Life Around The Seams

Steve Physioc recently announced his retirement after a superlative 47-year career of broadcasting Major League Baseball, college football and basketball, local TV sports and many more unique assignments. Episode 54 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast might sound a little like an "exit interview" as we follow Physioc's career. It wasn't always smooth. He famously bet on himself at a critical stage in his life, leaving a six-figure job in Cincinnati to move to San Francisco with no guaranteed job.  Physioc tells an adorable story of how the guy he replaced in Cincinnati introduced him to his future wife; provides lessons to young broadcasters; advice for Jake Eisenberg, who is taking his place with the Royals; working with longtime analyst Rex Hudler for two teams; what he'll miss about working in baseball; and the inspiration for the historical fiction novels he's written.   

Jim Rushford is one of the most improbable players to ever reach the major leagues. Undrafted out of college, he played for two independent league teams, took a year off, then played two more years of independent baseball before even reaching affiliated minor league ball. Along the way, Rushford worked numerous odd jobs, including pizza delivery guy, which is the inspiration for the title of his new book, "The Pizza Guy Delivers." In Episode 53, Rushford reveals his remarkable journey to the majors, making his MLB debut at Wrigley Field, his first (and only) home run, playing another eight years, and the hilarious story of how met his wife in the dorms at San Diego State University. 

Wynton Bernard is the feel-good story right now in baseball, a guy who spent the last 11 years playing minor league baseball, including two years of independent ball, who made his Major League Debut at age 31 on Friday, August 12, 2022 for the Colorado Rockies. The video of Bernard telling his mother Janet, via FaceTime, that he was going to the major leagues went viral with millions of views in just a few days. Over the last 16 months, I've been able to watch and describe Bernard play for the Albuquerque Isotopes, get to know him as a person, and we've had a lot of interviews for the pregame show. For this special episode of the Life Around the Seams podcast, we've compiled those interviews together, along with some highlights from games, and soundbytes from teammates Brandon Gold and Logan Cozart, Isotopes manager Warren Schaeffer, and Rockies front office executives Clint Hurdle and Chris Forbes.   

Longtime baseball reporter Jeff Fletcher enjoyed an up-close view of Shohei Ohtani's magical 2021 season, and also the two previous disappointing seasons, that made it all the more remarkable to watch this two-way player perform in ways we've never seen before. Fletcher just published a new book that details the entire life story of Ohtani, from Japan, to the decision of which team to join in the United States, why comparison to Babe Ruth really aren't very accurate, and how once the well-meaning restrictions were taken off Ohtani, it allowed him to flourish as a hitter and pitcher. Since we both used to cover baseball in the Bay Area, we also have some fun imagining how long the A's competitive advantage would have lasted if Michael Lewis never wrote "Moneyball" and how the baseball world would be different if Billy Beane took the Red Sox job.

Ken Levine and I worked together for three years on Post Game Dodger Talk, where Vin Scully introduced our show. When I heard that Vin Scully died, I immediately wanted to talk with Ken about his life. Then I realized we should record a podcast so that others can hear our stories and memories. This is a special episode. No fancy intros. Just straight to the point. Ken and I swapping stories about Scully, the greatest baseball play-by-play announcer of all time. 

Tom Drees pitched three no-hitters in 1989 for Triple-A Vancouver, including back-to-back starts. He pitched three no-hit innings in the Triple-A All-Star Game. He was an integral part of the team that won the Pacific Coast League title. But the Chicago White Sox never called him up to the majors and many believe there was an ulterior motive. On July 6 of that year, when their paychecks had not arrived, the Vancouver Canadians players staged a walkout and refused to play a game, citing it wasn't the first time checks were late. The story became national news, the White Sox were livid, and the organization took it out on the players the rest of the season. We reflect on Drees' no-hitters, waiting two more years to finally get called up to the major leagues, and how his teammates set the stage three decades ago for publicizing the inequities for minor league baseball players that exists to this day.

Dave Stewart never won a Cy Young award, but between 1987-1990, he was the best pitcher in baseball: four straight 20-plus win seasons; the ace of his hometown Oakland A's team that went to three straight World Series (and who started Game 1 of every series); the starter of the 1989 All-Star Game; a no-hitter in 1990; and the guy who always beat Roger Clemens. Stewart's rise to the top didn't come easy. We discussed how close he was to leaving baseball after the Phillies released him in 1986. "Smoke" shared why he pulled his cap so low when pitching, which teams didn't want him to throw the forkball that made him a star, what compelled him to visit the hardest hit areas of his hometown during the 1989 earthquake, and yes, the 9-0 record in nine starts vs Clemens. On the weekend Stewart was inducted into the Albuquerque Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, we reflected on his two years with the Albuquerque Dukes, how pitching in extreme altitude toughed him, how the PCL playoffs prepared him for the MLB playoffs, and what the Hall of Fame honor means to him.

