Backwards K Pod

Eddie Waitkus: The Natural

Eddie Waitkus was the Fred Astaire of first-basemens during his era because of his nimble defensive footwork and his impeccable grace around the bag. He was a solid, productive bat, finishing with a .285 average over his 11 year career with the Cubs, Phillies and Orioles. But that is not what he is most remembered for, if he is remembered at all. On June 14th, 1949, he is lured by an 18 year old obsessed fan named Ruth Ann Steinhagen to her hotel room, who has been quietly stalking him for three years while playing for the Cubs. She shoots the rising star in his stomach with a .22 caliber pistol. Waitkus' story is a cautionary tale, and it was immortalized loosely by Bernard Malamud's novel, "The Natural", which was later made into a hit movie in 1984, with actor Robert Redford playing the protagonist. The ups and downs of a baseball career that is culminated with him leading the 1950 Philadelphia Whiz Kid Phillies to the NL Pennant, after his miraculous recovery.
#EddieWaitkus #ChicagoCubs #PhiladelphiaPhillies #BaltimoreOrioles #RussMeyer #BillNicholson #RuthAnnSteinhagen #BernardMalamud #TheNatural #RobertRedford #DizzyDean #TedWilliams

Coors Field

This week, we add to our baseball stadium collection, the now third oldest National League crib, Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. The beautiful retro jewel-box, that sits just a long fly ball from the Rocky Mountains, is one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the history of MLB. We take a deep dive into the waters and explore Coors Field's fascinating history of dinosaur bones, humidors, high scoring slugfests and the Rockies supportive, rabid fanbase.
#ColoradoRockies #CoorsField #MileHighStadium #RockyMountains #PurpleRow #RockPile #BlakeStreetBombers #ToddHelton #LarryWalker # VinnyCastilla #DanteBichette #AndresGalarraga #BillSwift #TroyTulowitzki #GarrettAtkins #BarryBonds

Satchel Paige

With all the missing stats and data from his career, Satchel Paige's verified numbers do not do him justice. The numerous stories of his exploits on the mound however, has forever left his mark and kept his memory alive in the baseball universe, all these years later. His bluster and self-promotional showmanship would make him bigger than the game and mere stats.
This week, we will sift through the real and the apocryphal, to get to the bottom of this man's legacy. Negro Leagues history is full of incredible baseball players, who because of the cruel discrimination of the time, never got to shine as bright as they should have. Satchel certainly fits that bill, but armed with amazing God-given. top-shelf liquor skills and an outsized personality, he would break past the Negro Leagues' imposed boundaries and into the national consciousness.
#SatchelPaige #EdwardByrd #MobileAlabama @KansasCityMonarchs #PittsburghCrawfords #BirminghamBlackBarons #NewYorkBlackYankees #ChattanoogaWhiteSox #JoshGibson #BuckONeil #JackieRobinson #MonteIrvin #JimCrow #NegroLeagues #ClevelandIndians #SaintLouisBrowns #KansasCityAthletics #BaseballHallOfFame

Derek Jeter; Mr November

At the age of 10, while watching a baseball game at Detroit's TIger Stadium, Derek Jeter, caught up in the euphoria of the moment, tells his parents. "One day you two will see me play baseball here."
He lay in his bed that night with his future entirely mapped out in his head. in his own words, " I fell asleep that night, and in some ways, I never woke up from the dream."
This is the story about the kid from Kalamazoo, Michigan, who would go onto become the face of his childhood favorite team, the New York Yankees, as well as the star, that always shined brightest, on the world's grandest baseball stages.
#DerekJeter #NewYorkYankees #DorothyJeter #CharlesJeter #SharleeJeter #KalamazooCentralHighSchool #UniversityOfMichigan #BillFreehan #GaryDenbo #StickMichaels #GeorgeSteinbrenner #JorgePosada #BernieWilliams #MarianoRivera #AndyPettitte #PaulO'Neil #JoeTorre #AlexRodriguez #JeffereyMaire #RichieGarcia

