Backwards K Pod

This week we profile the baseball life of the immortal Joe Morgan, who at 5'7", and 150 pounds, dominated the game and the second-base position like very few before him or since. Morgan develops a love for the game, cutting his teeth on the talented Oakland sandlots, and influenced by his farher's encouragement. Despite his diminutive stature, which made him overlooked throughout his youth, he dis...

This week i detail the baseball journey of pitching great Warren Spahn. By the time, his long and prolific career was in the books, he had amassed the most victories (363) in the game's history for a left-handed pitcher, the sixth most wins of all time and the most wins ever by a pitcher who pitched exclusively in the live-ball, modern era. All of his brilliance is magnified by the fact that he do...

This week, i do an archaelogical dig into 160 years of baseball history in Minnesota. In many ways, Minnesota was an early leader in team sports being played before large crowds, when the Dakota and Ojibwe tribes would play native lacrosse games, as far back as the 1600's, long before European settlers arrived. As for baseball, their timeline stretches back to 1857, when citizens from the town of...

Carlton Fisk will probably always be most notably be remembered for his game-winning home-run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, but it would be his durability over the long haul, that would cement his Hall Of Fame resume. The 11 time All Star would become known for his in-your-face intensity. his ability to handle pitchers, and his incredible work ethic. He would go onto have a long and colorful...

Andre Dawson, also known as "The Hawk", was one of the most dynamic and all-around polished players of hia generation. He was a legitimate five-tool player, even when his knees were screaming at him to hang em up. Over a career that spanned 21 major league seasons, he made an indellible mark, combining his raw power, speed and defensive prowess to become one of the game's most respected players. H...

In an era dominated by sluggers putting up prodigious video game power-numbers, Vladimir Guerrero becomes one of the game's most electrifying players, in defiance of the baseball Gods with his five-tool arsenal of hitting for average, power, baserunning insticts, defense and the intercontinetal ballistic missile, he had for a right arm. His unlikely rise to baseball immortality begins in abject po...

This week's biopic is on the greatest player in Brewers history, Robin Yount. Robin played on the competitive edge, and left everything on the field during his 20 year playing career. In fact, Yount left it all over the field, winning the American League MVP, at two different positions, 6 years apart. Drafted by the Brewers with the third overall pick in the 1973 Amateur MLB Draft, Yount makes his...

This week we take an introspective look at the life and baseball journey of one Peter Lawrence "Yogi" Berra, who would become one of baseball's greatest characters and catchers. The World War II veteran and unprecedented 13 time World Champion as a player. was best described by his manager Casey Stengal, " As a very strange fellow with remarkable baseball abilities." He served as the anchor and br...

When a plumber's blowtorch accidentally causes Washington D.C's Boundary Field to burn to the ground in 1911. engineers from the Cleveland based Osborne Company quickly construct Griffith Stadium inside the skeletal remains of Boundary Field. and it would serve as the Senators home park from 1911 to 1961. The stadium would become a centerpiece for baseball in the district housing the Senators and...

Whenever Willie McCovey had a bat in his hands, he meant business. Whether it's a tight pennant race game in September against the Dodgers or a batting practice in May, his focus was to cut the ball in half and smoke line drives. His path to Major League immortality was oddly uneven, mostly due to circumstance. But despite all of the obstacles, mishaps and injuries he endured, he still managed to...

This week we profile the baseball life and journey of the legendary skipper Bobby Cox, who was became one of the most successful managers in the game's history, chartering the course for the Braves' dominanace during the 1990's and early 2000's. His teams would hold the unique distinction of winning 14 consecutive division pennants, and he would go onto become the fourth winningest manager in base...

This week we take an introspective look at the fascinating History Of Baseball In Queens, New York. A story that begins in 1886, when Queens was the only municipalty in New York City that disregarded the Sunday Blue Laws, which prohibited commerce and personel ammusement on Sundays. The borough's landscape was dotted with three ballparks at this time, Ridgewood Parks One and Two in Woodhaven, and...