Rickey Henderson is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, unquestionably the greatest leadoff hitter ever, yet the Hall of Fame outfielder is known just as much for Rickey Stories (both fact and fiction) as he is for his on-field dominance. Author Howard Bryant spent five years exploring this complex individual in his 10th book: "Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original." We detail the career arc of how the city of Oakland influenced Henderson's early life, how he transformed from a reputation of a selfish star in New York to the most dominant player in baseball in his second stint with the hometown A's, and how he's morphed into a beloved character where the stories are now a charming part of his legacy.  

Minor league baseball is filled with new experimental rules: the strict enforcement of a Pitch Clock, a minimum of two pickoff attempts per at-bat, the Automated Ball Strike (ABS) in the Pacific Coast League, a challenge system of the ABS in the Florida State League, bigger bases, and a ban of the shift (in Low-A, High-A and Double-A). To understand why these rules are being studied, we interviewed former Major League pitcher Joe Martinez, who is now a Senior Director of On-Field Operations for MLB, focusing on experimental rules and equipment changes. We discussed the purpose of the new rules, what the data is showing on the effectiveness (or unintended consequences), what defines a successful new rule, and which rules are most likely to be used in the Major Leagues in the future.    

Suzie Hunter did what a lot of baseball fans dream of doing. She quit her job, and visited every ballpark in Major League Baseball in 2021, despite no guarantee of a job when the ultimate roadtrip ended.   On episode 45 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, we ask Hunter why she did it, if she regrets the decision, the challenge of traveling the country during a pandemic, the necessary precautions to keep herself safe when she was usually alone, her favorite ballparks, souvenirs from each city, plus lessons learned about life and America's Pastime.   This podcast was basically on hiatus in 2021. But it's a new year, and we re-start the podcast as Suzie Hunter tells us about re-starting her life while driving around the country.

Talking into a microphone on radio comes very easily for Alex Cohen. He's the radio play-by-play announcer for the Iowa Cubs, triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. But appearing on camera, along with his girlfriend Tessa, for the reality TV show "House Hunters" on HGTV? That was a much different experience. On Episode 44 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, we shake off the dust after an extended hiatus and return to talk house hunting, minor league baseball, international baseball, and getting ready for the 2021 baseball season with Alex Cohen.

Kalin Boodman is one of the co-founders of Baseballism, a lifestyle company started by four former college baseball teammates that created catchy slogans and has become a must-own for baseball fans. The four friends come from different backgrounds and Boodman's is the most unique as a former military lawyer. We discuss Boodman's multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, jumping out airplanes and landing at 17 mph, returning to his native Oregon to work with his buddies, and how Baseballism grew so quickly. If you own a 6+4+3=2 T-shirt, then you'll love this podcast. If you're a math teacher angered by that T-shirt, you should really listen. Baseball is America's Pastime, and Baseballism is the ultimate American entrepreneurial company. 

Dave Edlund, better known as McCovey Cove Dave on social media, is one of the few people to watch a Major League Baseball game in person in 2020. Of course, Dave is not sitting in the seats watching his beloved San Francisco Giants. He's in a kayak, beyond the right field fence, in the San Francisco Bay, listening to the game on radio and looking up into the sky. On Episode 42 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, Edlund explains life in McCovey Cove for regulars and visitors, when the water is packed and when he's alone, the most memorable "Splash Hit" home runs he's snagged, and how life has never been better for this lifelong Giants fan.

Johnny Doskow returns to the Life Around the Seams podcast to discuss his new book: "GOODNIGHT EM: Baseball and Life Through Haiku."   Doskow is the voice of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Dosky explained how he always enjoyed writing haiku poems, then used the pandemic to get serious about writing hundreds that could be turned into this book.   I picked out some of my favorites, read them aloud, and then we flapped about some of the details behind each haiku. Just like the book's title, we discuss baseball and life, with a focus on some of Johnny Dee's favorite players and coaches and restaurants from his time working in baseball. 

On Episode 40 of Life Around the Seams, it’s a Father’s Day inspired podcast. We talk fathers and sons, baseball and broadcasting, calls on the air and calls on the phone, with Tim Neverett and his oldest son Matt Neverett.  Tim currently broadcasts Dodgers games on the radio and TV. Before that, he was with the Red Sox and Pirates. Tim worked for nearly a decade in Las Vegas, broadcasting minor league baseball, hockey, basketball, plus UNLV sports and working in talk radio. He's broadcasted multiple Summer and Winter Olympics, and worked in the Denver market as a Rockies pre/postgame host and play-by-play announcer for a variety of sports. Matt graduated from Appalachian State a few years ago. He's worked with the collegiate league Nashua Silver Knights, double-A Birmingham as an assistant, was the lead broadcaster at single-A Bradenton last year, and joined Triple-A Las Vegas (where he was born) in a variety of capacities for 2020.

