Backwards K Pod

Jim Thome

The numbers jump right off the screen, when it comes to looking up his stats. Even in an era where power reigned supreme. His 612 home runs rank eighth on the MLB all-time rank and his 1,747 walks rank seventh. Only six player have totaled 1,700 Walks and 1,699 RBI in the history of the game; Babe Ruth, Mel Ott, Carl Yastrzmeski, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds and Thome. And yet the blue-collar kid from Peoria, Illinoise, always seemed to work hardest on something that can never be quantified; his character. This week, we examine the life and career of the prodigiously, powerful Jim Thome.
#JimThome #ClevelandIndians #TomCouston #CharlieManual #JacobsField #PhiladelphiaPhillies #ChicagoWhiteSox #LosAngelesDodgers #MinnesotaTwins #BaltimoreOrioles #MLBNetwork #Cooperstown #NationalBaseballHallOfFame

Little League World Series

Williamsport, Pennsylvania and their little league baseball complex fields are nestled beautifully in the rolling hills of the Keystone State. Every Year in August, thousands of people from arond the wold descend on the sleepy, baseball town, to witness, the forever magical union of baseball and childhood play for two weeks. It is the sheer essence of baseball. it is everything that grown-ups aspire the game to be, before we do our best to ruin it with our involvement. It is as real as the tears that flow down a players cheeks, when he or she realizes they have come up short in their gols, and it's time to go home. This week we take a look at the history of Little League baseball and the Little League World Series in particular.
#WilliamsportPennsylvania #CarlStotz #HowardJLamaudeStadium #GeorgeBerbbie #BertBerbbie #LycomingDairy #JumboPretzel #LundyLumber #LittleLeagueBaseball

Rollie Fingers

Rollie Fingers was the right player, at the right time, while playing for the right teams, to forever change the complexion of the Closer role in baseball.
When FIngers reached the majors, the Closer role was limited, as Starting Pitchers rarely left games with a lead.
But as team offenses became more powerful, after expansion in 1969, as well as the introduction of the DH in 1973, and without Tommy John Surgery as an option yet, managers throughout the game became more willing to replace Starting Pitchers in the late innings, with fresh arms.
Leading the way, during this time, was the handlebar, waxed and curved mustached Fingers, setting the standard for future generations of Closers.
#RollieFingers #SteubenvilleOhio #RanchoCucamongaCalifornia #UplandHighSchool #JohnMcNamara #HankBauer #DickWilliams #CharlieFinley #ReggieJackson #SalBando #GeneTenace #OaklandAthletics #SanDiegoPadres #MilwaukeeBrewers

Strat-O-Matic

Over 60 years after it's creation, the baseball board game phenomenon known as Strat-O-Matic, still has a large cult following. The impetus of the game was the brainchild of 11 year old Hal Richman, who was a ravenous stat-crazy baseball fan, with very little athletic ability himself. The young boy developed the game, as a way to escape his chaotic and difficult childhood, while generations of seamheads since then, have just used his game as an escape.
This week we will dig into the history of a game, that the young boy launched from his parent's basement. it has become a cult classic, that has influenced pro-ballers, MLB front office types, journalist, play by play icons and fans from every walk of life. it was the precursor to fantasy, roto and simulation games that are so popular today. And it gave birth to baseball sabermetrics.
#StratOMatic #HalRichman #IrvingRichman #DanPatrick #BobCostas #TimKurkjian #KeithHernandez #LennyDykstra #SaberMetrics #MLB #Baseball #BoardGame

The Flight Of The Seattle Pilots

This week, we take a look back, at the one year season, of the failed expansion franchise; the 1969 Seattle Pilots.
A lukewarm fan base, failed stadium bonds votes, a sickly temporary ballpark, insufficient capital, outrageous ticket prices, an atrocious concession deal, and no local TV broadcast....
What could possibly go wrong?
#SeattlePilots #DeweySoriano #MaxSoriano #WilliamDaly #GabePaul #CharlesFinley #SicksStadium #MarvinMilkes #JoeSchultz #KingDome #JamesBranam #EdCarlson #JoeGandy #BudSelig #JimBouton #RickAllen

Brooks Robinson; Mr. Orioles

This week we take a deep dive into the life and baseball career of arguably the greatest defensive third-basemen who has ever lived, and Orioles loyalist Brooks Robinson.
There is a saying where I come from and it goes; In New York, they name Candy Bars after Reggie Jackson, in Baltimore, the citizens name their children after Brooks Robinson. And that is not empty platitudes being offered up, it is a tradition that still happens today, over four generations later. He is the last of his kind, from a bygone era. Success has never compromised his moral integrity or his stand-up character. Even today he remains as auththentic and as genuine as the day he left Little Rock, Arkansas to pursue his baseball dream. This is his story....
#BrooksRobinson #BaltimoreOrioles #JimPalmer #FrankRobinson #EarlWeaver #HarryDalton #ConnieButcherRobinson #MLB #BackwardsKPod #JohnnyBench #LeeMay #TonyPerez #RobertoClemente

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