Forbes Field; The House Of Thrills

In 1909, after the rise of Shibe Park in Philadelphia, for the A's a year ealier, Keystone State rival Pittsburgh, at the behest of Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss, decides they would like to build an MLB crib, that will surpass the magnificence and splendor that Shibe had to offer.
The result was the massive, yet palatial baseball cathedral known as Forbes FIeld.
From 1909 to 1970, Forbes Field was the stage, for the Fightin Buccos, and held some of the biggest moments, stars and baseball stories, the game has ever had to offer.
#PittsburghPirates #PittsburghAlleghanys #ExpositionPark #ShibePark #BarneyDreyfuss #PieTraynor #ArkyVaugh #LloydWaner #PaulWaner #HonusWagner #WalterJohnson #BabeRuth #LouGehrig #BillMazeroski #WillieStargell #RobertoClemente #ElroyFace #VernLaw #DickGroat #BillVirdon #RalphTerry #BobPrince #DannyMurtaugh #YogiBerra #PITT #PittsburghCrawfords #HomesteadGrays

Backwards K Bonus Pod: Mysterious Moe Berg

In 1938, German scientist split the atom for the first time, and the nuclear age is born. The Nazis give the task of building the Atomic Bomb to Nobel Peace prize-winning nuclear physicist Werner Heisenberg. In response to the threat of Hitler with nuclear weapons, the United States government devises a plan to send someone after the German scientist to ascertain the validity of the intelligence recieved, and assassinate Werner Heisenberg if it is credible... The person they tab for this mission is, former MLB back-up catcher, Moe Berg.
#MoeBerg #OSS #CIA #RaySchalk #FranklinDelanoRoosevelt #BrooklynRobins #ChicagoWhiteSox #ClevelandIndians #BostonRedSox #AdolphHitler #WashingtonSenators #BabeRuth #LouGehrig #JimmyFoxx #WernerHeisenberg

The Black Aces

This week we take a look at one of baseball's most exclusive fraternity; The Black Aces.
This was the brainchild of former MLB pitcher Mudcat Grant, who had the vision of recognizing the rarest of all baseball breeds the African-American pitcher.
To qualify for induction into this group, you have to be an African-American pitcher, who has 20 or more wins in a season'
There are currently 15 members in the Black Aces. It is both a celebration of the journey of the black pitcher, after Jackie smashed the "gentlemen's agreement", as well as designed to provoke thought.
I also give you three current pitchers in the Majors right now, who may be on the doorstep of joining this amazing group of men.
#DonNewcombe #SamJones #BobGibson #MudcatGrant #EarlWilson #FergusonJenkins #VidaBlue #AlDowning #JRRichard #MikeNorris #DaveStewart #DwightGooden #CCSabathia #DontrelleWillis #DavidPrice

Thurman Munson; The Captain

When Yankees catcher Thurman Munson died in a fiery plane crash, in his prime, at the young age of 32, he left behind a decade of brilliance and domination at his position, that has rarely been seen before or since in the game's illustrious history.
From his younger days of excelling in three sports, and being offered scholarships to two of them, to his rise through the ranks at Kent State University, to his eventual journey that would lead him to righting the New York Yankees ship, that had taken on water while under the ownerships of the CBS Television Network.
We cover his timultuous relationships with The Boss George Stienbrenner, Reggie Jackson and Carlton Fisk, as well as the tragic end of the Yankees first on-field Captain since Lou Gehrig in the 1920's.
I also present an airtight case why he should be forever enshrined with the dominant catchers of his era, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk and Ted Simmons. All this and more on this week's Backwards K Pod.
#ThurmanMunson #KentStateUniversity #NewYorkYankees #BobbyMurcer #DianaMunson #GraigNettles #GeorgeSteinbrenner #ReggieJackson #SparkyAnderson #JohnnyBench #CarltonFisk #RedSox #Orioles #CatfishHunter #BillyMartin #JimPalmer