Back When There Was Baseball

Tom Trebelhorn  joins us on the podcast this week. Tom played in the Minor Leagues in the early 1970s, starting with the Bend Rainbows (Hawaii). After his playing career, he started his coaching venture, which culminated in a managerial position with the Milwaukee Brewers from 1986-1991 and then the Chicago Cubs in 1994. Tom shares some great stories surrounding his career as we travel  Back When...

Claude   Osteen  joins us for Part 2 which focuses on his coaching career and quite a career it was. Claude had stints as a pitching coach with the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Philles, Texas Rangers and L.A. Dodgers. He survived several coaching changes in Philadelphia and produced 3 Cy Young award winners in a 6-year span (Steve Carlton, John Denny and Steve Bedrosian). Claude shares some g...

This week we air Part 1 of a 2-part interview with  Claude Osteen  which focuses on his playing days. Claude played in the Majors from 1957-1975 as a left-handed pitcher. He compiled a 196-195 record with a career ERA of 3.30. He is most noted for his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching alongside Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Claude won game 3 of the 1965 World Series which helped propel t...

Our guest this week was headed for a stellar career as a pitcher until a torn rotator cuff cost him his career. Do you remember  Steve Busby , Kansas City Royals pitcher 1972-1980? Steve talks about his career from high school into his stint at USC during their great days in the late 1960s/early 1970s. He had three very good years in the Majors from 1973-1975, which included two no-hitters. Let's...

Our guest this week is  Gary Lavelle . You should remember Gary as a left-handed relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants (1974-1984). When you look at Gary's career stats (80-77 with an ERA of 2.93), you wonder why he gets lost in the shuffle. Gary discusses his career, from his minor league years and getting called up with the Giants in 1974. He talks about how tough it was to pitch in Candle...

Greg Pryor  joins us this week. Greg is one of those guys we love to interview. He was a solid player during his day, but not necessarily a household name. Greg played from 1971-1986 after being drafted by the Washington Senators which became the Texas Rangers in 1972. He finally got his chance to play regularly in the Chicago White Sox organization in 1978 and earned his stripes as a solid infiel...

We take the time machine back to the late 1950s through the late 1960s with our guest this week.  Gary Bell  joins us to talk about his great career. Gary was a pitcher with a career record of 121-117 with a 3.68 ERA. He was on that great Cleveland Indians pitching staff in the mid-to-late 1960s. Gary was moved to Boston and the Red Sox appeared in the 1967 World Series. He was also the starting p...

Our guest this week is  Steve   "Bye Bye"   Balboni . Our co-host, Steve Schaaf, played in the 1977 Division II College World Series with Steve Balboni, which adds an interesting take to this podcast. Balboni was introduced to America during the MLB strike of 1981. ESPN started to cover minor league baseball and Steve played for the Columbus Clippers as he was featured during the strike. He had a...

Who was the last New York Yankees pitcher to win a game in "Old Yankee Stadium" before the refurbishment? It is our guest this week,  George   "Doc" Medich . Doc won the last Yankees victory in "Old Yankee Stadium" on September 29, 1973, before the Yankees moved to Shea Stadium for the 1974-1975 seasons. Doc Medich is an incredible story of a very good baseball pitcher who also went to medical sch...

This week we take a look at another catcher from the late 1960s to the late 1970s.   Ken   Rudolph  is our guest.  Ken played in the Majors from 1969-1977 with the Cubs, Giants, Cardinals and Orioles.  In this era of baseball, the backup catcher was vitally important.  Ken talks about what it was like to play sparingly, keep in shape not only defensively, but also at the plate with the bat.  He al...

We go  Back When There Was Baseball  this week to the late 1960s through the late 1970s with our guest  Joe Lahoud . Joe broke into the Majors with the Red Sox organization in 1968 as an outfielder competing with Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Smith and Ken Harrelson for playing time. He was traded to and played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972-1973, then was shipped to the California Angels. Joe had a...

We take the time machine  Back When There Was Baseball  this week to the late 1960s into the early 1970s with our guest, pitcher  Bill Denehy . Bill's career was not a long one due to arm injuries, but he has some great stories surrounding his playing days. An interesting tidbit was that he was traded from the New York Mets to the Washington Senators in 1967 for manager Gil Hodges. Bill played for...

