This Week In Baseball History

In 1961, Chuck Dressen told Bob Uecker that there was no place in baseball for a clown. But Uecker proved him wrong over the next 64 years, becoming a beloved backup catcher, World Champion, scout, broadcaster, actor, raconteur and, eventually, Hall of Famer. He became the very manifestation of the American Dream, the son of an immigrant and high school dropout who found success through hard work,...

Apologies for the truncated version of this episode that appeared initially. This has been rectified in this re-posting.  Bernice Gera tried exceptionally hard to become one of baseball's pioneers. And, in many ways, she succeeded when, 53 years ago this week, a court ordered the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues to hire her as the first professional female umpire in minor leag...

Apologies for the re-run. Bill's family had a medical issue this week (everyone is fine, thankfully), so we are re-releasing our 2018 episode on the fascinating Glenn Davis and the disastrous trade that Orioles made to acquire him. In the long history of trades, few have ever been so disastrous for a team than the Orioles acquisition of Glenn Davis, 34 years ago this week, for Pete Harnisch, Steve...

Either traveling or recovering from travel, Bill and Mike break format to run through the current Hall of Fame ballot, and each find themselves at least one vote short to accomodate all the deserving candidates. But will the agree on who those deserving candidates are?

In memory of his passing and in celebration of what would have been his 66th birthday, please enjoy this re-release of our episode focusing on the great Rickey Henderson:  One of the most dynamic players of all time, Rickey Henderson still has many fans polarized. But everyone seems to agree that he was the best leadoff man and base stealer in baseball history. And, it was 28 years ago this week t...

Free agency doesn't seem that complicated, but 44 years ago this week, the Boston Red Sox made a colossal error, accidentally non-tendering two of their biggest stars, Fred Lynn and Carlton Fisk. Mike and Bill trace the careers of two of the 1970s and 1980s best players, find out what went so wrong at the end of 1980, and sort through the fallout of one of baseball's biggest blunders. Plus, happy...

With the holidays on the horizon, Mike and Bill were feeling a little scrambled and decided, rather than focus on one prominent player or incident, they'd just pick a game at random and talk about it. They landed in Montreal on August 19th, 1974, as the Padres took on the Expos. In addition to an exciting back and forth game, they talk about Parc Jarry, Willie Davis, Ron Hunt, the Chuck Taylor All...

Understandably underappreciated due to his complete inability to hit, Luis Aparicio fell into disfavor amongst new fans in the 21st century. But, on the 54th anniversary of his trade from the White Sox to the Red Sox, Mike and Bill discover that there was far more to Aparicio's game than meets the eye, including some of the best defense of all time and the blinding speed that brought the stolen ba...

The first thing most people think about when they think about Hal Newhouser is World War II. That's ironic, given that he was not allowed to serve. But his dominance during the war years led to the longstanding belief that he was some kind of mirage, created by the lack of talent in the American League in those years. But, as Mike and Bill found out as they traced his career on the 80th anniversar...

When he was elected to the Hall of Fame, he was touted as the most feared hitter of his era. But by the time the Red Sox released him 35 years ago, Rice was looking old before his time, hobbled from various injuries and poor eyesight. On the anniversary of the end of his career, Mike and Bill look back at a controversial Hall of Fame choice to figure out what all the fuss was actually about. Plus,...

Prior to Babe Ruth and Judge Landis, perhaps no person was as synonymous with baseball as Ban Johnson, the visionary who founded the American League, outfought the National League, and ran the National Baseball Commission until the Black Sox scandal. But his tenure was not always a smooth one, and he was not well liked. So much so that 104 years ago this week, the Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox a...

Few men in baseball have been as universally beloved as Buzzie Bavasi, who took over the Dodgers front office 69 years ago this week. Joining Mike and Bill to discuss Buzzie's life and 45 year career is his son, Bob Bavasi of Japanball.com. Plus, happy birthday to Brad Radke and Mickey Rivers!

The Red Sox's World Series road always seems, one way or another to run through New York. And most of the time, the Yankees have proven an effective road block. It certainly seemed that way 20 years ago this week, until the Sox complete the most improbable comeback in baseball history, toppling the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS and their way to their first championship in 86 years. Mike and Bill look b...

