Podcasts about american baseball research

It is never too late to chase a dream, even one that has waited decades for its turn. My guest, Evan Katz, built a career in journalism, public finance, and local government before taking an unexpected path into professional baseball. After first playing organized baseball at age 45, Evan became a professional player at 61 and later coached professional baseball at 69. We talk about how fear can become motivation, why setbacks can be powerful learning opportunities, and how skills gained across a lifetime can prepare us for challenges we never expected to face. Evan also shares what he learned from calling himself the “least qualified coach in professional baseball,” and how listening, mentoring, and supporting others became some of his greatest strengths. His story is a wonderful reminder that personal growth, career change, and lifelong learning do not come with an expiration date. Highlights: 02:47 – How family work ethic shaped Evan's drive. 11:26 – How fear can become motivation. 13:08 – Why setbacks can become learning opportunities. 35:06 – What local government taught Evan about growth. 42:29 – Why he started playing baseball at 45. 53:37 – How he became a professional baseball coach at 69 About the Guest: Evan grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts two miles from Fenway Park in the 1960s and quickly learned the emotional highs and lows of being a Red Sox fan.  When the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, after an 86-year championship drought, he rang church bells to celebrate. After a long award-winning career in municipal and public school finance in Massachusetts, and raising a family of four with his wife Liz, Evan began his late-life baseball career in earnest at age 65.  He was an assistant high school coach for three years, and documented the team's Massachusetts state championship in the story “No Earbuds in the Outfield.” Evan Katz's pro baseball career began at age 61 when he pitched for the White Sands Pupfish of the independent Pecos League in 2017. When euphoria subsided and his infinity ERA began to sting, Evan returned to the Pecos League at age 67. With the Austin Weirdos he became one of the oldest pitchers ever to start a minor league game and lowered his ERA to 29.25 After an aborted stint as pitching coach with the Roswell Invaders in 2024, Evan returned to the Pecos League in 2025 as bullpen coach of the North Platte 80s. As the 80's scout he recruited players for the second-year Nebraska team.  As bullpen coach he supported the North Platte pitching staff which anchored the team's 27-21 record and helped the team reach the second round of the playoffs. And this despite just three years as a high school coach, and no college coaching experience. There were more than 2000 coaches among nearly 300 major, minor and independent pro baseball teams and Evan was the least qualified. To share his second career in baseball and other inspiring baseball stories, Evan manages his baseball website “Baseball by the Sea Media.” It includes exclusive feature stories plus biographies and game stories published by the Society for American Baseball Research. It also links to the 2024 award-winning two-season podcast he co-hosted with Bruce McClure, “Baseball's Last Frontier: Stories from the Pecos League.” Ways to connect with Evan**:** https://sites.google.com/view/baseballbythesea/home https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-katz-351554b/ About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingston, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hi, everyone, and welcome to another Unstoppable Mindset podcast episode today. We get to chat with Evan Katz, and Evan's got an interesting life, especially since, if you will, he started the second part of his life, or maybe it's not the second, maybe it's later, of being a professional baseball coach at the age of 61. Well, we're going to hear about that. Evan lives in Massachusetts, in Swampscott, grew up in Brookline, which was very close to where the Red Sox play. I'm sure he's got lots of stories that we get to talk about with that. But anyway, Evan, I want to welcome you to Unstoppable Mindset. We're really glad you're here. Evan Katz  01:42 Thanks, Michael. I really appreciate the invitation. I I think that I'm excited to be part of a show with with with the theme that that you emphasize because I think that that when you reached out to me to ask if I was interested in in sharing some of my life experiences, I realize that there's a there's an unstoppable part of my mindset that has allowed me to achieve some things I didn't think were going to be possible. Michael Hingson  02:10 There you go. Well, you know, a lot of times we plan, and what we plan doesn't always necessarily go exactly the way we thought. But that's okay. It's it's a question what we do with it and what we learn from it. I suppose why don't we start by you telling us a little bit maybe about the early Evan growing up and and all that. And I know that you had mentioned that you think you actually got your kind of unstoppable mindset attitude from your parents and all that. So if you want to talk about that as as we go, you're welcome to. But anyway, why don't you start by telling us a little bit about the early Evan, if you will. Evan Katz  02:42 Sure. Well, you know, as you mentioned, I grew up outside of Boston in the town of Brookline, which is about two miles from Fenway Park. I'm a baby boomer. My my parents worked really hard, and they they worked hard to get their first house. They worked hard to fix it up. My mother was at home. My father worked in his parents' hardware store and was always fixing up the house. We ended up upgrading houses because of all the work that he did. And my mother, although she wasn't working, you know, she was involved in local politics, trying to improve the schools. And one of the stories I told when she passed away a number of years ago that she was so effective about mobilizing people to make changes in the school system. One of the school principals said to somebody else, "Get that Pawnee cats off the phone, Michael Hingson  03:34 because of course Evan Katz  03:35 at the time telephone was the only way to connect with people. But you know she had her unstoppable mindset in terms of making changes in public education in Brookline, my dad in terms of living the dream that he had for his family, and I really think that that in my own way I picked up that same hard worth it work ethic, and it's popped up along the way throughout my my life and my career. I Michael Hingson  04:00 I know what you mean. I know my parents were somewhat the same way. My dad worked at. Well, we moved to California when I was five, and before we moved, we were in Chicago. And he and my uncle owned a TV repair shop, and my dad left that to move to California. Wanted to do that anyway, but he began working at a government installation, was called Plant 42, and then later transferred to Edwards Air Force Base. My mom stayed home for a while. She actually helped sell real estate, helped sell some of the houses on the street where we moved because they were they were brand new, and the real estate people trusted her, so she she did some of that. Don't know what she earned or how all that worked, but but she did okay. But my dad worked, and I I feel very blessed. They they clearly taught me a lot, and I value very much their work ethic. I know what you're talking about. Evan Katz  05:01 Well, family is a great resource, whether it's your immediate family or extended family. And also, again, at the time that that I was growing up, most of our extended family lived right in the area, so there was a lot of connecting with cousins and uncles and grandparents. And I think that had its own way of shaping because we had a pretty hardworking, determined family, and I think that got passed on again, not just in my parents, but from my extended family as well. We Michael Hingson  05:28 had aunts and uncles and cousins. A lot of them were in Chicago. Then aunt and uncle and their two boys and our cousins moved out to California, but it was long after we moved. And then our next closest relative was actually up in the San Francisco area. Aunt Bella and Uncle Oscar owned a shoe store, and but and there were some other people who we called aunts. I'm not sure that they actually were, but aunts and uncles. But they they lived in the L.A. area. But most of our relatives were not very close by. Well, that's that's fine, but value the relationships nonetheless. So what was what was school like for you? Well, elementary school and high school and so on. Evan Katz  06:22 Well, I went to the local elementary school, and as I think, as I as I suggested, it was one of the schools that was being neglected by the town. My mother and her friends advocated for equal resources. It was also during the time where Christmas carols were being sung in school, and it was not something that my parents thought was appropriate. I was Jewish. There were other Jewish kids in school, not very many, and just didn't seem like this was the thing that should be happening, given where our country was at the time. And so I did well in elementary school. I mean, the interesting thing was I skipped kindergarten, so I was always the youngest and the slowest on the playground, and it actually contributed to my not participating in sports through my early years and into into high school, which we will we'll hear more about that later. But I got a good education. I loved numbers. I learned in high school after I had horrible year my sophomore year writing. I was determined to learn. I took a couple of English classes from mr. Carey at Newton South High School. Learned to become a good writer, and ultimately that led to my writing on college newspapers and becoming a newspaper reporter. My first job out of college. So, you know, the kind of thing when you go through school, you try to figure out, you know, what are the things that that that sing to you. And first, it was numbers for me, and I ended up going into a career in public finance, and then the writing, which I ended up becoming a newspaper reporter, put that on hold. And about 10 years ago, or eight years ago, I started a baseball social media website, and I ended up writing baseball stories. So, so here I am in my my my formative years in school, taming numbers, becoming a CFO in the public sector, and becoming a good writer-they got me through life. Michael Hingson  08:33 How did you end up being able to skip kindergarten? Evan Katz  08:37 That was back in the day. They didn't have minimum age requirements. If you pass the test, you you got to go right to first grade. Michael Hingson  08:44 Ah, well, I know I went to kindergarten in Chicago, and you started in Chicago at age four. Then we moved to California, and the problem is in California you couldn't start kindergarten till age five, but I had had a year of kindergarten already, but they wouldn't let me just go to first grade because I was only five, so I ended up with two years of kindergarten. And I'm not sure that second year was all that exciting for me, because kids were drawing and doing all sorts of stuff that I wouldn't do being blind. But we coped, and we got through it. I also did love numbers and so on, and my dad taught me how to do math in my head, so I was really doing well with math. And my my mother helped me with spelling tests and reading other material to me, and so on. So we got through it, and again, they took that on without any remorse at all, which, as I think back on it, was just part of their gutsiness and their unstoppability. Because the doctors told them that no blind child could ever amount to anything, and they were going to prove the doctors wrong. And I would like to think that they did, but we. We went through it, and I didn't actually. I learned Braille when I was in kindergarten in Chicago, but then didn't have access to Braille till the fourth grade out here in California. Yep. Yeah. Well, but my my parents read and kept me up with everything, but still it was a problem. But then I got Braille again, and so it all worked out, but I, but I, but I know what you're saying. It still gets back to the work ethic, and our parents were gonna do everything they could to make sure we all succeeded, didn't they? Evan Katz  10:32 Well, and I think also, Michael, you've touched on it, and I did as well. You know, there are things, there are areas we go into, whether it's school or work or relationships, we're blessed with certain talents and traits, but we also have areas that are not our strengths, and we're always having to work to figure out how to how to compensate for our areas of call it weakness or limitations, and also how to allow our strengths to to overcome those and and then to help generate success. Michael Hingson  11:05 Yeah, and and we do need to do that. And and the reality is that we're all generally better at some things than we are at other things, but we can make it work if we if we try. I wrote and published with a colleague, Carrie Wagg Kent, two years ago a book called *Live Like a Guide Dog* which is all about learning to control fear and its life lessons that that tell us that fear doesn't need to overwhelm us or, as I put it, blind us. That that we can use fear as a very powerful tool to help us, and I mention that because there are so many things that we fear in the world, and most of them we don't have any control over. I mean, I know that there are things that that I don't get to do right now that other people do because they can see different things. But at the same time, I have gifts that most of those people never either learn to use or choose to use or can use, and so we all have to work together to make the world successful. And I think that's the big issue. Evan Katz  12:11 Well, I think your point about fear is really important because we we all have fears, we all have worries, and fear can be paralyzing, and but it can also be motivating, and I think it's important that if you get into a situation that that you're concerned about or worried about, you should acknowledge that you're in something. Maybe you're over your head, and we'll talk about my coaching a professional team at age 69 without ever having coached college baseball, going right from high school coaching to professional coaching, that was the hardest job of my life, and that fear motivated me to figure out how am I going to come up with those compensating skills? How am I going to be able to succeed? Because I want this to succeed not just for me, but for the players around me. So, so fear. It's important to to recognize it, and so that you know that it's there, but also be able to take advantage of what fear can motivate you to do. Michael Hingson  13:13 Well, and fear doesn't need to paralyze you unless you let it. And that's the the big issue: is that we don't learn generally how to control fear and to use fear in a positive way. We worry about so many things over which we'll never have control because we just don't, and we let all of that worry us, and that that certainly adds so much to the fear levels that we face, and if we would only learn to just focus on what we can control, that doesn't mean you don't be aware of other things. But don't worry about the things over which you don't have control. It will help your life a whole lot. Evan Katz  13:53 And another aspect to that is, and I and I learned this, and as I mentioned, I worked in the public sector for for for almost 40 years, and I came up with the phrase at one point, and I I don't remember the circumstances. And somebody said, "I don't know if this is going to work. I don't know if we have the money. I don't know we have the people. This may not be a good solution, or the operation may not work. And I said, "Well, I think we have to see if it fails because if it fails, then we're going to learn something. Obviously, we didn't want anyone to lose a job or to get hurt. It wasn't failing in that regard, but but the you have to have enough courage so that if something isn't going to work, you can use that as as a learning opportunity as well, so you can't have fear of failure either. Because then we can all look back. You're old enough. I'm old enough to look back on our lives and see those learning moments. Many of them came from times that didn't work out so well, Michael Hingson  14:55 which doesn't mean that we failed. And I think that's the big issue. I think we have to deal with. Failure is is something that we have to really get over thinking about because failure isn't really it. What what it is is that things didn't work out the way we planned, but that doesn't mean that we failed, which means we just can't go on. We're we're stuck. It's it's a learning experience, and that is part of what dealing with fear is all about. Is rather than worrying about it. All right, so this didn't work. Don't fret. Don't worry. Don't panic. What did you learn from it? How do we get beyond that? And that's the thing that we generally tend not to do very much: is to do a lot of self-analysis in our own lives. Take time at night to step back and look at what worked during the day, what didn't work, and the what didn't works weren't failures, but they were learning opportunities if we take advantage of our own skills to develop our mind muscle to do that. Evan Katz  15:57 Absolutely, I Michael Hingson  15:58 think that's that's so important. Well, so for you, you you where did you go to college? Evan Katz  16:08 I graduated from Newton South High School. We went from Brookline to Newton in the 70s. I went to a small college in Western New York, Alfred University, for two years, and ultimately graduated from Colby College in Maine in 1977. As I mentioned, I wrote for both the newspapers at Alford and Colby, and that's where I got my my my journalistic experience back then. Writing for college newspapers was was a big deal back then, Michael Hingson  16:39 yeah, Evan Katz  16:39 and that worked out really well. I was going to go into teaching. That was my original plan. I did some internships in college. I even, when I was at Colby, I took a semester and helped out at a small fourth grade class in neighboring Oakland, Maine, helping out kids doing lessons in the in the corridor and in the back of the room to help them with their math, but when I left college, I had done enough writing, primarily sports, that I decided to to follow journalism. But the college years were really an eye opener for me. As I mentioned, I was a year young. You know, I was the drinking age was 18, and I was still only 17 and a half when I went to college, but somehow my IDs got me through into the pub. But it was a really eye-opening experience going to college in New York. I'd been in Massachusetts my whole life and was in a small town in Western New York, and it was just so eye-opening to see a part of the country and people that were very unlike where I lived in terms of Alfred. Most of the kids were from New York, and then going to Maine, they were more from New England. But it was just a real eye-opening experience. I think we all go through that in our late teens and early 20s, really beginning to discover, you know, who we are, what situations are we comfortable in? We test ourselves. We do crazy things, and it all turned out okay because I was able to get a job right out of college. Michael Hingson  18:11 So teaching was your plan, but it didn't go that way. Evan Katz  18:16 No, it didn't. And interestingly enough, I was looking back through my father's memorabilia when he died, and I think I knew this, but I was reminded that he wanted to teach originally, and he actually was a mentor to many people during his working career. And he took great pride and went to the Peace Corps actually for a number of years in his 60s, and so you know the whole teaching mentoring thing ran in our family, so I guess it's kind of ironic that I ended up coaching baseball at age 65 as a as a teacher and a mentor. But but the college experience, you know, I still think about it. I just sold my vinyl records. It was it was a little traumatic, but I did sell my vinyl records recently because I can listen to everything over the