Back When There Was Baseball

Our guest this week is former MLB pitcher  Skip Lockwood . Skip signed with the Kansas City A's in 1964 for the unbelievable sum of $135,000. He started out at 3rd base and played behind Ed Charles in 1965 with the parent club. He had trouble hitting, especially during night games and was transitioned into a pitcher. Skip played for the A's, Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, New...

Doug Corbett  joins us this week. Doug played college baseball at the University of Florida but was not drafted. He signed with the Kansas City Royals for $500 on a free agent contract in 1974. Doug debuted with the Minnesota Twins in 1980 and had a great year as a relief pitcher, which resulted in a 3rd place finish for Rookie of the Year award (behind Joe Charboneau and Dave Stapleton). He playe...

We travel  Back When There Was Baseball  this week to the 1980s with our guest  Mike   Stenhouse . Mike was one of the best hitters in Ivy League history coming out of Harvard before signing with the Montreal Expos in 1980. Mike was able to hit everywhere he played, but he struggled when he got to the Majors. We speak with Mike about having to break into the lineup playing behind Andre Dawson, War...

Our guest this week was All-Everything out of the University of Tennessee before he entered the professional ranks.  Sam Ewing  hit .412 during his career at Tennessee garnering him All-American status. After competing in the World Amateur Games, he started his Major League baseball career. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and had stints with the parent club in 1973 and 1976. Sam was select...

Jim   Lyttle  joins us on the podcast this week.  Jim played in the Majors from 1969-1976. He then had a successful career in Japan from 1977-1983. Jim played with the Yankees during the CBS years (1969-1971), White Sox (1972), Expos (1973-1976) and Dodgers (1976). Jim discusses his career, what it was like fighting for playing time, and also playing for 4 teams then playing in Japan. He was a sol...

Dyar Miller  joins us this week. Dyar graduated from Utah State and was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968 after he was not drafted. Dyar played from 1968-1984 with 7 of those years in the Majors (Baltimore, California, Toronto and the New York Mets). After switching to a relief pitcher in 1975, he posted a career record of 23-17 with a 3.23 ERA. After retiring as a player, Dyar stayed in...

Who was the last player to hit a home run in the original Yankee Stadium (1973) before the massive remodel? His name is  Duke   Sims  and he is our guest this week. Duke also had the privilege of catching one of the greatest pitching staffs in the history of the game, the 1968 Cleveland Indians staff which included "Sudden" Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant, Sonny Siebert, Stan Williams and Steve Hargan. D...

Mike Pau l joins us on the podcast this week. He came out of the University of Arizona and was drafted in the 20th round in 1967 by the Cleveland Indians. He was a part of arguably the best pitching staff in Major League history in the 1968 Cleveland Indians. Mike made it to the Majors quickly and had success. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs and then finishe...

Ken Frailing passed away on August 25, 2022. We re-air this podcast in honor of him. Ken Frailing  is our guest this week. Ken pitched from 1966-1978 in the Minor Leagues and the Majors. Ken was very promising out of high school as he had a 13-0 record his senior season with an unbelievable 0.17 ERA. He played for the White Sox and Cubs organizations in his tenure and shares some fascinating stori...

Bart   Zeller  joins us this week. He was with the St. Louis Cardinals organization his entire career. Bart was a catcher and only appeared in one game with the parent club. So, you ask, why would you interview Bart Zeller? It's simple, Bart was the Cardinals insurance policy and worked with their great young staff which included the likes of Steve Carlton, Mike Torrez, Wayne Granger, and Reggie C...

Bill Melton passed away on December 5, 2024. We are re-airing this podcast in honor of him.  Who was the American League home run leader in 1971? If you do not know the answer, maybe "It is soo hot in Chicago that the third baseman is Melton" will jog your memory.  Bill   Melton  is our guest this week. Bill talks about his career and the many teammates he played with, including the late Dick Alle...

Eddie   Leon  is our guest this week.  He played in the Major Leagues from 1968-1975 with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.  His longest stint was in Cleveland where he teamed up with Jack Heidemann as one of the best double play combinations that few people knew about, as there were very few fans in attendance in Cleveland Municipal Stadium in those days.  Eddie playe...

