Backwards K Pod

According to legendary Negro Leagues pitcher Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Belll was so fast, he once hit a line drive up the middle, that hit him in the ass, when he was sliding into second base.
This week we do a case study on the great speedster. Just the mere mention of his name, would conjur up, many fantastical stories, by teammates and opponents alike, about his blazing speed. Some true, some no doubt exagerated. This week we examine the man, the myth, the legend, and try to distinguish between reality and the apocryphal. #JameNichols #StarkvilleMississippi #StLouis #StLouisStars #HomesteadGrays #PittsburghCrawfords #JudyJohnson #JoshGibson #OscarCharleston #BuckLeonard #SatchelPaige #ComptonHillsCubs #BillGatewood #MulesSuttles #CienfuegoElefantes #BirminghamBlackBarons #GusGreenlee #SamBankhead EastWestAllStarGame #ClaraBell #RafaelTrujillo #WendellSmith #MonteIrvin

Even though the San Francisco Giants have won three chips in the past 14 years, the fan base has seen it's share of cold days and hard times. There were the windy, foggy days, out at Candlestick Park. The happless teams of the1980's and 90's. Being seductively wooed by Toronto in the 1970's, and by the city of Tampa in the 1990's. As well as the two years of watching Armando Benitez as their closer. This week we examine the baseball history of the venerable city by the bay. Even though the Giants have been residents of the Northern California city for a mere 66 years, the history of the game reaches far back to 1860, when spectators would sit in the stands and fire off their six-shooter pistols in the air. From the San Francisco Seals, to the Giants, being the most successful baseball team of the 21st century, I gotcha hook up. Holler If Ya Hear Me. #SealsStadium #CandlestickPark #OraclePark #RecreationPark #DansOysterSaloon #CincinnatiRedStockings #LeftyODoul #JoeDiMaggio #IkeBoone #WillieMays #OrlandoCepeda #BoozeCage #SanFranciscoChronicle #CaseyStengal #BillyMartin #MissionReds #HoraceStoneham #BobLurie #PeterMagowan

It's another year, which means another round of the Manager's Dead Pool.
Jake will pull listener's name from a hat and pair it with an MLB manager's name, that is pulled from another hat' and if that manager loses his manager's gig first, for any reason, be it retirement, getting fired, or for any reason, the listener paired with that manager's name will win this years trophy. Last year's winner was Adam Hebbel, a schoolteacher from Baltimore, when the Giants fired Gabe Kapler first last season. Who will bring this year's trophy home?

The enduring history of baseball is filled with accomplishments that strain credulity, and force us to rethink the limits of human potential. Whether it's Babe Ruth calling his shot in the 1932 World Series vs the Cubs, or Reggie Jackson hitting three homeruns on three swings in the 1977 World Series, or Nolan Ryan tossing no-hitters in his 40's. But on June 12th, 1970, Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis, does the impossible when he throws a no-hitter, while under the influence of LSD. For those of you who have taken acid before, please explain to the people around you, who have never done it, how hard that is to do. This week we take a long strange trip, and do a deep dive into this amazing story. #DockEllis #PittsburghPirates #WillieStargell #RobertoClemente #MannySanguillen #DaveCash #SanDiegoPadres #SteveHuntz #NateColbert #JackMurphyStadium #LSD #AlFerrara

Tom Seaver was one of the greatest right-handed power pitchers, the game has ever known. He won 311 games, for four major league clubs, most notably for the Mets, whom he led from last place laughingstocks to an "Amazin" and improbable world championship in 1969. Seaver at work, was a mechanical picture of kinetic grace. He had a smooth, tight windup, and a stride so long and explosive off the rubber, that his right knee often grazed the dirt. He was a fearless leader, always chomping at the bit, to sully his right knee in the next contest. What can you say about Tom Seaver? In one word, he was "Terrific." This week, BKP does a deep dive into the life and career, of this iconic baseball immortal. #TomTerrific #TheFranchise #TomSeaver #NewYorkMets #CincinnatiReds #ChicagoWhiteSox #BostonRedSox #GilHodges #SparkyAnderson #JerryGrote #CleonJones #DickYoung #RodDedeaux #USCTrojans #AtlantaBraves #SolleyHemus #EarlWeaver #HankAaron #NolanRyan #NancySeaver #SeaverVineyards #BigRedMachine

The world of Major League Baseball, has seen more than it's share of of controversies and scandals. Among the most significant of these, was the collusion of team owners during the 1980's. A period of time that impacted the sport's integrity and it's players. This week we dive into the deep waters, of the intricate history of this collusion unraveling; how it unfolded, and the lasting impact it had on the National Pastime. #KirkGibson #AndreDawson #TimRaines #JackMorris #PeterUeberroth #LeeMcPhail #AndyMcPhail #JerryReinsdorf #BudSelig #HankPeters #GeorgeSteinbrenner #TedTurner #RonGuidry #CarltonFisk #LanceParrish #RichGedman #MarvinMiller #DonaldFehr #BillLaJoie #ThomasRoberts #GeorgeNicolau

Paul Molitor's path to baseball immortality took many strange twists and turns along the way. Hamstrung by a series of injuries early in his career, and a horrific cocaine addiction, Molitor developed a reputation for fragility, and at one time, it appeared as though his career was cursed and snake-bitten. But the soft-spoken native from St. Paul, Minnesota would persevere to achieve numerous milestones and baseball accolades. The seven-time All Star, with the smooth right-handed swing, outstanding base running skills, finished his career with a .306 average, and became just the fifth player in baseball history to collect 3.000 hits and swipe 500 bags. #PaulMolitor #MilwaukeeBrewers #TorontoBlueJays #MinnesotaTwins #RobinYount #DaveWinfield #JackMorris #GeorgeBamberger #HarveyKuenn #CecilCooper #GormanThomas #MikeFlanagan #CretinHighSchool #UniversityOfMinnesota #DickSeibert #DeeFondy #SalBando #BuckRodgers #JimGantner

For 50 years, 1939-1989, Red Sox Nation had three successive Hall Of Famers, guarding the Green Monster of Fenway out in left-field. Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice. With the Splendid Splinter's story already in our collection, and Jim Rice on the horizon, this week we take a dive into the life and career, of the man New Englanders would affectionately call Yaz. The two things the Polish immigrant Yastrzemski family knows, is growing potatos and playing baseball. Under the omnipresent and watchful tutelage of his father and uncles, Yaz would rise from the farm to Cooperstown, with a dominant 23 year baseball career for the Red Sox, as one of the greatest all-around left-fielders who ever lived. #CarlYastrzemski #BostonRedSox #NotreDame #RayGarland #TedWilliams #LakeRonkonkoma #FrankNekola #TomYawkey #FenwayPark #RaleighCapitals #MinneapolisMillers #JakeRobinson #CharlieGunz #BackwardsKPod #NewEngland