, the “First Game” project and memory, Janis Ian, Mudcat Grant and JFK, boxing in the 20th century, Major League Baseball in 1938 and its state in 2019. John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro are the authors of One Nation Under Baseball and One Punch from the Promised Land.  Together, they’ve written about sports for the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, VICE Sports, and Sports Illustrated.  Ouisie is a six-time Emmy award-winning writer/producer of sports documentaries.  John is the author of historical crime novels.  They are married and live in the beautiful borough of Brooklyn. Mitch Nathanson is a Professor of Law at Villanova University and the author of numerous books and articles on baseball, including God Almighty Hisself.  Mitch is a two-time winner of the McFarland-SABR Award.  In the spring of 2020, his next book, Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original, will be released. Thanks to our delectable sponsors: Sauce Pizzeria and St. Marks Wine & Liquor War in the Ring.  Listen in...  

Doc, Donnie, The Kid, and Billy Brawl with author Chris Donnelly and special Roundtable Guest: Tony Denera. We discussed Major League baseball in 1980s New York, Gary Carter, Don Baylor, Nelson Doubleday, George Steinbrenner, Frank Cashen, Seinfeld, Bat Day, Billy Martin, Ed Whitson, the National and American Leagues, the All-Star Game, Duane Reade and ticket scalping, and Sinatra the French Bulldog. Chris Donnelly is the author of How the Yankees Explain New York and Baseball’s Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History. Tony Denera was born Anthony D’Ambrosio on Easter Sunday in 1962.  After reading Joining Arnold: Rise of the Girlie Man, you will understand why he changed his name to spare his family further embarrassment. Thanks to our delectable sponsors: Sauce Pizzeria and St. Marks Wine & Liquor Doc, Donnie, The Kid, and Billy Brawl. Listen in…  

Inside the tailgating, ticket-scalping, mascot-racing, dubiously funded, and possibly haunted monuments of American sport "For one year, I traveled the United States visiting sports stadiums -- all manner of arenas, domes, ballparks -- for the purpose of writing a book.  The idea was to go beyond the ball games and architectural blueprints to explore the inner workings of these steel and concrete structures that hover over our towns, imposing their will on landscapes and skylines, to better understand our relationship to them -- psychologically, economically, politically, culturally, historically -- as individuals, as cities, and as a society."  -Rafi Kohan Rafi Kohan is a freelance writer and editor.  Formerly, he served as deputy editor at the "New York Observer" and has written for "GQ," "Men's Journal," "Wall Street Journal," "Town & Country," ESPN.com, and more.  He lives in New York City and deeply misses the old Yankee Stadium. On a November evening in the Clubhouse, Rafi Kohan took us into The Arena.  Have a seat and listen in...  

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, tucked away in upstate New York in a small town called Cooperstown, is far from any major media market or big league stadium.  Yet no sports hall of fame's membership is so hallowed, nor its qualifications so debated, nor its voting process so dissected. Since its founding in 1936, the Hall of Fame's standards for election have been nebulous, and its selection processes arcane, resulting in confusion among voters, not to mention mistakes in who has been recognized and who has been bypassed.  Numerous so-called "greats" have been inducted despite having not been so great, while popular but controversial players such as all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and all-time hits leader Pete Rose are on the outside looking in. Now, in The Cooperstown Casebook, Jay Jaffe takes us through his revolutionary ranking system.  The foundation of Jaffe's approach is JAWS, an acronym for the Jaffe WAR Score, which he developed over a decade ago.  Through JAWS, each candidate can be objectively compared on the basis of career and peak value to the players at his position who are already in the Hall of Fame.  Because of its utility, JAWS has gained an increasing amount of exposure in recent years.  Through his analysis, Jaffe shows why the Hall of Fame still matters and how it can remain relevant in the 21st century. Jay Jaffe is a contributing baseball writer for SI.com.  He is the founder of the Futility Infielder website, one of the oldest baseball blogs, and from 2005 - 2012 was a columnist for "Baseball Prospectus."  He has been a recurring guest on MLB Network's "MLB Now" and "Clubhouse Confidential" shows and a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America since 2011. On a Wednesday evening in July, Jay Jaffe led our final author event of the summer.  Listen in to our intimate and lively Clubhouse conversation...  

  The untold story behind the first great sports film... The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic   On July 4, 1939, baseball great Lou Gehrig stood in Yankee Stadium and gave a speech that contained the phrase that would become legendary: "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." He died two years later and his fiery widow, Eleanor, wanted nothing more than to keep his memory alive.  With her forceful will, she and the irascible producer Samuel Goldwyn quickly agreed to make a film based on Gehrig's life, "The Pride of the Yankees."  Goldwyn didn't understand -- or care about -- baseball.  For him this film was the emotional story of a quiet, modest hero who married a spirited woman who was the love of his life, and, after a storied career, gave a short speech that transformed his legacy.  With the world at war and soldiers dying on foreign soil, it was the kind of movie America needed. Using original scripts, letters, memos, and other rare documents, Richard Sandomir tells the behind-the-scenes story of how a classic was born.  The search to find the actor to play Gehrig; the stunning revelations Eleanor made to the scriptwriter Paul Gallico about her life with Lou; the intensive training Gary Cooper underwent to learn how to catch, throw, and hit a baseball for the first time. On a warm summer evening, Richard Sandomir led our intimate Clubhouse conversation and brought "The Pride of the Yankees" to life.  Listen in...  

A franchise and fan base in perpetual search of validation finally had its ticket punched as 2016 dawned.  Mike Piazza, who held records in one hand and a city's rapt attention in the other, gained election to the Hall of Fame.  Within weeks of this long-awaited announcement, the ballclub with whom he chose to cast his eternal lot, the New York Mets, made a date to retire his number. In Piazza: Catcher, Slugger, Icon, Star, Greg Prince explores the parallel paths Piazza and the Mets set out on in the early 1990s and how their individual journeys merged into a mutual quest for transcendence.  From marriage of convenience to lifetime bond to a state of baseball grace reached only once before in team history, "Piazza" examines how the stranger from Los Angeles became New York's favorite son and why the Mets fans continued to rally to Piazza's cause years after he took his final swing for them. Greg Prince is co-creator of the blog Faith and Fear in Flushing, the daily destination for "Mets fans who like to read."  His memoir of the same name was published in 2009 and was followed in 2016 by "Amazin' Again."  He has written about baseball for the "New York Times," "Huffington Post," and ESPN.com; served as a consultant to the film "The Last Play at Shea;" and helped organize the New York Mets Fiftieth Anniversary Conference at Hofstra. On June 15, 2017 -- the 40th Anniversary of "The Midnight Massacre" -- Greg Prince led our intimate Clubhouse conversation into a slice of Mets history, as only he can.  Piazza, Seaver, Prince.  Hall of Famers, all.  Listen in...  