internet now, and but that was a water watershed moment selling my vinyl that I listened to in college for all those years. Michael Hingson  19:14 I still have mine from working at the campus radio station. I got a lot of records back here, and I I am somewhat of the opinion of the I don't know whether I would call them snobs, but I still think the best quality is still vinyl. Evan Katz  19:30 Well, as you know, Michael, one of the best attributes of vinyl records is when they were originally the songs were compiled and sequenced. It was they were designed to listen through the whole side of an album. Michael Hingson  19:44 Yeah, Evan Katz  19:44 and I mean obviously Pink Floyd was classic, and I'm sure that there were others that come to mind that I can't think of. And I was a big fan of the Doobie Brothers, and to this day I'll still turn off my radio in the car and put on a couple of Doobie Brothers albums and listen to them straight. Same with Chicago. It just the music was meant to be arranged, you know, for half an hour or 35 minutes, not just three and a half minutes. And I think a little bit of that has been has been lost with today's music. Michael Hingson  20:13 Yeah. Well, I think there's there's truth to that. And I even go back further. I've been a fan for many many years of big bands, primarily Swing, Benny Goodman, and and so on, but also doop and early rock. But I and I like some of the other rock. But I've never been a great heavy metal fan. But that's okay. Some people like it, and then that's fine too. But I really enjoy my records as well, which is a lot of fun. Yeah, I Evan Katz  20:42 did listen to Van Halen cassettes driving. Somehow, a Van Halen arrangement wasn't quite the same as Chicago. No, Michael Hingson  20:50 no, it is a little bit different. There's no doubt about that. So, what was your job that you ended up getting out of college? Evan Katz  20:57 I ended up worked as a stringer, which I don't even know if there are any anymore, but I think I got paid 10 cents an inch for covering soccer for the Newton graphic. I covered the Newton South soccer team, and also I I don't know how much an hour I got. I covered the Westin Wildcats. That's a small town west of Boston for the Westin Town Crier. That's how I got started in journalism, and I ultimately was hired as a part-time reporter by the Walpole Times, which is small town southwest of Boston. And I eventually became a full-time reporter there, covering town government, writing feature stories, learned how to use a 35 millimeter camera. We we had our own darkroom there, and I thought it was so much fun going out to meetings, interviewing people, compiling stories. It was just it wasn't like work. It was it was it was exciting, and it paid the bills, and I was living on my own for the first time. Michael Hingson  22:06 That didn't get you to graduate to things like going into television on WEEI and doing sports for them, huh? Evan Katz  22:13 No, the the the written word at the time, and even today still is is where I am. Although, as I joke with my friends, just put a microphone in front of me, and I'll start talking. Michael Hingson  22:26 So that's okay. Well, so how long did you write? And then what happened Evan Katz  22:32 was, so as I mentioned, my mother was very involved in local government, and I grew up in Brookline. And the interesting thing was, I was covering the planning board and the school committee in Walpole, and I'm I'm going to the meetings and I'm listening to them talking about the issues that they're dealing with, and I'm thinking to myself, so this is what 1979. I'm 23 years old, and I'm thinking, I mean, I can do better than this. I mean, listening to these these people talk about how they're going to solve problems, and I said, I think I can really help. So, the local legislator from Walpole, his name was Frank Woodward, had an opening in his office, and I started working as a legislative aide for him, working in the state house. It was very exciting. My mother was so proud. When some one morning in March, I don't know if it was 1979 or 1980, and I walked up the steps of the State House. Big blue sky in Boston. It was a big golden dome. I'll never forget. I walked up the front steps, looked up at the golden dome and the big blue sky in March of whatever year that was, so excited. My mother was so proud. My dad was too, obviously. And then I got involved in government, and that's where it all started. Working in the state house to really begin to understand the importance of issues. You know, it wasn't just local government, but how the state government intersected with the federal government, and how much how how important government is to making people's lives safe and protected. Michael Hingson  24:07 Yeah, and I think that is that is something that although there is certainly a lot going on today that is not necessarily the the model of what government ought to be, probably, but still, government and what the House of Representatives and the Senate do at the federal level, and what happens at the at the state house and in the state government is really important. And I wish more people would seriously get involved with it, and and do it from an ethical standpoint. But you know, we, I guess, we go through through different kinds of eras of how things work. Evan Katz  24:54 Well, it's interesting in the tumult that we're going through here. I recently had a chance. Last month to go to England with my wife. I hadn't been there for a while, and and I was really struck by how the history dates back centuries and centuries and centuries prior. You know, to 1066, I guess is one of the lines in the sand or the dirt in England. But when they started the more modern era, and what I was really struck by when you think about a country like England and all the difficulties, all the changes, all the times that they were under threat from external forces, internal forces, all the chaos, and somehow they've survived. And I think this is one of the real attributes of Great Britain. And I just began to think about what we're going through here, and I think I have to be hopeful in the same way. Michael Hingson  25:56 Yeah, I agree that Evan Katz  25:57 that that we've been here for 250 years. I know it's short compared to England. Supposedly, one author says that republics die after 250 years. I don't know if I buy that necessarily, but but the point is that that that I think somehow, some way, we're going to survive this because other countries have been through much more over much longer periods of time, and here they are. And 2026 is stable, viable countries. Michael Hingson  26:25 Yeah, and they're still there, and they're going to be there. And I agree with you. I think that we're we're going to continue, and maybe republics die after 250 years, but it doesn't mean they have to. And I think that's that's part of it. So what did you what did you do in terms of you you went to work in the state house or what did you do? Evan Katz  26:48 And I was a legislative aide, so we would get information on legislation, take a lot of constituent phone calls because at the time the only time only way you got a hold of your legislator was either make a phone call. Of course, I think from Walpole to Boston, it might have been a toll call at that time. So maybe we got more letters from Walpole. I don't know, but constituent constituent concerns, working with state agencies to resolve things, and and it just got me acquainted with with with how government works, and it just gave me an appreciation for what it takes to make government work for for the the residents of Walpole and a couple other nearby towns, and also you get to see the the leaders of the state at that time the the Senate President and the the Speaker of the House, and you get to understand a little bit more how they show leadership and what skills and attributes work well, and what ones in your mind don't work well. But the whole bottom line is, you know, how is it working for the constituents? And to me, that became more and more important. Is what's the bottom line here? It's not about power. It's not about success at the legislator. The bottom line is the impact on people. Michael Hingson  28:13 Well, I remember that when I lived in Winthrop, every year I would go with people from the National Federation of the Blind, we went to Washington every year. Five, 600 of us descended on Washington and visited all of our legislators. And I remember actually once having the opportunity to set up an appointment and meet with Tip O'Neill. What an amazing guy he was! Yeah. But then also there was a new congressman who had just joined, Ed Markey. Evan Katz  28:45 Oh sure. Michael Hingson  28:46 Now look where he is. He's but but it was it was so much fun seeing Congress in action and actually being a part of it, talking about different kinds of issues, and of course it got to meet Ted Kennedy and also Paul Songas along the way as well. And I and I also was involved in things in in Massachusetts because one of the problems we had in the early '80s in Massachusetts and around the country was that blind people couldn't buy life insurance because the life insurance companies said we're a higher risk, we'll have a higher mortality rate, and finally, to keep the story short, we discovered that unlike what insurance companies say they do, which is they make their determinations always based on actuarial statistics, evidentiary data, and they create mathematical models based on evidence. They had absolutely not one single solitary thing to show that blind people or other people with disabilities were a higher risk than anyone else. So I worked back in the late 70s, early 80s with I don't you may. I've known him, Al Evan Katz  30:02 Sagasi. I recognize the name. Michael Hingson  30:03 Yeah, and so he he helped us shepherd a bill through that eventually eliminated discrimination in dealing with life insurance in Massachusetts, and and actually was something that passed in every state that all all the states dealt with that because the insurance companies were just playing games, which was so unfortunate. So when I was growing up, my parents couldn't insure me. When I was in college, I couldn't buy life insurance, and and eventually it got addressed. But it was, and it still is fascinating to think back and be a part of making a difference and really working to help constituents and help the legislature. Evan Katz  30:48 Well, there's a great example of numbers not being in action. You know, they're hiding behind perceived numbers, and then you do do a little bit of digging, and you find out that it's not quite as fact-based as they made it sound, Michael Hingson  31:02 yeah, and in fact there was no fact, and but still we worked through it, but the process was, I think, and still is for me one of the most fascinating things to to be able to go and be a part of dealing with things and and hopefully getting legislators to deal with issues and I'm not sure that there's as much of that that's happening today with everything going on but it'll come back. Evan Katz  31:34 Not not in Washington anyway. I think you've got to look to the states more than Washington. Washington's an anomaly right now. Michael Hingson  31:42 Yeah, Washington is really a big problem, and and but it'll it'll it'll switch at some point. I hope. I think it's going to have to, but but we'll see how it goes. If Speaker 1  31:55 you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes, thank you for being part of the Unstoppable Mindset Community. Michael Hingson  32:27 So you you went to work and you were legislative aide. How long did you do that? Evan Katz  32:32 Actually, not not. I think it was a little over a year because I ended up working on a referendum campaign. There's a thing in Massachusetts to limit property taxes, that's called Prop Two and a Half, that passed in 1980. I ended up working for Representative Woodward and a couple of other reps. There was an alternative on the tried to get on the ballot as an alternative to Two and a Half that wouldn't be quite as dramatic. Although I think, looking back as someone in the public sector, I think it's a good thing that Prop two and a half passed, but I got involved in working on a referendum campaign as an alternative to Prop two and a half. It didn't pass, and then at that point, I decided needed to get some professional training, and I went to get my graduate degree in public administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard, so I would have more credentials and I could really get into local government, and that really opened the door. Once I got my master's degree, I ended up working for the state. I think I mentioned my mother and family were from were from Brookline. We were acquainted with Governor Dukakis, and my mother worked actually very close with Govern was very close with Governor Dukakis, and he really encouraged me to go to graduate school, and I ended up going to the Kennedy School. And from there, I went and worked for his administration. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue started a division to support local government finance. It was really very innovative at the time in the early '80s. You know, cities and towns were separate. The state was just a regulatory reagency, and Governor Dukakis wanted to create an agency that could be a resource to local government to help them make better decisions. We created a municipal data bank to try to gather information to get to gather statistical information and ultimately help guide cities and towns to budget better, to plan their capital budgets better. And I was involved in the formation of that bureau in the Mass Department of Revenue. It was called the Division of Local Services, and I ended up working there in the early '80s, to really get a feel for how state government worked, state aid, and all that sort of thing, and then I learned enough there and decided to go out and see what it was like myself to work in a city or town, and that that's was around 1980. So I got my training at is in graduate school, learned more in state government, and then in the mid '80s went out to work in town halls and and city halls, and that that talk about fear, that that was frightening. Michael Hingson  35:18 It was a new experience. Evan Katz  35:20 Absolutely, you know, you you you you're in the state house, and there's there's 240 state reps and 40 senators, I think, all kinds of legislative aides. You're working in a state agency, and it's a whole bunch of 20 something and 30 something colleagues and bosses and this and that. There's always someone you can ask, always someone that can support you. You go to a town hall, and there's there's three clerks and a bunch of select board members. In Massachusetts, there are boards of selectmen in the small towns, or the select board now. Back then, it was select men, but you're on your own out there, and it's very, very different. You know, having a bunch of colleagues to support you in the big city when you're out in the small town of Groton, 40 miles from Boston, with 7000 people, and you're the resource in town hall. It's a lot different. Michael Hingson  36:18 I was just going to say that you you became the resource that people look to. Evan Katz  36:24 Yeah, and and so you take your professional training and you begin to develop some of those personal skills. And how do you relate to people? How do you gather information? How do you recover from from your mistakes? How do you make sure you have enough successes so that you got a good success to mistake ratio? But it's it it is very scary. I mean, I was what how old in 1986? So I was 30 years old, and it never. And I wanted to work in a small town, and I did, but it was a real, real eye-opening experience. But by the same token, you know, one of our biggest fears-you're the only person. One of the greatest attributes to the situation was you're immersed in everything. You learn everything. You learn about the police department, the fire department, which was a call department at that time. You know, if there was a fire, all the firemen, there might have been a couple of women as well, went to some went to the station to get the truck, and some drove in their cars to the scene of the fire, and and and you get a small town with one police officer on duty, you know, from from 11 to seven, you got a water department with two employees. You really get a feel for what's important and what isn't, and how do you make the system go, and what do you do in an emergency, and how do you plan for the future? And so it was it was it was frightening at one level because you're on your own and you're learning a brand new thing, but at the same time you're immersing yourself so deeply, and you're learning so much that that that that you're growing, you know, professionally and personally at a very very fast rate. Michael Hingson  38:16 And although you may or may not realize it at the time, those fears that that you started with slowly would be dissolving away because you were learning how to deal with things, and you were discovering that you had the ability to deal with things, and so you became less afraid in a positive way. Evan Katz  38:37 Right. Well, you know, you all know that the cycles in in businesses and cities and towns, and it's all in an annual cycle, the budget cycle, and you know you get through the first year and you start doing it again, and you're doing it again, and you really then you begin to expand your knowledge base. You're willing to to to experiment a little bit more, and and you're growing again at a very fast rate because you're able to do more and more that you weren't able to do when you first got there. Michael Hingson  39:10 Did you ever run for any office? Evan Katz  39:13 Actually, I did. When I left Groton, I finance was my area of interest, as as I mentioned earlier. I was hired by the city of Medford, which is just north of Boston, up Route 93, probably I don't maybe 810 miles north. And when I was working there, I was the city's finance director. You talk about culture shock, so I go from the small town of Groton with seven people to a to a 50,000 the city of 50,000 with a with a palatial city hall right off Route 93 and but I was chosen for because of my background in finance. And when I was working there, I decided that the town of Groton might benefit from my experience as an elected official. So I was working in Medford as finance director, and I ran for assessor in Groton to get started. Elected assessors to value properties and administered the taxes, and then ultimately I ran for select board a couple years after that. Michael Hingson  40:27 Were you elected? Evan Katz  40:29 I did. Yeah, I won. Okay. And here's another thing that I learned. You know, I haven't always seen elected boards, whether it was the select board or city councils or legislators, you see elected officials in action at meetings and talking about problems and making phone calls, but you forget there's a lot of other work that goes on behind the scenes when you're at home at night and when you run into somebody on the street. And so I was I was very prepared for the for the technical aspects of it, the problem solving, but I forgot about the time that it takes when people call you or have a have a have a problem with a nearby dog, or someone put up a fence, or the traffic on my street is going too fast. You have to call people. You got to follow up. You got to again. Back in the old days, it's all by telephone. So the amount of time that it took to resolve problems and have meetings, I forgot about the the the extra time that it takes when you're an elected official to do that behind the scenes stuff. But but I enjoy doing that as well. Michael Hingson  41:41 Yeah, I'll bet. And you know, it it is just it it you figure out that that's part of what you have to do. And again, I think the big issue is in figuring all that out is learning to recognize that's part of what you have to do, and accepting that that's definitely part of the job, and not trying to blow it off, not trying to get angry at people, which all too often happens today, I think more than it than it needs to. But it is part of the job. It's all part of the job, and no