Bergino Baseball Clubhouse

A franchise and fan base in perpetual search of validation finally had its ticket punched as 2016 dawned.  Mike Piazza, who held records in one hand and a city's rapt attention in the other, gained election to the Hall of Fame.  Within weeks of this long-awaited announcement, the ballclub with whom he chose to cast his eternal lot, the New York Mets, made a date to retire his number.

In Piazza: Catcher, Slugger, Icon, Star, Greg Prince explores the parallel paths Piazza and the Mets set out on in the early 1990s and how their individual journeys merged into a mutual quest for transcendence.  From marriage of convenience to lifetime bond to a state of baseball grace reached only once before in team history, "Piazza" examines how the stranger from Los Angeles became New York's favorite son and why the Mets fans continued to rally to Piazza's cause years after he took his final swing for them.

Greg Prince is co-creator of the blog Faith and Fear in Flushing, the daily destination for "Mets fans who like to read."  His memoir of the same name was published in 2009 and was followed in 2016 by "Amazin' Again."  He has written about baseball for the "New York Times," "Huffington Post," and ESPN.com; served as a consultant to the film "The Last Play at Shea;" and helped organize the New York Mets Fiftieth Anniversary Conference at Hofstra.

On June 15, 2017 -- the 40th Anniversary of "The Midnight Massacre" -- Greg Prince led our intimate Clubhouse conversation into a slice of Mets history, as only he can.  Piazza, Seaver, Prince.  Hall of Famers, all.  Listen in...

A franchise and fan base in perpetual search of validation finally had its ticket punched as 2016 dawned.  Mike Piazza, who held records in one hand and a city's rapt attention in the other, gained election to the Hall of Fame.  Within weeks of this long-awaited announcement, the ballclub with whom he chose to cast his eternal lot, the New York Mets, made a date to retire his number.

In Piazza: Catcher, Slugger, Icon, Star, Greg Prince explores the parallel paths Piazza and the Mets set out on in the early 1990s and how their individual journeys merged into a mutual quest for transcendence.  From marriage of convenience to lifetime bond to a state of baseball grace reached only once before in team history, "Piazza" examines how the stranger from Los Angeles became New York's favorite son and why the Mets fans continued to rally to Piazza's cause years after he took his final swing for them.

Greg Prince is co-creator of the blog Faith and Fear in Flushing, the daily destination for "Mets fans who like to read."  His memoir of the same name was published in 2009 and was followed in 2016 by "Amazin' Again."  He has written about baseball for the "New York Times," "Huffington Post," and ESPN.com; served as a consultant to the film "The Last Play at Shea;" and helped organize the New York Mets Fiftieth Anniversary Conference at Hofstra.

On June 15, 2017 -- the 40th Anniversary of "The Midnight Massacre" -- Greg Prince led our intimate Clubhouse conversation into a slice of Mets history, as only he can.  Piazza, Seaver, Prince.  Hall of Famers, all.  Listen in...

"Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey" tells the story of Ila Jane Borders, who despite formidable obstacles became a Little League prodigy, MVP of her otherwise all-male middle school and high school teams, the first woman awarded a baseball scholarship, and the first to pitch and win a complete men's collegiate game.

After Mike Veeck signed Borders in May 1997 to pitch for his St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League, she accomplished what no woman had done since the Negro Leagues era: play men's professional baseball.  Borders played four professional seasons and in 1998 became the first woman in the modern era to win a professional ball game.

Borders had to find ways to fit in with her teammates, reassure their wives and girlfriends, work with the media, and fend off groupies.  But these weren't the toughest challenges.  She had a troubled family life, a difficult adolescence as she struggled with her sexual orientation, and an emotionally fraught college experience as a closeted gay athlete at a Christian university.

"Making My Pitch" shows what it's like to be the only woman on the team bus, in the clubhouse, and on the field.  Raw, open, and funny at times, her story encompasses the loneliness of a groundbreaking pioneer who experienced grave personal loss.  Borders ultimately relates how she achieved self-acceptance and created a life as a firefighter and paramedic and as a coach and goodwill ambassador for the game of baseball.

Jean Hastings Ardell is an Author/Editor/Speaker/Researcher/Teacher.  She is co-chair of the NINE Spring Training Conference, and author of "Breaking into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime."

On a Thursday in June, Jean Hastings Ardell led our intimate Clubhouse conversation.  A beautiful evening.  Listen in...

"Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey" tells the story of Ila Jane Borders, who despite formidable obstacles became a Little League prodigy, MVP of her otherwise all-male middle school and high school teams, the first woman awarded a baseball scholarship, and the first to pitch and win a complete men's collegiate game.