  "Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey" tells the story of Ila Jane Borders, who despite formidable obstacles became a Little League prodigy, MVP of her otherwise all-male middle school and high school teams, the first woman awarded a baseball scholarship, and the first to pitch and win a complete men's collegiate game. After Mike Veeck signed Borders in May 1997 to pitch for his St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League, she accomplished what no woman had done since the Negro Leagues era: play men's professional baseball.  Borders played four professional seasons and in 1998 became the first woman in the modern era to win a professional ball game. Borders had to find ways to fit in with her teammates, reassure their wives and girlfriends, work with the media, and fend off groupies.  But these weren't the toughest challenges.  She had a troubled family life, a difficult adolescence as she struggled with her sexual orientation, and an emotionally fraught college experience as a closeted gay athlete at a Christian university. "Making My Pitch" shows what it's like to be the only woman on the team bus, in the clubhouse, and on the field.  Raw, open, and funny at times, her story encompasses the loneliness of a groundbreaking pioneer who experienced grave personal loss.  Borders ultimately relates how she achieved self-acceptance and created a life as a firefighter and paramedic and as a coach and goodwill ambassador for the game of baseball. Jean Hastings Ardell is an Author/Editor/Speaker/Researcher/Teacher.  She is co-chair of the NINE Spring Training Conference, and author of "Breaking into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime." On a Thursday in June, Jean Hastings Ardell led our intimate Clubhouse conversation.  A beautiful evening.  Listen in...    

Baseball in the 1920's is most known for Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, but there was another great Yankees player in that era whose compelling story remains untold. Urban Shocker was a fiercely competitive and colorful pitcher.  With the 1927 Yankees, widely viewed to be the best team in Major League Baseball history, Shocker pitched with guts and guile, finishing with a record of 18-6 even while his fastball and physical skills were deserting him.  Hardly anyone knew that Shocker was suffering from incurable heart disease that left him able to sleep only while sitting up and which would take his life in less than a year. Steve Steinberg is a baseball historian and coauthor with Lyle Spatz of "The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees" and "1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York." Delving into his baseball career, his love of the game, and his battle with health issues, Steve Steinberg led our intimate Clubhouse conversation about the dominant and courageous force of "Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age."  Listen in...    

  A Pulitzer Prize-winner returns to the Clubhouse. It Happens Every Spring: DiMaggio, Mays, the Splendid Splinter, and a Lifetime at the Ballpark -- opinions and reflections on the National Pastime from one of New York's most popular sportswriters. As these gents would say... "It can be stated as a law that the sportswriter whose horizons are no wider than the outfield fences is a bad sportswriter because he has no sense of proportion and no awareness of the real world around him.  Ira Berkow knows what is important about a game is not the score but the people who play it."  -Red Smith "Ira Berkow belongs to that rare breed: a writer who specializes in sports but whose subjects represent a broad range in human aspirations and challenges."  -Gay Talese "Ira Berkow is one of the great American writers, without limitation to the field of sports."  -Scott Turow Ira Berkow is a former sports columnist and feature writer for "The New York Times," where he worked for more than 25 years.  He shared the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2001 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer for commentary in 1988.  He is the author of 25 books, including the bestsellers "Maxwell Street: Survival in a Bazaar" and "Red: A Biography of Red Smith."  His work has frequently been cited in the prestigious anthology series Best American Sports Writing, as well as the 1999 anthology Best American Sports Writing of the Century. On a May evening, Ira Berkow led our intimate, indelible Clubhouse conversation.  Listen in -- and you'll agree with those gents named Smith, Talese and Turow.  Enjoy...      

  The real Joe DiMaggio -- remembered by the man who knew him best in the last decade of his life.  Candid and little-known stories about icons from Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and his Yankees teammates on the field to Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and other great celebrities off the field. Dr. Rock Positano, an internationally renowned foot specialist in New York City, was introduced to Joe DiMaggio by Bill Gallo in 1990.  The Yankee Clipper's career-ending heel spur injury and botched surgeries brought them together.  During the time Dr. Positano successfully treated DiMaggio, a friendship slowly developed.  As Dr. Positano would learn, DiMaggio moved carefully and deliberately. Dinner with DiMaggio follows the story of their friendship from its starstruck beginning through its highs and lows over the next decade.  Forty years younger than DiMaggio, Dr. Positano became like a surrogate son.  Positano's accounts of their times together reveal DiMaggio's many rituals and quirks.  At the pinnacle of his fame, DiMaggio had learned to be guarded and carefully managed his image and private life.  As his trust in his young friend grew, DiMaggio opened up about Marilyn, but also about his first wife, Dorothy Arnold, the mother of his son.  The Yankee Clipper knew everyone, and Positano shares never-before-told stories of famous people DiMaggio admired and those he didn't. The stories and experiences he shared with Rock Positano comprise an intimate portrait of one of the great stars of baseball and one of the icons of the twentieth century. Dr. Rock Positano is the Founder and Director of the Non-Surgical Foot and Ankle Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, where he has been on staff since 1991.  He graduated from Yale School of Medicine.  Positano is a clinical assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College.  He is internationally known for his non-surgical approach for the treatment of foot disorders. On a May evening, Dr. Rock Positano and John Positano led a compelling Clubhouse conversation.  Pull up a chair at your dinner table and listen in...    

  Hank Greenberg was coming off a stellar season where he hit 40 home runs and had 184 RBIs.  Even with his success at the plate, neither Greenberg nor the rest of the world could have expected what was about to happen in 1938. From his first day in the big leagues, the New York-born Greenberg had dealt with persecution for being Jewish.  From a teammate asking where his horns were to the verbal abuse from bigoted fans and the media, the 6'3" slugger always did his best to shut the noise out and concentrate on baseball.  But in 1938, that would be more difficult than he could have ever imagined. While Greenberg was battling at the plate, his people overseas were dealing with a battle for their lives.  Adolf Hitler, who had been chancellor of Germany since 1933, had taken direct control of the country's military in February 1938.  He then began his methodic takeover of all neighboring countries, spreading Nazism and the early stages of World War II and the Holocaust. "Hank Greenberg in 1938" chronicles the events of that year, both on the baseball diamond and the streets of Europe.  As Greenberg's bat had him on course for Babe Ruth's home run record, Hitler's "Final Solution" was beginning to take shape.  Jews across the US looked to Greenberg as a symbol of hope.  Though normally hesitant to speak about the anti-Semitism he dealt with, the slugger still knew the role he was playing, saying "I came to feel that if I, as a Jew, hit a home run, I was hitting one against Hitler." Ron Kaplan is an award-winning journalist and blogger.  He writes about baseball literature and pop culture at "Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf," and is the author of three books including "501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read Before They Die."  His work has appeared in such outlets as "Baseball America," "Irish America," and "American Book Review," among other national and international publications. On a Wednesday evening in May 2017, Ron Kaplan took us back to 1938.  Listen in to our intimate Clubhouse conversation...  