matter what, that hasn't really changed. Evan Katz  42:19 And I think it's I think it's in any job, and I think people have perceptions about certain types of jobs, whether it's you're you're you're a plumber, a truck driver, a lawyer. You know, people understand the responsibilities at the surface level and the visible level, but they're they're not as aware of what goes on behind the scenes, what it takes to to get things going, and and I think that's probably not and maybe underappreciated in some situations about what it takes to to to do things behind the scenes that are not as exciting, where there's more drudgery, and and and the amount of time that it takes to get you into the seat of the truck, to get you to have a meeting with clients, if you're some kind of professional, if you're a doctor, there's there's there's a lot more to any job, and I think that that that it's important to recognize it for ourselves. You know, it's not just the let's call it the glamorous part of the job. Michael Hingson  43:29 Yeah, Evan Katz  43:30 there's the behind the scenes part of the job, and the same goes for all jobs. And I think it's important to remember that. Michael Hingson  43:36 I agree. Well, you did all this work, and you kept doing it for quite a while. So, what got you into baseball, other than being a fan? But you know, Evan Katz  43:46 well, loyal Red Sox fan, been to Fenway hundreds of times, as I mentioned earlier. Was started school a year early, so I never played sports, and my kids in my 40s had finished little league, and they were all done with their sports careers at that point. And I decided I wanted to play baseball at age 45. Michael Hingson  44:14 There you go. I had Evan Katz  44:15 never played. I had never played little league. I never played high school. Never played college. And at age 45, a friend of mine who I grew up with in Brookline, he encouraged me to go to a baseball camp in Florida in 2002, and at that point, my my interest in baseball and my fandom in baseball expanded to becoming a a player and having to learn about the game as a player, not just as someone watching the game. Michael Hingson  44:47 And what did your wife think of that? Evan Katz  44:49 Well, my my wife will mention that my my wife Liz, our first date was on march 30, 2002, and that was the date. Of my first baseball practice in Massachusetts, so she has been there from the beginning of my baseball career. And if it wasn't for her one acceptance of it and her support of it, I never would have been able to achieve and enjoy all that all that I have, but she she is is is my biggest fan and supporter. Michael Hingson  45:29 That's great. She's a Red Sox fan, I would presume. Evan Katz  45:33 Yeah, Red Sox fan. Yep, and you know we watched them clinch it in 2004. We've been to Fenway together, and you know she, you know, like I played adult baseball, and and you know the when guys join, their spouses or girlfriends come the first for a bunch of games in the beginning, but then they just lose interest. Understandably, it's you know it's old man baseball. It's not like it is on TV. She she comes from time to time, but but she she's got her own life to live now. So that's okay. Michael Hingson  46:05 Well, so so tell me how baseball progressed for you. So you you started working at playing. Evan Katz  46:15 Yeah. So I went to this baseball camp in Florida, which I actually just came back from. It's called the Ponstellion Baseball Camp, and it's from a league in Washington, and they started going down for a week of what they call spring training. Well, for Washington, baseball starts a little earlier, Washington D.C. So we go down the end of January, and you know, getting on the field isn't too far away as long as there's no snow on the ground in the DC metro area. But I started going to that camp in 2002, and there was a group of professional coaches at this camp who were major league and minor league affiliated, and they have been coming to this camp since the beginning. This is now 2026. They've been going to the camp as long as as the longtime players, and so what happened was, you know, I was playing adult baseball, and there was a year where it rained a lot, and we had games postponed, and I'm driving around Fort Myers, and I think I was 60 years old at the time, so this would be 2016. And I said to myself, you know, what would be the chances that I could find a minor league team that would let me play, so I could live my dream of being a professional baseball player? And I grew up around in Brookline. I collected baseball cards. I played imaginary baseball games in my yard. Played wiffle ball with my friends. Watched the Red Sox on TV. You know, it's been in my blood since I was a little kid. And of course, many little kids want to be professional basketball players, hockey players, football players. Well, for me, it was baseball. So here I am, 60 years old, and I asked a couple of people at the camp. One of them was Stan Clyburn, played for the Angels in the 80s, and he's managed in the minor leagues for 1000s of games. He's still managing to this day. And Steve Little, who was a coach at the time with the Twins, I asked them, "Do you think I could find a minor league team that would allow me to play for them, so I could live my dream, play professional baseball? And they said, "Sure. Oh yeah, you you should give it a shot. And they gave me a couple names. Ultimately, it took me a year and a half, and I found the Pecos League, which is a low level of independent baseball. I got a hold of the commissioner. His name is Andrew Dunn, and I called him up in March. It turned out this would be March of 2017. I went out to my car at a lunch break from school. I had his phone number, and he answers the phone, "Hello, baseball. And I explain the situation, and he said, "You want to get in a game? We'll get you in a game. And that was that was in 2017. Michael Hingson  49:15 Wow! Evan Katz  49:16 And way it the way it turned out, he invited me out to play for the White Sands Pupfish the last weekend of the season, it had to be with teams that it wouldn't affect the playoffs. And I went out to White Sands, New Mexico, White Sands National Park is there. Alamogordo and the the White Sands Pupfish. I I pitched to two batters, walked one and hit one. I had one plate appearance and was called out on strikes. Didn't lift the bat off my shoulder. Too much fear, as I look back on it. But I became a professional baseball player at age 61. Michael Hingson  49:57 Well, so you got to live your dream. Evan Katz  50:00 Yep, Michael Hingson  50:00 and so after you pitched, what did you do? Evan Katz  50:04 Well, it was all very exciting, and I I actually was interviewed by Bill Littlefield on the NPR radio show Only a Game, talking about playing baseball at age 61, and my friends thought it was really neat and cool, and I had some pictures made, and I gave a lot of graph pictures to Stan Clyburn and Steve Little to thank them for inspiration, and it was all fun. But you know, in baseball, if you're a pitcher and you give up a run without getting anybody anybody out, you have an ERA, which is an earned run average. How many runs you give up in nine innings? Michael Hingson  50:43 Right. Evan Katz  50:43 I had an ERA of infinity. I'm in baseball reference with all these big known baseball players. I'm there with my my my stat line with an ERA of INF infinity, and I'm 65 years old, and I'm saying, man, I don't want to have an ERA of infinity. I don't want to retire with an ERA of infinity, so I got a hold of of Andrew Dunn again, and I said, Andrew, can I come out and pitch again? I want to get my ERA below infinity. I want to get somebody out. So it turns out in 2023, he assigned me to pitch for the Austin weirdos keep Austin weird, right? Keep Portland weird. Keep Burlington weird. You know, keep but whatever weird city you know they have their slogans of keeping the city weird. So Austin weirdos. And the interesting thing was that the weirdos that year in 2023, they had a home field in Austin, but it got burned out. They didn't they didn't have enough water, so they lost their home field. They turned into an all road team, and no player likes to drive through the Pecos League through the desert Southwest from Texas to Arizona, Michael Hingson  52:00 right Evan Katz  52:01 up to Kansas and Colorado for weeks on end. I get to the end of the season, the last weekend of the season in Alpine, Texas, to play the Alpine Cowboys, of course, in Texas, and the Austin Weirdos only have 11 players, and I can pitch. It's a Friday night, and there's a doubleheader on Saturday, and the manager decides, well, we got a guy here who hasn't pitched recently. He should start the game on Friday night. I get a text from the manager in the middle of the day. Evan, you're starting tonight, Derek Dominguez. Talk about no fear. Yeah, starting a 67-year-old pitcher against a lineup of 20-year, 25-year-olds, and I I started against the Alpine Cowboys, and talk about managing your fear. They have it's an old baseball stadium was built in the 1940s. It's got a grandstand behind home plate. You know, a couple things happen there. First of all, I get to the park early because the team was driving. They had to drive. This is the amazing thing. 1111, players. They had to drive 700 miles from the night before from Blackwell, Oklahoma, to Alpine. Michael Hingson  53:20 Wow. Evan Katz  53:22 The catcher comes in the dugout. Wonderful young man. You know, pitchers always worry who is going to catch them. Who's my catcher? And I'm in the dugout waiting, and a young man comes up to me, and he knows who I am, and he says, "I'm Marcus Bracy, and I'm catching you tonight. And the way he said that to me made me feel like he was going to take care of me, and we warmed up. I didn't have any fear. And one thing I did though, when I went out to the mound in the bottom of the first inning, and every inning after that, I made it to the fifth. By the way, I never looked up into the stands. I never wanted to see the crowd. I wanted to keep my eyes focused on this catcher, and that is what helped me get through. And I gave up two runs an inning into the fifth inning. And the interesting thing was that that that was about the team's average. The earned run average for the Austin Weirdos that year was 18 because they had lost so many players, they didn't have many pitchers, and I ended up for that game with an ERA of about 18. So I pitched the same as all the 25-year-old pitchers that pitched for Austin that year. Michael Hingson  54:39 There you go. That certainly is. That certainly is pretty cool. So, what year was that? Evan Katz  54:48 That was 2023. Michael Hingson  54:49 Okay. So, what's happened since? Evan Katz  54:52 Well, I was so taken by the Pecos League and some of the players there, and I had been coaching high school for three years. You know, I had. I had coached at Manchester Essex High School, just north of Boston. I had coached the pitchers and the catchers there. We won the state championship in 2022, and yeah, I saw I'd done a little bit of coaching. And I knew the Pecos League didn't have a lot of money. It didn't pay the players anything hardly. Players make less than $1,000 for most of the teams, and many of the coaches are volunteer coaches. And I asked one of the players; his name was Alex Westman, really nice, nice fellow. I met him for breakfast actually in the fall after the season. I was out visiting my my son in Arkansas. Met him in Missouri for breakfast, and I said, think, think the Pecos League could use a coach like me, and Alex is always an upbeat guy. And unfortunately, Alex was passed away a couple years ago in a tragic motorcycle accident. But I'll always be thankful for Alex for him saying to me, "Oh yeah, you should coach. So I got a hold of the commissioner. I I did coach for a few games for Roswell in 2024, but my mother-in-law took ill, and I had to come home. So last season I ended up teaming up with Todd Everleth, the manager of the North Platte '80s, who I had connected with during 2024 and introduced him to the league. He managed in North Platte, and I asked Todd if he could use a coach, and Todd invited me out to North Platte, Nebraska. And last summer, I was the bullpen coach. One of the hardest things I've ever done, if not the hardest, going from high school coaching to professional coaching at age 69, but somehow it was successful. I helped the pitchers. We ended up going to the the second round of the playoffs. We had a couple of guys called up to higher level leagues, and and it was a success. But but it was again one of the hardest things I've ever done, but at the same time, one of the most rewarding. Michael Hingson  57:04 That's pretty cool. You you did you did so much of that. So you also you've been coaching. So you've been coaching a fair amount over the last few years. You said I think at one point, you were the worst coach in 2025. Evan Katz  57:23 Oh right, not not the worst, close, the least qualified. Oh, the Michael Hingson  57:28 least qualified. Okay, right. Yeah, this is a good story. Evan Katz  57:31 So, so, so Todd and I, you know, Todd Everleth, we're driving his truck around the Midwest. I don't know, it's probably the second second or third road trip, but I'm I'm sitting there, and I'm really beginning to understand the credentials, my new Todd's credentials, and the credentials of the other coaches in in in the Pecos League, which, as I mentioned, is the lowest level of independent baseball. It's not connected to Major League Baseball, and I'm thinking to myself, there's got to be 1000s and 1000s of coaches in professional baseball, major leagues, minor leagues, other independent leagues. Here I am. I'm a coach in the Pecos League. I I have three years of high school coaching experience. I have got to be the least qualified coach in professional baseball. So I said, Todd, I think I'm the least qualified coach in professional baseball, and he he got a real kick out of that. Michael Hingson  58:30 Well, so the real question is, what's going to happen this year? What are you doing now? Evan Katz  58:35 Well, this year, you know, I I am definitely retiring from coaching, as I mentioned, you know, at my age, 69, coaching in professional baseball, you know, your your days start early. They go till late at night. You're traveling a lot in the Pecos League. We drove our own cars, so we drove over 7000 miles last summer. Michael Hingson  58:57 Wow! Evan Katz  58:57 And that that was on top of driving out to Nebraska and coming home, so over 10,000 miles over the course of the summer, way way too demanding. So, but what I'm what I'm doing, Michael, is I think that that I really have some some lessons to share and some experiences to share. And as I as I joked with Todd and some of the other players, the the pitchers out in the bullpen. We were sitting out in the bullpen one night, and the pitchers knew that I wasn't didn't have a lot of experience. And once we all got used to each other, we had a really good time out there. And I'd said to them, I said, I think I'm going to write a book, and the book is going to be the least qualified coach in professional baseball, a survival guide, basically telling the story of how somebody with the least credentials of all the professional coaches was able to figure out how to cope with the challenges and ultimately support the pitching staff. And contribute to the teams going 27 wins and 21 losses, making it the second round of the playoffs, and having players called up to higher level leagues. I think there's some lessons there to share to inspire other people, and so that that's my plan. I'm hoping to do a little bit of motivational speaking. I'm planning to write a book and tell the story of the least qualified coach in professional baseball. Michael Hingson  1:00:28 But you brought a lot of life experience to coaching. Evan Katz  1:00:31 Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, this is one of the things I had to figure out. I knew my technical background was limited, so I had to figure out how can I support these players, how can I be available, and I figured out where to where to sit in the bullpen, so I could listen to their conversations and chime in when needed, and still see what's going on in the game, where to where to be in the outfield during batting practice to have casual conversations, and then I also-I don't think I mentioned this earlier-I had a podcast that I did, and so the podcast, which had a weekly episode and a guest from the Pecos League, I was always looking for stories from the team to interject into the podcast, and that was a great conversation starter. I also took a lot of pictures of the players, candid shots that they would never have been able to take on their own, and then also provide some baseball lessons along the way. You know, there was one pitcher who was very dissatisfied with his outing one night. He said, "I didn't, I don't, I didn't strike out as many guys as I wanted, or I gave up too many runs. And I said, "You left the game when we were ahead here in the Pecos League, where the team score a lot of runs. It's not the absolute results; it's the relative results. Yeah, you did your job. You left the game with the '80s in the lead, and you did great. So I figured out ways to support these guys because they had their own challenges, being away from college, being away from home. Try to figure out how I could support them to bring out their best. Michael Hingson  1:02:12 What a great story, and what a a great insightful thing you said to that pitcher. Well, if people want to reach out to you, how can they do that? Evan Katz  1:02:21 Well, I have a website called Baseball by the Sea Media, where I have some of my writing that I talked about. I've done some baseball biographies and some baseball game stories and some exclusive stories. Baseball by the Sea Media. I'm also on LinkedIn. Those are probably the two easiest ways to find me. Michael Hingson  1:02:44 How do they find you on LinkedIn? Evan Katz  1:02:46 Evan Katz, just I don't think least qualified as a search parameter on LinkedIn. No, it's probably blocked. So, Michael Hingson  1:02:55 so Evan Katz is spelled Evan Katz  1:02:57 E V A N K A T Z. Michael Hingson  1:03:00 So there you go. Well, I want to tell you that when that book comes out, we have to to do another one of these because I want to really have a chance to feature the book and all that. So keep us posted. Evan Katz  1:03:13 Absolutely, I'm I'm I'm looking forward to to working on it, Michael. And I appreciate you having me on today. Michael Hingson  1:03:18 Well, I want to thank you, and I want to thank all of you for watching and listening, and I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me at speaker at michaelhinkson m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com. Love it if you'd give us a five star rating, but more important than a rating, please give us a great review. Review the podcast and say nice things about Evan. That's a that's a beautiful thing to do. If anyone knows anyone who ought to be a guest on our podcast, Evan, including you, feel free to introduce us. We're always looking for people to come on and tell their stories. But for now, I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank you for spending an hour with us and and making it a very enjoyable and an unstoppable day. Evan Katz  1:04:03 Absolutely, Michael, it's my pleasure. Michael Hingson  1:04:08 Thank you for being here with me on Unstoppable Mindset. I hope today's conversation left you with a fresh perspective, a new insight, or at least something worth thinking about. If you're ready to go deeper into the ideas that shape how we see ourselves and others, I have a free gift for you. Head over to michaelhingson.com and download my free ebook, Blinded by Fear. It explores the invisible beliefs that hold us back and shows you how to reframe them so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share this show with someone who can use a reminder that growth starts with mindset. When people think differently, we all move forward. Together, thanks again for listening. Keep learning, keep questioning, and keep choosing to live with an unstoppable mindset.