Dave Raymond was the senior class President at Stanford University and he was homeless. It was by design, somewhat, because it was practical. He was a stand-up comedian on the side. His articles for Forbes magazine are widely cited as bursting the internet bubble in the early 2000s. These days, Dave and his wife are the owner of a nanny and tutoring business. Oh yeah, he's also the TV play-by-play announcer for the Texas Rangers. Raymond's journey is fascinating. He quit his first broadcasting job in the minors before the season began. He was once traded for a blind announcing team. After over a decade in the minors and a few fill-in games in the majors, he finally got his first full-time MLB job with the Houston Astros. Six years later, he was fired and had basically given up on broadcasting. Now he's back in the majors, happier than ever with the Rangers, doing the job he always dreamed. His remarkable story takes awhile to tell properly, but all the twists and turns will make you shake your head in appreciation.

Josh Whetzel has spent 25 years broadcasting baseball games in the minor leagues, from Albany to Kinston to Binghamton and at Triple-A Rochester since 2003. He also calls games for the University of Buffalo men's basketball team and was named Broadcaster of the Year in 2015 by Baseball Digest. And his career was launched due to a serious illness as a teen-ager. On Episode 38 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, Whetzel explains the turn of events that led him from the hospital to Dodger Stadium to a small radio station in Kansas and eventually inside press boxes throughout the country. We also discuss his MLB debut when Mariano Rivera made history, and talk about some of his memories from three decades working in baseball.  

Author Brad Balukjian, a biology instructor by day, came up with an absurdly delightful idea. Buy one pack of baseball cards (he chose 1986 Topps), then track down all the players on those cards, interview them about their life after baseball, and write a book about them. The idea was born in 2014. The roadtrip was in the summer of 2015 and spanned 48 days and 11,341 miles. Then the real work was beginning ... trying to find a publishing house that would publish his book. Balukjian discusses the journey of getting the book published, the theme of vulnerability, plus why some players are willing to discuss their careers and others want to leave it in the past.  

If you were a young baseball player and were told that you would reach the Major Leagues one day -- but you would only play one game, and only one game -- would all the years of playing and sacrificing be worth it? On Episode 36 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, our guest is author Jacob Kornhauser to discuss his latest book, "A Cup of Coffee." Kornhauser identifies 11 players who are just like "Moonlight" Graham from the movie "Field of Dreams." (Graham is a real player, by the way.) Kornhauser's subjects are interesting, and so is Kornhauser for choosing this topic. We discuss similar themes for these 11 players, why their briefest of moments in the majors made it easier to walk away, the teammates who show compassion in helping ensure they get into a game, the managers who are cast as villains, and a lot of brotherly ties ... including how Jacob's younger brother is the editor of this book.  

John Shea first approached Willie Mays about collaborating on a book 15 years ago. Why did it take so long to finish? “Are you saying I missed deadline?” Shea asks, with a laugh. Actually, Shea wanted to make sure the book wasn’t missing anything, and it was definitely worth the wait. On Episode 35 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, Shea details the 100-plus hours he spent with Mays in order to compile this book, “24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid.” We also discuss the four US Presidents who shared their stories about Mays, the Hall of Famers, and hundreds more. After all, everyone has a Willie Mays story. What is yours?   

Author's week begins with Dale Tafoya, a lifelong Oakland Athletics fan who just released his second book on his hometown team, "Billy Ball: Billy Martin and the Resurrection of the Oakland A's." In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s went from on their way to Denver, to remaining in Oakland and becoming the toast of baseball, and then crashing back down to mediocrity. In the middle of it all was flamboyant manager Billy Martin, who brought, as the commercials famously told us, "a different brand of baseball." Tafoya's detailed research reveals how close the A's came to leaving for Denver, why they stayed in Oakland, how many times Martin was almost the A's manager before starting in 1980, and how Billy Ball put the A's on the covers of the biggest magazines.   