  As a player, Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel's contemporaries included Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and Christy Mathewson... and he was the only person in history to wear the uniforms of all four New York teams: the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, and Mets. For more than five glorious decades, Stengel was the undisputed, quirky, hilarious, and beloved face of baseball -- and along the way he revolutionized the role of manager while winning a spectacular ten pennants and seven World Series Championships. But for a man who spent so much of his life in the limelight -- an astounding fifty-five years in professional baseball -- Stengel remains an enigma.  Acclaimed baseball historian and bestselling author Marty Appel digs into Casey Stengel's quirks and foibles, unearthing a tremendous trove of baseball stories, perspective, and history.  Weaving in never-before-published family documents, Appel creates an intimate portrait of a private man and Hall of Famer. Marty Appel was the youngest public relations director in baseball history when George Steinbrenner elevated him to the New York Yankees post in 1973.  He worked for the team for ten seasons, beginning in 1968, and followed it by producing its games on WPIX television.  He is the author of twenty-three books, including the New York Times bestselling "Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain" and "Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss." On an April evening in 2017, Marty Appel took us through the 20th century with "Casey Stengel: Baseball's Greatest Character."  A splendid, intimate Clubhouse conversation.  Pull up a chair and listen in...  

buck•et list - noun informal - a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime   All New York Yankees fans have a bucket list of activities to take part in at some point in their lives.  But even the most die-hard fans haven't done everything there is to experience.   Sportswriter Mark Feinsand led us through ideas, recommendations, and insider tips for must-see places and can't-miss activities.  And not every experience requires a trip to the Bronx.   Feinsand has covered the Yankees for 16 years for the "New York Daily News" and MLB.com.  He appears regularly on multiple television and radio outlets, including MLB Network, YES Network, and WFAN.   On a Thursday in April, Mark Feinsand led our wide-ranging Clubhouse conversation.  A fascinating evening.  Listen in and enjoy...  

  "The '60s were a time of conflict, progress, tragedy, triumph, and unforgettable events in the nation and its pastime.  One Nation Under Baseball connects the two in revealing and insightful fashion."  -Bob Costas One Nation Under Baseball highlights the intersection between American society and America's pastime during the 1960s, when the hallmarks of the sport -- fairness, competition, and mythology -- came under scrutiny.  John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro examine the events of the era that reshaped the game: the Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale million-dollar holdout, the encroachment of television on newspaper coverage, the changing perception of ballplayers from mythic figures to overgrown boys, the arrival of the everyman Mets and their free-spirited fans, and the lawsuit brought against team owners by Curt Flood. Florio and Shapiro bring to life the seminal figures of the era -- including Bob Gibson, Marvin Miller, Tom Seaver, and Dick Young -- richly portraying their roles during a decade of flux and uncertainty. John Florio is a freelance writer and novelist.  He is the author of Sugar Pop Moon and Blind Moon Alley.  Ouisie Shapiro is an Emmy-winning writer and producer of sport documentaries.  Her writing credits include HBO's Nine Innings from Ground Zero and ESPN's Playing for the Mob.  Florio and Shapiro are the authors of One Punch from the Promised Land: Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, and the Myth of the Heavyweight Title.  They are also contributors to the Atlantic and the New Yorker. On an April evening in 2017, John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro took us back to the 1960s in a fascinating Clubhouse conversation.  Listen in...  

  "Quit praying for me alone, Ma, and pray for the whole team."  -Jackie Robinson's letter to his mother in 1947, his rookie season   Journalist and baseball lover Ed Henry reveals for the first time the backstory of faith that guided Jackie Robinson into not only the baseball record books but the annals of civil rights advancement as well.  Through recently discovered sermons, interviews with Robinson's family and friends, and even an unpublished book by the player himself, Henry details a side of Jackie's humanity that few have seen.   42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story also digs into why Jackie was the man he was and what both drove him and challenged him after his retirement.  From his early years before baseball, to his time with Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers, to his failing health in his final years, we see a man of faith.   Ed Henry serves as Fox News Channel's Chief National Correspondent.  He joined the network in 2011.  Henry has won numerous journalism honors, including the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress and the White House Correspondents Association's Merriman Smith Award for excellence in presidential coverage under deadline pressure.  He also served in the prestigious post of president of the White House Correspondents' Association from 2012-2013.  Prior to joining Fox News Channel, Henry was at CNN from 2004-2011.  He began his career working for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jack Anderson.   On the first Thursday of April, Ed Henry led our intimate Clubhouse conversation for over an hour.  Listen in and enjoy...    

  "Keep your temper.  A decision made in anger is never sound."   Ford Frick is best known as the baseball commissioner who put the "asterisk" next to Roger Maris's record.   But his tenure as commissioner carried the game through pivotal changes -- television, continued integration, West Coast expansion and labor unrest.  During those 14 years, and 17 more as National League president, he witnessed baseball history from the perspective of a man who began as a sportswriter.   Auburn University professor John Carvalho led our final intimate Clubhouse conversation of 2016.  Listen in...    

  In his shrewd analysis -- Will Big League Baseball Survive? -- Lincoln Mitchell asks whether the sport will continue in its current form as a huge, lucrative global business that offers a monopoly in North America and whether those structures are sustainable.   Mitchell places baseball in the context of the larger, evolving American and global entertainment sector.  He examines how both changes directly related to baseball -- including youth sports and the increased globalization of the game -- and broader societal trends, such as developments in media consumption and celebrity culture, will impact big league baseball over the next few decades.   On the first evening of December, Lincoln Mitchell led our intimate Clubhouse conversation.  Listen in...      

