Baseball and BBQ

There is no better way to ring in the New Year than with a very special 116th episode of Baseball and BBQ. Jeff Cohen and Leonard Aberman are going it alone this episode.  Without guests they get to talk about what the New Year will hopefully bring to the podcast as well as bringing back two popular segments. In the first segment called, Lesser Known Hall of Famers, Jeff and Leonard talk about Hug...

Merry Christmas as we present the gift of episode 115 which features Joe Posnanski , author of The Baseball 100 and award-winning pitmaster and restaurateur, Chris Schafer . Joe Posnanski is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of six books.  He has written for The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports and The Kansas City Star and currently writes at JoePosnanski.com. He has been named Nation...

 Celebrate our 4 year anniversary as we are joined by Howard Johnson and Doug Scheiding with great baseball and excellent barbecue talk and Leonard and Jeff reminiscence about the last year. Howard Johnson aka HoJo as millions of baseball fans affectionately call him is back and helping us celebrate our anniversary.  We have a great time discussing baseball and barbecue with this outstanding playe...

Episode #113 features Ted Giannoulas, AKA World Famous Sports Mascot, The San Diego Chicken and Randall Thompson, President and Founder of Dugout Mugs, and BBQ Gift Ideas Ted Giannoulas dressed in his first chicken costume in 1974 when he was a 20-year-old college journalism major and from those humble beginnings he became one of the world's most famous sports mascots, known as the San Diego Chick...

Episode #112 features John Vampatella, author of The Forgotten Game and award winning pitmaster, Vic Clevenger.  John Vampatella is an outstanding author whose latest project is The Forgotten Game which details one of the greatest games in baseball history between the two most bitter rivals in the sport, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.   In the 2004 American League Championship Series...

Episode #111 features another spectacular visit from Ryan Cooper and Sean Ludwig, creators of The Smoke Sheet and NYC BBQ as well as an interview with author, Lawrence Baldassaro who has written an outstanding book on a New York Yankees legend, Tony Lazzeri.   Ryan Cooper and Sean Ludwig are back and better than ever.  Ryan is the founder of the BBQ Tourist website, https://bbqtourist.com which is...

Episode #110 features Andy Husbands talking barbecue, Larry Olmsted explaining how being a sports fan enhances your life, and our very own Jeff Cohen telling about his incredible New York Mets Fantasy Camp experience including interviews with Duffy Dyer and Joel Youngblood. Andy Husbands is a chef, restaurateur, author, and television personality.  An award winning pitmaster, he currently is the o...

Episode 109 features an outstanding author and an incredible maker of sauces.   Luke Epplin is an author whose writing has appeared in The Atlantic , The New Yorker , GQ , Slate , Salon , The Daily Beast, and The Paris Review Daily.  His latest project is the book, Our Team:  The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series That Changed Baseball .  The book traces the fascinating stories of four me...

Continuing our attempt to right a long-time wrong, episode 108 features Irene Hodges and Gary Mack as they provide compelling arguments for finally inducting Gil Hodges into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Irene Hodges is the oldest daughter of Gil Hodges.  She was only 20 years old when Gil Hodges passed away, but has many wonderful memories and stories regarding her father.  She would like t...

Episode 107 features the second halves of fascinating conversations with Ron Blomberg, the 1st official MLB designated hitter and Greg Rempe, host of The BBQ Central Show.  Ron Blomberg was only getting started in episode 105.  In the 2nd part of our conversation he discusses the many ways' baseball has changed and his feelings toward those changes.  He talks about his love for the New York fans a...

It's time to right a long-time wrong and episode 106 is our attempt at doing that by featuring Ed Kranepool, Kevin Kernan, Mike Lecolant, and Sam Maxwell as they provide compelling arguments for finally inducting Gil Hodges Into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Ed Kranepool was only 17 years old in 1962 when the expansion team, New York Mets were formed and then spent the next 18 years wearing...

Episode 105 features The BBQ Central Show host, Greg Rempe and the 1st official MLB designated hitter, Ron Blomberg.   Greg Rempe is the creator and host of the longest running, most listened to, and extremely entertaining show dealing with live fire cooking, The BBQ Central Show .  He joined us back on episode 56 and since then he has been a show supporter while offering numerous helpful tips whi...

