Emily Nemens joins us to discuss her debut novel, which tells the story of one spring training for the fictional Los Angeles Lions. From superstar slugger Jason Goodyear to a middle-aged divorcée Tamara Rowland and aging organist Lester Morrow, meet the people whose lives revolve around the national pastime each February and March.
Before there was the Little League World Series, there was the Little World Series, played at Cleveland's League Park in 1941. Author Ruth Hanford Morhard joins us to talk about the remarkable story of a single mother who pioneered youth baseball in the years before World War II.
Click here to see "Bringing Up Baseball," the movie mentioned in the episode.
Author Ron Rapoport had numerous conversations with Ernie Banks in anticipation of collaborating on an autobiography with the Hall of Fame slugger. That book never materialized, but Rapoport was able to put those interviews — and more than 100 others — to to use in writing the definitive account of a complicated man who hid behind the legend of Mr. Cub.
Rod Carew joins us to discuss his legendary career, his troubled childhood and how he was persevered through family tragedy and life-threatening medical problems. The Hall of Famer also gives his thoughts on the state of today's game, racism in baseball and the Cooperstown case for his longtime teammate Tony Oliva.
Did Babe Ruth really call his shot? Author Thomas Wolf takes us back to the baseball season of 1932, which included an off-field shooting, a spectacular pennant race and one of the most storied events in baseball history — which may not have happened at all.