  "I just won the Nobel Prize of baseball."  -Elston Howard, American League MVP, 1963  Snubs.  Grudges.  Conspiracies.  Incompetence.  All in a day's work for some of those who vote on Baseball's Most Valuable Player Award.  From its colorful and scandalous beginnings more than a century ago, the MVP has evolved into the most prestigious -- and contentious -- individual honor in the sport.  No award means more to the players, the media, or the fans -- and no other award can claim a voting history so rich in controversy.  "

“This is a tough park for a hitter when the air conditioning is blowing in.”  -Bob Boone When it opened in 1965, the Houston Astrodome -- nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World -- captured the attention of a nation, bringing pride to the city and enhancing its reputation across the country. It was a Texas-sized vision of the future, an unthinkable feat of engineering with premium luxury suites, theater-style seating, and the first animated scoreboard.  Yet there were memorable problems such as outfielders’ inability to see fly balls and failed attempts to grow natural grass -- which ultimately led to the development of Astroturf.  The Astrodome nonetheless changed the way people viewed sports, putting casual fans at the forefront of a user-experience approach that soon became the standard in all American sports. On the day after the completion of this year's wonderful World Series, authors Robert Trumpbour and Kenneth Womack tore back the Astrodome's facade while discussing the building’s pivotal fifty years in existence and the ongoing debate about its preservation.  Listen in to our intimate Clubhouse conversation...

White, black, Jewish, Christian, wealthy, working class, conservative, liberal -- the Los Angeles Dodgers of the 1960s embodied the disparate cultural forces at play in an America riven by race and war. In “The Last Innocents,” award-winning writer Michael Leahy tells the story of this mesmerizing time and extraordinary team through seven players -- Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Tommy Davis, Dick Tracewski, and Lou Johnson. It is a story about what it was like to be a major leaguer when the country was turned upside down by the tumult of the civil rights movement, a series of wrenching political assassinations, and the shock waves of the Vietnam War.  Outside the public eye, these seven Dodgers -- friends, mentors, and confidants -- struggled to understand their place in society and in a sport controlled by owners whose wishes were fiat.  Even as they starred in games watched by millions, they coped with anxieties and indignities their fans knew nothing about -- some of their wounds deeply personal, others more common to the times.  In their dissatisfaction, they helped plant the seeds of a rebellion that would change their sport. Michael Leahy is the author of “Hard Lessons” and “When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan’s Last Comeback.”  His award-winning career has included thirteen years as a writer for the “Washington Post” and the “Washington Post Magazine.”  Leahy’s 2005 “Washington Post Magazine” story about a California sperm donor won the Society of Professional Journalists Award for best magazine story of the year.  His stories have been selected four times for the annual Best American Sports Writing anthologies. On the final Thursday of the regular season, Michael Leahy led an enthralling Clubhouse conversation about his great -- yes, great -- book.  One hour, three minutes, fourteen seconds.  Listen in...

“For all who care about baseball, character, and leadership, Michael Tackett has brought us the inspiring and unforgettable story of a phenomenal coach and his legacy.”  -Michael Beschloss, historian and political commentator Clarinda, Iowa, population 5,000, sits two hours from anything.  There, between the corn fields and hog yards, is a ball field with a bronze bust of a man named Merl Eberly, a baseball whisperer who specialized in second chances and lost causes.  The statue was a gift from one of Merl’s original long-shot projects, a skinny kid from the ghetto in Los Angeles: Ozzie Smith. “The Baseball Whisperer” traces the remarkable story of Merl Eberly and his Clarinda A’s baseball team, which he tended over the course of five decades, transforming it from a town team to a collegiate summer league powerhouse.  Along with Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, future manager Bud Black, and star player Von Hayes, Merl developed scores of major leaguers -- six of which are currently playing. More than a book about ballplayers who landed in the nation’s agricultural heartland, “The Baseball Whisperer” is the story of a coach who put character and dedication first, and reminds us of the best, purest form of baseball excellence. Michael Tackett is an editor in the Washington bureau of “The New York Times.”  Previously, he was a managing editor for “Bloomberg,” the Washington bureau chief of the “Chicago Tribune,” and a national editor at “U.S. News & World Report.”  On an autumn evening, Michael Tackett led our Clubhouse conversation about a small-town coach who shaped big league dreams.  Listen in...

“Ralph Kiner was a jewel.  He loved the game of baseball.  He loved to talk baseball.”  -Tom Seaver One of the staples of the long and storied history of baseball on television is the postgame show, and none was more beloved than “Kiner’s Korner.”  From the early 1960s into the 1990s, Hall of Famer and iconic broadcaster Ralph Kiner hosted the show that brought players into the homes of fans across the nation. Down on the Korner -- from the host, to the set, to the guests, to the stories amassed over more than thirty-two years on the air.  On a July evening in the Clubhouse, author Mark Rosenman took us behind the scenes.  Listen in...

“The Freedom of Information Act is a critical and sometimes underappreciated tool that allows all of us access to the records of our government.  It was through the act that I obtained copies of more than nine hundred pages of FBI documents related to the Black Legion.  These proved vital.”  -Tom Stanton In the mid-1930s, Detroit reigned as the City of Champions.  Within a six-month span, the Tigers, Lions, and Red Wings won a World Series, NFL title, and Stanley Cup -- a major-sports trifecta achieved by no other American city before or since -- and it happened as undefeated local boxer Joe Louis was becoming a national sensation.  As the successes mounted, the national media made heroes of the city’s sports stars, and Detroit grew almost delirious, the string of victories providing a sweet diversion from the Great Depression. But beneath the jubilance, a nefarious plague was spreading unchecked.  A wave of mysterious crimes had police baffled: bodies dumped along roadsides, suspicious suicides, bombings of homes and halls, flogging victims who refused to speak, assassination plots.  All were the work of the Black Legion, a secret terrorist organization that flourished in Detroit until the summer of 1936. On a summer's evening in 2016 New York, award-winning author Tom Stanton took a teeming Clubhouse through a stunning tale of history, crime, and baseball in 1930s America.  Listen in...

“When he was eight, Dad got into a name-calling fight with the little white girl who lived across the street.  The children’s verbal battle was interrupted when the girl’s father came outside and started throwing rocks at my father.”  -Sharon Robinson, Jackie’s daughter "Jackie Robinson In Quotes: The Remarkable Life of Baseball's Most Significant Player" Danny Peary has skillfully curated the best quotes to shed new light on the man behind number 42.  Featured are quotes by Jackie Robinson, his widow Rachel, other family members, friends, teammates, coaches, members of the media, and many more. A behind-the-headlines narrative about the making and life of a hero.  A first-hand account of Jackie Robinson’s baseball stardom, his friendships and rivalries, the people he loved and who loved him, the issues that troubled him, and how he took on all challenges to change the face of America’s favorite pastime, the country itself, and, thus, history forever. Danny Peary is an acclaimed baseball historian.  He is the author/editor of “Baseball Immortal Derek Jeter: A Career in Quotes.”  Peary collaborated on the biographies “Roger Maris” and “Gil Hodges,” Ralph Kiner’s autobiography “Baseball Forever,” and Tim McCarver’s “Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans.” In his fourth Clubhouse appearance, Danny Peary led a fascinating discussion about Jackie Robinson.  Listen in...

