Backwards K Pod

It's another year, which means another round of the Manager's Dead Pool. Jake will pull listener's name from a hat and pair it with an MLB manager's name, that is pulled from another hat' and if that manager loses his manager's gig first, for any reason, be it retirement, getting fired, or for any reason, the listener paired with that manager's name will win this years trophy. Last year's winner w...

The enduring history of baseball is filled with accomplishments that strain credulity, and force us to rethink the limits of human potential. Whether it's Babe Ruth calling his shot in the 1932 World Series vs the Cubs, or Reggie Jackson hitting three homeruns on three swings in the 1977 World Series, or Nolan Ryan tossing no-hitters in his 40's. But on June 12th, 1970, Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis,...

Tom Seaver was one of the greatest right-handed power pitchers, the game has ever known. He won 311 games, for four major league clubs, most notably for the Mets, whom he led from last place laughingstocks to an "Amazin" and improbable world championship in 1969. Seaver at work, was a mechanical picture of kinetic grace. He had a smooth, tight windup, and a stride so long and explosive off the rub...

The world of Major League Baseball, has seen more than it's share of of controversies and scandals. Among the most significant of these, was the collusion of team owners during the 1980's. A period of time that impacted the sport's integrity and it's players. This week we dive into the deep waters, of the intricate history of this collusion unraveling; how it unfolded, and the lasting impact it ha...

Paul Molitor's path to baseball immortality took many strange twists and turns along the way. Hamstrung by a series of injuries early in his career, and a horrific cocaine addiction, Molitor developed a reputation for fragility, and at one time, it appeared as though his career was cursed and snake-bitten. But the soft-spoken native from St. Paul, Minnesota would persevere to achieve numerous mile...

For 50 years, 1939-1989, Red Sox Nation had three successive Hall Of Famers, guarding the Green Monster of Fenway out in left-field. Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice. With the Splendid Splinter's story already in our collection, and Jim Rice on the horizon, this week we take a dive into the life and career, of the man New Englanders would affectionately call Yaz. The two things the Poli...

This week, we examine the life and career, of the forgotten Hall Of Famer, the greatest southpaw pitcher of the dead-ball era, Eddie Plank. From the humble beginnings of a farming family, born just twelve years after the bloody conclusion of the Civi War battle, bearing his hometown name. Plank would develop his game, on the battleground farms of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, before moving on to the m...

A tragic situation exist, when virtue doesn't triumph, and it is felt when our hero is nobler, than the forces that conspire against him and ultimately destroy him. This week we will look at the amazing career and life of Ken Griffey Jr. A player who would usher in the 1990's brand of major league baseball, and become the decade's face of the National Pastime. He had everything. The physical genet...

This week we head out to Mowtown, U.S.A,, to learn about the rich tradition of baseball in Detroit. A history that goes all the way back to 1867, just two years after the conclusion, of our nation's bloody civil war. Professional baseball dates all the way back to 1884, when the Detroit Wolverines were winning National League pennants, before becoming a part of the Western League's American Associ...

This week, we cover the life and career of Eddie Murray, who grew up in the gang infested, crime riddled streets of Watts, California. Eddie and his five brothers, who would all go onto professional baseball careers, would escape the allure of drugs and crime by spending their summer days playing baseball throughout East L.A. Eddie was a phenomenal, championship high school pitcher, but he would t...

This week we dive into the story of Pedro Martinez. The little skinny kid, who grew up in abject poverty in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic, who use to follow his older brother Ramon around from sandlot to sandlot playing baseball. The same kid who couldn't afford baseballs and he would chop the heads off his sister's baby dolls, to use as a cheaper option. From the outhouse to the penthouse, and...

This week BKP will present the life and baseball career of the face of baseball in the 20th century, Mr George Herman Ruth, better known as the Babe. Besides Jackie Robinson, no baseball player has had more influence on the brand of Major League Baseball, that we consume today, than the Babe. From his rough and tumble childhood, along the docks and water-ports of Baltimore, to learning the game of...

While none of the bigger fish were reeled in this past week off the free agent market, there was a flurry of activity, and the BKP Hot Stove Report will break them all down for ya. Jake is gonna hit on Hector Nerris going to the Cubs, David Robertson to the World Champion Rangers, Aaron Hicks to the Halos and all the other moves made this past week, as well as his beloved Orioles finally being on...