Curt Bloom was the play-by-play announcer for the Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, in 1994 for the one (and only) season that Michael Jordan played professional baseball. It's a season he'll never forget and a season that forever bonds those who experienced it. On Episode 33 of the Life Around the Seams, hardwood meats hardball. Bloom was there for every game, every at-bat, every bus ride, every visiting hotel, every mob scene as fans wanted a glimpse of the greatest basketball player alive trying to play professional baseball. We discussed how the Barons front office scrambled to get ready for Jordan, the facts and fiction about the famous bus the Barons used, pickup basketball games, MJ rubbing his wife's pregnant belly for good luck, Jordan's work ethic and improvement as the season progressed, and much more. Bloom's memory is fabulous, and if you want original audio from 1994, we recommend his personal website for clips and interviews: https://curtbloom.com/?page_id=1323  

If you divided Ted Robinson’s broadcasting career into four parts, each of those individual sections would be impressive alone. Over 20+ years of Major League Baseball, tennis grand slams and NCAA Tournament broadcasts, plus 11 different Olympics, the 49ers, Warriors and much more. Add them all together and it’s legendary. On Episode 32 of the Life Around the Seams, I get the pleasure of interviewing one of the broadcasters who I grew up listening and idolizing as a kid. You could spend hours talking to Ted on any sport, but we stuck primarily with baseball, with a decided emphasis on his work with the A's and Giants. You won't believe how Robinson got his start with the A's by former owner Charley Finley. We also discussed how his voice ended up in the background of the movie "A Few Good Men," why he never got on the air for his first NBC network assignment, calling the gold medal for Team USA in the 2000 Olympics, his approach on legendary home runs, and our collective memories from Barry Bonds' single-season home run chase wrapped around the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Ken Korach spent 10 years in the minor leagues, before finally getting his first full-time Major League job with the Oakland Athletics in 1996. He replaced one legend, Lon Simmons, and worked alongside another legend in Bill King, then took over as the A’s lead announcer after the death of King. Korach has kept the memory of King alive on the air, in a book, and his tireless stumping that helped King get immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Along the way, Korach has become a legend himself for a new generation of A’s fans. On Episode 31 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, we detail Korach's late start into broadcasting, buying tickets at Bay Area stadium to practice broadcasting into a microphone, plus his memories of minor league stops in Redwood City, Phoenix and Las Vegas. We discuss his four years as a fill-in with the Chicago White Sox, then the daunting task of taking over for Simmons and blending into the booth with King, two of his broadcasting idols.  

Jim Watson is arguably the most versatile sportscaster in America. He's done play-by-play for an astounding 39 different sports in his career, including six sports in five different Olympics. He's also a studio host, sideline reporter, emcee, and won five Emmy's in the process. On Episode 30 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, get ready to laugh because Watty is hilarious and a fabulous storyteller. This seems ridiculous, but Watson's decade as a college student led to being a bartender, which led to being a Page on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which led to getting sportscasting jobs. Being a bartender also started his play-by-play career by doing turtle races -- yes, turtle races -- which paved the way for him to do any sport imaginable. Within all the laughs, and we laugh a ton, I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of broadcasting advice and life advice in this podcast. But mostly, we just giggled like crazy for over an hour. 

Patrick O’Neal comes from a family of famous actors. Initially, he followed the family business, before switching gears and carving out his own niche as a sportscaster in Southern California. On Episode 29 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, a very candid O’Neal admits the pressure he felt to act, then the relief and joy that he found following his lifelong passion for sports. Over the last two decades, O’Neal has covered every major team in Southern California for Prime Ticket and Fox Sports Net, along with numerous national gigs well.  We talked about out how often O’Neal found himself in the first row of sporting events, like when Barry Bonds homered into McCovey Cove and then gave a bat to his brother-in-law John McEnroe. Or the time Shaquille O’Neal went flying into the stands and left a bruise on O’Neal leg. We dished about real and fake celebrity sports fans, all the different athletes that O’Neal has interviewed (Kobe, Manny, Gretzky, Trout) and ended with stories about Farrah Fawcett that you can't miss.  

We're getting the band back together over the next few episodes of this podcast. On Episode 28, we start with Ken Levine, my co-host on Post Game Dodger Talk from 2008-10 on 790 KABC in Los Angeles. Levine's career shows his immense versatility. He's written, created, produced and directed various TV shows, movies and plays. He's performed baseball play-by-play in the minors and majors. He's blogged for over a decade and now has a podcast as well. We focused on the Cheers TV episodes that had a baseball theme, how an idea for a TV show about the press box turned into a play, how he juggled play-by-play and screenwriting on opposite coasts, memories from each of the teams he's worked, and of course, some of our favorite memories of working on Dodger Talk together.

