Backwards K Pod

Ivan Rodriguez; Pudge

As Ivan Rodriguez was awaiting the ceremonial first pitch, from former President George W. Bush, at Game One of the 2023 World Series, Pudge ostensibly saw his baseball life flash before his eyes. The kid from the Puerto Rico countryside, who would run around Vega Baja, carrying a stick-bat, and a ball made of rolled-up tape. That same kid who would sign a contract with the Texas Rangers, at the age of 16, after team scouts witness him throw a single 93 MPH pea to second base. Through his amazing career, as arguably, one of the greatest all-arond catchers to ever play the game. Culminating with his induction into the National Baseball Hall Of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York, as only the second catcher in the game's history, to earn induction in his first year of eligibility. This is the Journey of the short and stocky catcher, the fans called Pudge. #IvanRodriguez #TexasRangers #MiamiMarlins #DetroitTigers #PuertoRico #GeorgeWBush #SandyJohnson #OmarMinaya #LuisRosa #MannyBatista #Pudge #JohnnyBench #JeffConine

Lyman Bostock; The Corner of Fifth And Jackson

Lyman Bostock had it all. He had the genetic lineage, as his father was a star outfielder for the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro Leaguess during the 1940's. He had a sweet left-handed stroke, that seemingly launched gap-seeking linedrives at will. He had blazing speed, great baseball instincts, and played Gold Glove caliber defense in Center Field. In his first two full seasons while playing for the Minnesota Twins, Bostock is in contention with his future Hall Of Fame teammate Rod Carew, for batting titles in both years. He is then signed by the California Angels, before the 1978 campaign, for the largest contract in American team sports at the time. His star is blinding, as many of his peers and opponents, consider him a superstar in wait. While standing on the precipes of greatness, all of that comes to an end, in the blink of an eye. The 27 year old phenom, becomes the first and only major leaguer to be murdered during the season, when he is violently gunned down in the streets of Gary, Indiana over a women, whom he literally knew for only 30 minutes of his life. One of the most tragic baseball stories, that has largely been forgotten, as time melts away. #LymanBostock #LymonBostockSr #AnniePearl #ManualArtsHighSchool #SanFernandoValleyUniversity #EarlWeaver#GeneMauch #RodCarew #MinnesotaTwins #CaliforniaAngels #DonBaylor #BobbyGrich #CarneyLandsford #YouveneBrooks #KennyLandreaux #EdTurner #FergusonJenkins #RayKroc #BuzzBavasi #GeneAutry #JoanHawkins #BarbaraSmith #LeonardSmith

Bob GIbson

This week we take a deep dive, into the life and career, of arguably one of the greatest pitchers of the modern game, Bob Gibson. From his humble beginnings of abject poverty, growing up in a project housing complex in Omaha, Nebraska, to becoming the first African-American student-athlete, to earn a full scholarship at Creighton University to play basketball. His amazing four month run, playing basketball with the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters. Not to mention his breathtaking career, pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, with his baseball journey ending, in the pantheon of baseball immortals; The National Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, New York #BobGibson #Gibby #OmahaNebraska #JoshGibson #CreightonUniversity #HarlemGlobetrotters #JohnnyKeane #SolleyHemus #TimMcCarver #BillWhite #CurtFlood #StLouisCardinals #KenBoyer #DickGroat #OrlandoCepeda #RedSchoendist #NewYorkYankees #BostonRedSox #DetroitTigers #PeteLaCock

Walter Johnson; The Big Train

This week, Backwards K Pod, wraps up the incredible 2023 MLB season, with the crowning and well deserved coronation, of the World Champion Texas Rangers. We give our solemn goodbyes posthumously, to slugger Frank Howard. A prodigious bat during the 60's and 70's, for the Dodgers, Senators and Rangers, who died October 30th, in Aldie, Virginia, after complications from a stroke. And last but not least, the detailed biography about arguably the greatest pitcher of the 20th Century, pre-WW II, who still holds some of the most unbreakable pitching records in baseball history, 136 years after he was born.
#WalterJohnson #BigTrain #WashingtonSenators #BabeRuth #TyCobb #ClarkGriffith #ShirleyPovich #JoeCantillion #CliffBlankenship #HonusWagner #JohnMcGraw #TomZachary #BuckyHarris #RossYoung #GeorgeKelly #EarlMcNeely #MuddyRuel #FredLindstrom #ChristyMathewson

Chase Field

After a half decade of missed opportunities, political wrangling, financial issues and eventually watching Denver and Miami, recieve new baseball franchises; the NBA Suns owner, Jerry Colangelo, becomes the face of a group, trying to bring a team to the Phoenix metropolitan area, in the next round of expansions, set to begin in 1998.
This responsibility requires him to not only bring an MLB team to the Valley, but he also needs to garner support from the tax paying citizens of Maricopa County, for his $250M fundraising drive and public financing.
This is the story of how the National League Champion, Arizona Diamondbacks, found their baseball roots in the desert, and the tecnologically advanced stadium, that was built almost 30 years ago, to house the new ballclub. #ArizonaDiamondbacks #Phoenix #BillVeek #ArizonaStateUniversity #CactusLeague #ArizonaFallLeague #MaricopaCounty #JerryColangelo #JoeGaragiolaJr #BankOneBallpark #ChaseField #MartinStone #BillBidwell #RandyJohnson #CurtSchilling #TonyWomack #LuisGonzalez

Jimmy Foxx; The Beast

This week we examine the life and career of one of baseballs most prodigous power htters that ever lived, Jimmy Foxx; The Beast. The powerful farm boy from Sudlersville, MD, who was signed by Connie Mack at the age of 16, and made his major league debut, before the end of his high school junior year. Even though, he is statistically, the most dominate major league hitter of the 1930's decade, Double X is often overshadowed, by the baseball deities of his era, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. #JimmyFoxx #SamFoxx #DorothyYard #ConnieMack #PhiladelphiaAthletics #BostonRedSox #LeftyGrove #TedWilliams #ShibePark #FenwayPark #ChicagoCubs #PhiladelphiaPhillies #MickeyCochrane #MaxBishop #TomYawkey #JoeCronin #MoeBerg

Ebbets Field: Home Of Dem Bums

With Shibe Park, Crosley Field, the Polo Grounds, Forbes Field and Comiskey Park already in our BKP collection, this week we add the grand-daddy of all the throwback cribs; the iconic and majestic Ebbets Field of Flatbush, Brooklyn. The former home of dem bums, the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Throughout sports, there are certain franchises, that have such a storied tradition, that their legacy never dies. The Brooklyn Dodgers fit this bill, as the team, and their ballpark, dominated the Brooklyn borough landscape for over 40 years. #BrooklynDodgers #Flatbush #Brooklyn #CharlesEbbets #Pigtown #CrownHeights #WashingtonPark #RedBarber #JohnnyVandermeer #LarryKing #RogerKuhn #OldGoldCigarettes #AbeStarKs #WalterOMalley #RobertMoses

Wichita Klu Klux Klan #6 vs. Wichita Monrovians

The all-black baseball team, the Wichita Monrovians, existed in an era, where much of their historical record of team exploits, and stats have been lost in time. But their legacy endures after almost 100 years, because of their victory over the domestic terrorist organization, the Wichita Klu Klux Klan #6 baseball team in 1925. #JakeRobinson #WichitaMonrovians #KluKluxKlan #WesternColoredLeague #ThomasJeffersonYoung #NewtJoseph @AndyCooper #IslandPark #AckermanIsland #JosephAckerman #ArkansasRiver #WonderlandAmusementPark #GiantThriller