Chapter 1 - Paul Hofmann, Ph.D., Associate Provost for International Affairs at the University of Louisville and Society for American Baseball Research member, joins us this week to discuss Charlie Ferguson, a forgotten 19th Century baseball star. Ferguson played four seasons in his early 20s with the Philadelphia Quakers (now, Phillies) in the National League and by 1887, Ferguson's final season, he emerged as a rising two-way star, excelling both at the plate (.337 average) and on the mound (99 wins over 4 seasons). Ferguson died from typhoid fever in April 1888 after a month-long battle with the illness. He had turned 25 years old just two weeks prior. Ferguson was regarded at the time and for many years after as one of the greatest players in baseball history.Chapter 2 - Another gambling scandal, only not in professional baseball."Charlie Ferguson," by Paul Hofmann, at https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Charlie-Ferguson/ (accessed June 9, 2026).Consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if available), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns.Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2026.

Baseball's Outcast: The Story of Ron LeFlore is this author's latest book, published by Bloomsbury Academic in April 2026. Henig has also penned the well-received Watergate's Forgotten Hero: Frank Wills, Night Watchman, as well as Alex Haley's Roots: An Author's Odyssey, and Baseball Under Siege: The Yankees, the Cardinals, and a Doctor's Battle to Integrate Spring Training. His writings have appeared in Time, Tampa Bay Times, Washington Independent Review of Books, Detroit Metro Times, and BlackPast. He is an active member of the Biographers International Organization and the Society for American Baseball Research. BIO member and podcast producer Jenny Skoog Mondesir interviewed Adam Henig.

Ryan Woodward joins the show to discuss the incredible slate of women's baseball events coming to Rockford, Illinois this summer, his ongoing Women's Baseball Heritage Trail project, and his recent research trip to Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. The conversation covers the Women's Baseball World Cup, Baseball For All nationals, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League reunion, and the growing recognition of women in baseball history through statues, murals, and archives across the country.Topics Covered:Women's Baseball World Cup group stage coming to Rockford (July 22–27, 2026), with finals returning in 2027Baseball For All - Tournament in Rockford & Loves Park (July 19–25)All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) season starting August 1 in Springfield, ILThe Women's Baseball Heritage Trail – approaching 600 identified sites across the U.S.The collections at Bridgewater State featuring scrapbooks from Mary Pratt, Dottie Green, Maddie English, Margaret Russo, Helen Nordquist, and othersWomen's baseball statues and monuments – Mo'ne Davis, Gertie Dunn, and Toni StoneSue Zipay and her work with American Girls BaseballPlant Field in Tampa and the AAGPBL – 7 nights of double headersThe Effa Manley oral history recording at the Happy Chandler Library, University of KentuckyWomens Baseball Heritage Trail - finding unique locations while you are on the road - https://womeninbaseballweek.org/index.php/heritagetrail/Links & Resources:IWBC (International Women's Baseball Center): iwbc.orgWomen's Baseball World Cup Tickets & Info: https://www.iwbc.org/worldcup/ Baseball For All: baseballforall.comAAGPBL Players Association: aagpbl.orgWomen's Baseball Heritage Trail: Available through IWBC / Ryan Woodward https://womeninbaseballweek.org/index.php/heritagetrail/ Women in Baseball Week (July 19–25): womeninbaseballweek.orgBridgewater State University Archives (AAGPBL collections) - https://archives.bridgew.edu/subjects/101  SABR (Society for American Baseball Research): sabr.orgHappy Chandler Library, University of Kentucky (Effa Manley recording) https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7gth8bj15tKey Dates:July 19–25: Women in Baseball Week / Baseball For All Nationals / AAGPBL Reunion – Rockford, ILJuly 22–27: Women's Baseball World Cup Group Stage – Rivets Stadium, Loves Park, ILAugust 1: WPBL season begins – Springfield, IL2027: Women's Baseball World Cup Finals – Rockford, IL

Dr. Stephen V. Rice joins us in the first chapter to talk about his recent article in the Baseball Research Journal, "The 1915 Army Baseball Team at West Point: Five Future Generals and an 18–3 Record." In the second chapter, a look at two-time American League batting champion Ferris Fain and his tragic post-career fall. We close the episode with a short concert review. Links:The Society for American Baseball Research - www.sabr.orgThe Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal - https://tinyurl.com/brjf2025Listeners interested in previous episodes with stories about baseball, music, the military and war should search for episodes 238 (Artie Shaw and World War II), 205 (Bethlehem Steel League), 189 (Baseball players serving in the Chemical Warfare Unit), Episode 169 (Moe Berg was a spy), Episode 168 (Ted Williams and John Glenn), Episode 107 (Baseball players serving in World War II), and Episode 106 (Sam Nahim and the G.I. World Series). Our episode about Rube Waddell is No. 82.Consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2026.