After Mike Veeck signed Borders in May 1997 to pitch for his St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League, she accomplished what no woman had done since the Negro Leagues era: play men's professional baseball.  Borders played four professional seasons and in 1998 became the first woman in the modern era to win a professional ball game.

Borders had to find ways to fit in with her teammates, reassure their wives and girlfriends, work with the media, and fend off groupies.  But these weren't the toughest challenges.  She had a troubled family life, a difficult adolescence as she struggled with her sexual orientation, and an emotionally fraught college experience as a closeted gay athlete at a Christian university.

"Making My Pitch" shows what it's like to be the only woman on the team bus, in the clubhouse, and on the field.  Raw, open, and funny at times, her story encompasses the loneliness of a groundbreaking pioneer who experienced grave personal loss.  Borders ultimately relates how she achieved self-acceptance and created a life as a firefighter and paramedic and as a coach and goodwill ambassador for the game of baseball.

Jean Hastings Ardell is an Author/Editor/Speaker/Researcher/Teacher.  She is co-chair of the NINE Spring Training Conference, and author of "Breaking into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime."

On a Thursday in June, Jean Hastings Ardell led our intimate Clubhouse conversation.  A beautiful evening.  Listen in...

Baseball in the 1920's is most known for Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, but there was another great Yankees player in that era whose compelling story remains untold.

Urban Shocker was a fiercely competitive and colorful pitcher.  With the 1927 Yankees, widely viewed to be the best team in Major League Baseball history, Shocker pitched with guts and guile, finishing with a record of 18-6 even while his fastball and physical skills were deserting him.  Hardly anyone knew that Shocker was suffering from incurable heart disease that left him able to sleep only while sitting up and which would take his life in less than a year.

Steve Steinberg is a baseball historian and coauthor with Lyle Spatz of "The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees" and "1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York."

Delving into his baseball career, his love of the game, and his battle with health issues, Steve Steinberg led our intimate Clubhouse conversation about the dominant and courageous force of "Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age."  Listen in...

Baseball in the 1920's is most known for Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, but there was another great Yankees player in that era whose compelling story remains untold.

Urban Shocker was a fiercely competitive and colorful pitcher.  With the 1927 Yankees, widely viewed to be the best team in Major League Baseball history, Shocker pitched with guts and guile, finishing with a record of 18-6 even while his fastball and physical skills were deserting him.  Hardly anyone knew that Shocker was suffering from incurable heart disease that left him able to sleep only while sitting up and which would take his life in less than a year.

Steve Steinberg is a baseball historian and coauthor with Lyle Spatz of "The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees" and "1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York."

Delving into his baseball career, his love of the game, and his battle with health issues, Steve Steinberg led our intimate Clubhouse conversation about the dominant and courageous force of "Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age."  Listen in...

A Pulitzer Prize-winner returns to the Clubhouse.

It Happens Every Spring: DiMaggio, Mays, the Splendid Splinter, and a Lifetime at the Ballpark -- opinions and reflections on the National Pastime from one of New York's most popular sportswriters.

As these gents would say...

"It can be stated as a law that the sportswriter whose horizons are no wider than the outfield fences is a bad sportswriter because he has no sense of proportion and no awareness of the real world around him.  Ira Berkow knows what is important about a game is not the score but the people who play it."  -Red Smith

"Ira Berkow belongs to that rare breed: a writer who specializes in sports but whose subjects represent a broad range in human aspirations and challenges."  -Gay Talese

"Ira Berkow is one of the great American writers, without limitation to the field of sports."  -Scott Turow

Ira Berkow is a former sports columnist and feature writer for "The New York Times," where he worked for more than 25 years.  He shared the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2001 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer for commentary in 1988.  He is the author of 25 books, including the bestsellers "Maxwell Street: Survival in a Bazaar" and "Red: A Biography of Red Smith."  His work has frequently been cited in the prestigious anthology series Best American Sports Writing, as well as the 1999 anthology Best American Sports Writing of the Century.

On a May evening, Ira Berkow led our intimate, indelible Clubhouse conversation.  Listen in -- and you'll agree with those gents named Smith, Talese and Turow.  Enjoy...

A Pulitzer Prize-winner returns to the Clubhouse.

It Happens Every Spring: DiMaggio, Mays, the Splendid Splinter, and a Lifetime at the Ballpark -- opinions and reflections on the National Pastime from one of New York's most popular sportswriters.

As these gents would say...