Tim Hagerty returns for a record third appearance on the “Life Around the Seams” podcast and the very loose theme for this episode is irregularities in the length of baseball due to unforeseen factors. Hagerty tells us about the two minor leagues that played a 19-game championship series, the pitcher struck by lightning, the kid-turned-adult who insisted on knowing why two minor league teams accidentally played one extra game, the town that built a grandstand in eight days to ensure an exhibition game against the Yankees was played, and the man listed in the official records of Major League players despite never actually playing in a game. I told stories about lost opportunities and the split-season format from 1981, how the 1994-95 work stoppage nearly ended Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played streak, Ernie Banks’ track record in double headers, how the femme fatale from The Natural was based on a true story, and how baseball reacted to World War I in 1918. Please pardon the audio that’s not up to our usual standards. When you’re recording over an internet, sometimes the connection buffers a little mid-sentence. But as we stay #SafeAtHome waiting for baseball to return, enjoy these colorful stories from baseball’s past.

Mike Petriello worked for a now-defunct video on demand company that was ahead of its time, a public relations firm that built websites for pharmaceutical companies, and the website of a bowling company. Those jobs paid the bills and provided health benefits, but it was not what he really wanted to do. On episode 26 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, we explore why a native New Yorker liked the Dodgers, started a blog about the Dodgers with a unique name based on a Simpsons episode, how he found a voice in the blossoming world of baseball analytics, and how roughly a decade later, that led Petriello to a full-time job writing about Major League Baseball. While staying socially distant amidst the coronavirus pandemic, we Skype’d to discuss his journey, how to convince people that RBIs are not the greatest stat, the next generation of technology that will help us understand baseball more … and what it was like when he joined the StatCast alternative broadcast for a MLB playoff games on ESPN2.

Tyler Maun wears a lot of hats, literally and figuratively. He's a broadcaster, writer, host of two podcasts, Denver sports historian, and has a collection of baseball hats that is both impressive and troubling. What makes Tyler's story so intriguing is that he was in a career funk in the middle of the 2010s, after the end of relationship, and those hard times laid the foundation for his career renaissance. On episode 25 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we get philosophical about life and work. We discuss how moving to Australia re-ignited his career and launched his impressive international portfolio, what it means to hustle for work, taking chances, betting on yourself, and getting out of your comfort zone with sports that you might not know very well. You see, even though baseball is his first love, Tyler has performed play-by-play for 8 (or maybe 9) different sports (he's lost track), and is the envy of his peers because he's done baseball play-by-play in 10 different countries. Plus, we talk about forgotten Denver baseball history, Tim Raines, Larry Walker, and hashtag Coors.   

Over the last year, Melanie Newman went viral for getting a new job, get her first national contract to broadcast axe throwing, made history with Suzie Kewl for the first all-female baseball broadcast in April, her most famous call on the baseball field was when a skunk got on the field, had her equipment get stolen mid-summer, interviewed a football coach who was coaching from a hospital bed, and continues to shatter barriers for her work in broadcasting. On Episode 24 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we trace Newman's remarkable story, from how getting judged as a beauty pageant contestant as a teen-ager thickened her skin when strangers criticized her as an adult, being a substitute teacher, a bartender, and taking every job possible that's paved the way to her current positions. We discuss why she used Mel when applying for jobs, dealing with internet trolls, recapping her first year as the lead broadcaster for the Single-A Salem Red Sox, and the impact she's had on little girls who are inspired by her.

Tony Gwynn, Jr. never knew anything other than growing up in the spotlight of sharing the same name as a Hall of Fame baseball player that was beloved by San Diego. Junior never shied away from the responsibility and carved out his own career in baseball, playing for 15 years, including parts of eight years in the major leagues. On Episode 23 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, Gwynn shares with us when he realized his father's job was different, growing up at the ballpark, attending San Diego State just like his father and uncle, playing for his dad on the Aztecs, and his professional baseball career. We learn about the most awkward plane ride of his life after the son of Mr. Padre dashed the Padres playoff hopes, the trade that brought Junior home to San Diego to play ball, the bitter divorce with the Padres, the greatest response to a heckler ever, his father's cancer diagnosis, the emotions involved when the Hall of Famer passed away, and keeping his memory alive to this day.

Ron Flores spent 10 years in professional baseball, overcoming the long odds as a 29th round draft pick who still reached the major leagues. He's a rarity in that he held out for extra money to finish his degree at USC and followed through by finishing his classwork while in the minor leagues. Flores rose through the Oakland Athletics farm system at a time when the A's were at the ground floor of what was famously profiled in the best-selling book "Moneyball." On Episode 22 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, Flores tells the heartwarming story about the first time he was called up to the major leagues, along with hilarious stories about an inspirational speech from a teammate that he didn't understand before his debut, and why his father caused him to be completely sleep deprived when he won his only game in the major leagues. We learn about Ron following the lead of his older brother Randy (a former major league pitcher who is now the Asst. General Manager for the St. Louis Cardinals) and the month they spent together as teammates and roommates. We also learn how the pitcher became a preacher. Yes, Flores has gone from delivering the pitch to batters to delivering a sermon as a pastor at Meadows Fellowship in Las Vegas. 