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 2851: Dr. Diana Kirschner reveals six powerful strategies for meeting high-quality men in real life by stepping away from dating apps and toward enriching, “mentastic” activities. From advanced hobby groups to teaching classes and changing up your routine, her approach encourages authentic connection through shared interests and natural chemistry. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://lovein90days.com/where-to-meet-men-offline/ Quotes to ponder: "Mentastic activities are ongoing classes or activities that really interest you and that have lots of men in them." "Find and say hello to three new men every day." "You will be in your element, at maximum charisma, and usually surrounded by men who look up to you." Episode references: Society for American Baseball Research: https://sabr.org Habitat for Humanity: https://www.habitat.org Meetup: https://www.meetup.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 2851: Dr. Diana Kirschner reveals six powerful strategies for meeting high-quality men in real life by stepping away from dating apps and toward enriching, "mentastic" activities. From advanced hobby groups to teaching classes and changing up your routine, her approach encourages authentic connection through shared interests and natural chemistry. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://lovein90days.com/where-to-meet-men-offline/ Quotes to ponder: "Mentastic activities are ongoing classes or activities that really interest you and that have lots of men in them." "Find and say hello to three new men every day." "You will be in your element, at maximum charisma, and usually surrounded by men who look up to you." Episode references: Society for American Baseball Research: https://sabr.org Habitat for Humanity: https://www.habitat.org Meetup: https://www.meetup.com  

Moving from a pro baseball diamond to a Hollywood set is a rare occurrence. The examples start in the early 1900s, when vaudeville and silent films were a natural spot for sports heroes. The pattern continues all the way to modern Hollywood studios and the current media scene.We're going to examine the stories of nine professional baseball players who leveraged their athletic careers to start new ones as on-stage or on-screen actors. Some were fueling a second passion, some did it for survival after playing days were done, and some used their skills on the field to build legacies that still exist in Hollywood today.It's been a fascinating topic to study. If you're interested in learning more about the baseball to Hollywood pipeline, I highly recommend you check out:- From Spring Training to Screen Test: Baseball Players Turned Actors which is an ebook produced by the Society for American Baseball Research and edited by Rob Edelman and friend of the show Bill Nowlin.- The Hall of Famer Filmography assembled by the National Baseball Hall of Fame- The book Bats, Balls, and Hollywood Stars: Hollywood's Love Affair with Baseball by Joe Siegman.- Make sure to check out the episode about John McGraw to learn more about his life and accomplishments.Get Deeper Into the Episode⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the FREE Substack newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ for videos, photos, and other content related to this episode.Liked the Show? Leave Me a One-Time "Good Game" Tip!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tip on Stripe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tip on PayPal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow on Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow on Tik Tok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Send Me a Question for a Future Show!Email me at rounderspodcast@gmail.com

On this episode, Dan Wallach talks with Ed Wheatley, who is the vice president of the St. Louis chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, an award-winning author of multiple baseball books, an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, and a St. Louis Cardinals historian. Follow MBH on facebook, bluesky, twitter, and instagram @shoelesspodcast and sign up for the email newsletter at shoelesspodcast.substack.com Don't forget to rate, review, and listen on iTunes, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Thanks to: Ryan Starinsky for the opening theme and his acoustic version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" Randy Moore for his baseball organ version of "Kingpin" by Get Married Gary Cieradkowski at www.studiogaryc.com for creating the artwork Ed Wheatley My mom

Bill Nowlin was a co-founder of Rounder Records in the early 1960s and is a co-founder of Down the Road Records. He most recently co-edited "Native American Major Leaguers," (Society for American Baseball Research, 2025), with  Rob Daugherty. Also this episode, MTV is closing it's music stations, Craig went to see Turnstile and our favorite records from the third quarter, 2025.Bill Nowlin:Down the Road Recordshttps://www.downtheroadrecords.com/"Native American Major Leaguers" at SABRhttps://sabr.org/latest/sabr-digital-library-native-american-major-leaguers/Errata: The original name of the Cleveland Guardians was the Columbus Buckeyes in 1896. The Cleveland Blues were National League team from 1879 to 1884. The team was merged into the Brooklyn Greys in 1885.Episodes mentioned:138 - Béisbol, Fiestas y Monster Dogs w/ Jesús Granadoshttps://www.buzzsprout.com/875794/episodes/12208260Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

Ohio native Benny Kauff made his Major League debut in 1912. He jumped to the Federal League in 1914 where he emerged to stand among that circuit's best hitters.  After the Federal League folded, Kauff signed with John McGraw's New York Giants and claimed the team's center field position. Kauff held that spot until a New York grand jury indicted him for grand larceny (car theft) after the 1919 season. Kauff, also burdened with gambling accusations, played just 55 games for New York in 1920 then was traded in early July to a minor league team. In May, 1921, a New York jury acquitted Kauff of the grand larceny charge, but the baseball never lifted Kauff's suspension during his life. Kauff's is a wild tale about baseball, Tammany Hall justice, city life during the dead ball era, and a ballplayer that just maybe got a raw deal. Sources: ( )  Gary Joseph Cieradkowski, "Benny Kauff: Stealing Bases and Automobiles," Cieradkowski at https://studiogaryc.com/2018/08/03/benny-kauff-stealing-bases-and-automobiles/ (last accessed October 11, 2025); (2) David Jones, "Benny Kauff," Society for American Baseball Research at https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/benny-kauff/ (last accessed October 11, 2025); (3) Dozens of newspapers articles accessed via newspapers.com and (4) Statistics were available via Baseball Reference, https://www.baseball-reference.com/.Errata: Benny Kauff suffered from diphtheria in March 2021, not Kennesaw Mountain Landis.Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025. 

The University of Nebraska Press is proud to announce the publication of Baseball in the Roaring Twenties: The Yankees, the Cardinals, and the Captivating 1926 Season by Thomas Wolf, author of The Called Shot: Babe Ruth, the Chicago Cubs, and the Unforgettable Major League Baseball Season of 1932 (Nebraska, 2020), finalist for the Seymour Medal from the Society for American Baseball Research; and coauthor, with Patricia Bryan, of Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland.In 1926 baseball stars of an earlier era still played major roles in the game: Veteran pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander was the hero of the 1926 World Series; Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker faced explosive allegations of game-fixing; Babe Ruth's mysterious illness and dismal 1925 season convinced many observers that Ruth was finished—over the hill. Meanwhile, new stars like Tony Lazzeri and Lou Gehrig had arrived on the scene, and the Negro Leagues were at the height of their popularity and success with Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants winning the Colored World Series of 1926. One of America's most ardent fans cheered from the White House—not the taciturn president, Calvin Coolidge, but his vibrant and well-liked wife, Grace.#yankees #cardinals #stlouiscardinals #baseball #newyorkyankees #1920s

Music has a way of attaching itself to moments in our lives. A song can instantly transport us back to a place, a person, or a feeling — becoming part of our own personal soundtrack. In this special episode, I reflect on how Ozzy Osbourne's “Crazy Train” became permanently linked in my memory not just to Ozzy, but to Colorado Rockies legend Larry Walker. When Walker stepped to the plate at Coors Field in the 90s, “Crazy Train” echoed through the ballpark — fusing music and baseball into one unforgettable soundscape of childhood summers in Denver. We trace the story from Ozzy's final live performance and passing in 2025, through Larry Walker's journey from Canadian hockey hopeful to Rockies MVP, to the history of walk-up songs in Major League Baseball. Along the way, we explore how music has always been woven into the game, from “Tessie” and the 1903 Boston Americans to the stadium anthems that defined the modern era. This episode is part memoir, part baseball history, and part reflection on the universal power of music to connect us across time, place, and emotion. Mentioned in this Episode • Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz (1980) • Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies outfielder (1995–2004) • The May 21, 1996 Rockies vs. Pirates game at Coors Field • The history of walk-up songs in Major League Baseball • “Tessie” and the Royal Rooters, 1903 World Series • Books: • Lawrence S. Ritter – The Glory of Their Times • Bob Ryan – When Boston Won the World Series • Mike Vaccaro – The First Fall Classic Resources • Baseball Reference: baseball-reference.com • SABR (Society for American Baseball Research): sabr.org • Baseball Almanac: baseball-almanac.com • Purple Row (Colorado Rockies coverage): purplerow.com • Lawrence S. Ritter – The Glory of Their Times • Bob Ryan – When Boston Won the World Series • Mike Vaccaro – The First Fall Classic #musicpodcast #ozzyosbourne #larrywalker #baseball #baseballpodcast

Ed Wheatley, president of the St. Louis Browns Historical Society, joins us this week to discuss the Browns, an American League team from 1902 to 1953. Wheatley is the co-author of "St. Louis Browns: The Story of a Beloved Team" (Reedy Press 2017), which was  selected best book published on baseball in 2017 by Sports Collectors Digest and nominated for the Larry Ritter Award as the best book on baseball published in 2017 by Society for American Baseball Research.Wheatley was also technical advisor for the award winning PBS documentary " The St. Louis Browns - The Team Baseball Forgot" (2018) and was executive producer of the award winning sequel  "A Baseball Legacy - Fans Remember the St. Louis Browns" (2019).Ed Wheatley on Facebook, at Reedy Presshttps://www.facebook.com/edward.wheatley.56/https://reedypress.com/author/wheatley/ed-wheatley/The St. Louis Browns Historical Society webpagehttps://www.thestlbrowns.com/Stream "The St. Louis Browns - The Team Baseball Forgot" https://tinyurl.com/baseballforgotStream "A Baseball Legacy - Fans Remember the St. Louis Browns"https://tinyurl.com/fansrememberHooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/ Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/ Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on Tik TokEric on FacebookMusic: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)     This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.  

Bugs Raymond battled alcoholism while pitching for the Tigers, Cardinals and Giants as well as several minor league teams during the early Deadball Era -- this week we discuss Raymond's difficult and tragic life in baseball and afterwards. In Chapter 2, Craig and Rex have six players they believe ought to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame but are not. They'll tell you who those players are. They also have some thoughts on Kendrick Lamar's halftime show and Beyonce's Best Country Album GRAMMY Award (like everyone else, apparently).Bugs Raymond SourcesBaseball-Reference.comSociety for American Baseball Research (www.sabr.com) ("Looking Back at the End of Bugs Raymond's Career" and "Bugs Raymond")Newspaper articles accessed via newspaper.comCenterfieldMaz.com ("The Wild Story Of the Heavy Drinking New York Giants Pitcher: Bugs Raymond (1908-1910)")You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including books featured in this episode, through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - www.hooksandruns.com Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com Hooks & Runs on TwitterCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/ Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on Tik TokEric on FacebookMusic: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)     This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.   

In episode 274 we learn about environmentally friendly charcoal with Ben Jablonski from The Good Charcoal and we go back in time to 1959 with author, Phil Coffin as we discuss his books, When Baseball Was Still Topps and A Baseball Book of Days. Plus Chef Ray Sheehan assumes guest co-hosting duties. Ben Jablonski is the co-founder of The Good Charcoal.  The company's mission is good charcoal, good for the environment, good for the community.  Ben grew up in Australia where grilling was central to celebrations or gatherings.  In 2020, Ben wanted to give consumers a healthy charcoal alternative.  The Good Charcoal won a 2023 leadership award through the Forest Stewardship Council due to their sustainability efforts in Namibia. As a leader in building ethical organizations, Ben has been featured in The Washington Post, Yahoo! Finance, and The Weather Channel to talk about how The Good Charcoal is making a positive impact on the environment and people's health.  Go to https://www.thegoodcharcoal.com/ for more information. Phil Coffin is a longtime editor at The New York Times and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.  He joined us to discuss his two books, When Baseball Was Still Topps:  Portraits of the Game in 1959, Card by Card and A Baseball Book of Days: Thirty-One Moments That Transformed the Game. When Baseball Was Still Topps tells the importance of baseball in 1959 while looking at every card in the 1959 Topps set and provides fascinating details.  A Baseball Book of Days provides a detailed narrative of the game's most important moments, told in 31 singular, remarkable days. We recommend you go to Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Magnechef https://magnechef.com/ for excellent and unique barbecue gloves, Cutting Edge Firewood High Quality Kiln Dried Firewood - Cutting Edge Firewood in Atlanta for high quality firewood and cooking wood, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/   We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky. We truly appreciate our listeners and hope that all of you are staying safe. If you would like to contact the show, we would love to hear from you.   Call the show:  (516) 855-8214 Email:  baseballandbbq@gmail.com Twitter:  @baseballandbbq Instagram:  baseballandbarbecue YouTube:  baseball and bbq Website:  https//baseballandbbq.weebly.com Facebook:  baseball and bbq    

Do you know who inspired the iconic Louisville slugger baseball bat? Tune in for an inspiring discussion with Tim Newby on his new #book The Original Louisville Slugger: The Life and Times of Forgotten Baseball Legend Pete Browning.Moments with Marianne airs in the Southern California area on KMET1490AM & 98.1 FM, an ABC Talk News Radio affiliate! Tim Newby is an American writer and educator. He is the author of three books and his work has appeared in a variety of publications including Bluegrass Unlimited, Paste Magazine, AmericanaUK, Society for American Baseball Research, and Honest Tune, where he was the Features Editor. He has been called "one of Baltimore's most beloved historians”, and The Original Louisville Slugger is a CASEY Award Finalist 2024 for Best Baseball Book of the Year. https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781985900851/the-original-louisville-slugger/ For more show information visit:www.MariannePestana.com

Outfielder Sam Rice played 20 seasons in the Major Leagues - all but one with the Washington Nationals (later, the Senators). Rice retired from the game with 2,987 hits, 13 shy of the coveted mark of 3,000, making him the player that came the closest to reaching that milestone. In this episode, we look at Rice's sometimes tragic, often triumphant life.Selected Sources:Stephen Able, "Sam Rice," Society for American Baseball Research (sabr.org).Stanley Milliken, "White Sox Win 6-2," Washington Post, August 8, 1915,C. Norman Willis, "Washington Senators: All-Time Greats," (Xlibris 2003).Gregory H. Wolf, "October 10, 1925: Senators Sam Rice makes dazzling catch to preserve victory in Game 3 - or did he?" Society for American Baseball Research (sabr.org).You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - www.hooksandruns.com Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com Hooks & Runs on TwitterCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/ Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on Tik TokEric on FacebookMusic: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)     This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.    