In 1966, Jim Palmer was just 20 years old when he became the youngest pitcher to throw a World Series shutout, helping lead the Baltimore Orioles to their first-ever championship.  Two years later, Palmer's budding career almost ended due to arm problems.  Yet, he mounted an inspiring comeback and reached the pinnacle of his profession, becoming the winningest pitcher of the 1970s and the only hurler to win a World Series game in three different decades. A Hall of Famer... with three World Series rings, three Cy Young Awards, six All-Star selections, an exemplary record as a model spokesperson for charities and corporations, and a long tenure as a TV baseball analyst. Nine Innings To Success: A Hall of Famer's Approach To Achieving Excellence.  An hour discussion Jim Palmer.  A Hall of Fame evening in the Clubhouse.  Listen in and enjoy...

“All things considered there are only two kinds of men in the world -- those that stay at home and those that do not.  The second are the most interesting.”  -Rudyard Kipling The stellar play and fascinating backstories of exiled Cuban ballplayers in Major League Baseball has become one of the biggest headlines in America's national pastime.  On-field exploits by Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig, Jose Abreu, Aroldis Chapman, and a handful of others have been further enhanced by feel-good tales of desperate Cuban superstars risking their lives to escape Castro’s communist realm and chase a celebrated American Dream of financial and athletic success.  But a truly ugly underbelly to this story has also slowly emerged, one that involves human smuggling operations financed by Miami crime syndicates, operated by Mexican drug cartels, and conveniently ignored by big league ball clubs endlessly searching for fresh waves of international talent. In Cuba’s Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story, Cuban baseball expert Peter Bjarkman reveals the truth behind the wave of Cuban big league talent coming to Major League Baseball.  Given rare access to Cuba and its ballplayers, Bjarkman has spent over twenty years traveling to all corners of the island getting to know the top Cuban stars and witnessing their baseball struggles and triumphs.  Bjarkman places recent events -- including the apparent thaw in US-Cuba relations -- in the context of Cuban baseball history and tradition before delving into the stories of the major Cuban stars who have left the island. Peter Bjarkman is the recognized authority on Cuba’s post-1961 revolutionary-era baseball.  He has witnessed domestic-league Cuban baseball firsthand on more than fifty visits to the communist country since 1997 and has also followed the Cuban national team to international events since 1999.  Bjarkman is a regular consultant on Cuban baseball for the North American media. On a May evening, Peter Bjarkman led a packed Clubhouse in a master's class on Cuba's Baseball Defectors.  Listen in...

What would happen if two statistics-minded outsiders were allowed to run a professional baseball team? It’s the ultimate in fantasy baseball: You get to pick the roster, set the lineup, and decide on strategies -- with real players, in a real ballpark, in a real playoff race. That’s what baseball analysts Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller got to do when an independent minor-league team in California, the Sonoma Stompers, offered them the chance to run its baseball operations according to the most advanced statistics. Lindbergh and Miller applied their number-crunching insights to all aspects of assembling and running a team, following one cardinal rule for judging each innovation they tried: It Has To Work. Ben Lindbergh is a staff writer for “FiveThirtyEight” and, with Sam Miller, the cohost of “Effectively Wild,” the daily “Baseball Prospectus” podcast. He is a former staff writer for “Grantland” and a former editor in chief of “Baseball Prospectus.” It was standing-room-only in the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse for our discussion with Ben Lindbergh and "The Only Rule Is It Has To Work."  Have a seat and listen in...

“The Cubs became a metaphor for the underdog, the loser, lovable or not, that we as a species can’t help but instinctively pull for.”  -Joe Mantegna, actor "The Last Chicago Cubs Dynasty: Before The Curse" by Hal Bock The last time the Chicago Cubs played in the World Series, World War II had just ended.  The last time they won a World Series, World War I had not yet begun.  But from 1906 - 1910 the Cubs not only played in the World Series four of the five years, they won two World Championships, as well.  It was a time when the Cubs ruled baseball, and no one could have imagined the roller coaster adventures that were ahead for this grand old franchise. Distinguished writer Hal Bock returned to the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse on a May evening and told the story of this legendary team, the characters who were central to its success, and the misfortunes which have plagued the team ever since.  During our Q&A, we had a wide-ranging baseball discussion.  Listen in and enjoy... Hal Bock was a sportswriter and columnist with the Associated Press for over 40 years.  During that time he covered 30 World Series, none of them including the Cubs.

“I believe God Almighty hisself would have trouble handling Richie Allen.”  -George Myatt, Philadelphia Phillies’ interim manager, 1969 When the Philadelphia Phillies signed Dick Allen in 1960, fans of the franchise envisioned bearing witness to feats never before accomplished by a Phillies player.   A half-century later, they’re still trying to make sense of what they saw. Carrying to the plate baseball’s heaviest and loudest bat as well as the burden of being the club’s first African American superstar, Allen found both hits and controversy with regularity as he established himself as the premier individualist in a game that prided itself on conformity.  Mitchell Nathanson unveils the strange and maddening career of a man who somehow managed to fulfill and frustrate expectations all at once. Mitchell Nathanson is Professor of Law at Villanova University School of Law.  He is author of “A People's History of Baseball” and coauthor of “Understanding Baseball: A Textbook.” An April evening in the Clubhouse and God Almighty Hisself: The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen.  Listen in...

“I’m so proud of what we accomplished in that magical 1986 season and the brotherhood that we still have for one another all these years later.  Enjoy this personal portrayal of one of baseball history’s greatest and most charismatic teams.”  -Davey Johnson In 1986, the bad guys of baseball won the World Series. “What if I actually went out and visited the players where they are today -- in their homes, in the dugouts they currently coach or manage in, or in the bars they might frequent?  I would interview the men who’d made up this magical team, find out what happened to them after their glory days were behind them, and explore the impact they as individuals and as a team had on the fans and the organization -- then and now.”  -Erik Sherman During the first week of the 2016 season, Erik Sherman offered his unique perspective in a Clubhouse conversation about the "Kings of Queens: Life Beyond Baseball with the '86 Mets."  Listen in...