Kevin Kobel joins us this week. Kevin came out of Athol Springs, NY which is south of Buffalo on Lake Erie. This is obviously not a good weather area for baseball, but Kevin earned his way to an 11th round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971. He had a fast track to the Majors and appeared in his first game in 1973. Kevin pitched in 1973-1974 and part of 1976 with Milwaukee. He ended up bei...

Tommy McCraw  is our guest this week. Tommy, or Mac as he likes to be called, played in the Majors from 1963-1975 with the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, California Angels and back with the Indians to finish out his career. Mac played for Ted Williams in 1971 and credits Ted for helping him become a better hitter. He also coached 24 years in the Majors as a hitting coac...

Our guest this week is  Rance Mulliniks . Rance played from 1977-1992 for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays. He was traded to the Blue Jays in 1982, where he finally got a chance to play every day. He credits Cito Gaston for elevating his hitting. Rance was also an outstanding glove and for several years in the mid-1980s, was one of the top 3rd basemen in the Amer...

Tim Foli  joins us on the podcast this week. Tim played in the Majors from 1970-1985. His statistics don't jump out at you, but he was a very good defensive shortstop and hit very well, mostly out of the 2nd spot in the batting order. Tim played for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, then the Mets again before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. He and the acquisition of Bill Madlock...

Steve   Kealey  joins us this week on our look  Back When There Was Baseball . Steve came out of Torrance, California in the mid-1960s where there was a boatload of talent. He was signed by the California Angels in 1966 and made his major league debut in 1968. Steve played for many years in the minors and majors with manager Chuck Tanner who he credits for giving him a chance. He played for the An...

Our guest this week is  Mike Epstein . Mike played in the Majors from 1966-1974 with various clubs and was part of the 1972 Oakland A's world championship team. He went to Cal-Berkeley on a football scholarship but ended up switching to baseball. Mike was nicknamed "Superjew" and played for quite a host of managers, which include Hank Bauer, Gil Hodges, Ted Williams and Dick Williams. Mike has som...

Dave Ford joins us this week. Dave was a 1st round draft pick in 1975 by the Baltimore Orioles. He was one of the many hot prospects and dominant pitchers that were a part of the Orioles organization at that time. Listen as Dave talks about the amazing pitching staff of the Orioles during the years he was in their organization (1975-1983) and what it was like to play for Earl Weaver as we go  Back...

Our guest this week is former National League umpire  Jerry Crawford . Jerry comes from a family of officials.  His father Shag was a Major League umpire from 1955-1975 and his brother Joey, was an NBA official from 1977-2016. Jerry started out in the National League in 1976, then became a Major League umpire for the last 10 years of his career, which ended with the 2010 season. He shares some gre...

Rick Wise  joins us this week to talk about his outstanding career. Rick's career was lengthy, 1963-1982, with only parts of 3 seasons in the Minor Leagues. He started 8 games for the 1964 Phillies in a year in which the Phillies collapsed at the end of the year. Rick was traded for Steve Carlton in 1972 and gets a bad rap for that trade, but he had a good year with the Cardinals that year (16-16)...

Zack Minasian  joins us this week to talk about his book  Lasorda University: A Recollection of My Summer of '68 with Tommy Lasorda and the Ogden Dodgers  in our combined  Sports Authors Showcase  and  Back When There Was Baseball podcasts. Zack shares some great stories about that 1968 Ogden Dodgers team (Pioneer League) which had some great players: Bill Buckner, Bobby Valentine, Steve Garvey, T...

Steve Whitaker  joins us this week. Steve played from 1962-1972 with parts of 5 seasons in the Big Leagues. He started out in the Yankees organization and talks about playing in Yankee Stadium (when the monuments were in the field of play) with Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Bobby Richardson to name a few. Steve ended up in the expansion Seattle Pilots organization and played in their inaugural se...

Greg Terlecky  joins us this week. We've had the privilege of hosting several pitchers that had great resumes, but for some reason or other, just didn't quite pan out. Greg is one of those pitchers and had he not been "rushed", could have had a different career. He played one season at the Big-League level in 1975 for the St. Louis Cardinals and just when he thought he was going to factor into the...

Some of you may never have heard about our guest this week, but you will come away impressed with what this gentleman brought to the game when he was healthy.  Gil Patterson  joins us to talk about his career. He only played in the Majors for one year and it was 1977 with the New York Yankees. Gil can reminisce about "The Bronx Zoo" year and the many things that happened during that season. When y...