Episode 260 features Mark Anderson, one half of the Grill Dad's discussing all things barbecue and grilling while Doug Scheiding joins us for additional "grilling" and Doug Kurkul discusses his latest book, It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball which explores the game and players from the 1960's. Mark Anderson is one half of the Grill Dad's.  He previously joined us on episode 143 with the other Grill Dad, Ryan Fey.  This time he is flying solo and he provides an update on the exciting things the Grill Dads have been up to as well as discussing many other grilling related items.  They have made numerous television appearances, including Guy's Big Project, hosted by Guy Fieri and they starred in the primetime shows, The Grill Dads and Comfort Food Tour on the Food Network.  They have also appeared on Beat Bobby Flay, The Wendy Williams Show, The Today Show, and the Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show.  They are also the authors of the cookbook, The Best Grilling Cookbook Ever Written By Two Idiots.  Doug Scheiding adds his own special flair as we enjoy a grill filled discussion. Doug Kurkul has a day job, but it is his role as author that brings him to us as he discusses his latest tome, It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball which explores the game and players from the 1960's.  The following fdescription taken from the book says it best.  "Doug brings this memorable era to life, drawing on contemporary news accounts, player memoirs, as well as recent interviews with dozens of former players. The book provides an informative and amusing inside look at what it was like to be a major league ballplayer in the Sixties, making It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball the definitive 21st Century book on 1960s baseball.  Doug is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.  In 2009, as CEO of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce, he collaborated with Pacific Coast League President, Branch Rickey III and Aces manager Brett Butler to welcome the Reno Aces as the PCL's newest team. We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky. We recommend you go to Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Magnechef https://magnechef.com/ for excellent and unique barbecue gloves, Cutting Edge Firewood High Quality Kiln Dried Firewood - Cutting Edge Firewood in Atlanta for high quality firewood and cooking wood, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/ We truly appreciate our listeners and hope that all of you are staying safe.   If you would like to contact the show, we would love to hear from you. Call the show:  (516) 855-8214 Email:  baseballandbbq@gmail.com Twitter:  @baseballandbbq Instagram:  baseballandbarbecue YouTube:  baseball and bbq Website:  https//baseballandbbq.weebly.com Facebook:  baseball and bbq 

Bobby Mathews pitched in three major leagues from 1871 to 1887 and ended his career with 297 career wins. Why did he stop playing when he was so close to 300? This episode looks into Mathews' career as well as wins as a statistical category and 300 wins as a significant career milestone to kick off this series about players who came very close, but did not quite reach landmark career totals.Errata: Justin Verlander made one start for Houston before going on the injured list in 2020.Episodes Referenced:213 - Talking 1890 Players League Blues w/ Robert Ross Major Sources:Brian McKenna, "Bobby Mathews," Society for American Baseball Research website, www.sabr.org.Frank Vaccaro, "Origins of the Modern Pitching Win," 2013 Baseball Research Journal.The source for all player statistics is baseball-reference.com.Too many contemporary newspapers accounts to list here.Hooks & Runs - www.hooksandruns.comHooks & Runs on Twitter - https://twitter.com/thehooksandrunsRex von Pohl (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/ Hosts Emeritus:Andrew Eckhoff on Tik TokLink: https://www.tiktok.com/@hofffest Eric on FacebookLink: https://www.facebook.com/ichabodericEmail us: hooksandruns@protonmail.comMusic: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (Premium Beat Lic.)    Music: Title: "Inscencer (1 hour)"; Artist: P C III; Link: Free Music Archive; License: CC By 4.0 (https://tinyurl.com/ccby4hooks) This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum.    

The Negro Leagues' statistics have been integrated into the MLB database. We are joined by Patrick Ellington Jr., writer for Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com, to discuss some of the history and segregation of black baseball. Negro League research and Baseball desegregation resources recommended by Patrick - The Society for American Baseball Research - https://sabr.org/ A Long Way From Home - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iurY969w290 The 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates

Alain Usereau discute avec Jack Anderson, un membre de la Society for American Baseball Research, et expert dans les Ligues des Noirs.Licence d'utilisation légale de la musique: Baseball Music - ikoliks License d'utilisation: 3ZLT2RSPQN#CompteComplet #Entretiens #balado #baladodiffusion #podcast #baseball #AlainUsereau #JackAnderson #LiguesdesNoirs #NegroLeagueBaseball

Baseball cards were collected, traded, and used in games we made up as kids. In recent decades, however, the collectibles market has turned these into a multi-million-dollar business. They are the stuff of memories, the object of historians, and an addition to some people's portfolios. A recent discovery of a rare set of T206 cards sold in cigarette packs in the early 20th century has become a book, "What's in Ted's Wallet?"  The owner of these cards was Theodore "Ted" Edison, the youngest son of Thomas Alva Edison. In the summer of 1909, Ted began collecting these cards and soon amassed a collection of 61, including 58 players. Many of them ended up in the Baseball Hall of Fame, such as Ty Cobb, Frank Chance, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson. He kept them in a wallet made that year, and they were found among Ted's donated papers in the 1990s. When J.B. Manheim and co-author Lawrence Knorr found these during archival research on Edison and baseball, they knew they had a book! J.B. Manheim is Professor Emeritus at The George Washington University, where he developed the world's first degree-granting program in political communication. He is also the founding director of the School of Media & Public Affairs. He is the author of "The Deadball Files," a five-volume series on the early years of professional baseball in the 20th century. He is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, and International Thriller Writers.  

Author and arts administrator JC McPherson is also a trained master electrician who approaches poetry with a troubleshooting mindset. He says that "writing a poem is no different than wiring up a new room, like putting new lights in the outlets. And it's a process."JC often returns to his favorite writing prompt because it "shakes something loose" and helps him relax into his writing. Shake up your writing process and have fun while doing it with his help!About JC McPhersonJC McPherson has a background in writing, electricity, and general troubleshooting. A recipient of the 2022-2023 National Leaders of Color Fellowship through South Arts, he is an associate for the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative, Creative Writing Instructor, and arts administrator. He is a member of the Affrilachian Poets and the author of numerous collections of poetry. He's also a member of the Society of American Baseball Research. 

If you're listening to this episode around the time when it's being released, then you'll be listening to this right on the last day of Black History Month in the United States. It should go without saying that Black History is American History, but we're going to say it anyway, and we'll add that it shouldn't be confined just to the shortest month of the year but instead should be taught to our kids every day of the year, and should be talked about by us as grownups by an equal amount.  This year, given where we are politically and nationally, we wanted to recognize another key day in February - February 19th. That's the day when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced 120,000 Japanese Americans (American citizens) to leave their homes and be relocated to concentration camps ON AMERICAN SOIL. They lost everything - their homes, their possessions, their businesses - but despite all of that, they fought to hold onto their dignity and as much of “normal life” as possible. Part of that normal life, for so many Japanese Americans, was the ultra-American pastime of baseball.   That's exactly why we're bringing you this episode today - an updated episode from last year where we talk about baseball, the Negro Leagues, and the history behind America's favorite pastime - baseball - that you might not know, and probably weren't taught in schools.   What to listen for: The story of how baseball bridged a racial divide during WWII between white and Japanese children. The separate (and decidedly not equal) conditions under which Black and white ballplayers had to play Names of some Black superstar baseball players who – if/when integrated into the Hall of Fame – would be as good or better than some of the MLB athletes we celebrate today How to talk with your kids, from kindergarten through high school, about this specific period of baseball in American history Resources:    Episode 50, Why Aren't Black Kids Playing Baseball?   Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Society for AMerican Baseball Research – statistics We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball A Negro League Scrapbook Mamie On The Mound Who Were The Negro Leagues? Undeniable: Negro League Women Undeniable: International Impact Undeniable: Jackie and Monte

Dixie Tourangeau was born and raised in Central Massachusetts. Despite living near the dividing line of the battleground between Red Sox and Yankees fans, Dixie's allegiance lies in an unexpected direction.We'll chat about how Dixie first fell in love with baseball, the method behind his team loyalty, and his extensive involvement with SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). As the creative force behind the Play Ball! Calendar for nearly 25 years, Dixie has not only educated fans on baseball history but also even potentially influenced Veterans Committee elections into the Hall of Fame.And, even though he's witnessed three no-hitters live, Dixie recounts an even rarer event that he was present for. Something so unique it has only happened once in the history of the game.  View show notes, images,  and read the full interview transcript here: https://baseballbucketlist.com/podcast/episode-139-dixie-tourangeau/ Find Baseball Bucket List Online:Twitter: @BaseballBucketFacebook: @BaseballBucketListInstagram: @Baseball.Bucket.ListWebsite: baseballbucketlist.comThis podcast is part of the Curved Brim Media Network:Twitter: @CurvedBrimWebsite: curvedbrimmedia.com------Learn more about JapanBall's tour offerings at japanball.com

Data is going to help you up your marketing game. We're showing you how.Right off the bat, “data analysis” probably doesn't stir the soul. But it's how you tune into your target audience so you can tailor your campaigns to them. Your messages will be more relevant, you'll boost engagement, and not only convert leads but create lasting customer relationships. In other words, it's by leveraging data that you graduate from bush league to pro. And what better way to show the benefits of leveraging data than talking about how sabermetrics shaped the world of baseball.So In this episode, we're talking about the Academy Award-winning movie, Moneyball, with the help of special guest, Founder & CMO of Entry Point 1, Tim Hillison. Together, we chat about tuning into your marketing data, doing market research to understand your ICP, and tying statistics to human stories. So batter up for this episode of Remarkable.About our guest, Tim HillisonTim Hillison is the Founder & CMO of Entry Point 1, a growth advisory consultancy for B2B SaaS & Technology startups and scaleups.  He has 25 years of global marketing experience, has led marketing three times on two continents, and has worked for some of the world's most recognized brands, including Visa, Microsoft, and PayPal. Tim's expertise spans Fortune 500 enterprises and fast-moving venture-funded technology startups from series A - E. About Entry Point 1Entry Point 1 connects marketing strategy to business outcomes across the customer journey. Helping it's customers build launch, and run efficient marketing programs that transform their organizations and financial results.  About MoneyballMoneyball is based on a true story about the general manager of the Oakland Athletics trying to assemble a competitive baseball team on a tight budget. This comes after the A's loss to the Yankees the previous year, in 2001, and as they're losing their star players. So the GM, Billy Beane, teams up with player analyst and Yale economics grad, Peter Brand, and together they use sabermetrics to evaluate and sign undervalued players.Sabermetrics are statistics of in-game activity, including batting, pitching and fielding. The term comes from the acronym SABR, for the Society for American Baseball Research. It's a way to look objectively at player performance. In other words, Peter Brand says it's a way to “find value in players that nobody else can see. People are overlooked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws. Age, appearance, and personality.”So the movie is about challenging a traditional value system, where big city teams that have money can afford better players whereas small market teams have to be more strategic about who they sign.The movie came out in 2011 and is based on a book by author Michael Lewis called Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. It stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane and Jonah Hill as Peter Brand. It was directed by Bennett Miller and the screenplay is by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Moneyball:Tune into your marketing data. It will tell you objectively what strategies are most effective. Use that information to dial in your content. You'll uncover new and overlooked ways of marketing that you wouldn't have used otherwise. Ian says that It's like in Moneyball, when “Billy Bean realizes that you can get a player who can't run, can't catch and can't steal bases; They can only hit home runs, but that's super valuable. And while everyone else sees them as a bad player, you see them as a gem. So what are your marketing versions of that? Is it a channel? Is it a budget item? Is it a way to create something that is consistent and repeatable that won't be perfect, but it will be consistent?”Do market research to understand your ICP. That is, your Ideal Customer Profile. This is how you know your product is meeting an actual need, not a perceived one. Tim says, “You have to do market research for this, to understand where your customers are and where to meet them and what different channels work better for those companies. If you don't spend the time aligning your revenue team to understand that at the beginning, and you just rush right into the tactics, that's where you miss the mark.”  Tie statistics to human stories. Along with the stats you use to prove value to your audience, tell customer success stories. Because it's those human stories that will seal the deal with your audience. Ian says, “Stats are pretty boring, but stats give you a story that is extremely compelling in which there are human beings at the end of the statistic.” It's another way to humanize your brand, by sharing stories instead of just numbers.Quotes*”[The A's] lose like 14 games before winning 20 games in a row, which beats the record. This is what B2B marketing is about because there are lead and lag times in marketing. Marketing is not something where you do it and instantly it happens. ” - Tim Hillison*”In your marketing, you need to find those customer stories where it went above and beyond, where they tell their family and friends about it, where it changed someone's career.” - Ian Faison*”People buy from others like them. And also we know that B2B buyers are not passive. They're out there scouring the internet to research your brand before sales even calls you. And so those that are authentic and have a strategy, meaning that they're talking with a consistent brand voice using the same story and relevant messaging, and they understand their ICP's frustrations and pain points, that is where you build future relationships.” - Tim Hillison*”Helping people get to the next level. That's what they want. How is your software or how is your product going to help people achieve their goals? It's that level of authenticity people want to help them get there.” - Tim Hillison*”Sometimes you try something new and it doesn't work out at first. Then you have to tweak it before it starts getting better and better and better, and then you're on a roll as a team. That energy is electric, and all it does is bring you together as a team. It's an amazing wave of emotion that's created in the film, too.”Time Stamps[0:55] Meet Tim Hillison, Founder & CMO of Entry Point 1[2:01] Why are we talking about Moneyball?[3:26] What does Tim's work at Entry Point 1 entail?[3:48] What is Moneyball about?[11:39] What makes Moneyball remarkable?[17:53] What marketing lessons can we take from Moneyball?[42:43] What's Tim's content strategy?[46:58] How does Tim prove the ROI of content?[49:22] What are some of Tim's favorite pieces of content or campaigns?[51:16] What advice would Tim give to marketers today?LinksWatch MoneyballConnect with Tim on LinkedInLearn more about Entry Point 1About Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith Gooderham, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Called Up Author, Zak Ford and an Encore Presentation with Barbecue Renaissance Man, Andy Husbands Zak Ford is a chapter leader with the Society for American Baseball Research and serves on the advisory committee of the Pacific Coast League Historical Society.  As fans of the game we love hearing the players stories of the moment they learned they were being called up to the Major Leagues sometimes referred to as "The Show" and for some details of what happens when they first arrive.  In his book, Called Up:  Ballplayers Remember Becoming Major Leaguers, Zak has interviewed more than 100 players who debuted between 1961 and 2018 and delights readers with stories which run the gamut from humorous to heartwarming.   Andy Husbands was a guest on episode 110 and the listener feedback was exceptional so we felt the need to play it again.  Andy is an award-winning chef, author, and pitmaster as well as a television personality.  He is the owner of five Smoke Shop BBQ restaurants located throughout Boston, MA and is the three-time winner of Boston Magazine's "Best Barbecue" in 2018, 2019, and 2021. With a career spanning nearly 30 years in the restaurant industry, Husbands serves as one of the city's most celebrated culinary leaders and a foremost authority on regional barbecue and live-fire cooking in New England.  He also works to bring awareness to the charity, Share Our Strength, the nation's leading childhood hunger relief organization.  He may not have won season six of the television show, Hell's Kitchen, but he has a lot to say about the experience and many other things he has accomplished on his culinary journey.   We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky. We recommend you go to Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/ If you would like to contact the show, we would love to hear from you.   Call the show:  (516) 855-8214 Email:  baseballandbbq@gmail.comTwitter:  @baseballandbbqInstagram:  baseballandbarbecueYouTube:  baseball and bbqWebsite:  https//baseballandbbq.weebly.com Facebook:  baseball and bbq