“Larry Doby’s trials, and the triumphs that earned him a place in Cooperstown, are a stirring story wonderfully told by Douglas Branson.”  -George F. Will Just eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, Larry Doby became the first black player to integrate the American League, signing with the Cleveland Indians in July 1947.  Doby went on to become a seven-time All-Star who led the Indians to two pennants.  In many respects, Robinson and Doby were equals in their baseball talent and experiences and had remarkably similar playing careers. Well into the 1950s, Doby was the only African American All-Star in the American League during a period in which fifteen black players became National League All-Stars.  Why is Doby largely forgotten as a central figure in baseball’s integration?  Why has he not been accorded his rightful place in baseball history?  Greatness in the Shadows: Larry Doby and the Integration of the American League attempts to answer these questions, bringing Doby’s story to life and sharing his achievements and firsts with a new generation. Douglas M. Branson is the W. Edward Sell Chair in Business Law at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is the author of nineteen books, including No Seat at the Table; The Last Male Bastion; and Three Tastes of Nuoc Mam. Listen in to Douglas Branson and Greatness in the Shadows, live in the Clubhouse...

“The Mets are gonna be amazing.”  -Casey Stengel, circa 1975 They were coming off a seemingly endless string of losing records.  They were considered years away from legitimate contention.  They were derided and disregarded as a matter of course.  But in 2015, the New York Mets changed their course and changed their story.  The result was the best kind of amazin’.  They proceeded to capture a division title, raise a pennant, and lay claim to the heart of their city. Author Greg Prince -- cocreator of Faith and Fear in Flushing -- traces the trajectory of this championship season and recreates the emotions of a year that culminated in the Mets making New York their kind of town once again in

How one team embraced tradition and Moneyball at the same time... The St. Louis Cardinals have experienced the kind of success that is rare in baseball.  They not only win, but do so with an apparently bottomless pool of talent, one that is mostly homegrown. “The Cardinal Way” -- a term that has come to represent many things to fans, media, and other organizations, from an ironclad code of conduct to the team’s cutting-edge use of statistics and analytics, and a farm system that has transformed baseball. In the spirit of “Moneyball,” baseball journalist Howard Megdal takes fans behind the scenes and off the field.  Megdal reveals how the players are assessed and groomed using an unrivaled player development system.  He tells an in-depth, fascinating story about a consistently good franchise, the business of sports in the 21st century, and a team that has learned how to level the playing field, turning in season after successful season. Howard Megdal has written for “Capital New York,” “Sports Illustrated,” “The New York Times,” and “USA Today,” among others.  His prior books include “The Baseball Talmud” and “Wilpon’s Folly.” On the first Thursday in March, Howard Megdal led a packed Clubhouse in our captivating conversation about “The Cardinals Way.”  Listen in...

“Desegregation in baseball was hard on everybody.”  -Monte Irvin, Hall of Famer An extraordinary history of the Negro Leagues and the economic disruptions of desegregating a sport Roberta Newman and Joel Nathan Rosen examine how the relationship between black baseball and black businesses functioned, particularly in urban areas with significant African American populations.  Inextricably bound together by circumstance, these sports and business alliances faced destruction and upheaval. Once Jackie Robinson and a select handful of black baseball’s elite gained acceptance in Major League Baseball and financial stability in the mainstream economy, shock waves traveled throughout the black business world.  Though the economic impact on Negro League baseball is perhaps obvious due to its demise, the impact on other black-owned businesses and on segregated neighborhoods is often undervalued if not outright ignored in current accounts.  We know about the great individual players who played in the Negro Leagues and integrated the Major Leagues.  But what happens when a community has its economic footing undermined while simultaneously being called upon to celebrate a larger social progress? On a February evening in front of a standing-room-only crowd in the Clubhouse, Roberta Newman and Joel Nathan Rosen took us through Black Baseball, Black Business.  Pull up a chair and listen in...

A former CIA analyst walked through the Clubhouse door...In The Golden Era of Major League Baseball: A Time of Transition and Integration, Bryan Soderholm-Difatte explores the significant events and momentous changes that took place in baseball from 1947 to 1960.Beginning with Jackie Robinson’s rookie season in 1947, Soderholm-Difatte provides a careful and thorough examination of baseball’s integration, including the struggles of black players who were not able to break into the starting lineups.  In addition, the author looks at the dying practice of player-managers, the increasing use of relief pitchers and platooning, the iconic 1951 pennant race between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, and more.  Soderholm-Difatte also tells the stories of three central characters to this era, whose innovations, strategies, and vision changed the game -- Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel, and Leo Durocher. Bryan Soderholm-Difatte is a former senior analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Counterterrorism Center.  He is a regular contributor to The Baseball Research Journal.Listen in to a fascinating “deep dive” discussion on a February evening in the Clubhouse with Bryan Soderholm-Difatte...

“Coming events cast their shadows before.”  -Thomas Campbell, Scottish poetOn January 1, 1966, New York came to a standstill as the city’s transit workers went on strike.  This was the first day on the job for Mayor John Lindsay.  He would approach the transit shutdown with the sort of dynamic problem solving that would be his hallmark.  He ignored the cold and walked four miles, famously declaring, “I still think it is a fun city.”As Lindsay juggled his city’s repeated crises, the sporting scene saw tremendous upheaval.  On one hand, the venerable Yankees -- who had won 15 pennants in an 18-year span before 1965 -- and the NFL’s powerhouse Giants suddenly went into a level of decline neither had known for generations.  But on the other, the fall of the city’s sports behemoths was accompanied by the rise of anti-establishment outsiders -- there were Joe Namath and the Jets, as well as the shocking triumph of the Amazin’ Mets, who won the 1969 World Series after spending the franchise’s first seven seasons losing 737 ballgames.The overlap of these two worlds in the 1960s -- Lindsay’s politics and the reemerging sports landscape -- serves as the backbone of “Fun City.”  It is a story of a thrilling time in New York sports, set against the backdrop of a remarkable and often difficult time for the city, culturally and socially.Listen in to our fascinating discussion with Sean Deveney on a “Fun City” winter evening in the Clubhouse...(This podcast is dedicated to the memory of David Garth, a truly great New Yorker.)