Episode 104 features Part 2 with author, Erik Sherman and a visit with pitmaster extraordinaire, Lee Ann Whippen.   Erik Sherman writes baseball books and he does that exceptionally well.  Whether the books are about one specific player or one specific team, Erik provides wonderful and unique perspectives which baseball fans will thoroughly enjoy.  His latest project will be a welcome addition to...

Episode 103 features an outstanding author of numerous baseball themed books and a visit with two wonderful restaurateurs and cookbook authors from across the pond.  Erik Sherman writes exceptional baseball books.  Whether the books are about a specific player or a specific team, Erik provides wonderfully unique perspectives which baseball fans will enjoy.  His latest project will be a fine additi...

Episode 102 is filled with baseball, barbecue, and a contest for the greatest podcast audience ever. Joey Machado is a marketing guru and the barbecue community is lucky he is a part of it.  In part two of our interview we learn more about Blues Hog BBQ and Gateway Drum Smokers, but it humorously begins with a Seinfeld TV show reference.  From there we learn why Tim Scheer is a genius and has Joey...

 Episode 101 is overloaded with incredible guests and wonderful discussions. MLB at Field of Dreams Game was a huge success and we were fortunate to speak with three extremely dedicated baseball fans who made the trek to Dyersville, Iowa to witness this highly anticipated game.  Join us as we welcome previous show guest, Brian LoPinto , as well as first timers to the show, Dan Malley and Aaron Nel...

It's episode 100!  Time to celebrate as we speak with two great guests and are joined by a special guest co-host. Adrian Miller is a James Beard Foundation book award-winning author, an American culinary historian, lawyer, public policy advisor, and certified barbecue judge. He was also a consultant on the Netflix show, Chef's Table BBQ.  His latest book is Black Smoke:  African Americans and the...

In memory of a very special person who will be sorely missed. Not long ago we had the privilege of speaking with Marjorie Adams who we referred to as baseball royalty.  She found this to be funny, but we really did feel honored to speak with the great-granddaughter of a man who made major contributions to the game of baseball and whom Marjorie was determined to have elected to the Baseball Hall of...

Episode 99 features a Barbecue Hall of Fame member and a discussion on essential baseball people who are on the field as the game is played, but are happy to go unnoticed. Steven Raichlen is a prolific James Beard award-winning author.  The majority of his cookbooks are barbecue related, but he also writes books on other cuisines, as well as numerous magazine and newspaper articles as well as a co...

Episode #98 is a Bonus!  Bonus!  Bonus! Farley Dillinger is the father, Brace Dillinger is his son and together this duo shares their mutual love of baseball as they appear regularly on the podcast, Baseball PhD. Farley shares hosting duties on Baseball PhD with his co-hosts, Mark Rantala and previous Baseball and BBQ guest, Ed Kasputis. The podcast is a must-listen for baseball lovers, and the be...

Two great guests make episode #97 a must listen. Marty Appel is a former New York Yankees public relations director and television producer, and considered the leading historian on the team’s rich history.  He is an Emmy award winner and a two-time Casey Award winner for the best baseball book of the year.  His illustrious career with the Yankees began in 1968 as he was hired to help answer Mickey...

Episode #96 confirms what we always say, "Baseball and BBQ goes as perfectly together as chocolate and peanut butter in a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup." George Georgiades is back for the second half of our wonderfully entertaining conversation and he appears to have saved the best for last.  Part two will have you thoroughly entertained as we hear more stories from a chef who specializes in Greek foo...

We interrupt our regularly scheduled episode and give you a big bonus with episode 95 as we continue our BBQ road-trip. Anthony Mastrantonio is the owner of Dang BBQ, and we could not wait to visit and talk with someone who is making his mark in the New York barbecue scene. We met with Anthony at one of his three Long Island locations and learned the ins and outs of running a successful restaurant...

Episode 94's first half is about a baseball legend and then the 2nd half features a cook who may one day be considered a legendary chef, especially when it comes to Greek food. Lew Freedman is the author of Cy Young:  The Baseball Life and Career.  Pitchers who win the Cy Yong award are considered the best of the best, but other than knowing that Cy Young was a great pitcher with 511 regular seaso...

Baseball, barbecue, and football?  Yes, football.  Episode 93 will make everyone happy.  Nick Mangold played center in the National Football League for 11 years as a member of the New York Jets, was a seven time Pro Bowl selection and considered by many to be one of the best at his position.  He also makes one heck of a BBQ sauce and is determined to have his sauce take its place among the finest...