BALLGAME

BALLGAME

By Baseball Nation NetworkSportsBaseball
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BALLGAME episodes

  • November 2026 — The Ruling That Broke Baseball’s Reserve System
    The complete audio edition of BALLGAME — Baseball Past and Present, November 2026, hosted by Dean Patino.
    This episode traces the quiet decisions and unseen work that changed baseball. It begins with Franklin Roosevelt’s Green Light letter, wartime seasons, and the stars and workers who served during World War Two. Then it follows Jackie Robinson from Branch Rickey’s office through a segregated spring and his triumphant year in Montreal. At the center is Peter Seitz’s 1975 ruling for Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally, which read the reserve clause plainly and opened the way to free agency. We also step inside an empty ballpark for offseason field and building care, then consider which familiar statistics hold up after the season and honor the people who keep baseball’s memory alive.
    Read the full issue free in the BNN Reading Room at baseballclassics.com/baseballnationnetwork/library. A new issue arrives on the first of every month.
    Everything Baseball. Every Day. Every Era. — Baseball Nation Network
    32 min
  • October 2026 — Bob Gibson’s Complete-Game World Series Standard
    The complete audio edition of BALLGAME — Baseball Past and Present, October 2026, hosted by Dean Patino.
    Bob Gibson started and finished all nine of his World Series games, winning seven while defining an almost unimaginable standard of endurance. This episode follows him through 1964, 1967 and 1968, including his record 17-strikeout shutout and the Game Seven loss that made his October story complete. We also revisit Bill Mazeroski’s championship-winning homer after the Yankees dominated the 1960 Series in total runs, carefully separate established facts from enduring myths about the fixed 1919 World Series, and relive Reggie Jackson’s three first-pitch home runs in 1977. Then we compare postseason records across changing formats and return to the Polo Grounds, where Bobby Thomson’s pennant-winning swing became immortal through Russ Hodges’s astonished radio call.
    Read the full issue free in the BNN Reading Room at baseballclassics.com/baseballnationnetwork/library. A new issue arrives on the first of every month.
    Everything Baseball. Every Day. Every Era. — Baseball Nation Network
    30 min
  • September 2026 — Fred Merkle and the Pennant That Had to Be Played Over
    The complete audio edition of BALLGAME — Baseball Past and Present, September 2026, hosted by Dean Patino.
    A routine shortcut by nineteen-year-old Fred Merkle became one of baseball’s most enduring controversies, erasing a winning run in 1908 and forcing the pennant to be replayed. We revisit that fateful afternoon, Johnny Evers’s alert appeal, and the lifelong burden placed on Merkle. The episode also examines Tampa Bay’s surprising lead despite New York’s superior run differential, Yordan Alvarez’s remarkable offensive season, and which September statistics deserve our trust. Plus, we relive Brooklyn’s 1951 collapse and Bobby Thomson’s famous home run, consider what vanished with the old September roster expansion, remember Roger Maris’s difficult pursuit of 61, and ask whether a fourteen-team postseason would drain September of its meaning.
    Read the full issue free in the BNN Reading Room at baseballclassics.com/baseballnationnetwork/library. A new issue arrives on the first of every month.
    Everything Baseball. Every Day. Every Era. — Baseball Nation Network
    27 min
  • August 2026 — The Impossible Dream’s Unbearable Final Day
    The complete audio edition of BALLGAME — Baseball Past and Present, August 2026, hosted by Dean Patino.
    The 1967 American League pennant race takes center stage as Boston, Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago carry an unforgettable summer to its final weekend—and the Red Sox wait beside a transistor radio for their fate. We also examine how the Mets landed Juan Soto yet fell far out of contention, and how Jacob Misiorowski helped small-market Milwaukee build baseball’s best record. Along the way, we revisit Jim Bouton’s groundbreaking Ball Four, trace baseball’s painfully slow adoption of facial protection, celebrate Roberto Clemente, and explore remarkable records and August oddities. The episode closes with a look at baseball’s changing postseason and rules, the limits of statistics, and the labor debate over proposed free-agent signing windows.
    Read the full issue free in the BNN Reading Room at baseballclassics.com/baseballnationnetwork/library. A new issue arrives on the first of every month.
    Everything Baseball. Every Day. Every Era. — Baseball Nation Network
    29 min

About BALLGAME

From the publisher's feed

Every issue of BALLGAME — Baseball Past and Present, the monthly magazine from Baseball Nation Network — becomes a full audio program.