David Stringbean Akeman was one of the biggest stars on the Grand Ole Opry throughout the 1950s. The accomplished banjo player rose to national fame thanks to his appearances on the country variety show Hee Haw. In November 1973, Stringbean and his wife Estelle were  murdered at their cabin just outside Nashville. Their deaths forever changed Music City. Want more Southern Mysteries?  Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast Twitter: @southernpod_ Instagram: @shannonballard_ Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com  Episode Sources Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Music Legend by Taylor Hagood. University Press of MS (May 2023). https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p087110 Birthplace of Country Music Museum. (2023, May 16). BCM Museum Speaker Sessions - Stringbean: The Life & Murder with Taylor Hagood. Youtube.  (https://youtu.be/xYGB3f1ZRM0?si=XKRfNATk4xo9rbv4).  Nashville Bar Association. (2019, June 6). The Stringbean Murders: Death in Baker Holler | Part 1.Youtube. (https://youtu.be/8-lAR_lHeG0?si=TtXFat3yJ4GQAC6h).  Nashville Bar Association. (2019, June 6). The Stringbean Murders: Death in Baker Holler | Part 2.Youtube. (https://youtu.be/QK9JVZdm1_M?si=nqaQTf-HNAohFC1_).  Bluegrass Baseball: Barnstorming Band and Ball Club, Society for American Baseball Research. (Viewed November 1, 2023) Stringnbean Akeman and Wife are Slain, The Advocate-Messenger, November 12, 1973. (Viewed November 4, 2023) Killers Missed $5700, The Tennessean, November 12, 1973.(Viewed November 2, 2023) End of Innocence, The Tennessean, November 10, 2013. (Viewed November 2, 2023) A Tribute to Stringbean, The Fort Worth Telegram Star, November 13, 1973. (Viewed November 3, 2023) 'Stringbean' Akeman's killer gets parole,Tennessean,Oct 14, 2014. (Viewed Nov 1, 2023) Episode Music Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use. Castleshire by Chris Haugen. Licensed under Creative Commons.

On this episode, Dan Wallach talks with Jacob Pomrenke, who is the Director of Editorial Content at the Society for American Baseball Research, and the chair of the Black Sox Scandal Research Committee. Send your written or recorded questions to be read or played on future episodes to shoelesspodcast@gmail.com, or by tagging @shoelesspodcast on twitter. Don't forget to rate, review, and listen on iTunes, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Thanks to: Ryan Starinsky for the opening theme and his acoustic version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" Randy Moore for his baseball organ version of "Kingpin" by Get Married Gary Cieradkowski at www.studiogaryc.com for creating the artwork Jacob Pomrenke My mom

Ice cold new episode here! We're talking ball in this episode. Baseball, that is. Pete and Andrew cover Bat Flip from new designer Scott Courlander. And they mix the new (this game) with the old (baseball history) while chatting with Anthony Arot, the leader of the Goose Goslin chapter of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). Play ball (i.e. this episode)!   SABR site Our Links

As pointed out in past posts, a handful of people stand out for their overwhelming contributions to the game that have made American Football one of the greatest games of sports to watch and participate in. Paul Brown, the legendary high school, college, and professional coach/executive, fits this mold. We went back to our Pigskin Dispatch audio archives in interviews with experts on Coach Brown: Jonathan Knight, Greg Tranter, Ken Crippen, and George Bozeka to help us understand the legend of Paul Brown.PRFA historian that hails from Canton, Ohio Jonathan Knight has written ten books on Cleveland sports. Called "one of the most articulate and devoted sportswriters in Ohio" by the Akron Beacon Journal, Knight has been praised by the Plain Dealer, Cleveland Scene, Cleveland Magazine, and ESPN's Grantland.com. He's a graduate of Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his two sons. PFRA historian originally from Western NY Greg Tranter Join us at the Pigskin Dispatch website and the Sports Jersey Dispatch to see even more Positive football news! Sign up to get daily football history headlines in your email inbox @ Email-subscriberMiss our football by the day of the year podcasts, well don't, because they can still be found at the Pigskin Dispatch website.

Baseball Broadcaster and Author, Tim Hagerty and Several of the Jeff Michner Foundation / Pig Beach BBQ 2023 Participants Tim Hagerty is the broadcaster for the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres Triple-A affiliate) and an award-winning writer and author. Tim was voted El Paso Sportscaster of the Year in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Baseball America named him an MLB broadcast prospect in its Best of the Minors feature.  He has written hundreds of baseball history articles for Baseball Digest, Sporting News, The Hardball Times, and other publications.  Tim's work has been honored with the national Edward R. Murrow Awards and by the Alabama Associated Press, Idaho State Broadcasters Association, Vermont Associated Press, the Society for American Baseball Research, and the Society of Professional Journalists. He joins us to discuss his wonderful career and his very funny book, Tales from the Dugout:  1,001 Humorous Inspirational & Wild Anecdotes from Minor League Baseball.  In the off-season, Tim has provided national on-air updates from football and basketball games for Fox Sports Radio. Go to http://timhagerty.com/home to learn more about Tim. The 3rd Annual Jeff Michner Foundation BBQ Benefit held at Pig Beach BBQ was a huge success, and we had the opportunity to speak with some of the participants.  The conversations were brief, but we enjoyed our talks with Gloria Chabot from Bakergoog, Harrison Sapp from Southern Soul BBQ, Kelly Dallas from Hogapalooza, Phil Wingo from Pork Mafia, and Mike Johnson from Sugarfire Smokehouse.  We are looking forward to having many of the preceding guests back to speak more in-depth. We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home by the musician, Dave Dresser, and the poet, Shel Krakofsky. We recommend you go to Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/ If you would like to contact the show, we would love to hear from you.   Call the show:  (516) 855-8214 Email:  baseballandbbq@gmail.comTwitter:  @baseballandbbqInstagram:  baseballandbarbecueYouTube:  baseball and bbqWebsite:  https//baseballandbbq.weebly.com Facebook:  baseball and bbq

A recent acquisition by our Milford House Press imprint, J.B. Manheim brings the murky past of old-time baseball to life in "The Federal Case," the latest release in The Deadball Files series. Over a century ago, Major League Baseball and the upstart Federal League were embroiled in a legal dispute. An ancient legal document falls into the hands of night-schooled lawyer Andy Dennum, which pits him against baseball's establishment, the firm that hired him, and a mystery out of his own past. At state is the viability of baseball's business model, and Andy's career. "You win some, you lose some. Some get rained out." Sunbury Press Books welcomes J.B. Manheim to the program, and Milford House will re-release his previous series of works, "This Never Happened," "Doubleday Doubletake," and "The Gamekeepers." Professor Emeritus at George Washington University, J.B. Manheim developed the world's first degree-granting program in Political Communication, and was founding director of the School of Media & Public Affairs. His love of baseball began watching Dizzy Dean on the Game of the Week, and watching games at Cleveland Municipal Stadium with his grandfather. Manheim is also a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, the Internet Baseball Writers Assocation of America and the Authors Guild.

In this episode, we talk about some baseball history. Author Dan Taylor has recently written a book on an interesting story from Major League Baseball in the 1920s with the subject matter of scandal, home runs, Babe Ruth, and some sports business innovation in the title of Baseball at the Abyss: The Scandals of 1926, Babe Ruth, and the Unlikely Savior Who Rescued a Tarnished Game. Dan joins us in this episode to tell the tale.Dan Taylor is a sports historian, author, and a former award-winning television sportscaster who is currently the television broadcaster for the Fresno Grizzlies. He is the author of five books, most recently Lights, Camera, Fastball: How the Hollywood Stars Changed Baseball and Walking Alone: The Untold Story of Football Pioneer Kenny Washington. Taylor is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and contributes to their biography project. He is also a member of the Pacific Coast League Historical Society. He resides in Fresno, California. Come join us at the Sports Jersey Dispatch website or the Pigskin Dispatch website to see even more Positive football and Sports History news! Sign up to get daily football history headlines in your email inbox @ Email-subscriber .

If you're listening to this episode around the time when it's being released, then you'll be listening to this right on the last day of Black History Month here in the United States. It should go without saying that Black History is American History, but we're going to say it anyway, and that it shouldn't be confined just to the shortest month of the year but instead should be taught to our kids every day of the year, and should be talked about by us as grownups by an equal amount. That said, it's important also to not just be teaching our kids about the parts of Black history that are full of struggle, and in particular we're referring to the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, which is even being called into question in states like Florida currently.   That's exactly why we're bringing you this episode today - where we talk about the the Negro Leagues and the history behind America's favorite pastime - baseball - that you might not know, and probably weren't taught in schools - in a way that Misasha's been talking about this in schools. That's all to say: you can talk about this with kindergarteners. You can use the materials with older kids as well. But the important takeaway here? Black history is more than just slavery and the struggle to be free. It's about the everyday moments, the history that encompasses all of us.  If we're not teaching our kids to see Black people in these moments, then we're really not teaching them to see Black people at all. So - let's get into the Negro Leagues, as pitchers and catchers are reporting right now for spring training in Major League Baseball.   What to listen for: The separate (and decidedly not equal) conditions under which Black and White ballplayers had to play Names of some Black superstar baseball players who – if/when integrated into the Hall of Fame – would be as good or better than some of the MLB athletes we celebrate today How to talk with your kids, from kindergarten through high school, about this specific period of baseball in American history Resources:  Episode 50, Why Aren't Black Kids Playing Baseball?   Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Society for AMerican Baseball Research – statistics We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball A Negro League Scrapbook Mamie On The Mound Who Were The Negro Leagues? Undeniable: Negro League Women Undeniable: International Impact Undeniable: Jackie and Monte  

Bruce McClure lives in New Hampshire and grew up attending Red Sox games at Fenway with his dad. He is a membership ambassador for the Society for American Baseball Research, the chair of the Northern New England Chapter, and manages the social media for an incredible group called the SABR Baseball Memories Committee. We discuss why the perception most people have of SABR is incorrect, how there is something for everyone, and how helping Alzheimers patients reminisce about baseball memories can improve quality of life. We also discuss what it's like to work in the minor leagues, the perks of being a SABR member, and what about Citi Field made a double header an incredible experience for Bruce and his wife Molly. Find Bruce Online: Facebook: @brucemcclurenhTwitter: @BruceMcClureNHInstagram: @brucemcclurenhWebsite: dispatchesfromnewhampshire.comFind Baseball Bucket List Online:Twitter: @BaseballBucketFacebook: @BaseballBucketListInstagram: @Baseball.Bucket.ListWebsite: baseballbucketlist.comThis podcast is part of the Curved Brim Media Network:Twitter: @CurvedBrimWebsite: curvedbrimmedia.com

In the second hour of tonight's Sports Open Line, Matt Pauley questions why people are mad at St. Louisans for rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, and features comments from Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht who updates the media on training camp and roster finalization. St. Louis baseball historian Brian Flaspohler then joins the show to promote his lecture series “The History of St. Louis Baseball," a deep dive into the history of the Cardinals and Browns, dating back to the 1800s all the way up until the modern day. Flaspohler is also a member of SABR, or the Society for American Baseball Research, and explains the importance of research and analysis in today's game. Nate Gatter and Jen Sies Gansner also join Matt in-studio to preview their inaugural show "The St. Louis City Soccer Report." Sports Open Line with Matt Pauley airs weeknights 6-8pm on KMOX barring any Billikens or NFL games. Join the show by calling or texting (314) 436-7900 or by tweeting to Matt @MattPauleyOnAir. Listen live at 1120AM, 98.7FM, or on the free Audacy app.

