Back When There Was Baseball

We travel back to the 1970s with our guest this week. Darrel Chaney played in the Majors from 1969-1979. He started out his athletic career as a Parade All American quarterback in 1965. Darrel turned down scholarship offers to Notre Dame and Michigan State to pursue his baseball career. He made his name as a utility-infielder, but as all utility players will tell you, they intended to be starters and Darrel was no exception. But when you look at the Cincinnati Reds lineup during the years he was with the club (1969-1975), you had to have been an outstanding player to even make the team. Darrel was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 1976 where he finally got his chance to start and had the best season of his career. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Darrel Chaney.

We merge modern day baseball with baseball played 40+ years ago when we go Back When There Was Baseball. Don Cooper joins us this week. Don played in the Minor/Major Leagues from 1978-1987 with stints in the Majors with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. His experience as a pitcher helped him immensely as he became a pitching coach and had a long stint with the Chicago White Sox from 2002-2020. What is amazing about this long stint is that he worked for 4 different managers: Jerry Manuel, Ozzie Guillen, Robin Ventura and Rick Renteria. He was part of the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox and coached some outstanding pitchers during his tenure.

We take the time machine back to the early 1970s with our guest John Doherty. John was drafted in the 1st round of the 1970 MLB January Draft - Secondary Phase by the California Angels. He played in the Major/Minor Leagues from 1970-1978. John suffered an arm injury early in his career which relegated him to 1st Base. He broke into the Majors in 1974 with the Angels and had a decent season. He also played in the Majors in 1975 which was the last time he played in the Major Leagues. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest John Doherty.

Curt Kaufman joins us this week. Curt received a scholarship out of high school to play baseball at Iowa State University. After that he was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the New York Yankees on July 10, 1979. He worked his way through the minor leagues rather quickly and was named the International League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 1983 with 25 saves while playing for Columbus. Curt first appeared in the Majors with the Yankees in 1982 and was up for a short stint in 1983. He was traded to the California Angels in December of 1983 in exchange for Tim Foli. He played the 1984 season with the Angels and never made it back to the Big Leagues as elbow surgery curtailed his career. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball to the early 1980s with our guest Curt Kaufman.

Doug Rau joins us this week. Doug had a good collegiate career at Texas A&M which earned him a #1 draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the secondary phase of the June 1970 draft. He had an 81-60 record with a career ERA of 3.35 from 1972-1981. However, Doug may be best known for his infamous mound visit during Game 4 of the 1977 World Series as manager Tommy Lasorda was mic'd. He was a very effective pitcher until arm problems curtailed his career. Doug was part of 3 World Series teams, however the Dodgers lost all 3 (1974 to the Oakland A's and 1977-1978 to the New York Yankees). Join us as we travel Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Doug Rau.

Rudy Meoli joins us this week. Rudy played in the Major and Minor Leagues from 1969-1979 for several teams (California Angels, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies). He got up to the Majors in 1971 for a short stint, but 1973 was the season that he established himself. Rudy started at 2B for the Phillies during that infamous 23-22 game with the Cubs on May 17, 1979, which ended up being his last year in the Major Leagues. Join us as we take a trip Back When There Was Baseball to the 1970s with our guest Rudy Meoli.

American League umpire Rich Garcia joins us this week. Richie was one of the most highly respected umpires of his time period (1976-1999). During his career, he worked 2 All-Star games (1980, 1992), 3 ALDS (1995, 1997, 1998), 5 ALCS (1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996) and 4 World Series (1981, 1984, 1989, 1998). Richie was part of some memorable post-season games including the great 1982 ALCS between the Milwaukee Brewers and California Angels. He was the first base umpire in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS when Donnie Moore served up the infamous home run ball to Dave Henderson of the Red Sox. Richie was scheduled to be the left field umpire in Game 3 of the 1989 World Series before the earthquake delayed the series. Enjoy this look Back When There Was Baseball with umpire Rich Garcia.

We take the time machine this week Back When There Was Baseball to the mid-1960s with our guest John Werhas. John was signed in 1960 by the Dodgers after being a 2-sport athlete out of USC (baseball and basketball). He was the opening day starter at 3rd base for the Dodgers in 1964. After he struggled hitting, Manager Walt Alston inserted Junior Gilliam at 3rd base which provided the Dodgers with an all-switch-hitting infield in 1965 (1B - Wes Parker, 2B - Jim Lefebvre, SS - Maury Wills, 3B - Junior Gilliam). John exited baseball after the 1973 season and devoted his life to the ministry.

There were a few players in the 1970s whom Rex was told to emulate if he wanted to play Big League Baseball. Art Howe was one of them and he is our guest this week. Art started his athletic career as a football player at the University of Wyoming. After an injury, he concentrated on baseball and it paid dividends. Art started out in the Pirates organization but was traded to the Houston Astros and finally made it to the Majors permanently at the age of 30 in 1977. He was able to play all infield positions and was part of the Greatest 5-Game NLCS in history when the Astros lost to the Phillies in 1980. Not only did Art have a solid Major League career, but he followed that up with a solid managing career with a record of 1129-1137. We travel Back When There Was Baseball to the mid-1970s through the early-1980s with our esteemed guest, Art Howe.

When you talk about the greatest outfield arms in the history of the game players such as Roberto Clemente, Dave Parker and Ichiro Suzuki come to mind. However, our guest this week may have the greatest arm of them all. Ellis Valentine joins us to talk about his MLB career. Ellis was drafted in 1972 in the 2nd round by the Montreal Expos and made his Major League debut in 1975. He was part of that great outfield in the late 1970s which consisted of himself, Andre Dawson and Warren Cromartie. He was traded to the New York Mets in 1981 and also played for the California Angels and Texas Rangers to end his career. Injuries curtailed his career, but we consider Ellis one of the better players of his generation. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Ellis Valentine.