Backwards K Pod

For 50 years, 1939-1989, Red Sox Nation had three successive Hall Of Famers, guarding the Green Monster of Fenway out in left-field. Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice. With the Splendid Splinter's story already in our collection, and Jim Rice on the horizon, this week we take a dive into the life and career, of the man New Englanders would affectionately call Yaz. The two things the Polish immigrant Yastrzemski family knows, is growing potatos and playing baseball. Under the omnipresent and watchful tutelage of his father and uncles, Yaz would rise from the farm to Cooperstown, with a dominant 23 year baseball career for the Red Sox, as one of the greatest all-around left-fielders who ever lived. #CarlYastrzemski #BostonRedSox #NotreDame #RayGarland #TedWilliams #LakeRonkonkoma #FrankNekola #TomYawkey #FenwayPark #RaleighCapitals #MinneapolisMillers #JakeRobinson #CharlieGunz #BackwardsKPod #NewEngland

This week, we examine the life and career, of the forgotten Hall Of Famer, the greatest southpaw pitcher of the dead-ball era, Eddie Plank. From the humble beginnings of a farming family, born just twelve years after the bloody conclusion of the Civi War battle, bearing his hometown name. Plank would develop his game, on the battleground farms of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, before moving on to the major leagues, and becoming a major cog, for the dynastic championship machine, Philadelphia A's, at the turn of the 20th century, under the watchful managerial eye, of the legendary Connie Mack. His 326 wins are the third most in baseball history, by a lefthand pitcher, behind only Warren Spahn and Steve Carlton. His 69 shutouts are still the standard for port-siders, and will likely never be broken, considering how pitchers are used today, in the modern game. From Gettysburg to the Hall Of Fame pantheon in Cooperstown, NY, this is the incredible baseball journey of Gettysburg Eddie. #EddiePlank #GettysburgEddie #GettysburgPennsylvania #GoodIntent #RobertMajor #MorrisMusselman ##FrankForeman #GettysburgCollege #ConnieMack #PhiladelphiaAthletics #ChiefBender #RubeWaddell #WalterJohnson #JackChesbro #ChristyMattewson #JackCoombes #StLouisBrowns #FederalLeague

A tragic situation exist, when virtue doesn't triumph, and it is felt when our hero is nobler, than the forces that conspire against him and ultimately destroy him. This week we will look at the amazing career and life of Ken Griffey Jr. A player who would usher in the 1990's brand of major league baseball, and become the decade's face of the National Pastime. He had everything. The physical genetics, he inherited from his father; the confidence, arrogance and swagger. He transcended race, and he had a smile you could see from the last row of the upper deck at the Kingdome. He seemed surely destined to go down as one of, if not the greatest player ever, before numerous injuries would rob him of his destiny. Even though the fairytale has an almost tragic ending (in baseball terms), with twisting, unexpected storylines, it is still gratifying to to marvel at what it was, instead of giving in to the temptation of contemplating what it could have been, #KenGriffeyJr #TheKid #KenGriffeySr #DanoraPennsylvania #BigRedMachine #BirdieGriffey #TomMooney #RogerJongwaard #SeattleMariners #HaroldReynolds #MoellarHighSchool #KingDome #RandyJohnson #EdgarMartinez #CincinnatiReds #ChicagoWhiteSox

This week we head out to Mowtown, U.S.A,, to learn about the rich tradition of baseball in Detroit. A history that goes all the way back to 1867, just two years after the conclusion, of our nation's bloody civil war. Professional baseball dates all the way back to 1884, when the Detroit Wolverines were winning National League pennants, before becoming a part of the Western League's American Association. By 1901. the Tigers have become charter members of the American League. They are the oldest, continuous, one name, one city franchise in the A.L.. We will cover all the bases of their lineage, and discuss the history of two of the most prominent baseball cathedrals in the history of the game; Tigers Stadium and Comerica Park #Detroit Wolverines #DetroitCreams #DetroitTigers #TyCobb #HalNewhouser #CharlieGehringer #AlKaline #HankGreenberg #WillieHorton #MiguelCabrera #FrankNavin #WalterBriggs #JohnFetzer #MikeIilitch #TigersStadium #ComericaPark

This week, we cover the life and career of Eddie Murray, who grew up in the gang infested, crime riddled streets of Watts, California. Eddie and his five brothers, who would all go onto professional baseball careers, would escape the allure of drugs and crime by spending their summer days playing baseball throughout East L.A. Eddie was a phenomenal, championship high school pitcher, but he would teach himself how to switch-hit, and become the third of five baseball players to finish his Hall Of Fame career, with 500 home-runs while collecting 3,000 hits. #EddieMurray #SteadyEddie #LockeHighSchool #OzzieSmith #BaltimoreOrioles #EarlWeaver #EdwardBennettWilliams #KenSingleton #LosAngelesDodgers #NewYorkMets #ClevelandIndians #CaliforniaAngels #CalRipkenJr

