Irish Baseball Podcast

Christopher Kline is making his second appearance on the Irish Baseball Podcast to talk about when a group of Irish veterans of the American Civil War decided to invade Canada.  The plan was a roundabout way to try to gain independence for Ireland.  

Mark Warren is an historian who used his knowledge of Billy the Kid's real life to write a fictional story about the legend of the Old West.  Billy the Kid was another key figure in American history with Irish roots.  Warren will talk about his book and the true historical figure of Billy the Kid.  He uses a novel to separate fact from fiction about this misunderstood character.

Tony Bucher and Paul Cunnie represent the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco in this week's episode of the podcast.  Learn about the influence of the Irish in the Bay Area and hear about the disappointment with the exit of the Oakland Atheletics.

We continue our look at Irish immigrants and Irish Americans who have made an impact on the United States as we prepare to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary.  Commodore John Barry was an important part of the American Revolution and the early years of the U.S.  He was born in County Wexford.  Keith Carney of the Commodore John Barry division of the AOH joins host Rick Becker to talk about...

Rick Becker, host of the Irish Baseball Podcast, talks with Scott Bush about everything that SABR has to offer.  Bush is SABR's chief executive officer, and loves talking about the history of the game and why he thinks every baseball fan needs to join SABR.

Tara McCarthy has done a lot of research on Irish American and Irish immigrant women in the 1880s-1920s and the impact they had on Irish Nationalism, labor activism, and women's suffrage.  She is on this week's episode to discuss that impact.

"Gettysburg Eddie" Plank is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and was one of the stars of baseball in the early years of the 20th Century.  While Plank was respected in his day, his legacy hasn't lasted for casual fans as much as some of his contemporaries.  Dr. Lawrence Knorr decided to try and change that by writing a biography of the lefty.  

Ben Anderson takes real aspects of Irish, Scottish, and Norse folklore and uses them for his series of fantasy books.  The McGunnegal Chronicles started as a way to share his Irish heritage with his children, but the stories have turned into a number of books using actual culture to tell fictional stories.

Paul Zwirecki is the external relations officer for SABR.  He will join host Rick Becker to talk about analytics, history, and so much more.  

Scott Crawford of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame is returning to the Irish Baseball Podcast to talk about the Blue Jays run to the World Series, the recent Netflix documentary about the Expos, and the excitement in Canada for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Dirk Baker has written a book about Kid Gleason.  Most famous for his time as the manager of the 1919 Chicago White Sox who threw the World Series, Gleason had an illustrious career as a player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball.  Baker wants to share the whole story of the second-generation Irish American.

All five of the Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa were lost when their ship was blown up in the Pacific Theater of World War II.  The town of Waterloo still does a lot to preserve their legacy.  Pat Kinny, oral historian for the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veteran Museum in Waterloo will be Rick Becker's guest on the Irish Baseball Podcast today to talk about the brothers.

Sammie Samuels will be celebrating a different piece of Irish American history every month this year at the Irish American Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.  2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States.  Many of our podcast episodes this year will be focused on the Irish immigrant and Irish American impact on the country in that time.

Irish Baseball Podcast host Rick Becker and Irish American Baseball Society founder John Fitzgerald talk about many of the great guests who have joined IABS members on the community network website over the course of 2025.  Hear from Steve Garvey, Mike Sweeney, and more.  

Danny Murphy was a star for Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics in the early-20th Century.  An injury slowed down his career, but Tom Sullivan made sure that this great ballplayer with Irish roots was remembered with his book Baseball's Sherlock Holmes: Danny Murphy of the Philadelphia Athletics.

Hilary Beirne of Irish America 250 discusses the contributions of Irish immigrants and Irish Americans to the United States.  With the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July of 2026, we will be talking about many ways the Irish have impacted the country.

After spending the first part of his life focused on his love of music, Bill Nowlin is now focused on baseball.  The SABR member is working on something very special with Tim Carr and John Fitzgerald of the Irish American Baseball Society.

The Diddley Idols describe themselves as a full-band-duo.  The husband-and-wife team performs with a ton of electricity and energy.  Dave is also a pretty big New York Mets fan, so we will definitely be talking about that.

Corey Purcell and Deirdre Lockman of the tradition Irish band Poor Man's Gambit will join host Rick Becker on the podcast this week.  They will talk about their histories in Irish music and dance, and what type of bands are playing around Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Enda Reilly is a musician from Dublin who plays traditional Irish music and originals.  Irish Baseball Podcast host Rick Becker discusses music and Irish history with Enda.  

The 2025 Maryland Irish Festival is coming up on November 7th, 8th, and 9th.  On the podcast today, Irish Baseball Podcast host Rick Becker will talk with Michael McConnell.  Michael is the President of the Maryland Irish Festival, and will let us know everything we can expect if we attend this year's festivities.

Irish Baseball Podcast host Rick Becker is joined by Dr. Jimmy Moley to have a conversation about mental health in sports.  Moley is a sports psychiatrist, and sees the way early bad habits can come back to impact athletes in the professional and college ranks.

From the Irish Wolfhounds to baseball camps in Ireland to the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame and more, it has been a busy summer for the Irish American Baseball Society.  On this week's episode of the podcast, IABS President John Fitzgerald is going to talk about everything that happened over the past few months, and what it means moving forward for the organization.

The Oriole Advocates do a lot to promote the game in the younger generations.  Mary Jo Newville and Mike Licea of the Oriole Advocates will join host Rick Becker on this episode of the Irish Baseball Podcast.  You will find out how you can help them as they try to provide equipment for youth baseball, and you will find out a lot of ways to enjoy the city of Baltimore before an Orioles game.    

Rick Becker, host of the Irish Baseball Podcast, originally interviewed Dan Wallach of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library in Greenville, South Carolina back in 2022.  In that conversation, Dan accurately predicted Joe Jackson's reinstatement to Major League Baseball after a lifetime ban.  Considering the relevance of this talk, we thought we would replay it here in 2025.