Baseball and BBQ

Episode 266 features Brett Mandel, co-founder of Baseballbbq.com and Keith O'Brien, author of Charlie Hustle. Plus we discuss two Major League teams who will be playing on minor league fields.

Brett Mandel from the company, Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com/ is back to apprise us on the great things the company is doing and remind us of all their terrific products.  Anyone who loves baseball and barbecue will thoroughly enjoy the wide range of grilling tools and accessories they offer.  It's an extensive list, but includes spatula's, forks, grill scrapers, pigtail hooks, bottle openers, and tongs which are all made using baseball bat handles which can all be personally engraved.  In addition, they have cutting boards shaped liked home plate or shaped like baseball jerseys which also can be engraved.  Their newest product is a bat rack, designed to hold their baseball bat handle tools which also may be custom engraved.  As if that was not enough, they also have rubs, sauces, tee-shirts, and a unique board game.  Go to https://baseballbbq.com/ for more information. 

Keith O'Brien is a New York Times best-selling author, a finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, and an award-winning journalist.  He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico, as well as having his stories appear on National Public Radio and This American Life.  His latest book, a must read for baseball history lovers, is Charlie Hustle:  The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball.  Mention Pete Rose and a debate is almost guaranteed to ensue as baseball fans all seem to have opinions on whether he should be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  This book does a great job at pulling back the curtain on one of the games most polarizing figures.

We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky.

We recommend you go to Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Magnechef https://magnechef.com/ for excellent and unique barbecue gloves, Cutting Edge Firewood High Quality Kiln Dried Firewood - Cutting Edge Firewood in Atlanta for high quality firewood and cooking wood, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/

Call the show:  (516) 855-8214

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Episode 265 features fireballing former MLB Pitcher, Jim Kern and Trompo King inventor, Noam Weiss treating us to  amazing stories and we have a New York State Baseball Hall of Fame Dinner Report

Jim Kern is a former professional baseball pitcher.  With three All-Star appearances from 1977-1979, Kern went went 13–5 with a 1.57 ERA and 29 saves out of the Texas Rangers bullpen in 1979 to finish fourth in American League Cy Young Award balloting.  Over a 12 year Major League career, Jim played for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Milwaukee Brewers.  Jim is aptly nicknamed Emu and he explains why that moniker fits so well.  In 2013, FanGraphs named Kern as the best relief pitcher in baseball history over a given 4-year period of time in their January 25 article "Jim Kern's Four Incredible Seasons."  From 1976 to 1979, he won 42 games and registered 75 saves out of the bullpen, and he averaged more than 100 innings per year and 1.88 innings pitched per game appearance.        

We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky.

We recommend you go to Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Magnechef https://magnechef.com/ for excellent and unique barbecue gloves, Cutting Edge Firewood High Quality Kiln Dried Firewood - Cutting Edge Firewood in Atlanta for high quality firewood and cooking wood, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/

Call the show:  (516) 855-8214

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Episode 264 features Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Director of Operations, Scott Crawford and Charcoal and BBQ owners, Jason and Paula Mathews

Scott Crawford is the Director of Operations for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada.  Scott provides a wonderful description of Canada's Baseball Hall of Fame including how it got started, the way inductees are chosen, and stories about some of its honorees.  Baseball has thrived and continues to do so in Canada and the museum is dedicated to preserving its heritage.  You may be surprised to learn how long Canadian's have played baseball as well as hearing about Jackie Robinson's time playing there.  Go to https://baseballhalloffame.ca/ for more information on Scott Crawford and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Jason and Paula Mathews are the husband and wife owners of the company, Charcoal and BBQ.  The company provides products designed for those who enjoy cooking, but even more for the people who love to barbecue.  Their items include knives, cutting boards, and various accessories which are meant to help your outdoor cooking experience.  They offer engraving which adds a level of personalization to their barbecue wares.  Barbecue has always been a passion in Jason's life and a love of Paula's and they are using that passion and love as a driving force while growing the company.  Their story is fascinating, including Jason's long family history in Texas.  Go to https://charcoalandbbq.com/

We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky.

We recommend you go to Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Magnechef https://magnechef.com/ for excellent and unique barbecue gloves, Cutting Edge Firewood High Quality Kiln Dried Firewood - Cutting Edge Firewood in Atlanta for high quality firewood and cooking wood, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/

Call the show:  (516) 855-8214

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We celebrate founders as episode 263 features Carolyn Wells, co-founder of the Kansas City Barbeque Society and Rene LeRoux, founder of the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame.    

