Back When There Was Baseball

Our guest this week is  Fred   Beene . Fred was in the Baltimore Oriole organization during their great years in the 1960s to early 1970s. He had trouble breaking into the Big Leagues until he was traded to the NY Yankees. He had two great years with the Yankees in 1972 and 1973, during the CBS years. If you don't remember Fred, you should, especially if you are a Yankee fan. This man was a very g...

Jim Price passed away on August 7, 2023.  I conducted this interview with Jim in April of 2021.  We are re-airing this as a tribute to his life and career.   Jim   Price  is our guest this week. He is currently the color analyst for Detroit Tigers radio broadcasts and has been announcing for almost 30 years. Jim was a member of the 1968 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers. He came out of Hershey...

Bob Lacey  joins me on the podcast this week.  Bob was drafted by the Oakland A's in 1972 at the start of the A's dynasty.  Bob made it up to the parent club roster in 1977 after the team was dismantled.  Bob had some really good years on the mound for the A's from 1977-1980 when they were rebuilding.  You have to look at not only a player/pitcher's statistics, but on what type team they played on...

Pitcher  Dick   Bosman  is our guest this week on the podcast. Dick had a very good MLB career on mostly poor teams. Dick was the Washington Senators opening day pitcher for four consecutive seasons and that says something! He threw a no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians on July 19, 1974 against the powerful Oakland A's. He then finished his career with the three-time World Champion A's. Listen as...

This week, we are going back to the 45th anniversary of "Birdmania". For those who don't remember, this was in 1976 with Mark "The Bird" Fidrych setting Tiger Stadium in a frenzy with his pitching performance and antics on the mound. Fidrych passed away in 2009, but we have his personal catcher, Bruce Kimm, to talk about that magical season of 1976 for the Detroit Tigers and "The Bird". Kimm caugh...

Pitcher  Danny   Boone was the lightest pitcher to pitch in MLB history.  He is listed in the stats at 5'8" tall and 150 lbs.  Dan will relate that he was closer to 130 lbs.  Dan is a descendant of THE Daniel Boone.  His first name is Danny, even though MLB, along with other statistical websites, list it as Daniel.  Danny started out in the California Angels farm system in 1977.  He got his chance...

Our guest this week is  Frank   DiPino . Frank pitched with several teams and was very effective, mostly through the 1980s. He started out with Milwaukee and unfortunately was traded before appearing in the 1982 World Series. He then played with Houston and was traded in the middle of the 1986 season before he was able to appear in the NLCS against the N.Y. Mets. Frank played effectively in the le...

Our guest this week is  Ron Stone , former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder from 1969-1972.  Ron started his career in the Baltimore Orioles organization, then was chosen by the Kansas City A's in the Rule 5 MLB draft in 1966.  He played 26 games for the A's and had good numbers, but the A's sent him back to the Orioles in July of that same year.  He was blessed to be traded to the Phillies in 196...

We go back in the time machine this week to the late-1960s through the mid-1970s with our guest  Bobby Valentine .  You should recognize that name, but maybe as an MLB manager.  We focus on his playing career this week.  Bobby was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968 as the 5th overall pick.  He was sent to rookie ball in Ogden, Utah, along with teammates Bill Buckner, Tom Paciorek, and Stev...

We are privileged to have long-time American League umpire Al Clark as our guest this week. Al umpired from 1976-2001 and was a member of the umpiring crew in the 1978 AL East one-game playoff in Fenway Park between the Red Sox and Yankees (the famous Bucky Dent HR game). Al also umpired in the 1983 and 1989 World Series. You will not want to miss his discussion of that 1978 playoff game and the "...

There were only three players in MLB history that started the year in the Minor Leagues and made the MLB All-Star game.  Our guest his week, Bill Dawley , was one of them.  Bill started in the Cincinnati Reds farm system in 1976 and finally got his shot in the Big Leagues when traded to the Houston Astros.  He had a good 3-year stint with Houston from 1983-1985 compiling a 22-13 record with 21 sav...

We are discussing utility infielders on today's podcast. When you think of utility infielders in the 1970s era,  Jack   Brohamer comes to mind. Utility infielders are a special breed. They do not play every day. They are asked to pinch hit, pinch run and also enter a game in the latter innings for defensive purposes. These players come into a game cold and are asked to perform at the highest of le...

Our guest this week is  Juan   Berenguer,  better known as  Senor Smoke ,  El Gasolino , the  Panama Express,  or  Pancho Villa . Juan was the first Panamanian baseball player to win a World Series, and he won two (Detroit 1984 and Minnesota 1987). He started with the New York Mets in the late 1970s but became an outstanding relief pitcher for the Twins and Braves toward the latter part of his car...

We are blessed to have one of the greatest pitching coaches of all time with us this week.  Leo Mazzone joins us to talk about his career as a pitching coach and how he was able to keep the Atlanta Braves in contention each year with his stable pitchers.  In the 1990s, it was Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz, along with a 4th pitcher throughout the decade.  He talks about not only the top...

We are privileged to speak with pitcher  Joe Sambito  this week. Joe took part in two of the best League Championship series in history (1980 NLCS Phillies/Astros and 1986 ALCS Angels/Red Sox). He became a left-handed short relief specialist for the Astros and overcame arm trouble to work his way back and help the Boston Red Sox get to the World Series in 1986. Sit back and listen to Joe talk abou...

Our guest this week is the 1965 National League Rookie of the Year. His name is  Jim Lefebvre, and he played with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1965-1972, then continued his career in Japan for four more years. Jim also managed the Mariners, Cubs, and Brewers, as well as the Chinese National Team. He has some great insight into his playing and managing days both in the States and the Far East and t...

This week on  Back When There Was Baseball , Rex and Steve take a look back at a "control/finesse" pitcher, which you don't see very often in today's game. His name is  Charlie Leibrandt  and he pitched in the majors from 1979 through 1993 with the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. He appeared in 5 games (starting 4) of the 1985 ALCS and World Series, throwing...