Cody Decker, the inaugural guest on the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, makes his return for a hilarious update on what's happened with his playing career in the last 13 months, starting with the question of whether he's hit more home runs, or recorded more outs as a pitcher.  Since he's made multiple short films involving baseball, we took a deep dive into what makes a baseball movie work, and why most baseball movies don't work. In the process, we're starting a campaign to get the 1987 movie "Long Gone" onto HBO Go. We also debated what happened to some of our favorite fictional characters from baseball movies "after the credits" ended. We also spent a lot of time talking about a mutual friend, the late Brody Stevens, what made him so funny, and why we miss him so much. 

Chris Cron is one of just 17 people who have played Major League Baseball and been the father of not just one, but two sons who have also reached the major leagues.  In Episode 23 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, we explore the career of Chris from minor league towns in the 1980s to his MLB debut for his hometown California Angels, what led to him playing golf with basketball legend Michael Jordan, and why the third time was the charm with his immediate transition to coaching baseball. Then we delve into how sons C.J. and Kevin grew up around the ballpark in the minor league towns where Chris managed, the year both were drafted within the initial three rounds, Chris’ dramatic trip from another country to see C.J’s MLB debut, and how taking the job as Reno Aces manager in 2019 allowed Chris to manage his own son and deliver the news that brought two large humans to tears.

Johnny Doskow is the “RG” of the Sacramento River Cats, a very funny human who makes a series against his team something you always look forward to. You never know what he’s going to say, and you rarely know if he’s being serious or sarcastic. You know you’ll laugh a lot, share some deep thoughts about life, and that’s what we did in Episode 19 of the “Life Around the Seams" podcast. We “flapped” about some of the greatest hits from his career. The pranks he pulled. The pranks pulled on him. We learn when John became Johnny and why, what it’s like for a SoCal kid to do play-by-play of crab races and hog-market reports, and climbing through the minors leagues in his 27-year broadcasting career in baseball. Johnny D tells the story of a brush with death on a plane, memories of former minor league cities, why the River Cats held a bobblenose giveaway (yes, nose) in his honor, why he wears a bright orange suit once a year from Dumb and Dumber, and why his daughter will one day owe money to the River Cats PR director. Bro, it was not grindy. And we only had to “graveyard kiffle” one story.

Aaron Sele pitched for 14+ years in the major leagues, made 352 starts, won 148 games, finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1993, went to the All-Star Game in 1998 and 2000, and placed fifth in Cy Young voting in 1999. He enjoyed a very good career that's perhaps even more notable for the all fascinating parts of baseball history that he was involved. On Episode 18 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we have nine themes as we break down Sele's compelling career. We ask if Sele ever found out which baseball writer vote for him for the Hall of Fame. We break down growing up in Seattle, playing for the Mariners in the franchise's two best seasons, including the playoff runs, early impressions of Ichiro, and how Sele was the scheduled starting pitcher on 9/11. Sele tells Rickey Henderson stories, tales from the minor leagues, his introduction to Fenway Park, winning a World Series when he was hurt, and the famous "4+1" game at Dodger Stadium. 

Back my popular demand, Tim Hagerty returns to the "Life Around the Seams" podcast as the first return guest. Just like in our first podcast, we take turns telling unique stories from baseball's colorful past. Hagerty tells us about the 39 former Major Leaguers whose first name is unknown, why we should root for a certain player in triple-A to reach the majors, the only "shot-off" home run in baseball history, the origins of overcoming poor weather to play a game, and the infant who only knows perfection at baseball games.  I'll tell stories about theories on the "way out of left field" expression, the outfielder who refused to give up on a home run, why home plate is its shape, how World War II impacted attendance in the Pacific Coast League, and why a future Hall of Famer almost gave up on baseball early in his career.  Come for the unique stories and postscript stories that are entertaining. Stay for all the times that one of says "wow" ... followed by uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.  

Stephen Fife never wanted to pitch and was never good enough to pitch regularly as a kid. He was a second baseman on the first team from Idaho to reach the Little League World Series. But an injury in high school led him to the mound, and he ended up pitching 10 years as a professional.  On Episode 16 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we trace some of the fascinating moments from Fife's career. Projected to be about a 10th round pick, one fateful collegiate start against future first overall pick Stephen Strasburg launched him into the third round. Fife was usually "the dad" to his minor league teammates, outdueled Roy Halladay in his major-league debut, and made 18 appearances in the major leagues around 809 innings in the minor leagues. Fife missed one season recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery and slung drinks at a Melting Pot to help pay bills. He tells us the story of talking curveballs with Sandy Koufax, life lessons with Don Newcombe, the injury that cost him a chance at going to Japan, later going to Japan, and when he knew it was time to retire.   