This week, BKP opens with the Hot Stove Report, and addresses, the all-in move by the Astros, by acquiring the best closer on the free-agent market, Josh Hader. Now that Houston has one of, if not the best, late-inning trio of arms, coming out of their bully, what are their roles? Also what are the Stros next moves to solidify, the rest of the bullpen, that has seen three free-agent defections, an...

This week, we open the show the show with the BKP Hot Stove Report, and Jake asks, " What's next for the Chicago Cubs?"; After netting Japanese Japanese southpaw pitcher Shota Imanaga, and pulling off what he feels is a sneaky good trade, with the Los Angeles Deferrals. The Giants make a curious move by signing the second best closer on the free agent market to become a starter in their 2024 rotat...

This week we open the show with the Hot Stove Report, that saw the Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto at it again, as he makes two trades this week with the Giants and Rays. The Giants will receive a former Cy Young Pitcher in the deal, who won't be available, until the second half of the 2024 season. Prompting Jake to wonder, if the Giants GM is on the proverbial hot seat. The Mets make moves to bolster th...

BKP starts off this week with the first Hot Stove Report of 2024, as Jake breaks down the particulars of the trade between the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox; Vaughn Grissom for Chris Sale. Soon after the trade with Atlanta, the Red sox sign RHP Lucas Giolito to a one year contract, with an option for 2025. What do the Braves get out of this deal? Will the Red Sox, with an all right-handed rota...

For week seven of the MLB offseason, the show kicks off with the final Hot Stove report of 2023. With the Dodgers spending over a billion dollars on big fish free agents Shohei Ohtani and Japanese import pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as well as the extension given to new starting pitcher, Tyler Glasnow, Jake wonders aloud if the Dodgers are done with their free agent spending spree? Or could there p...

This week we celebrate the 89th birthday posthumously, of the baseball icon, who went straight from Southern High School in Baltimore, to the Detroit Tigers, all the way to the Pantheon of immortals in Cooperstown, New York, without spending one day in the minor leagues. As the 2023 calendar melts away, we add Mr Tiger; Al Kaline to our collecrion of ballplayers and their stories. #AlKaline #Nicol...

What do you get when you have two baseball teams play each other, after having a dugout clearing brawl a week earlier? Combined with a stadium, full of angry fans, fueled for nine innings, on unlimited cups of beer, costing only a dime? You get absolute chaos, is what you get. This is the unforgettable story of Ten Cent Beer Night; The Texas Rangers vs. The Cleveland Indians. June 4th, 1974, Munic...

This week we will bear witness to the scintillating career, and the journey, of the kid from small-town BInger, Oklahoma, all the way to the pantheon of the baseball immortals, in Cooperstown, New York, as arguably the greatest catcher, the sport of baseball has ever seen. This week we are talking Johnny Bench. #JohnnyBench #TedBench #BigRedMachine #ThurmanMunson #SparkyAnderson #TonyRobello #John...

As Ivan Rodriguez was awaiting the ceremonial first pitch, from former President George W. Bush, at Game One of the 2023 World Series, Pudge ostensibly saw his baseball life flash before his eyes. The kid from the Puerto Rico countryside, who would run around Vega Baja, carrying a stick-bat, and a ball made of rolled-up tape. That same kid who would sign a contract with the Texas Rangers, at the a...

Lyman Bostock had it all. He had the genetic lineage, as his father was a star outfielder for the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro Leaguess during the 1940's. He had a sweet left-handed stroke, that seemingly launched gap-seeking linedrives at will. He had blazing speed, great baseball instincts, and played Gold Glove caliber defense in Center Field. In his first two full seasons while playing...

This week we take a deep dive, into the life and career, of arguably one of the greatest pitchers of the modern game, Bob Gibson. From his humble beginnings of abject poverty, growing up in a project housing complex in Omaha, Nebraska, to becoming the first African-American student-athlete, to earn a full scholarship at Creighton University to play basketball. His amazing four month run, playing b...

This week, Backwards K Pod, wraps up the incredible 2023 MLB season, with the crowning and well deserved coronation, of the World Champion Texas Rangers. We give our solemn goodbyes posthumously, to slugger Frank Howard. A prodigious bat during the 60's and 70's, for the Dodgers, Senators and Rangers, who died October 30th, in Aldie, Virginia, after complications from a stroke. And last but not le...