Baseball Discourse

Luke Appling Enough of the Houston Astros already.  Also, in this podcast, I replay an interview I did with one of baseball's all-time great hitters, Luke Appling.  However, before replaying the interview, I go on a rant about the over-the-top coverage the Houston Astros are receiving in the early stages of spring training.  It seems the media is determined to ask every player what they think about the cheating scandal.  But I say enough! The Astros are not going to crawl on their hands and knees, begging for forgiveness.  The Astros are not going to give back their 2017 World Series trophy.  And the same players critical of the Astros, are the same players represented by the players association, who also represent the Astros' players and cut a deal with the commissioner's office for immunity in return for being interviewed about the scandal.  Besides, I want to read about the rookie phenom, the pitcher making a recovery, the hitter who has discovered a new way of hitting.  I've read and heard enough about the scandal. And speaking of hitting, I look back at an interview I recorded nearly 37 years ago with Luke Appling.  He was one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and for 20 seasons played with just one club, the Chicago White Sox.  In this interview, which starts at the 9:15 mark of the podcast, we look back at Appling's career.  We talked about the money the players were making in the early 1980's compared to his era - the most Appling ever earned was $18,500 in 1937, the year after he won the American League batting title with a .388 average. Appling also was the last manager of the Kansas City Athletics, managing the club for their final 40 games in that city.  He discussed how owner Charlie Finley hired him.  He also recalled the home run he hit in the 1982 Crackerjack All-Star game of old timers at RFK Stadium. At the time I interviewed Appling, he was a roving, minor league hitting instructor for the Atlanta Braves and I was broadcasting for the Kinston Blue Jays.  We recorded the interview at Durham Athletic Park, home of the Durham Bulls, at the time, Atlanta's class A club in the Carolina League.  It was also the location for the movie Bull Durham. LINK TO APPLING'S HOME RUN

Dave Stevens, Dan Lovallo MLB is floating the idea of changing its playoff format and I look back at an interview I did over the summer with Dave Stevens.  Those are among the topics I explore in my latest podcast.  My interview with Stevens begins at the 11:31 mark of the podcast. MLB has not officially announced any format change, and any change would have to be approved by the Players' Association, but that didn't stop me from offering an opinion.  And you will note I point out this plan is not as drastic as some might suggest.  I just hope if it comes to pass, baseball makes another change as well, as I point out in the podcast.  (How's that for a tease?) I have interviewed Stevens before, but the occasion of this interview was before a Hartford Yard Goats game this summer at Dunkin' Donuts Park.  The Yard Goats were hosting their annual Disability Dream and Do Baseball Camp the next day and Stevens was going to be among the instructors.  If you go to his website, which I link to in the first paragraph, you can read more about his story.  Stevens was born with no legs, but that did not stop him from realizing  his dreams, even playing a game with a professional baseball club. Stevens went on to a 20-year career at ESPN where he worked as a Coverage Editor and Assignment Desk Manager.  He also covered sports for a Minneapolis TV station.  During his illustrious career, he has won 7 National Sports Emmys.  He has covered Super Bowls, the World Series, NCAA Final Fours and so much more.  It seems whenever there is a major sporting event, Stevens is on the scene with great interviews and an enthusiasm and energy that know no bounds. As always, thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy the podcast.

Before there was the World Champion Washington Nationals, there was the Montreal Expos.  This past summer, while broadcasting games for the Hartford Yard Goats, I caught up with two former teammates on the Expos, Lee Stevens and Mike Mordecai.   At the time, Stevens was the hitting instructor for the Yard Goats and Mordecai was the manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The two not only recalled their time as teammates of the Expos but speculated on a major league baseball franchise returning to Montreal.  An effort is underway to bring a team back to that city, with MLB even giving the green light to a franchise - in this case Tampa Bay - splitting its home season between Tampa Bay and Montreal.  Although logistically, such a duel franchise could be a nightmare, Tampa Bay owner Stuart Sternberg is not ruling out such a move.  

As I write this, the Washington Nationals are one win away from their first trip to the World Series.  The Nats, who stunned the Dodgers last week in the NLDS, are now putting the Cardinals in a stupor with their pitching.  Viewing this dominant performance, I cannot help but think about Washington's Connecticut connection. Remember, Washington was 19-31 in May and fired their pitching coach, replacing him with Paul Menhart.  The Nats pitching has been among the elite, since Menhart became pitching coach.  He grew up in Mystic, CT and attended Fitch High School. Then there is NLCS game three winning pitcher Stephen Strasburg.  He spent one summer in Torrington, as a pitcher with the Torrington Twisters, then a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. And let us not forget Jack McKeon, a baseball legend.  McKeon will turn 89 on Nov. 23 and he is still going strong, as an adviser to Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo.  He has been a manager, executive and adviser and among his achievements is winning the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 2003 and managing George Brett.  I touch on those two topics, when I interviewed Jack for a Hartford Yard Goats pregame show and am now presenting the interview on the podcast.  McKeon was in Hartford in May, when the Nationals AA affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators played the Yard Goats. Enjoy!

I have the highest respect for baseball writers Bill Madden and Mark Feinsand.  That's one of the reasons I find their reporting on the next manager of the Los Angeles Angels fascinating.  Madden, in the broadcasters and writers wing of the baseball Hall of Fame, says ex-Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is not a lock to become the next Angels manager and that John Farrell has emerged as the new favorite.  Madden writes for the New York Daily News. Joe Maddon/YT grab Feinsand, who used to write for the News and now writes for the MLB website, says not so fast.  He has been told Maddon is still the favorite.  Which of these high profile writers is correct?  That's the subject of my podcast.  Plus a couple of other topics.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Los Angeles Dodgers' trip to the World Series against the Yankees; they got bounced by the Washington Nationals in a thrilling deciding game of the NLDS.  The game was so riveting, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts may be second guessed out of his job over how he managed his bullpen.  Meanwhile,  I can hear the critics: "baseball cannot afford a Washington-Tampa Bay World Series.  The games will take forever and ratings will be in the toilet." Well, let the doom-and-gloom crowd wallow in their negativity.  Baseball is alive and well, even if Dave Roberts/You Tube the nation's top two television markets are left by the wayside, should the Yankees not make it to the Fall Classic.  As I detail in my podcast, baseball has a lot going for it, and the success at the gate of minor league baseball is a contributing factor, according to a study. Here is the link to the story in "The Athletic" I reference in the podcast, but remember, there is a paywall.  Enjoy the podcast.  I have a post season to watch.