Today is August 13, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1906 – a full 110 years ago. We’re in Brooklyn for a contest between the Chicago Cubs and the hometown Superbas. The Cubs are having an incredible season – the Superbas, not so much – and one of the reasons for the Cubs success is the man on the mound today, John W. “Jack” Taylor. But even the best pitchers have a bad day now and then, and today is that day for Jack Taylor. But we won’t be too hard on Jack Taylor, listeners, because when the Superbas knock Taylor out of the game in the third inning today, it will be the first time in five years that Taylor fails to finish a game he starts.

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Keywords: mlb, baseball, history, chicago cubs, brooklyn dodgers, jack taylor

Today is August 12, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1965. We’re in San Francisco at Candlestick Park, once again enjoying a doubleheader. Teams sure did play a lot of doubleheaders back in the day, didn’t they? Well today’s doubleheader is between the hometown Giants and the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates, and in Game 1, brothers Jesus and Matty Alou will both play right field for the Giants, and both will hit home runs.

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Alou Family Tree:

Matty, Jesus, Felipe Alou - Brothers

Moises Alou - Son of Felipe Alou

Mel Rojas - Nephew of Matty, Jesus, Felipe Alou; Cousin of Moises Alou

Mel Rojas Jr. - Son of Mel Rojas; Great-nephew of Matty, Jesus, Felipe Alou

Keywords: baseball, mlb, history, san francisco giants, candlestick park, pittsburgh pirates

Today is August 11, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1959. We’re in Carlsbad, New Mexico, at a Sophomore League game between the Cubs affiliate Carlsbad Potashers and the Dodgers affiliate, the Odessa Dodgers. It’s hot, it’s the ninth inning, the hometown Potashers are losing 6-1… kids are getting squirmy and everyone’s ready to go home. But don’t head for the exits just yet, because Potasher’s slugger Gil Carter is coming to the plate, and he’ll hit a home run that will be the longest of all time.

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Gil Carter Interview credit: John at the "I Love Topeka" Youtube Channel. See his full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyJflY9SAb8

Keywords: baseball, mlb, history, negro leagues, memphis, carlsbad, cubs, gil carter, home run

Today is August 10, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1971. We’re in San Francisco at Candlestick Park for a sparsely attended game between the Giants and the Expos. Those of you who love high-scoring offensive showcases might be disappointed with today’s game because it’s a true pitchers’ duel. Giants pitcher Juan Marichal and Expos pitcher Bill Stoneman will both go the distance and hold the opposing team scoreless into the 9th inning, but it will be Marichal who comes out on top to earn his 50th career shutout.

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Keywords: baseball, history, sports, mlb, san francisco giants, montreal expos, juan marichal, pitcher, shutout

Today is August 9, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1963. We’re in Manhattan at the Polo Grounds for a game between the Mets and the Cubs. Remember those terrible but loveable Mets from a couple days ago? Well they’re back! And spoiler alert – they’re still losing. But today Roger Craig is on the mound, and he’ll pitch a complete game and be helped by some late inning heroics to narrowly avoid his 20th consecutive loss.

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Keywords: baseball, history, sports, new york mets, chicago cubs, mlb, polo grounds

Today is August 8, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1941. We’re in a Columbia Records music studio where Betty Bonney and the Les Brown Orchestra are recording “Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio,” a song that will soon sweep a nation already caught up in DiMaggio fever, and further solidify baseball in popular culture.

Song copyright Alan Courtney

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Keywords: baseball, sports, history, new york yankees, joe dimaggio, ted williams, hitting streak, mlb, WWII

Today is August 7, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1962. We’re at Dodger Stadium where the last-place Mets are playing the first-place Dodgers, and where those Mets will lose the game 7-5, dropping their record to 29-82, a whopping 46 ½ games out of first place, and mathematically eliminating themselves from the pennant.

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Keywords: sports, baseball, history, new york mets, los angeles dodgers, playoffs, casey stengel

Today is August 6, 2016. Travel back with me to this date in 1985. We are in New York City at the office of the Major League Baseball Players Association. After a decade of labor disputes and work stoppages, the Players Association and the team owners have failed to come to a labor agreement to replace the one that expired the previous December. And those on both sides of the negotiations have reached their breaking point; today the players will walk out and strike for the second time in five years.

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Keywords: baseball, history, players association, sports, new york city, 1985, lee macphail, donald fehr, peter ueberroth

Today is August 5, 2016. Travel back with me to this date in 1921. We’re in Pittsburgh, and we can’t make it out to Forbes Field today for the Pirates/Phillies game. Instead, we’re hanging out at a local diner, maybe enjoying a hamburger or a cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee. And we’re all gathered around a radio receiver listening to the voice of Harold Arlin, who today becomes the nation’s first baseball broadcaster and proves that Pittsburgh isn’t just a steel city, it’s a radio city.

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Today is August 4, 2016. Travel back with me to this day in 1983. Today we’re in Toronto at Exhibition Stadium for an evening game between the Yankees and the Blue Jays. The Jays will win the game 6-2, but the true stars of the day will be Yankees outfielder Dave Winfield and a seagull who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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Here's a 1 minute 17 second video described as a "short documentary" on the incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weOxt28RvGc

A very in-depth interview piece investigating the circumstances surrounding the seagull: https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/08/02/the_dave_winfield_seagull_incident_vs_toronto_blue_jays_at_exhibition_stadium_30_years_later_an_oral_history.html