"It can be stated as a law that the sportswriter whose horizons are no wider than the outfield fences is a bad sportswriter because he has no sense of proportion and no awareness of the real world around him.  Ira Berkow knows what is important about a game is not the score but the people who play it."  -Red Smith

"Ira Berkow belongs to that rare breed: a writer who specializes in sports but whose subjects represent a broad range in human aspirations and challenges."  -Gay Talese

"Ira Berkow is one of the great American writers, without limitation to the field of sports."  -Scott Turow

Ira Berkow is a former sports columnist and feature writer for "The New York Times," where he worked for more than 25 years.  He shared the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2001 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer for commentary in 1988.  He is the author of 25 books, including the bestsellers "Maxwell Street: Survival in a Bazaar" and "Red: A Biography of Red Smith."  His work has frequently been cited in the prestigious anthology series Best American Sports Writing, as well as the 1999 anthology Best American Sports Writing of the Century.

On a May evening, Ira Berkow led our intimate, indelible Clubhouse conversation.  Listen in -- and you'll agree with those gents named Smith, Talese and Turow.  Enjoy...

The real Joe DiMaggio -- remembered by the man who knew him best in the last decade of his life.  Candid and little-known stories about icons from Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and his Yankees teammates on the field to Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and other great celebrities off the field.

Dr. Rock Positano, an internationally renowned foot specialist in New York City, was introduced to Joe DiMaggio by Bill Gallo in 1990.  The Yankee Clipper's career-ending heel spur injury and botched surgeries brought them together.  During the time Dr. Positano successfully treated DiMaggio, a friendship slowly developed.  As Dr. Positano would learn, DiMaggio moved carefully and deliberately.

Dinner with DiMaggio follows the story of their friendship from its starstruck beginning through its highs and lows over the next decade.  Forty years younger than DiMaggio, Dr. Positano became like a surrogate son.  Positano's accounts of their times together reveal DiMaggio's many rituals and quirks.  At the pinnacle of his fame, DiMaggio had learned to be guarded and carefully managed his image and private life.  As his trust in his young friend grew, DiMaggio opened up about Marilyn, but also about his first wife, Dorothy Arnold, the mother of his son.  The Yankee Clipper knew everyone, and Positano shares never-before-told stories of famous people DiMaggio admired and those he didn't.

The stories and experiences he shared with Rock Positano comprise an intimate portrait of one of the great stars of baseball and one of the icons of the twentieth century.

Dr. Rock Positano is the Founder and Director of the Non-Surgical Foot and Ankle Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, where he has been on staff since 1991.  He graduated from Yale School of Medicine.  Positano is a clinical assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College.  He is internationally known for his non-surgical approach for the treatment of foot disorders.

On a May evening, Dr. Rock Positano and John Positano led a compelling Clubhouse conversation.  Pull up a chair at your dinner table and listen in...

The real Joe DiMaggio -- remembered by the man who knew him best in the last decade of his life.  Candid and little-known stories about icons from Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and his Yankees teammates on the field to Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and other great celebrities off the field.

Dr. Rock Positano, an internationally renowned foot specialist in New York City, was introduced to Joe DiMaggio by Bill Gallo in 1990.  The Yankee Clipper's career-ending heel spur injury and botched surgeries brought them together.  During the time Dr. Positano successfully treated DiMaggio, a friendship slowly developed.  As Dr. Positano would learn, DiMaggio moved carefully and deliberately.

Dinner with DiMaggio follows the story of their friendship from its starstruck beginning through its highs and lows over the next decade.  Forty years younger than DiMaggio, Dr. Positano became like a surrogate son.  Positano's accounts of their times together reveal DiMaggio's many rituals and quirks.  At the pinnacle of his fame, DiMaggio had learned to be guarded and carefully managed his image and private life.  As his trust in his young friend grew, DiMaggio opened up about Marilyn, but also about his first wife, Dorothy Arnold, the mother of his son.  The Yankee Clipper knew everyone, and Positano shares never-before-told stories of famous people DiMaggio admired and those he didn't.

The stories and experiences he shared with Rock Positano comprise an intimate portrait of one of the great stars of baseball and one of the icons of the twentieth century.

Dr. Rock Positano is the Founder and Director of the Non-Surgical Foot and Ankle Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, where he has been on staff since 1991.  He graduated from Yale School of Medicine.  Positano is a clinical assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College.  He is internationally known for his non-surgical approach for the treatment of foot disorders.

On a May evening, Dr. Rock Positano and John Positano led a compelling Clubhouse conversation.  Pull up a chair at your dinner table and listen in...