Today is August 23, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1999. We’re traveling to Seattle… Safeco Field… for a Ken Griffey Jr. home run. Yes, I know… there are 630 of those. But this one is a special home run in the career of one of the all-time greatest home run hitters. Because the home run he will hit today will be the 200th he has hit since the start of the 1996 season, and will drive home the point of just how impressive a player he is during his peak playing years.

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Keywords: mlb, baseball, history, sports, seattle mariners, ken griffey jr., hall of fame, cooperstown

Today is August 22, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1886. That’s right – a full 130 years ago. We’re in Louisville, Kentucky. My apologies for the pronunciation of Louisville, listeners, if any of you are area natives. Rest assured that this Illinoisan tried to pronounce it correctly, but it’s just not happening. But you can take comfort in knowing that today’s trip is a fun one, where history, baseball, and sprinkling of folklore combine as Chicken Wolf hits an inside-the-park home run.

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Today is August 21, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1951. Today we have the benefit of hindsight on our side, and we’ll bop around the past seeing first-hand how strongly linked Major League Baseball and the United States Military were during the mid-20th century. We’ll also be reminded that if you take too close of a look at anything, you run the risk of not liking what you see… such is the case behind the Major League Baseball owners offering the Commissionership to Major General Emmett O’Donnell, a position in which he will never actually serve.

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Today is August 20, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 2008. We’re in New York, once again in a Manhattan office building because the big story today isn’t one of the games being played in Major League stadiums across the country. Instead, the action is happening behind closed doors as MLB umpires and management meet to hammer out the final details in an agreement that will bring instant replay to baseball to help determine calls on the field.

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Today is August 19, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1966. We’re in Cleveland, at the aptly-named Cleveland Stadium for a game between the White Sox and the Indians. But the game is merely a bonus, as the real reason for our trip is to be little flies-on-the-wall for the he-said/he-said exchange when Indians Manager Birdie Tebbetts resigns.

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Today is August 18, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1940. We’re in New York, let’s stop in at this diner over here. Seems like we’re always at doubleheaders or diners, doesn’t it? Anyway, we’ve got our copies of today’s Daily News and I know I could sure use a cup of coffee, so diner it is. And when we settle in to our stools at the counter and open our newspapers we’ll be greeted with one of the truly stupid and disgusting moments in sports journalism.

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mlb, sports, baseball, history, lou gehrig, new york yankees, journalism

This episode contains a brief description of a gruesome injury suffered as a consequence of being hit by a pitch. It’s not unduly graphic – I’ll be reading an excerpt from an obituary that details the injury – but some listeners may find it disturbing.

Today is August 17, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1920. This trip is a sad one, I’ll tell you that right out of the gates. To pull the curtain back and give you some insight into my process, it was either this journey, or a journey to see a bankrupt Minor League team that drew only 85 paying customers to one of its doubleheaders and was eventually evicted from their home ballpark. It was a team called the Orphans – the symbolism slaps you right in the face. But instead I’m taking you to New York, to Grand Central Station, where we’ll pay our respects to Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman, who died this morning of injuries sustained during yesterday’s game against the Yankees. I hope by the end of this journey you’ll understand why we’re here today.

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mlb, baseball, sports, history, cleveland indians, new york yankees

Today is August 16, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1890. We’re in – you guessed it – Chicago. We’re pretty close to being able to say we’re permanent residents at this point. Today we’re in the stands for a game between the Pittsburgh Alleghenys and the hometown Chicago Colts. A few days ago we visited a game during the Deadball Era and talked about how pitching dominated during this time. But the catch here is that even though the pitchers seem to have an advantage, they still have to have some semblance of pitching skill if they are going to be successful. Today we’ll see that there is plenty of offense to be had in the right situations, and Alleghenys pitcher Bill Phillips will fall victim to the opposing offense when he gives up two grand slams in a single inning.

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Keywords: mlb, sports, baseball, history, Pittsburgh, Chicago, grand slam

Today is August 15, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1975. We’re in Baltimore for a doubleheader between the Orioles and the visiting Texas Rangers. It’s going to be a late one here because the first game of this twin bill has a 5:30 start time. But the weather looks good – in fact the weather is so banal that Baseball Reference simply lists it as “night.” But not everyone is a good mood on this lovely night, and Orioles manager Earl Weaver will be ejected twice during this evening’s contest – once for arguing balls and strikes, and again before the second game even starts.

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Keywords: mlb, baseball, history, earl weaver, double header, baltimore orioles

Today is August 14, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1999. We’re in Chicago for an evening game between the Texas Rangers and the White Sox. Seems like we’ve been in Chicago a lot this month, doesn’t it listeners? Well today we’re back. And just like on August 1st when we traveled back to watch Vince Coleman make stolen base history, today we’ll watch Rangers All-Star catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez steal his 20th base of the season to become Major League Baseball’s first catcher to hit 20 homeruns and steal 20 bags in the same season.

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