“Passion is the genesis of genius.”  -GalileoBaseball Immortal: Derek Jeter takes you on a remarkable forty-year journey, letting you step inside the great Yankee shortstop’s life and career through his own words and those of the people who have known him best personally and in the sports community.  The result is an incredible, insightful look at what made him not only an amazing ballplayer, but also an intriguing and complex personality.The book is packed with quotes by Jeter’s parents, friends, teachers and mentors, coaches, scouts, teammates, opposing players, his fans and critics, celebrities, elite athletes like Michael Jordan, writers and broadcasters, managers, George Steinbrenner and even two presidents. The big surprise comes from the revealing quotes from Derek Jeter himself, who, during his career, constantly frustrated journalists by keeping his thoughts to himself.Danny Peary is a sports and film historian who has published 24 books.  He collaborated on the biographies of Roger Maris and Gil Hodges, the autobiographies of Ralph Kiner and Shannon Miller, and three books with Tim McCarver.  Peary is the writer-researcher of The Tim McCarver Show.Listen in to our conversation with Danny Peary on a warm December evening in the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse...

Meet Arnold Hano. He might be the Babe Ruth of writers.Arnold has been published in nine decades, wrote twenty-seven books, sold over a million of them, and penned 500 magazine and newspaper articles.Hano! A Century in the Bleachers is the story of the extraordinary life and times of 93-year-old Arnold Hano, one of the most prolific writers of the past century.Baseball fan, war veteran, activist and storyteller emeritus: few have lived and chronicled the American experience as extensively. His story has flown under the radar of popular culture for almost a hundred years... until now.On a Friday evening in November, we welcomed the legendary Arnold Hano and filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis to the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse for a special event.  Listen in...

In February 1947, the most memorable season in the history of the Cuban League finished with a dramatic series win by Almendares against its rival Habana.  As the celebration spread through the streets of Havana and across Cuba, the Brooklyn Dodgers -- and a minor leaguer named Jackie Robinson -- were beginning spring training on the island.Robinson was two months away from making his major league debut in Brooklyn.  To avoid racism and harassment from the crowds in Florida during this critical time, the Dodgers relocated their spring training to Cuba.It was also during this time that Major League Baseball was trying to bring the “outlaw” Cuban League under the control of organized baseball.  As the Cubans fought to stay independent, Robinson worked to earn a roster spot on the Dodgers.In Havana Hardball, veteran journalist Cesar Brioso brings together a rich mix of worlds as the heyday of Latino baseball converged with one of the most socially meaningful events in American history.  Listen in to our discussion on a Fall evening in the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse...

We are continually pulled to the story of the 1919 World Series and the Chicago White Sox -- The Black Sox -- because so much of modern sport, and our attitude towards it, springs from the scandal. In The Betrayal, Charles Fountain traces the Black Sox story from its roots in the gambling culture that pervaded the game in the years surrounding World War I, through the confusing events of the 1919 World Series itself, to the noisy aftermath and trial, and illuminates the moment as baseball's tipping point.Situating the Black Sox events in the context of later scandals, including those involving Cincinnati Reds manager and player Pete Rose, and the ongoing use of performance-enhancing drugs in the game up through the present, Fountain illuminates America’s near century-long fascination with the story, and its continuing relevance today.Charles Fountain is an Associate Professor at Northeastern University’s School of Journalism.  His journalism career encompassed work in television, radio, newspapers and magazines.  Fountain is the author of several books, including Under the March Sun: The Story of Spring Training and Sportswriter: The Life and Times of Grantland Rice.On an off day for this year’s World Series, we took a look back at the most talked about Fall Classic in baseball history.  Listen in...

An October evening in the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse with a World Series Champion.Michael Garry, author of Game of My Life: New York Mets, took us through the most unforgettable games in Mets history, as the franchise morphed from a dismal expansion team in 1962 to World Series Champions in 1969 and 1986 and then back to basement dwellers before meeting the Yankees in the 2000 Subway Series and evolving into the current, highly promising squad.Then, special guest Ed Charles -- "The Glider" -- of the 1969 Miracle Mets, told stories and answered questions.  It was a night filled with emotion.  A special night.  Listen in...

“I want you to stay away from my brothers.  You are prone to trouble.  You are always in trouble.”  -Mickey MantleAfter a private screening of the award-winning documentary Long Road Home, John Malangone spoke in the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse.In 1937, at the age of six, John found a broken umbrella in the basement of his East Harlem tenement.  He stripped it and turned it into a javelin.  John threw it, accidentally hitting a child in the head, piercing his skull.  The child was only a year older.  He was also John’s uncle.As a teenager, Malangone couldn’t play for his high school team because he was “classified” as intellectually slow.  Paul Krichell, the scout who first identified Lou Gehrig and Whitey Ford as prospects, spotted John in a sandlot game.  Soon, Malangone was a 17-year-old catcher in the Yankees organization.John’s life story -- as featured in Pinstripes and Penance by author Michael Harrison -- offers an unvarnished look into that organization and a man’s struggle with memories of a life-changing childhood tragedy.On an October evening in the Clubhouse, we heard stories about the rich and often tumultuous culture of East Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s... betting on ballgames, the Hoodlum Priest, the Mob, hijacking tractor trailers in Winston-Salem and dropping them off at the Vince Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike, and many more.  John also reminisced about Casey Stengel, Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, and Earl Weaver.Pull up a chair, relax, and listen in on the life of the best New York Yankee prospect you never heard of: John Malangone at the age of 84...

A phenomenal panel on a Friday evening in the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse...“At The Ballpark” with Lee Lowenfish, Roberta Newman, Charlie Vascellaro & Russell Wolinsky.They talked Baseball.  We listened and learned.“At the Ballpark: A Fan’s Companion” is the perfect how-to guide -- especially for young fans -- illustrating the experience of watching, understanding and enjoying baseball.  In the words of the Chicago Tribune:  “Take kids out to the ballgame -- and bring this book.”The phenomenal panel...Lee Lowenfish, baseball author and CBN (Certified Baseball Nut), still remembers the thrill of seeing the green grass at the Polo Grounds at his first game in 1948.Roberta Newman, a cultural historian who teaches at NYU, writes about the connections between baseball and advertising.Charlie Vascellaro is a vagabond freelance baseball/travel writer who spends inordinate amounts of time in Cooperstown and spring training in Arizona, from where he issues frequent dispatches for newspapers and magazines around the country and speaks to various groups of people interested in baseball.Russell Wolinsky is a punk rocker/baseball historian who was raised on the mean streets of the 1960s-1970s Bronx.Listen.  Enjoy...