Carolyn Wells is co-founder of the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) which she founded with her late husband, Gary Wells.  She has won over 150 awards in barbecue cooking contests.  She is a member of the prestigious KCBS Hall of Flame, and has earned her Ph.B. (Doctor of Barbecue Philosophy).  Carolyn is an author, including as the chief essayist for The Kansas City Barbeque Society Cookbook.  Carolyn has promoted barbecue in other food related organizations including the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Southern Foodways Alliance, National Barbecue Association, American Institute of Wine & Food, World Barbecue Association, and Les Dames de Escoffier.  Her remarkable contributions have been recognized with an award named in her honor, the Carolyn Wells Ambassador Award which recognizes outstanding KCBS members who personify the qualities of an exceptional ambassador for the organization.

Rene LeRoux is the founder and executive director of the New York State Hall of Fame’s for baseball, basketball, and hockey.  Rene returns to the show to discuss the outstanding 2024 baseball class which will be inducted during the November dinner in Troy, New York.  The inductees are Jesse Barfield, Yogi Berra, Joe Black, James Dalton, James Fiorentino, Kevin Graber, Ted Green, Howard Johnson, Ed Lucas, Bob Malandro, Curtis Nobles, Don Mattingly, Bob Pertsas, Buck Showalter, and Brian Sweeney.  Rene discusses the inductees, some stories behind their selections, various reactions at receiving this great honor, as well as other exciting items not to be missed.  For more information on the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame go to http://www.nysbhof.com/home.html

We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky.

Call the show:  (516) 855-8214

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Episode 262 features unique barbecue and baseball stories with the president of AmazingRibs.com, Clint Cantwell and co-host of the National League Town podcast, Jeff Hysen while Chef Ray Sheehan assumes guest co-hosting duties.

Clint Cantwell is president of AmazingRibs.com which is a leading online resource for barbecue and grilling information.  As president, Clint performs day-to-day operations, creates recipes, writes articles, shoots photos, and does whatever else is needed to help run the heavily heavily trafficked website.  He is also a champion pitmaster and an outdoor cooking content creator.  Clint was named one of the "10 Faces of Memphis Barbecue" by Memphis Magazine in May of 2015 and was the winner of the Travel Channel’s “American Grilled” nationwide cooking competition series.  Clint previously worked as a public relations professional in New York City and shares two incredible baseball stories.  One involves the 2000 World Series, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, and a broken bat.  The other involves Barry Bonds record breaking 756th home run baseball which is prominently displayed in the National Baseball Hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York. 

Jeff Hysen is a New York Mets fan.  He channels his long-time love and vast knowledge of his favorite baseball team into the podcast, National League Town which he co-hosts with Greg Prince.  There is a lot more than meets the eye with Jeff as he is a lawyer as well as a stand-up comedian.  His ideas for improving the game of baseball are insightful and worth a listen by us as well as by those who are in charge of tinkering with the game's rules.  This is a baseball discussion without arguments and with plenty of interesting information. 

We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky.

Call the show:  (516) 855-8214

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Episode 261 features Bill Mikita, Hollywood writer and film producer and Mike McCloud, creator of the World Food Championships.

Bill Mikita is the writer and producer of the movie, Chasing 3000.  The movie is based on the true story of Bill and his brother's cross country trip to see Roberto Clemente get his 3,000th base hit.  The story of how this career lawyer became a Hollywood writer and film producer and was able to get Ray Liotta, among other celebrities to star in the movie is fascinating.  Some of those other celebrities include, Lauren Holly, M. Emmet Walsh, Lori Petty, Keith David, Trevor Morgan, Rory Culkin, Tania Raymonde, Seymour Cassel, and Willa Holland.  Bill gives us an inside look at the making of the film which, in its final form seemed improbable, but Bill persevered and the result is a wonderful movie.  Bill discusses his next project which is based on an amazing baseball game between two unbelievable teams and is a story you will not want to miss.

Mike McCloud is focused on making Food Sport a long-term, fun-filled legacy for the culinary industry.  As the creator of the World Food Championships he appears to be on his way to doing that.  The first WFC competition was in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2012 where almost 300 culinary champions gathered to compete.  The event was filmed in 2013 for a reality show that aired 2014 on A&E’s FYI Channel. WFC’s 2014 competition grew 35% and culminated in the first $100,000 grand prize. In early 2016, WFC debuted its second television show on the Discovery Network and is now syndicated in 10 countries.  Fast forward to 2022 when the WFC celebrated its 10th anniversary and the brand achieved a record-setting media reach of more than 6 billion and the WFC's appeal continues to grow.

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Episode 260 features Mark Anderson, one half of the Grill Dad's discussing all things barbecue and grilling while Doug Scheiding joins us for additional "grilling" and Doug Kurkul discusses his latest book, It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball which explores the game and players from the 1960's.

