The Hall of Very Good Podcast

International baseball guru Michael Clair joins the boys to talk about his journey going from blogger to MLB's senior manager, story telling and special projects, how his excitement over the World Baseball Classic led to hooking up with the Czech national team and writing his book, We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball , searching for baseball diamonds overseas and his favorite non-traditional ballp...

Six years and three championship rings after her first visit, Janet Marie Smith, Senior Vice President of Planning and Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers, returns to talk to the boys about the importance of preserving the cultural significance and legacy of the team, Dodger Stadium's new display celebrating the lives of Glenn Burke and Billy Bean and, of course, her favorite ballpark food. Th...

Self-proclaimed "visual guy" Todd Radom returns to talk to the boys about his new book, The Ballpark and Beyond: A Celebration of Baseball's Rich History , who probably should've recorded the audio version, whether or not any of the current City Connect uniforms belong in the Jersey Hall of Fame, the sordid origin story of Barrel Man, Lou's obsession with "Sad Grebeck", first jobs and, for good me...

New York Times bestselling author Tim Brown joins the boys to talk about growing up a fan of Nolan Ryan, visiting a senior center in Alvin, Texas, to learn more about the Hall of Famer for his new book, Nolan: The Singular Life of an American Original , whether or not he was able to get the Ryan family involved, shares the incredibly true story of Sid Holland and reveals the missing chapter! This...

53-year-old knuckleballer Vincent Towns joins the boys to talk about the 33-year layoff between playing minor league baseball for the San Francisco Giants and getting drafted by the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars, when he first learned how to throw a knuckleball, the biggest difference between 90s clubhouses and now and how long he plans to keep pitching. This week's podcast was brought to you by  Team...

Peabody Award-winning writer/director Jake Szymanski joins the boys to talk about "Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat" and the day-to-day joys (and difficulties) of the behind-the-scenes of the show, his love of sports documentaries (real and fake), his favorite "off Broadway" sports, growing up a Milwaukee Brewers fan, his appreciation of County Stadium and getting back into baseball card collec...

To celebrate 500 episodes, rap legend and Public Enemy frontman Chuck D joins the boys to talk about falling in love with baseball (and old school ballparks) while growing up in the shadow of Shea Stadium, his dad's tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the importance of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, his influence on pop culture and hip hop fashion, touring and hitting baseball games with bandmate, leg...

Screenwriter Herschel Weingrod joins the boys to talk about growing up cheering for the then-Milwaukee Braves, how being a baseball fan helped shape 1985's "Brewster's Millions" from a Bill Murray vehicle to starring Richard Pryor, hanging out on the set during the baseball scenes, whether or not we could see another version of the fil, being brought in to write "Space Jam" and handpicking the bas...

CJ Papara, owner of Milwaukee's 4th Base, joins the boys to talk about moving his bar from the tiny Pigsville neighborhood to within walking distance of the Brewers ballpark, the role the team played in the relocation, the bar's iconic appearance in the movie "Major League", re-booting the 1989 classic, how the prosthetic leg of legendary skipper Harvey Kuenn ended up behind the bar and, naturally...

Adam Henig, author of Baseball's Outcast , joins the boys to talk about deciding to write the story of prison inmate-turned-Major League All-Star Ron LeFlore after first discovering him in his grade school library nearly four decades prior, the difference between telling the story of a living subject versus a dead one, actually meeting Ron LeFlore, shares the legacy of Frank Wills and introduces t...

Brandon Alinger, the Indiana Jones of movie props, joins the boys to talk about the importance Planet Hollywood had on the movie memorabilia industry, his role at Propstore, what they won't sell (and why), the coolest stuff currently on the auction block, why some movies just don't have that signature piece to be purchased and how he got his hands on one of the most iconic items in baseball movie...

81-year-old baseball player Robb "Old Man" Herrelson joins the boys to talk about his desire to become the oldest member of the Savannah Bananas, the unique method he plans to use to get around the bases, his quest to rid the world of plastics and, hold on…did he really say he has a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle? This week's podcast was brought to you by  Teambrown Apparel , Old Fort Baseball Co and Pa...

