America's entry into World War I in 1917 had a major impact on professional baseball, including both the major leagues and the minors. Author Jim Leeke joins us to talk about the national pastime during the Great War.
Author Alex Irvine takes us on a graphic and fun-filled trip through the history of the national pastime. Along the way we meet Abner Doubleday, Charlie Pride, Walt Whitman and even Jack Kerouac.
Justine Siegal. Mudcat Grant. Maybelle Blair. Shirley Burkovich. Each of these individuals has an amazing story to tell, and they do so in their own words in a new collection. Jon Leonoudakis, one of the co-editors of the project, joins us to discuss it.
From Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump, the American presidency has been inextricably linked to the American game. Veteran author Curt Smith tells us the history of two venerable national institutions.
Author David George Surdam explains how Babe Ruth,Kenesaw Mountain Landis and others fueled a tumultuous but prosperous decade for the national pastime.
The Milwaukee Braves set attendance records, won a World Series and became beloved in Wisconsin after moving from Boston in the 1950s. A decade later, the team was gone. Author Patrick W. Steele joins us to discuss how things went so wrong so fast.
Author Mitch Lutzke joins us to discuss a pioneering championship African-American baseball team that has been largely forgotten.
Former major league closer Skip Lockwood joins us to share memories of his career, which included stops in Kansas City, Seattle, Milwaukee and New York. Along the way, he crossed paths with legendary figures like Charlie O. Finley, Jim Bouton, Bud Selig and Satchel Paige.
Jerald Podair joins us to discuss his award-winning book recounting the amazing story of the building of Dodger Stadium and the birth of modern Los Angeles.
The Cape Cod Baseball League is the best summer college league in the world and counts among its alumni such names as Kris Bryant, Buster Posey and Jeff Bagwell. Author Jim Collins joins us to discuss his classic account of the league's 2002 season.
Was Babe Ruth really just an overgrown kid of limited intellect? Author Ed Wehrle argues the Bambino in fact represented such a threat to the status quo that organized baseball worked for decades to discredit him.
Davey Johnson was a successful player and manager who led a Forrest Gump-like baseball life, says our guest, author Erik Sherman. Sherman collaborated with Johnson on his new autobiography/
In the summer of the 1943, Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Johnny Sain and other MLB stars played on maybe the greatest team you've never heard of. Anne R. Keene takes us on a tour of the remarkable Navy training school in Chapel Hill, N.C. and introduces us to the Cloudbuster Nine.
Felipe Alou, the first Dominican-born player to make the big leagues, had an All-Star career and went on to be a successful manager. Peter Kerasotis, who collaborated with Alou on his autobiography, shares the remarkable story of a remarkable man.
Bud Selig had perhaps the most eventful commissionership in MLB history. Author Jon Pessah takes us inside the secret world of baseball's power brokers during the Selig era.
Author Daniel R. Levitt tells us the story of the Federal League, which took on the established major leagues in 1914 and 1915. The league didn't last long but its legacy did.
For generations of children, collecting baseball cards and being a baseball fan were one in the same. How did collecting small pieces of cardboard become so important for so long? Author Dave Jamieson tells us baseball cards became an American obsession.
Author Michael Fallon takes us back to decadent Los Angeles of the late 1970s to meet Tom Lasorda, Steve Garvey and the rest of the hard-charging Dodgers.
Why should your best hitter bat second? Should a manager ever sacrifice bunt? Author Mitchel Lichtman joins us to discuss the classic book of strategic analysis he co-authored with two other noted sabermetricians.
Koufax. Kershaw. Drysdale. Valenzuela. Author Jon Weisman explains why the Dodgers have a pitching tradition unlike any other club.
It's Fashion Week on Baseball by the Book as Todd Radom takes us on a visual tour of the strangest, most memorable and most colorful baseball uniforms of all time. From the Astros to the Padres to the Swingin' A's, Radom discusses the National Pastime's unique sartorial history,
In the summer of 1976, Mark Fidrych skyrocketed to national acclaim through the force of his pitching and his personality. Author Doug Wilson joins us to discuss the remarkable life and legacy of the man they called "The Bird."
Russell Carleton, a trained psychologist and veteran sabermetrician, talks to us about the next evolution in baseball thinking -- which includes marrying analytics with the long-derided "human element."
Author Larry Tye joins us to discuss his Casey Award-winning biography of the legendary Satchel Paige. In addition to being one of the great pitchers in baseball history, Paige is an important figure in American history, Tye says.
Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance were immortalized by a poem written more than 100 years ago. Author David Rapp joins us to discuss the immortal Cubs trio and the first baseball dynasty of the 20th century.