Mark Anderson is one half of the Grill Dad's.  He previously joined us on episode 143 with the other Grill Dad, Ryan Fey.  This time he is flying solo and he provides an update on the exciting things the Grill Dads have been up to as well as discussing many other grilling related items.  They have made numerous television appearances, including Guy's Big Project, hosted by Guy Fieri and they starred in the primetime shows, The Grill Dads and Comfort Food Tour on the Food Network.  They have also appeared on Beat Bobby Flay, The Wendy Williams Show, The Today Show, and the Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show.  They are also the authors of the cookbook, The Best Grilling Cookbook Ever Written By Two Idiots.  Doug Scheiding adds his own special flair as we enjoy a grill filled discussion.

Doug Kurkul has a day job, but it is his role as author that brings him to us as he discusses his latest tome, It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball which explores the game and players from the 1960's.  The following fdescription taken from the book says it best.  "Doug brings this memorable era to life, drawing on contemporary news accounts, player memoirs, as well as recent interviews with dozens of former players. The book provides an informative and amusing inside look at what it was like to be a major league ballplayer in the Sixties, making It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball the definitive 21st Century book on 1960s baseball.  Doug is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.  In 2009, as CEO of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce, he collaborated with Pacific Coast League President, Branch Rickey III and Aces manager Brett Butler to welcome the Reno Aces as the PCL's newest team.

We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky.

Call the show:  (516) 855-8214

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Episode 259 features Fred Claire, general manager of the 1988 World Series Champion, Los Angeles Dodgers and Phil Breeden, award-winning pitmaster and founder of LC BBQ.

Fred Claire  is a former Major League Baseball executive who served in numerous roles for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969 to 1998 including the role of general manager.  Prior to his GM role, Fred was the VP of Public Relations and was instrumental in creating the branding that came to be known as "Dodger Blue."  However, it was an unfortunate night on April 6, 1987 when Dodgers General Manager Al Campanis appeared on the televison news program, Nightline to talk about his thoughts on the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. Campanis' comments stunned the baseball world and he was forced to resign with Fred being asked to take over the GM job.  After a dismal 1987 season, Claire rebuilt the team into an instant playoff contender as the Dodgers went on to win the 1988 World Series.

Phil Breeden is a champion pitmaster whose love for food started at a young age and sports fueled his competitive drive to be the best. Phil has competed in over 300 sanctioned competitions.  Phil sells his products which he develops and uses to win championships.  According to Breeden, “We are always developing products that are tested in competitions…if we can’t win with them…we don’t release them, why should we expect our customers to trust them if we can’t?”  In addition to competing and selling products, Phil teaches barbecue competition classes and is a co-host on the Shiggin Fried with Chicken Fried and LCBBQ podcast.  For more information on Phil Breeden and LC BBQ go to www.lcbbqshop.com

We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky.

Call the show:  (516) 855-8214

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Episode 258 features New York Times bestselling author, Erik Sherman discussing his book on Boston Red Sox legend, Dwight Evans and Shaticka Robinson tells us all about winning season 3 of Netflix's Barbecue Showdown.

Erik Sherman is a baseball historian and author.  This is his fourth Baseball and BBQ appearance and this time he is discussing his latest book, Dewey:  Behind the Gold Glove.  The book explores the on the field career and off the field life of Dwight "Dewey" Evans who, for 20 years was a legendary player in Boston for his potent bat and sterling defense.  Yet for all his greatness on the baseball field, the immense challenges that Evans and his family dealt with off it were even more impressive and he allows Erik to share all of that in this beautifully written book.  Besides being a prolific author, he also hosts The Erik Sherman Show podcast and is a 2023 New York State Hall of Fame inductee.  For more information on Erik go to https://www.erikshermanbaseball.com/

Shaticka Robinson cooks bougie barbecue and in season 3, episode 1 of Barbecue Showdown on Netflix she tells that to the world.   During that episode and over the next seven shows viewers get to experience her wonderful personality and witness her exceptional cooking skills as her bougie barbecue leads to taking home the Barbecue Showdown championship.  Her Netflix bio says this, "Shaticka Robinson, executive chef, owner, and pitmaster of Coley's Jook Junt food truck in Nashville, Tennessee, is bringing 15 years of culinary expertise to Barbecue Showdown Season 3.  Known for her innovative approach to Southern cuisine, Robinson learned the art of BBQ from her parents at a young age." For more information on Shaticka and Coley's Jook Junt go to https://www.coleysjj.com/

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Episode 257 features author, Joseph R. Haynes discussing his book on barbecue history and Josh Schaub, Commissioner of the American Association of Professional Baseball providing baseball fans with alternatives to the MLB.  Plus Jeff tells about his special weekend in Philadelphia

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