Two Strike Noise - A Baseball History Podcast

All the All-Star facts you need to know! The history of the All-Star game broken down. Most HR's, most games played and who was the youngest and oldest to participate? As promised, beyond McGwire and Sosa, there was ALOT more going on during the 1998 season. Plus, King Kelly was the first true superstar of the game. From taking advantage of there only being one umpire to being the subject of the f...

This week we are excited to welcome Jon from the Absolute Bunts ( @absolutebunts ) podcast. Jon hails from England and gave us his thoughts on the MLB's first ever foray into Europe. Jon attended both the Workout Day as well as the second game of the series and gave us his insights to the event as well as a feel for how baseball is perceived in the UK. He also allowed us to share some of his incre...

This week, Ben from the Diamonds & Roses podcast joins Jeff and Mark to talk all about the history of baseball in the state of Oregon as well as expansion talk and bringing the MLB to the PDX. We talk about some of the great nicknames some of the historical teams from the Beaver State, including the Beavers, the independent Portland Mavericks with 2nd baseman Kurt Russell (yes, that Kurt Russell!)...

Jeff and Mark are joined by former Tacoma Tigers/Rainiers Assistant General Manager Kevin Kalal. Kevin spent 17 years working for the Tacoma AAA baseball team and shares some great stories about Reggie Jackson turning on "Reggie" for the press, Max Patkin painting a blue streak with his tongue and later with a pen and the time Ken Griffey, Jr. went rouge while on a rehab assignment. 

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa grabbed their bats and their Andro and captivated the nation for the entire summer of 1989. This week we cover the race to break Roger Maris’ single season Home Run record of 61, remembering some of the big home runs, the awesome commercials and the staggering numbers they put up. We found yet another Darryl Strawberry rap single from the 80’s not to be missed and we de...

Quick, name the top 5 rap-based songs performed by baseball players about baseball from the 1980's. Don't worry, we've got you covered. Next, we talk about the brief but dominant career of the troubled Rube Waddell. And finally, nicknames and baseball go hand in hand. We discuss some of the strangest monikers players have gone by and find out the stories behind them.  Be sure to check out the link...

Jeff and Mark discuss the history of Who's On First, Stanley "Frenchy" Bordagaray is the most interesting man in the world but maybe the worst fielder and who would you build a team around? Bobson Dugnutt or Mike Truk? Do you hate the wave like we do? We dive headfirst into the origin of the wave to find out who to blame. This plus much more in the latest installment of Tales From the Dugout! 

We continue our conversation with Trevor from the Hanshin Tigers English News. We get into the differences between baseball in the MLB and the NBP. Defensive shifts, pace of play, stadium and scheduling. Mark took an “easy” baseball quiz. Atleast it was supposed to be easy. Goodbye Basbeall, Fly Away, It Could Be, It Might Be, It Is! What are some of the greatest signature home run calls? We give...

Trevor from The Hanshin Tigers English News joins Jeff and Mark to finally set the record straight about the Curse of the Colonel. He also talks about some of the legendary characters from both the Hanshin Tigers and the NPB. Hear the incredible story of one of Japan's iron-men, who played through a broken wrist to keep his consecutive innings played streak alive, even hitting a home run as well a...

The greatest promoter baseball had ever seen was Bill Veeck. You think you know more than the manager? He invited the White Sox crowd to make all managerial decisions for a game, and the Sox won! If he had his way, the Philadelphia Phillies would have been baseballs first integrated team. The only color Bill saw was green. He might have seen red though after baseball's most infamous promotion, the...

This week we talk about some of the greatest ejections in the game, and we don’t even get to Billy Martin or Lou Pinella! Those must be some good ejections to beat those two. We also discuss some of those stories everybody has heard about Babe Ruth. But how many of them are true? Did he really call his shot? Did his home runs really cure an ailing kid? Listen to find out. And what is the best mino...

Jeff and Mark dig into some of the strange phrases that are used in baseball and where they came from. Do you know the difference between a Texas Leaguer and a Baltimore Chop? Also, they look at the history of every baseball fans childhood hobby, baseball cards. Plus a chance to win a Honus Wager 1909 T206 card, valued at over $2 million. Okay, a picture of it, emailed directly to you, fees may ap...

Little known fact, baseball players are superstitious. Some might say they are super-superstitious. This week Mark and Jeff explore some of the odd superstitions that players have been bound to hoping for that edge on the field. Some even take place on the field in the middle of play. Hear about the time one team played a joke on Wade Boggs and his rigid pre-game ritual. Did it work? What was Roge...

We talk alot about the Negro Leagues on this show, but this week we talk about the man who founded the best known one, Rube Foster. While a great pitcher, he was also a genius who was unfortunately held back because of the color of his skin. We also dive into the history of one of the greatest sports venues in the world, Fenway Park. Or Fenway Pahk if you're listening in the north east. Was the Gr...

This week we talk about the Opening Series in Japan. From shots delivered to your seat, awesome bento boxes and the crowd reaction to Ichiro. We also cover the history (some good and some not so good) of former Major Leaguers playing in the NPB. As well as why all statues of Colonel Sanders in the city of Koshien indoors. And what does that have to do with baseball? 

We're back from Japan. We're also got pretty sick in Japan! So instead of hearing half of us weezing and coughing, here's another volume of Tales from the Dugout! Morganna is here and we talk about the Baseball Bunch and This Week in Baseball! What year is it!?! And who is the real Abner Doubleday?  

We're In Japan for the Opening Series pitting the A's and the Mariners against each other so this week we talk about several shorter stories from the history of baseball including Jackie Mitchell and perfect games. How many have we seen in person? 

This week we talk about one of the greatest showmen to ever grace the mound, Satchel Paige. From pulling the outfields off the field to strike out the side to always having a memorable quote, Ol' Satch pitched into his late 50's! Also, what could possibly make Mickey Mantle cry? How about a walk off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series! We cover an incredible game where somehow Bing Crosby...

Who was Fred Merkle and what was his blunder? NY Giants and Cubs fans from the early 1900's know and so should you! Baserunning is hard, sometimes you just want to go celebrate with your teammates instead of actually touching the bases. We also talk about one of the most entertaining baseball broadcasters of all time, Harry Caray. Harry will help us figure out who's last name said backwards is mos...

This week we take a look at the larger than life character that was Mark Fidrych as well as the great baseball players who put aside their careers (some Hall of Fame careers) to serve their country during World War II. 

One team was devoid of any good players the other razors. This week we explore the worst team in the history of the game, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders as well as the pioneering barnstorming team, the House of David, best known for their facial hair policy. 

Good teammate Jason Grimsley played Mission Impossible during a game in Chicago to get back a loaded bat. It was not easy. We also discuss moonshots, moon landings and who asked Mark to check a players pants? And for what?  

They told us, you can't possibly do a show just about jersey numbers? Hold my beer. Jeff and Mark explore the history of jersey numbers in baseball. When did they first appear? Do they mean anything? Will the Yankees retire every number possible?