International Women's Baseball Center project coordinator Ryan Woodward joins the boys to talk about how his lifelong fascination of World War II turned into a love of women's baseball, getting involved with the IWBC, the excitement around the upcoming Women's Baseball World Cup, creating the Women's Baseball Heritage Trail, how he ended up in "the Reno of Illinois" and, naturally, what it takes t...

Award-winning baseball photographer Brad Mangin joins the boys to talk about getting his start working for his hometown newspaper, being part of the early history of Upper Deck baseball cards, shares his memories of both Candlestick Park and the Oakland Coliseum, living in the Bay Area during the 1989 earthquake, photographing Barry Bonds' historic career in San Francisco and his favorite cities t...

Former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon joins the boys to talk about going from being a two-sport athlete in college to a SuperBowl winner with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, whether or not he could've made it to the Majors as an outfielder, landing on the legendary Frank Jobe's operating table, visiting the White House (twice!) and how he ended up in Iraq for the execution of Saddam Hussein....

Fourth-generation baseball executive (and owner of the Joliet Slammers) William Night Train Veeck joins the boys to talk about getting into the family business, the location of his grandfather's prosthetic leg, building a baseball field and planning a game at the historic Old Joliet Prison, his desire to bring back the home run machine, the one stunt he'd love to pull off and, of course, that time...

Baseball Card Theater creator T. Sean Shannon returns to talk to the boys about his favorite sports logos, the importance of "ballers", his time in the SNL writers' room, sketches that never made it, the brilliance of Lorne Michaels (and JB Smoove!), those legendary after parties and whether or not we'll ever see that "Bear City" movie. This week's podcast was brought to you by  Teambrown Apparel...

Baseball Hall of Fame guru Jay Jaffe joins the boys for the eighth time to break down his 2026 ballot, look ahead to future elections, how he correctly predicted the upcoming induction of Jeff Kent, what the future holds for all-time hit leader Pete Rose, his love of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama" and whether or not they actually drink Guinness in Ireland. This week's podcast was brought to you by ...

To celebrate being the most listened to episode of 2025, former Boston Red Sox Director of Grounds and PTSD survivor David Mellor returns to talk to the boys about dogs (his and theirs!), what he's been up to since he retired following the 2024 baseball season, where he keeps his four World Series rings, whether or not he was worried about the field at Fenway Park following a big concert and, of c...

Father and son memorabilia dealers Robbie Davis Sr. and Robbie Davis Jr. join the boys to talk about how they went from selling cars to collecting cards, why producers chose their store, Robbie's First Base, as the location for the show "Ball Boys", joining Ken Goldin on his Netflix series "King of Collectibles" and share what their ultimate grail items would be. Episode originally aired May 15, 2...

To help the boys celebrate the tenth anniversary of the podcast, the show's first ever guest, former Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson, returns to talk about how he's been spending his "retirement", his involvement with the documentary " See Her Be Her ", the superstar that is Kelsie Whitmore, baseball in Uganda and the upcoming Women's Professional Baseball League. This week's podcast was broug...

Television personality and food brand historian Jason Liebig joins the boys to talk about how he turned vintage food into a career, his amazing collection of candy packaging (and its connection to baseball legend Rickey Henderson), the most famous piece he owns, the item of his that is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, his lifelong fascination with Big League Chew and, of course, his choice f...

1995 American League Most Valuable Player Mo Vaughn joins the boys to talk about his new show (appropriately called The Mo Vaughn Podcast ) and the guests he'd love to talk to, shares what he thinks of suspected steroid users in the Hall of Fame, compares former commissioner Bug Selig to the current top guy, reveals how he ended up wearing Jackie Robinson's number and what brought him back to base...

Legendary rock drummer and author Liberty DeVitto joins the boys to talk about giving up playing Little League baseball for Jerry's Lunch Bombers to drum alongside Billy Joel for 30-plus years, growing up going to Yankee Stadium with his dad, returning there as an adult to perform, sharing the stage with Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill, his favorite (and least favorite) songs to play live and whe...

Iconic pop culture artist John Costacos returns to talk to the boys about modern athletes he'd love to put on a poster, working with Roger Clemens and the late-Mike Greenwell, the impossibility of disliking ANYONE named Mookie, shares his personal poster Mount Rushmore, revels in the lasting legacy of Brian Bosworth and hints at the possible return of the (Mad) Mac. This week's podcast was brought...