A tapestry of uplifting stories in which fathers and sons share the game...Almost two hundred father-son pairs have played in the big leagues.  Kevin Cook takes us inside the clubhouses, homes, and lives of many of the greats.In visiting these legendary families, Cook discovers that ball-playing families are a lot like our own.  Dan Haren regrets the long road trips that keep him from his kids.  Ike Davis and his father, a former Yankee, debate whether Ike should pitch or play first base.  Buddy Bell leads a generation of big-leaguers determined to open their workplace -- the clubhouse -- to their kids.Framing The Dad Report is the story of Kevin Cook's own father, Art Cook, a minor-league pitcher, a loveable rogue with a wicked screwball.  In Art's later years, Kevin phoned him almost every night to talk baseball.  They called those nightly conversations “the Dad Report.”  In time, Kevin came to see that these conversations were about much more than the game.  That's what this book is about: the way fathers and sons talk baseball as a way of talking about everything -- courage, fear, fun, family, morality, and mortality.An award-winning sportswriter and former senior editor at Sports Illustrated, Kevin Cook is the author of Titanic Thompson, Tommy's Honor, and Kitty Genovese.Listen in to Kevin Cook's special Father’s Day week conversation in the Clubhouse...

“I watch a lot of baseball on the radio.”  -President Gerald R. FordRadio has brought the sounds of baseball into homes for almost one hundred years.  The first All-Star Game, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech, Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ’Round the World.”  Red Barber, Vin Scully, Harry Caray, Ernie Harwell, Bob Uecker, and dozens of other beloved announcers helped cement the love affair between radio and the national pastime. Crack of the Bat: A History of Baseball on the Radio takes readers from the 1920s to the present.  Despite cable television’s ubiquity, live video streaming, and social media, radio remains an important medium through which fans engage with their teams. Even in changing times, the familiar sounds of the ball hitting the glove and the satisfying crack of the bat stay the same.Pull up a chair and listen in to our Clubhouse conversation with James Walker.  An evening well spent...

“Ruppert and Huggins were the principal figures in the transition of the Yankees from an afterthought on the New York baseball scene to the nation’s greatest sports dynasty of the twentieth century.”  -Marty AppelFrom the team’s inception in 1903, the New York Yankees were a floundering group that played as second-class citizens to the New York Giants. With four winning seasons to date, the team was purchased in 1915 by Jacob Ruppert and his partner, Cap “Til” Huston. Three years later, when Ruppert hired Miller Huggins as manager, the unlikely partnership of the two figures began, one that set into motion the Yankees’ run as the dominant baseball franchise of the 1920s and the rest of the twentieth century, capturing six American League pennants with Huggins at the helm and four more during Ruppert’s lifetime.  The Yankees’ success was driven by Ruppert’s executive style and enduring financial commitment, combined with Huggins’s philosophy of continual improvement and personnel development. While Ruppert and Huggins had more than a little help from one of baseball’s greats, Babe Ruth, their close relationship has been overlooked in the Yankees’ rise to dominance. Though both were small of stature, the two men nonetheless became giants of the game with unassailable mutual trust and loyalty. The Colonel and Hug tells the story of how these two men transformed the Yankees. It also tells the larger story about baseball primarily in the tumultuous period from 1918 to 1929 -- with the end of the Deadball Era and the rise of the Lively Ball Era, a gambling scandal, and the collapse of baseball’s governing structure -- and the significant role the Yankees played in it all.On a Thursday evening in May, Steve Steinberg took us back in time.  Listen in to our Clubhouse conversation...Steve Steinberg is a baseball historian and coauthor (with Lyle Spatz) of “1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York.”

The Mayor of Cooperstown, an author, and a former options trader walked into a Clubhouse...The never-before-told, behind-the-scenes story of the exciting and memorable 1981 baseball season.  The year of Fernando Valenzuela, Pete Rose, the last Yankees-Dodgers World Series -- and the mid-season players’ strike that cut the heart out of the American summer.Sourcing extensive interviews with almost all of the major participants in the strike, Split Season 1981: Fernandomania, The Bronx Zoo, and The Strike That Saved Baseball returns us to the on- and off-field drama of an unforgettable baseball year.On a spring evening, Jeff Katz -- the Mayor of Cooperstown, author, former options trader -- walked into the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse.  We had a star-studded, standing-room-only crowd.  Listen in to our Clubhouse conversation...

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned,” Billy Martin said.  He was in second grade.Billy Martin is a story of contrasts. He was the “other” second baseman in New York in the 1950s, playing nearly every fall opposite Brooklyn’s Jackie Robinson. He spent sixteen seasons managing in the big leagues and is considered by anyone who knows the sport to have been a true baseball genius, a field manager without peer. Yet he’s remembered more for his habit of kicking dirt at umpires, for being hired and fired by George Steinbrenner five separate times, for his rabble-rousing and public brawls on the field and off. He was combative, fiery, intimidating, bombastic, and yet endearing and beloved by the everyday fan. He was hard on his players and even harder on himself.  But he knew how to turn around a losing team like no one else. And how to entertain us every step of the way.Drawing on exhaustive interviews with friends, family, teammates, players, and countless adversaries -- and his own time covering Martin as a young sportswriter -- Bill Pennington paints an indelible portrait of a man who never backed down for the game he loved. From his upbringing in a broken home surrounded by a shantytown to his days on the Yankees in the 1950s, where he found success as a scrappy clutch player, through sixteen years of managing, including his legendary, often fraught tenure at the helm of the Yankees, Billy Martin made sure no one ever ignored him. And indeed no one could. He was the hero, the antihero, and the alter ego -- or some combination of all three -- for his short sixty-one years among us.

Pitching through four decades in the Major Leagues, Jim Kaat won 283 games with the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.  After his playing days, Jim went on to win seven Emmy Awards for his work as a broadcaster for the New York Yankees.  Since joining MLB Network, Jim has been nominated for three national Emmys.As a ballplayer and broadcaster, Jim had a prime seat to watch it all unfold.  In If These Walls Could Talk, he provides a closer look at the Yankees.  Via multiple interviews conducted with current and past Yankees, readers will meet the players, coaches and management, and share in their moments of victory and defeat.During our special event with Jim Kaat, he discussed his childhood baseball memories, favorite piece of memorabilia, matching up in the World Series against Sandy Koufax, the best ballplayers of his era, the ballplayers of today, Sabermetrics, Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner, Pete Rose, Stephen Strasburg, pitch counts, and his broadcasting career.  Listen in to our fascinating evening with Jim Kaat, when the Clubhouse walls talked...