Craig Muder, director of communications for the Baseball of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, previews for us the big events coming up for 2023 (one of which will be the first-ever tabletop sports gaming event, courtesy of the APBA Football Club and our organizing committee). Our conversation ranges from the unlikeliest baseball hero to the nine legends who could start today and win a World Series, plus some of the museum's most important artifacts — and how in a newspaper, every night is election night for the sports crew. Plus, insider tips for the first-time visitor to Cooperstown and the value of Sabermetrics. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: baseballhall.org Society for American Baseball Research: https://sabr.org

Former Major League Pitcher Ken Brett is quoted as saying, "The worst curse in life is unlimited potential." After the rise to stardom of New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle, the expectations that come with being "the next" are high, and in some cases, crushing.  Barry Sparks joins Lawrence Knorr to talk baseball, and share stories of players who were touted as that guy in "Finding the Next Mickey Mantle." Among these chronicled by Sparks are some familiar names. We hear the stories of Bill Robinson, Clint Hurdle and Tom Tresh, and how and why they fared as they did. Some, like Joe Pepitone were considered to have burned up their best years and potential, while others, such as Ruben Rivera never quite panned out to their (at times unfair) top billing. We also hear why Sparks considers Mike Trout to be one of the best players of his generation, and how Bryce Harper handles these pressures better than most. Sparks has written about baseball for more than 50 years. His first article appears in the July 1970 Baseball Digest. His work has appeared in more than 70 national and regional publications, including National Pastime, Sports Parade and Sports Collectors Digest. He is also the author of a biography of Frank "Home Run" Baker, and is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He lives in York, Pennsylvania.

Marc Appleman has had a stellar career in the sports and media space. He's currently in a venture that is leveraging a vast trove of historic sports articles and photographs, but he was also the CEO of SABR, the Society of American Baseball Research (an offshoot of SabreMetrics, of "Moneybag") fame. Marc transformed SABR into a thriving community of people passionate about baseball, and we talked about what that looks like...and how it applies to any business or association. We also talked about how he's turning a historical archive into vibrant memories and celebrations of our shared past. Inspiring stuff, Marc! Thanks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A day early for Thanksgiving, in this first episode of our 'off-season' we're joined by SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) membership ambassador Bruce McClure who's a baseball nut just like we are!  Bruce talked about why SABR is not what everyone thinks and is more than a number-crunching site for baseball nerds. We'll post every other week - at least since sometimes we just get the urge to talk about....baseball! Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com.  You can also follow us on Twitter @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! Have a great Thanksgiving holiday everyone and thanks so much again for your support! www.almostcooperstown.com

Baseball and BBQ Episode #153 Features Intentional Balk Authors, Daniel Levitt and Mark Armour, and Queen of the Grill, Paula Stachyra, Author of Wing Crush   Daniel R. Levitt joins us to discuss Mark's and his newest book, Intentional Balk:  Baseball's Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating.  Dan is the author of several award-winning books, including Paths to Glory: How Great Baseball Teams Got That Way (2003 with Mark Armour); Ed Barrow: The Bulldog Who Built the Yankees' First Dynasty; The Battle That Forged Modern Baseball: The Federal League Challenge and Its Legacy; and In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball (2015, with Armour).  In 2015, he was selected as the recipient of the Bob Davids Award, the Society for American Baseball Research's (SABR) highest honor.  Dan currently serves as treasurer of SABR and is the co-chair of SABR's Business of Baseball committee.  Go to https://sabr.org/authors/daniel-r-levitt/ and http://daniel-levitt.com/ for more information.    Mark Armour joins us to discuss Daniel's and his newest book, Intentional Balk:  Baseball's Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating.  Mark was elected as the President of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Board of Directors in 2019. He is the founder and longtime (2002-2016) director of SABR's Baseball Biography Project. He was the recipient of SABR's highest honor, the Bob Davids Award, in 2008 and the Henry Chadwick Award, honoring baseball's greatest researchers, in 2014. His book Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball was a finalist for the prestigious Seymour Medal in 2011, as was In Pursuit of Pennants, which he co-wrote with Dan Levitt in 2015. Mark has written or co-written several other books and many articles.  Go to https://sabr.org/authors/mark-armour/ and http://www.mark-armour.net/ for more information.   Paula Stachyra is a barbecue enthusiast, recipe developer, and creator of the popular Instagram account, Queen of the Grill, which is beloved for its weekly #WingCrushWednesday posts.  She also co-hosts the very entertaining podcast, All Up In My Grills, with her friend, Lauren Nagel.  Paula's latest project is the cookbook, Wing Crush:  100 Epic Recipes For Your Grill or Smoker.  Her wing recipes are like fingerprints; no two are alike and that gives any lover of wings 100 unique ways to enjoy them.  Paula is extremely humbled by the rave reviews her book has received.  Bagel favorites?  Yes, we discussed that too.  Go to https://www.instagram.com/queenofthegrill/?hl=en for more information. Jeff and Leonard talk a little about their road trip to the newly opened, Ray's Roadside Kitchen, which will be featured in an upcoming episode. We recommend you go to BBQ Buddha, https://bbqbuddha.com/ for rubs and award-winning sauces, Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, the Pandemic Baseball Book Club, https://www.pbbclub.com  to find many of the wonderful books we have featured as well as some additional swag, Magnechef, https://magnechef.com/ for excellent and unique barbecue gloves, and Cutting Edge Firewood https://www.cuttingedgefirewood.com/ for high-quality firewood and cooking wood. We conclude the show with the song, "Baseball Always Brings You Home" by the musician, Dave Dresser, and the poet, Shel Krakofsky. We truly appreciate our listeners and hope that all of you are staying safe. If you would like to contact the show, we would love to hear from you.   Call the show:  (516) 855-8214 Email:  baseballandbbq@gmail.comTwitter:  @baseballandbbqInstagram:  baseballandbarbecueYouTube:  baseball and bbqWebsite:  https//baseballandbbq.weebly.com Facebook:  baseball and bbq

In today's episode, Chris and Steve swing for the fences and talk about the history, background and controversy around the 1919 World Series. We will use the movie and book 8 Men Out, along with recently released documents from the Society for American Baseball Research's Black Sox Scandal project to think about why arguable the greatest team to have ever stepped onto a baseball field would purposefully lose the World Series. Why do you think they would?https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-black-sox-scandal/You can learn more about Beyond the Big Screen and subscribe at all these great places:www.atozhistorypage.comwww.beyondthebigscreen.comClick here to support Beyond the Big Screen!https://www.subscribestar.com/beyondthebigscreenhttps://www.patreon.com/beyondthebigscreenClick to Subscribe:https://www.spreaker.com/show/4926576/episodes/feedemail: steve@atozhistorypage.comwww.beyondthebigscreen.comhttps://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacyParthenon Podcast Network Home:parthenonpodcast.comOn Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypagehttps://www.facebook.com/HistoryOfThePapacyPodcasthttps://twitter.com/atozhistoryMusic Provided by:"Crossing the Chasm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Image Credits:Begin Transcript:

August 2, 1921. Hundreds wait inside a Chicago courthouse for the verdict. Seven Chicago White Sox players are accused of intentionally throwing the World Series, losing on purpose to collect a payout. For decades, gambling has been a part of America's pastime, but this fix is too big to ignore. The nation feels betrayed, yet is transfixed by the scandal, spending months following the whirlwind case. Today, the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal comes to a head. How do these baseball players conspire to intentionally lose the World Series? And will their punishment be enough to root out gambling in the sport forever? Special thanks to Charles Fountain, author of The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball, and Jacob Pomrenke, Director of Editorial Content for the Society of American Baseball Research. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Thirty five years before Major League Baseball played its first game under electric lights, the 1900 Philadelphia Phillies were using electricity at the Baker Bowl... to steal signs. Transcript, sources, links and more at https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/the-buzzer-brigade/ Key sources for this episode include Ron Schuler's biography of Pearce Chiles for the Society for American Baseball Research and contemporary newspaper reports. (And while you're at it, you should check out the greatest baseball books ever written, Dan Gutman's It Ain't Cheatin' If You Don't Get Caught and Derek Zumsteg's The Cheater's Guide to Baseball.) All that, plus a preview of Series 11! Discord: https://discord.gg/Mbap3UQyCB Instagram: https://instagram.com/orderjackalope Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/orderjackalope Tumblr: https://orderjackalope.tumblr.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/orderjackalope Email: jackalope@order-of-the-jackalope.com Part of the That's Not Canon Productions podcast network. https://thatsnotcanon.com/

Society for American Baseball Research historian/chronicler Justin Mckinney (Baseball's Union Association: The Short, Strange Life of a 19th-Century Major League) joins the podcast this week to weigh in on the debate that continues to swirl around baseball's curious one-season Union Association - namely, was it a truly major league?   As first broached in our Episode 73 with Jon Springer, the National League was less than a decade old back in 1884, and the rival American Association, which had been established two years earlier, was nipping at its heels.  "Organized Baseball" had just been formed to help codify the still-gestating professional version of the game.   But when a maverick millionaire and spurned team-owner aspirant named Henry Lucas established a new third major league that year - the Union Association - the pro game erupted into chaos.   Come for the pennant-winning St. Louis Maroons (who won 94 of their 113 regular season games, and bested the second-place Cincinnati Outlaw Reds by a whopping 21 games), but stay for the litany of replacement teams (e.g., Wilmington Quicksteps, St. Paul Saints, Altoona Mountain Citys, Kansas City Cowboys, etc.) that folded just as soon as they arrived.

Sam Byrd had a bright future ahead of him in baseball. A solid hitter and an even better outfielder, he had one huge issue facing him. He played for the New York Yankees and there was guy named Babe Ruth ahead of him. So, Byrd took his seat on the bench and patiently waited for an opportunity. When he got a chance to play, he did well. But never enough to supplant Ruth. In his spare time, Byrd not only worked to improve his game at the plate, but he also continued to refine his skills on the golf course. In fact, he was so good on the links, that guys like Ruth never stood a chance against him. Sam would enter a tournament, here and there, and win. He toyed with the idea of playing highly competitive golf on the PGA TOUR, but baseball paid the bills. When Sam finally got a chance on the diamond, he got hurt and when he returned he again had to take a seat on the bench. After trying to breakthrough with the Yankees for six years, Sam finally realized his dream of taking the field every day by virtue of a trade to the Cincinnati Reds. Now 27-years old, Sam was the team's regular right fielder. He hit a respectable .262 with nine home runs and 52 RBI. But it wasn't enough to earn the starting job the following season, 1936, and Sam once again found himself on the bench. At the end of the 1936 season, Sam was released by the Reds and claimed by the St. Louis Cardinals. However, Sam had had enough. All along, he continued to work on his golf game and decided to make the PGA TOUR his full time vocation (he actually joined the TOUR in 1933). What a great choice. Instead of riding the pine and playing second-fiddle in MLB, Sam walked the fairways with the likes of Hogan, Nelson and Snead. Over the course of a career that wound down in 1949, Sam won 11 times, finished as high as 3rd in The Masters (1941), 2nd in the PGA Championship and 16th in the U.S. Open. He won the Greater Greensboro Open, the Chicago Victory National Open and The Texas Open in 1945. A solid career as a professional golfer, Sam is the only person to have appeared in a baseball World Series and The Masters. Stephen Rice, who penned a terrific biography about SAM for the BioProject for SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) is on this episode of Sports' Forgotten Heroes to talk about the great dual career of Samuel Byrd.

This week, Podcast Editors Eamon and Jack interviewed Clayton Trutor, the author of Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta—And How Atlanta Remade Professional Sports who holds a PhD in U.S. History from Boston College. Listen to find out more about what allowed sports in Atlanta to grow, which factors incentivize larger cities to build sports franchises, Clayton's motivation to write his book after studying in O'Neil Library, and his work as the Vermont state chairman of the Society for American Baseball Research. Check back in next week for new episodes!

In conversation with John M. Cooper Historian Neil Lanctot is the author of Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella and Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution, a ''prodigiously researched'' and ''enormously important historical corrective to feel-good versions of baseball integration'' (The New York Times). The recipient of the Seymour Medal from the Society for American Baseball Research, he has published articles in Smithsonian magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Baltimore Sun, among other periodicals. In The Approaching Storm, Lanctot details the early-20th century rift between three of the U.S.'s most important progressives as the country struggled to respond to the global consequences to World War I.    John M. Cooper's many historical works include Pivotal Decades: The United States, 1900-1920; The Vanity of Power: American Isolationism and the First World War, 1914-1917; and Woodrow Wilson: A Biography, which was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. The recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and a Fulbright professorship in Moscow, Russia, he is professor-emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (recorded 3/29/2022)