Lynn Jones  joins us this week on the podcast. Lynn is a very interesting story and it starts at Thiel College in Erie, PA where in his last 2 years of college he was a 3-sport athlete. Name me 3-sport athletes that made it to the Major Leagues. The list is short. Lynn started out with the Cincinnati Reds organization but was traded to Detroit where he made the Major League club. He was a member o...

We are joined by  Steve   Kemp  this week. Steve was on his way to a very good career in the Major Leagues until an unfortunate eye injury curtailed it. He had a great college career at USC before being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round of the 1976 January Draft. Steve was up in the Majors for good with the Tigers in 1977 and it didn't take long for him to start hitting. His best year...

Rusty Gerhardt joins us on the podcast this week. Rusty was a left-handed pitcher that came out of Clemson University. He played in the Cape Cod League and in Alaska. Rusty was drafted in the 12th round in 1972 of the June Amateur Draft by the San Diego Padres. He only played one year in the Big Leagues for the Padres in 1974, but Rusty talks about his journey to the Majors as he was called up in...

John Boccabella  joins us this week. John played from 1963-1974 for the Cubs, Expos and Giants. He also played for Leo Durocher and Gene Mauch, legendary managers. Enjoy this trip  Back When There Was Baseball with John Boccabella.

Jim Colborn  is our guest this week. Jim played in the Majors from 1969-1978 with the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners. His best year was 1973 with Milwaukee and he was an All-Star that year. He also had a solid year in 1977 with the Royals, but did not appear in the ALCS. Join us  Back When There Was Baseball with Jim Colborn.

We are blessed to have  Bob   Oldis join us this week on the podcast. Bob signed his first Major League contract in 1949 with the old Washington Senators franchise. Bob also played in the 1960 World Series and appeared in games 4 and 5 in Yankee Stadium catching in the latter innings. He finished his career in Philadelphia playing for Gene Mauch in 1963. He stayed on the Phillies staff as a coach...

Jack Heidemann joins us this week. Jack started his career at the age of 17 in the minor leagues and made his major league debut at the age of 19 in 1969 with the Cleveland Indians. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam called, and Jack had to delay his baseball career until 1970. Jack's career lasted through the 1979 season with his one year in St. Louis (1974) being his most productive. We look Back When The...

Who caught the first pitch in the Houston Astrodome? He is our guest this week and his name is  Ron Brand . The infamous game was on April 9, 1965, and was an exhibition against the New York Yankees. Ron started out with the Pirates before Houston selected him in the Rule 5 draft. He also played for the Montreal Expos who acquired him in the expansion draft. We venture  Back When There Was Basebal...

We are joined this week with one of the best defensive catchers in the game during the decade of the 1970s.  Terry Humphrey  is that individual and he played in the Big Leagues from 1971-1979 with 3 teams: Montreal, Detroit and California. When he joined the California Angels in 1976, he quickly became the catcher for Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana upon their request. His best season was 1977 where h...

Gary   Waslewski  joins us on the podcast this week. Gary was a World Series starting pitcher in 1967. He started Game 6 of the 1967 World Series against the Cardinals' Dick Hughes. The Red Sox won Game 6, but Bob Gibson won Game 7 to give the St. Louis Cardinals the Series. Gary was one of the toughest luck pitchers of all-time. He had a record of 11-26, but a respectable 3.44 ERA while playing f...

Larry   Hardy  joins us on the podcast this week. Larry played from 1970-1979 with the Padres and Astros. He was called up to the Majors in 1974 with San Diego and ended the season with the rookie record for appearances by a pitcher with 76. Larry posted a 9-4 record that year with an ERA of 4.69. He bounced up and down from the Minor Leagues to the Majors for the remainder of his career and coach...

Jim   Gosger  joins us this week.  Jim played from 1963-1974 with the Red Sox, Kansas City/Oakland A's, New York Mets and Montreal Expos.  He had the privilege to play for several managers including Johnny Pesky, Alvin Dark, Gil Hodges, Gene Mauch and Yogi Berra. Take this trip  Back When There Was Baseball as Jim shares many memories and funny stories from his days in the Big Leagues.

We are privileged to speak with  "Sudden" Sam McDowell  this week on  Back When There Was Baseball . Sam had a storied career, pitching from 1961-1975 in both the American and National Leagues. He was part of one of the greatest pitching staffs in the history of the game, the 1968 Cleveland Indians. All four starters had ERAs under 3, but Sam and Luis Tiant were under 2. Sam has a second story to...