Our guest this week is Gary Lavelle. You should remember Gary as a left-handed relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants (1974-1984). When you look at Gary's career stats (80-77 with an ERA of 2.93), you wonder why he gets lost in the shuffle. Gary discusses his career, from his minor league years and getting called up with the Giants in 1974. He talks about how tough it was to pitch in Candlestick Park. Gary finishes up his career with the Toronto Blue Jays and participates in the 1985 ALCS against the Kansas City Royals. Enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball into the NL West Division in the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s with Gary Lavelle.

Greg Pryor joins us this week. Greg is one of those guys we love to interview. He was a solid player during his day, but not necessarily a household name. Greg played from 1971-1986 after being drafted by the Washington Senators which became the Texas Rangers in 1972. He finally got his chance to play regularly in the Chicago White Sox organization in 1978 and earned his stripes as a solid infielder. Greg was with the Kansas City Royals organization during the mid-1980s and earned a World Series ring in 1985. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Greg Pryor.

We take the time machine back to the late 1950s through the late 1960s with our guest this week. Gary Bell joins us to talk about his great career. Gary was a pitcher with a career record of 121-117 with a 3.68 ERA. He was on that great Cleveland Indians pitching staff in the mid-to-late 1960s. Gary was moved to Boston and the Red Sox appeared in the 1967 World Series. He was also the starting pitcher in the first game of the 1969 initial season of the Seattle Pilots. Gary has some great stories to share as we go Back When There Was Baseball.

Two members of the PennSports.live family had fathers who played in the Minor Leagues and this episode will honor those fathers. My co-host, Steve Schaaf's father, Charles Dean Schaaf, played from 1955-1957 in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Tim Clark, host of Musings of a Sports Fanatic and Wall 2 Wall Football, had a father who played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1949-1952. Steve and Tim share insight about their father's careers in baseball as we honor them this Father's Day.

Our guest this week is Steve “Bye Bye” Balboni. Our co-host, Steve Schaaf, played in the 1977 Division II College World Series with Steve Balboni, which adds an interesting take to this podcast. Balboni was introduced to America during the MLB strike of 1981. ESPN started to cover minor league baseball and Steve played for the Columbus Clippers as he was featured during the strike. He had a pretty good career as a power hitter back when the ballparks were more spacious. Steve talks about the 1985 World Series when he played for the Kansas City Royals. Starting out with the New York Yankees adds some color to this interview as well. Let's take a look Back When There Was Baseball with a legendary power hitter in Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni!

Who was the last New York Yankees pitcher to win a game in "Old Yankee Stadium" before the refurbishment? It is our guest this week, George "Doc" Medich. Doc won the last Yankees victory in "Old Yankee Stadium" on September 29, 1973, before the Yankees moved to Shea Stadium for the 1974-1975 seasons. Doc Medich is an incredible story of a very good baseball pitcher who also went to medical school during spring training until 1973. Listen in as "Doc" tells stories about those years with the Yankees along with coming home to Pittsburgh in 1976 and finishing out his career in Texas and finally in Milwaukee. He had a 124-105 career record, mostly as a starting pitcher, with an ERA of 3.78, Back When There Was Baseball.

This week we take a look at another catcher from the late 1960s to the late 1970s.  Ken Rudolph is our guest.  Ken played in the Majors from 1969-1977 with the Cubs, Giants, Cardinals and Orioles.  In this era of baseball, the backup catcher was vitally important.  Ken talks about what it was like to play sparingly, keep in shape not only defensively, but also at the plate with the bat.  He also talks about some of the managers he played for Back When There Was Baseball, which includes Leo Durocher.

We go Back When There Was Baseball this week to the late 1960s through the late 1970s with our guest Joe Lahoud. Joe broke into the Majors with the Red Sox organization in 1968 as an outfielder competing with Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Smith and Ken Harrelson for playing time. He was traded to and played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972-1973, then was shipped to the California Angels. Joe had arguably his best year in the Majors in 1974 with the Angels, but his old Red Sox manager, Dick Williams, resurfaced to replace Bobby Winkles and Joe's playing time was reduced. We hope you enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball to relive the career of Joe Lahoud.

We take the time machine Back When There Was Baseball this week to the late 1960s into the early 1970s with our guest, pitcher Bill Denehy. Bill's career was not a long one due to arm injuries, but he has some great stories surrounding his playing days. An interesting tidbit was that he was traded from the New York Mets to the Washington Senators in 1967 for manager Gil Hodges. Bill played for some interesting managers which included Wes Westrum, Jim Lemon, Ted Williams and Billy Martin. After his playing career was over, Bill coached in the Minor Leagues and in college. Reminisce with us as we look Back When There Was Baseball at the career of Bill Denehy.

Lynn Jones joins us this week on the podcast. Lynn is a very interesting story and it starts at Thiel College in Erie, PA where in his last 2 years of college he was a 3-sport athlete. Name me 3-sport athletes that made it to the Major Leagues. The list is short. Lynn started out with the Cincinnati Reds organization but was traded to Detroit where he made the Major League club. He was a member of the Pine Brothers and was nicknamed "El Capitan". Lynn was traded to the Kansas City Royals and won a World Series ring in 1985. We hope you enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Lynn Jones.