As a player, Billy Martin was a fundamentally sound second basemen with a .257 batting average over an 11 year playing career, most notably for the Yankees fom 1950 to 1957. On the World Series stage, he was a clutch beast with a .333/.371/.369 slash-line, 5 Home Runs and 19 runs driven in, with flawless defensive play. As a manager, he developed the reputation of a strategical genius, who could o...

San Francisco Giants right-handed ace Juan Marichal was among the elite pitchers during the "The Golden Age Of Pitching" of the 1960's, but he always seemed to live in the shadows of Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson during that era. He was the winningest pitcher of the decade, and his 2.57 era during that span is third best behind only Koufax and his 2.37 and closer Hoyt Wilhelm's 2.16. This week we wi...

This week's focus is on the legendary pitching icon Ferguson Jenkins, who is arguably the greatest ballplayer that Canada has ever produced (with all apologies to Larry Walker) and indeed one of the country's finest all-around athletes ever. During a time that many consider "The Golden Age Of Pitching", Fergie stood shoulder to shouler with the era's greats, and he towered above the rest. He is th...

Frank Robinson accomplished as much in the game of baseball, as anyone ever has; National League Rookie Of The Year, An MVP in both leagues, MVP of a World Series. MVP of an All-Star game, a Gold Glove Winner, American League Manager Of The Year, a Triple Crown winner, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal Of Freedom. His accomplishments on the diamond, led to his Hall Of Fame induction in 198...

The game of baseball is introduced to the East Bay region as far back as the 1840's when entrepreneurial, risk-takers from the east move to Neuva Claifornia in search of gold, and bring the game with them, in their westward expansion of the young country. By 1866, the city is gripped with baseball fever, and Oakland semi-pro teams begin to compete with teams in neighboring San Francisco for region...

This week we profile the baseball life of the iconic Willie Stargell. Willie, the feared power-hitting slugger and clubhouse leader on and off the diamond, signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1958, and will forever be associated with the franchise. The seemingly larger than life Stargell, after his retirement in 1982 would leave a legacy of winning, leadership, focus and...

Yankees former Hall Of Fame Manager once said of Mickey Mantle. " He has more speed than any slugger, I've ever seen, and more slug than any other speedster. Nobody has ever had more of both of them together. This kid aint logical. He's too good and it's very confusing. This week we profile the the MLB journey of the "Commerce Comet", the great Mickey Mantle, who would define the 1950's and 60's e...

This week I profile the Japanese slugger who rewrote the Japanese and international baseball record books in his image, during his 22 year Nippon Baseball League career. No player outside of the great Babe Ruth ever dominated the game for so long, in any of the game's top professional leagues around the world. His 868 career home-runs is over 100 more than MLB Home Run King Barry Bonds. And if bas...

At the height of his powers, Roberto Alomar could beat you in a myriad of ways. The five-tooled freak could beat you with a timely bunt. He had the ambidextrous power to yank a home-run from both sides of the dish. He could hit an opposite field double seemingly at will, and he had the speed to swipe a bag, and the base-running instincts to take the extra base on a bloop single by a teammate. And...

This week I do an introspective dive into the life and baseball journey of Bob Feller. A major league journey that begins at the age of 17, as Feller is the youngest pitcher in big-league history to both win and lose a game. From humble beginnings, the Iowa farm boy and his Heater From Van Meter would see him become the game's second great power arm, after Walter Johnson. #BobFeller #RapidRobert #...

This week I examine the city of Washington D.C., and it's connection with the national pastime. A connection with the game, that goes back to the first game in the District's recorded history of July 2, 1860. It was the shared home of one of the most legendary Negro National League teams, as well as owning a complicated history with Major League Baseball, that features three different franchises a...

Rickey Henderson used the ultimate combination of power and speed to break numerous Major League records during his career. But what solidifies his place in baseball history was his unbridled passion to his craft and the game. He is the all-time stolen base king in the history of baseball. The greatest lead-off hitter the game has known and the most prolific run scorer to ever grace the diamond. T...

This week we profile the baseball journey of right-handed power pitcher Curt Schilling who's 3,116 career strikeouts is the 17th most ever in baseball history. He is the only pitcher to ever win a World Series game for three different teams. His 11-2 postseason win/loss record is the highest winning percentage, for pitchers in the game's history, for any pitcher with more than 10 appearances in th...