Alonzo Carter spent five years as a backup dancer and lead choreographer for legendary rapper MC Hammer. Now he's the running backs coach and lead recruiting coordinator for the San Jose State football team. In between, he coached track and football at McClymonds High in West Oakland, three years as the head coach for Berkeley High football, and was the head coach at Contra Costa Junior College. "Coach Zo" has changed the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, but few people knew about his dancing past. In fact, even though I spent 3.5 years covering high school sports for The Oakland Tribune, I never knew about his connection to MC Hammer. That all changed after practice one day in 2018, when San Jose State head football coach Brent Brennan asked the DJ to play "U Can't Touch This" and motioned for Carter to show their players a few dance moves. A staffer filmed the scene, posted it on the internet, and the video went viral. In Episode 15 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we learn what baseball player gave Stanley Burrell the "Hammer" nickname, and which players provided a loan that launched his musical career. But since this is primarily a story about a football coach, we're calling it "Life Around the Laces," as we learn how Alonzo Carter went from student at (then) Cal State Hayward to touring with Hammer, why he left the music industry, and how the showmanship of being around Hammer has influenced his successful coaching career. 

Steve Lyons played professional baseball for 13 years and has broadcasted Major League Baseball for over 20 years. On a personal level, the former Red Sox and White Sox utilityman had a major influence on my wardrobe, especially the socks I wear.  On Episode 14 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, Lyons tells hilarious stories about his life, on and off the field. It starts with why the Boston Red Sox couldn’t find him the day he was drafted in the first round. Then how, on his first roadtrip in the minors, the bus driver died, a player nearly fell out of the bus, and the bus caught fire. Welcome to Steve Lyons' career. We discuss playing center field on the night Roger Clemens struck out 20 batters, the demons Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd faced, getting traded for Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, getting sent back to the minors, playing in Hawaii, and of course, the night he dropped his pants on the field during a game. Mostly, we just giggle and laugh, as Lyons tells fascinating stories for over 90 minutes. 

Dominic Latkovski has seen the world through huge inflatable animal characters based on famous professional athletes. He's the founder of the Zooperstars!, one of the most enduring touring acts that is approaching its fourth decade entertaining fans before games, between innings and at halftime of sporting events.   In Episode 13 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, we learn how Dominic got his start with triple-A Louisville, recruiting younger brother Brennan to join his act, creating BirdZerk to start touring outside of Louisville, and then stumbling upon legendary characters like Harry Canary, Cow Ripken, Jr. and Roger Clamens.   Dominic scalped tickets to a Garth Brooks concert to raise money to attend his first Trade Show at the 1992 Baseball Winter Meetings. He hasn't missed one since. We chatted about injuries, appearing on America's Got Talent, which athletes love their alter egos most, and why the Zooperstars! have stood the test of time. 

Reid Ryan wanted to be a pitcher in the major leagues, just like his Hall of Fame father Nolan Ryan. But when his career stalled in the minor leagues, Reid forged his own path as a baseball executive, first in bringing minor league baseball to Round Rock and Corpus Christi, and currently as the President of the Houston Astros.  In Episode 12 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, we trace Reid’s life growing up around baseball, in the clubhouse with his dad played, the heckles he received playing youth baseball, a famous exhibition game when he pitched against his father, running two of the most successful minor league teams in the country, and then getting his own “callup” to the majors. Reid tells us when he realized his father was kind of a big deal, the famous fight between his father and Robin Ventura, when his kids realized their grandfather was a big deal, and how he uses his children to learn how to reach the next generation of baseball fans.      

Dan Hayes  and Matt Hurst joined me for our annual Bucket List football weekend recently. We decided to record a Podcast where we talked about out time as either former newspaper ball scribes (Hurst, myself) or current ball scribe (Hayes). Between the three of us, we've been the beat reporter for all five California teams and seven total teams, with a combined 25 years of experience. We discuss our initial "I can't believe they're paying me to do this" moments, the story behind the story of how a few scoops came to fruition, the scoops that got away, what it's like eating with Mike Scioscia, writing two stories about two potential new managers (just in case), and why one of us exited the journalism world. 