This week we dive into the story of Pedro Martinez. The little skinny kid, who grew up in abject poverty in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic, who use to follow his older brother Ramon around from sandlot to sandlot playing baseball. The same kid who couldn't afford baseballs and he would chop the heads off his sister's baby dolls, to use as a cheaper option. From the outhouse to the penthouse, and ultimately the baseball king of his native island, that is chock full of generational baseball talent. #PedroMartinez #RamonMarinez #RaphaelAvilla #LosAngelesDodgers #MontrealExpos #BostonRedSox #NewYorkMets #PhiladelphiaPhillies

This week BKP will present the life and baseball career of the face of baseball in the 20th century, Mr George Herman Ruth, better known as the Babe. Besides Jackie Robinson, no baseball player has had more influence on the brand of Major League Baseball, that we consume today, than the Babe. From his rough and tumble childhood, along the docks and water-ports of Baltimore, to learning the game of baseball in a boy's school for the incorrigibles, to thrilling the baseball universe with his skill, first as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, and then as one of the deadliest sluggers of all time with the New York Yankees. HIs is a story of apocryphal myth, and legend, shrouded in a cloud of reality. This is the story of Babe Ruth. #BabeRuth #StMarysIndustrialSchoolForBoys #JackDunn #BaltimoreOrioles #BostonRedSox #NewYorkYankees #BostonBraves #TrisSpeaker #MillerHuggins #HarryFrazee #JacobRupert #LouGehrig #CharlieRoot

While none of the bigger fish were reeled in this past week off the free agent market, there was a flurry of activity, and the BKP Hot Stove Report will break them all down for ya. Jake is gonna hit on Hector Nerris going to the Cubs, David Robertson to the World Champion Rangers, Aaron Hicks to the Halos and all the other moves made this past week, as well as his beloved Orioles finally being on the verge of being sold to billionaire private equity partners. David Rubenstein and Mike Arougheti, and a consortium, consisting of Cal Ripken Jr, Joan Jett and Michael Phelps. Then BKP will bring you not only the history of Minute Maid Park, but also a short retrospect on the stadiums that preceeded her in Colt Stadium and The Famous Astrodome. Minute Maid Park is not only a magnificent place to catch a ballgame, but it is a true modern marvel of ballpark engineering, with a profound tradition and backstory. #MinuteMaidPark #ColtStadium #Astrodome #UnionStation #HoustonTexas #Astros #AstroTurf #SatchelPaige #WilliamCollins #BobbyDynamite #DraytonMcLain #Enron #KennethLee #TalSmith #CrawfordBoxes

This week, BKP opens with the Hot Stove Report, and addresses, the all-in move by the Astros, by acquiring the best closer on the free-agent market, Josh Hader. Now that Houston has one of, if not the best, late-inning trio of arms, coming out of their bully, what are their roles? Also what are the Stros next moves to solidify, the rest of the bullpen, that has seen three free-agent defections, and a season-ending injury to pitcher Kendall Graveman. And the Tampa Rays pulled a typical sneaky under the radar signing, as they snatch Noayuki Uwasawa from the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan, and sign him to a minor league deal. even though the Angels offered a guaranteed major league contract. What are the roster ramifications for the Rays with this move? What role does Jake see him playing in Tampa?

This week's topic is Jim Thorpe, arguably the greatest athlete of the 20th century. The man who started from humble beginnings, on a Native American reservation in Oklahoma, to winning two gold medals at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, playing Major League Baseball, and becoming one of the all-time greats on the gridiron. #JimThorpe #CharlesThorpe #SacAndFox #PopWarner $CarlisleIndianSchool #KingGustav #NewYorkGiants #JohnMcGraw #ChiefMeyers #BostonBraves #CincinnatiReds #EddRoush #CantonBulldogs

This week, we open the show the show with the BKP Hot Stove Report, and Jake asks, " What's next for the Chicago Cubs?"; After netting Japanese Japanese southpaw pitcher Shota Imanaga, and pulling off what he feels is a sneaky good trade, with the Los Angeles Deferrals. The Giants make a curious move by signing the second best closer on the free agent market to become a starter in their 2024 rotation. The Yankees bolster their rotation as well, but are still eying last year's NL Cy Young winner, Blake Snell. Then we dig into this week's topic, and bring you the story of Randy Poffo and his Seam Dream. Before he headlined the marquee, in areanas and stadiums, around the world, as the iconic and unforgettable "Macho Man" Randy Savage. The baseball obsessed kid, with the help of his father, made a serious run at bucking the odds, and becoming a major leaguer. #MachoMan #RandyPoffo #RandySavage #AngeloPoffo #LannyPoffo #MsElizabeth #LynPayne #MrFuji #NikolaiVolkoff #TitoLandrum #LarryHerndon #GouveasSausagePhillies #StLouisCardinals #GulfCoastLeague #CincinnatiReds #ChicagoWhiteSox #CVDavid #GeraldBrisco