Just 20 years old, Fernando Valenzuela took the world by storm in 1981, becoming an international superstar and spawning a phenomenon with his screwball. And 40 years ago this week, Fernandomania culminated in both the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards, the only time a player has won both in the same season. Mike and Bill look back at that amazing season and Fernando's long su...

It was only seven years before the Mets won their first championship, but it must have seemed like 70, as they struggled to not to lose 100 games every year. But 50 years ago this week, they finally did, finishing off a miracle season by felling the mighty Orioles in five games. Mike and Bill go through the early history of the Mets and their amazin' championship season. Plus, happy birthday to Ed...

The Washington Senators' history has been virtually abandoned by major league teams, so you'd be forgiven if you didn't know that 100 years ago this week, thanks to a heroic effort by the great Walter Johnson, the Senators won their only World Series. Mike and Bill look back at this surprising championship club, the opposing and heavily favored New York Giants, and the Series that pitted them agai...

The proverbial "they" say that any hero who lives long enough sees himself become a villain.  While that may or may not be true, no baseball player fully inhabited both roles as thoroughly as Pete Rose, whose death this week at the age of 83 marks the end of a turbulent life. Rose found himself at the top of the sporting world over and over, but his personal demons and abhorent conduct off the fie...

Despite his career ending in ignomy 104 years ago this week, Joe Jackson remains a larger than life figure iin baseball and in American culture. But so much of how we picture Jackson is wrong, says former executive director of the Shoeless Joe Museum Dan Wallach (@shoelesspodcast). We talk with Dan about the man behind the myth and why it persists. Plus, happy birthday to Bernard Gilkey and Urban...

The best hiitter of the 1980s is, beyond a doubt, either Tony Gwynn or Wade Boggs, two remarkably diifferent people and players who, nonetheless, both slashed singles and doubles all over every park they played in. Boggs, though, added tremendous patience to his game, making it remarkable that he was able collect his 200th hit for the sixth year in a row 36 years ago this week when he was also wal...

There are no reporters more integral to the actual history of how baseball is covered today than Melissa Ludtke (@MelissaLudtke on social media). Ludtke's brave fight against Bowie Kuhn and major league baseball opened clubhoouses to all reporters, regardless of gender, and made it possible for women to cover the game every day. Her new book, Locker Room Talk: A Woman's Struggle To Get Inside, chr...

When is a no-hitter not a no-hitter? When Fay Vincent decided, 36 years ago this week, that it shouldn't be. Specifically, he decreed that any no-hitters shorter than nine full innings or that was broken up after the ninth no longer counted, consigning 50 no-hitters to the dustbin of history. That's where Mike and Bill found them in this re-run from 2020, polished them up, and presented them for y...

While they were away, baseball lost one of its most important and irreplaceable figures, Billy Bean, the second former MLB player to come out as gay. Mike and Bill look back at the Bean's short career, his struggle to accept his sexuality and keep it private, his decision to come out and what has (and hasn't) happened since. Plus, happy birthday to Oddibe McDowell and Tony González! And farewell t...

There are a number of unanswerable questions in baseball history, but none truly tantalizes like the question of which pitcher was the fastest of all time. So this week, on the 78th anniversary of Bob Feller setting a new record for recorded pitch speed AND the 50th anniversary of Nolan Ryan doing the same, Mike and Bill break a record of their own, turning in their longest episode yet, looking ba...

Major League Baseball, like America, is at its best when it's diverse and reflective of the countries that play the game. So this week, 59 years after the anniversary of Masahiro Murakami Day at Candlestick Park, Mike and Bill, along with special guest and Murakami biographer Rob Fitts (robfitts.com), remember the first player of Japanese descent to play in the Big Leagues. Mashi's career took him...

Why is Mel Ott such an enigma? For all of his accomplishments, we really know very little about the stocky little right fielder who made hittiing at the Polo Grounds an art. So, on the 79th anniversary of his 500th homer, Mike and Bill go looking for the best hitter no one talks about today. Plus, happy birthday to Freddie Fitzsimmons and Larry Doyle! And farewell to Hank Foiles and John Upham.