Sean Maddison does not understand the term “offseason.” He’s the lead producer for the San Jose Sharks television broadcasts on NBC Sports Bay Area. Then after the grind of a grueling season, Maddison makes documentaries. Not simple easy documentaries, but emotional stories about the intersection of sports and society. In episode 10 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, we find out why Sean Maddison won’t just rest and enjoy the offseason. He’s produced over 10 documentaries, but we’ll focus on three: OUT, the Glenn Burke story; TOMBOY, elevating the conversation about gender in sports; and LETTERS TO 87, a tribute to 49ers legend Dwight Clark. We’ll also discuss why he moved to New York when his producing career was just getting established in the SF Bay Area, producing VH1’s “50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs” and how that experience shapes his work to this today.

David Feldman is not somebody that sports fans see. He’s not somebody who sports fans hear very often. But his fingerprints are all over a lot of the live sporting events that are viewed my thousands, if not millions. In episode 9 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, our guest is David Feldman. Not the David Feldman who is an on-air host for NBC Sports Bay Area, but the David Feldman who is a producer for numerous live sporting events across multiple networks, and an official scorer for Major League Baseball games. We discuss growing up in the left field bleachers of the Oakland Coliseum with a diverse group of characters, how a chance encounter with A’s play-by-play announcer Greg Papa led to a prediction that launched his career, and how we trace how he rose through the ranks in the production truck. We also learn how Reggie Jackson learned to trust him, get his advice for up-and-coming sportscasters, how you produce a sport that has never previously been televised, and find out the pros and cons of sharing a name with somebody who is on television almost every night.

Mike Capps enjoyed the type of career than most journalists could only dream they could attain, winning awards, and covering some of the biggest stories in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. But he gave it all up to become a minor league baseball play-by-play announcer. In episode 8 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, we learn how walking out of his tryout with the Montreal Expos in 1969 led Capps to a career in journalism. He was honored with the George F. Peabody Award for the investigation over a three-year period that resulted in the downfall of the SMU football program. He covered 16 Space Shuttle missions, two tours of duty in the first Gulf War, Hurricane Alicia, the Midwest Floods, the overthrow of the Haitian government, and earned a National Emmy Nomination with CNN for a 10-hour-long live broadcast for the fiery end of the Branch Dividian Siege in Waco.  But one morning, he woke up with a bedpost in his right hand and blood on his forehead. And that’s when Capps knew that he needed to leave television journalism, change his life, and it was baseball that saved his life.

When you think of somebody who has spent their entire career playing for one organization, you usually think of Tony Gwynn with the Padres, or Cal Ripken, Jr. with the Orioles, or Chipper Jones with the Braves. The name Tim Dillard probably doesn’t come to mind. Yet in many ways, it’s even more remarkable that Dillard has only played for the Milwaukee Brewers organization: 16 years total, parts of four years in the majors (73 appearances), 12 years in the triple-A Pacific Coast League, eight in Nashville, four in Colorado Springs. [He’s also played very briefly for an independent team.] In episode 7 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, we discuss how and why Dillard has stayed with one organization, how at age 34 his value now is just as much as a quasi-coach and therapy dog as it is reliever, the 500+ videos he’s made and posted on social media, growing up around the ballpark when his father was a minor league manager, his initial “callup” to the majors, his conversion to sidearm pitcher, his next “callup” to the majors, and his most recent “social media callup” to Milwaukee.

Pat Venditte is the most unique pitcher in professional baseball. He's ambidexterous. He's not a switch hitter. He's a switcher pitcher. Yes, he throws left-handed *and* right-handed, usually in the same game. In episode 6 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, we learn the story of how Pat's father had this idea of making him a switch-pitcher, when he realized throwing with both arms was not normal, the confusion it caused to some, the challenge of learning to pitch with both arms, the advantages it creates, how few options he had leaving high school, getting a chance at Creighton with both arms, his hilarious professional debut that inspired a rule to be named after him, when he nearly quit baseball in the minors, why he needed to reinvent himself after injuries, and what it was like making a Major League debut that was unlike anything we've seen in decades.        

Tim Hagerty is the play-by-play announcer for the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres AAA affiliate), the author of a book titled “Root for the Home Team,” and a correspondent for Sporting News specializing in unusual tales from minor league baseball’s colorful past. In episode 5 of the “Life Around the Seams” podcast, it’s not an interview. It’s just two baseball nerds talking baseball history – unusual stories that you can’t believe are true, and stories that you thought you knew but didn’t completely know. We learn about a very dangerous foul ball, the earliest attempts to speed up baseball, how to play a game when the infield is saturated, why the Detroit Tigers didn’t want to tag out a baserunner, what happens when a ball is split in half, and when did Pete Rose actually break the all-time hits record?

episode will be auto-shared to youtube