Clear the Field Podcast

In 1977, a new-fangled technology had the umpires hunkered down. Highlights - A game for Luddites - Ted Turner’s wonderful toys - Ask for permission or forgiveness? - Why we didn’t replay balls and strikes for 50 years - The fallible machine and the "busher" in the box Support Us You can support Clear the Field by following the show on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts Spotify RSS Give a Rati...

This Week’s Lineup: - A Listener Introduces Us to New York’s Panfluencer - Baseball and the Quiet Mind - Checking in on Ballpark Stunt Food - Remembering Fantasy Baseball’s Good Old Days - Candy Bar WAR - ABS Update: Don’t Flinch What’s This? Every few weeks in “Slap Hits,” Ted and I cover whatever has delighted us from present-day baseball (or sometimes things even further afield) in a lightning...

In 1979, Pat Santarone, the groundskeeper at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, battled Earl Weaver in a produce showdown for the ages. Highlights - Pat Santarone, a feared and fighting groundskeeper - Two competitors find each other in the minor leagues - The ballpark as a nursery: more light, more water, and more beer - The Tomato Wars claim Boog Powell and Billy Martin - A Spectacular secret ingredi...

This Week’s Lineup: - Team Randy or Team Cal? - Daikin Park Name That Guitar Instrumental - Hall-of-Fame Photographers - Ballpark Thin Lizzy - Reviewing the World Baseball Classic Policy on Musical Instruments What’s This? Ted Walker and I decided we couldn’t do a baseball podcast without discussing present-day baseball, so we’re mixing in a new format. We’ll still have our “A format,” where we te...

Featuring three moments when nature’s most famous nightshade made an impact at the ballpark. Highlights - Back to the (18)90s, complete with a Friends reference - Angry Ladies Day in Cleveland in 1940 - Where all the ballpark fruit and vegetables come from - A bench ruling on tomatoes - Gardening on the warning track at Tiger Stadium - Miracle tomatoes promise to change Detroit’s season Please Sup...

In 1971, the ambitious and erratic owner of the Oakland A’s went all-in to change the number of balls for a walk from four to three. Highlights - A “wildly eccentric” owner goes to the library and gets a history of the base-on-balls - A visiting Nippon Professional Baseball team beats the A’s at their own game - The A’s owner puts words into the commissioner’s mouth to force the Angels to play - C...

In 1971 (and 1969 and 1970), light aircraft used Chavez Ravine for target practice. Highlights - Vin Scully, aeronautics expert - A blurb of a bombardment in 1970 - Animals on the grounds, flour from the skies - Siege weapons at the ballpark? Really? - Post-game speculation worthy of a ‘90s action movie - Another unexpected target across the country? Paul asks questions. Get full access to Project...

In 1942, the wartime scrap effort costs the war-bound Giants a game. Highlights - Let’s Play Eight at the Polo Grounds - Highlights from New York City’s Junk Drawers - A youth movement as the Giants head off to war - A mostly inexplicable crowd surge - How America used “stuff” to win World War II Get full access to Project 3.18 at www.project-318.com/subscribe

In 1942, major league baseball turned a few of New York’s green cathedrals into makeshift junk yards. Highlights - FDR nationalizes the National Game - What scrap metal meant to the war effort - Dispatches from the Junk Drawer War - The Dodgers pitch in to help New York meet its quota - A scramble at the Ebbets Field “scrap gate” - Next time: Metal mania moves to Manhattan Get full access to Proje...

In 1969, the Cubs’ famous fans had an incredibly special relationship with the team. In 1970, they didn’t. Highlights - The Bleacher Bum org chart - The most special fan relationship - A funereal end to 1969 - Mistakes were made, sayeth the Cubs' owner. - The vibes shift at Wrigley Field in 1970 - Big Brother at the ballpark Further Reading: https://www.project-318.com/p/the-break-up Get full acce...

In 1907, Detroit’s ebullient manager tried to save his voice by coaching with a whistle and blew his way into trouble. Highlights - Some surprising HBP trivia - Breaking down early 20th century noisemakers - Verbal managerial subterfuge through the ages - Instruments proliferate and umpires deteriorate - The first-ever World(‘s) Series ejection goes to...you guessed it! Further Reading: Support Us...

In 1987, the Mets / Cardinals rivalry exploded into a hunt for Howard Johnson’s magic bat. Highlights - Lawn Dart Day is cancelled. - Corking 101 - Whitey Herzog’s haphazard investigation. - Howard Johnson’s suspect bat. - Unsatisfying allegations and extrajudicial acquisitions. - Holding your feelings in your mustache. - A harassment campaign leads to a new rule. Get full access to Project 3.18 a...

In 1987, sneaky power hitting turned the greatest National League rivalry you’ve never heard of on its head. Highlights - The rivalry that Bud Selig forgot. - Great moments in name-calling. - Lunar charts and ballpark giveaways. - Is Jack Clark the K-Mart of baseball players and what does this mean? - A sprinkle of seat cushions becomes a blizzard. - Tommy Herr sends ‘em home happy and sans poster...

In 1987, Twins pitcher Joe Niekro was found with contraband in his pockets but not necessarily with larceny in his heart. Highlights - A pitching career that just kept going - A sting operation in Anaheim - Caught with red hands and perfect cuticles - Following in Gaylord Perry’s footsteps (and getting lost) Get full access to Project 3.18 at www.project-318.com/subscribe

In 1907, bad weather and a bored crowd mixed to create an on-field mess and a forfeited game. Highlights - Opening Day traditions at the turn of the century - What people did to amuse themselves before cell phones - A surprising lack of police protection leads to a forfeited game - The reformer/crusader who decided to make an example out of baseball Further Reading Support Us You can support Clear...

They are rare today, but forfeits used to be a regular feature of baseball. We’re looking at some of the times teams have managed to beat themselves. Highlights - What’s a forfeit and why didn’t Ron Artest cause one? - An introduction to the Godfather of forfeit scholarship - Ted makes a morbid but very apt comparison - Examples of games that have failed: Missing teams, collective tantrums, and da...

In 1959, the Chicago White Sox won the pennant. Bells rang, horns blew, and some people huddled in their basements, awaiting the end of the world. Highlights -Khrushchev’s first hot dog -The 1959 “Go Go” White Sox and the team’s historic pennant drought -Victory in “Baseball Thunderdome” -Sirens interrupt celebrations -Atomic terror in the 1950s -Chicago flunks its civil defense pop quiz -Robert Q...

In 1981, the Seattle Mariners’ uniforms were stolen from the visitors clubhouse at Arlington Stadium. The game had to go on, so the team needed to find something to wear. Highlights -The scene of the crime: Arlington Stadium in Texas, the hottest park in America -The robbery and aftermath -Raiding the souvenir stand for replacements -The details of a similar crime from 1977…and a possible suspect...

In 1938, a “color engineer” had an idea to cut down on major league beanings: make baseballs yellow. The National League president said, “Sure, why not?” Highlights -The devastating 1937 beaning of Mickey Cochrane -Frederick H. Rahr, inventor and possible flim-flam man -The inside man: Larry MacPhail, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers -The yellow ball’s debut at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn -The resul...

In 1931, Cubs catcher Gabby Hartnett took heat for fraternizing with Al Capone. Gangsters were an occupational hazard for Prohibition-era baseball players. Highlights -The comings and goings of gangsters at Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field -Al Capone’s favorite player (and how we know) -The day Hartnett ended up in a controversial picture (that helped bring down Capone) -The baseball commissioner’s...