Diamond Conversations

Today's Diamond Conversations welcomes former Major League Pitcher, Clayton Richard. Clayton pitched for the White Sox, Cubs, Padres and Blue Jays. In today's interview we discuss his new gig as Head Baseball Coach for Lafayette Jefferson High School and his expectations for the program he is taking over this season. We also discuss his playing days, being drafted by The White Sox in 2005, his memories of travelling in the minor leagues and his "hidden" power at the plate to include his 3 career home runs.

With an absolute flair for the dramatics and some of the most clutch home runs in the history of baseball, today's guest 1996 World Series hero, Jim Leyritz is the latest guest on Diamond Conversations. Giving us a deep dive into the biggest home runs of his career, Leyritz shares who gave him the mindset to be prepared in the tight spots of a game and how you get yourself ready to play hard, especially in October.

Today's Diamond Conversations welcomes former Major League pitcher, Bob Tewksbury. Tewksbury, a 1992 NL All Star has made quite the imprint on baseball following his playing career. He has worked as a mental skills coach for three of MLB’s storied franchises and some of the game's best players including; Jon Lester, Rich Hill, Andrew Miller and Anthony Rizzo. In this interview we get a look at the success the coaching world has brought Tewks as well as hear stories from his days playing for the Yankees and Cardinals.


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This week's Diamond Conversations welcomes "The Original Unit", former MLB infielder, Randy Johnson. Randy's 40+ year career in pro baseball started with being drafted by the New York Mets in 1978 and took him on a wild ride through the minor leagues ultimately landing him in the place he would get his big break, in Atlanta with the Braves in 1982. But that is not the end of the story, "Rags" as he is known would play ball in Atlanta as well as try his hand at playing in Japan for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp where he would have one of his best seasons ever playing baseball. Johnson also worked as a scout for the Rockies, A's and Tigers and he shares his insight on the changes made in baseball over the last ten years and if he likes the evolution of the game.

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This week's Diamond Conversations welcomes 2004 and 2007 World Series Champion, Doug Mirabelli. During the Red Sox remarkable "Reverse the Curse" era of the mid 2000s, Doug Mirabelli became a vital part of the Boston team by taking on the task of catching knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield. It was there that we would see how important Doug's skills would become to the Red Sox infrastructure. We also get to hear in this interview exactly what Doug felt when he was taken out of the comfort of being a Red Sox player and his triumphant journey back and remarkable return to beantown.

This week's Diamond Conversations welcomes 2x World Series Champion, 2x All-Star and 2x Silver Slugger, "HoJo" Howard Johnson. HoJo will be taking part in a virtual autograph signing presented by IB Exclusives and Music City Toys & Collectibles on August 21, 2021 at the BRAND NEW Music City Toys & Collectibles shop in Watertown, TN. In today's interview, "HoJo" discusses the recent "sticky" strip searches taking place as pitchers exit the ballgame, whether or not the pitchers have had this coming and how he would fare against the current crop of Major League arms. He also discusses the 1985 and 1987 New York Mets and which one of those teams could have gone all the way with expanded playoffs in the 1980s.

Visit ibexclusives.com for more on this event and how to submit items to be signed or to get ready for the big night visit https://www.facebook.com/MusicCityToys to make your plans.

This week's Diamond Conversations picks up the chat where we left off with former NFL and MLB dual sport athlete, D.J. Dozier. D.J. finishes our discussion exploring the final stages of the minor leagues and getting ready for the elusive call up to the New York Mets roster in 1992 and the pressures that went with finally cracking the big league squad.


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This week's guest was a dual sport superstar and one of only seven professional athletes to play in both the NFL and MLB. In football, he was a 1986 Heisman Trophy finalist while at Penn State University and in baseball a former New York Mets prospect, D.J. Dozier.

When D.J. decided to switch career paths from football to baseball it was a surprise to some but for D.J. it was merely following his heart. His story, broken up into a two part series, starts with the transition from the gridiron to the baseball diamond and the shell-shock that came with it.

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IB-Exclusives
P.O. Box 816
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www.ibexclusives.com

This week's Diamond Conversations welcomes former Major League Baseball superstar pitcher, Bret Saberhagen. A dominant pitcher throughout his career, Bret solidified his position as an Ace during the 1980s and 1990s with durability and pure dominance.Now, Bret and his wife Kandace are taking on a new challenge and lifting those in need with SabesWings. Kandace is a three time breast cancer survivor. SabesWings was developed to help those who are experiencing firsthand, the costs of caner treatments and the lack of opportunities presented to patients. From the SabesWings website: "The spirit of love, the gesture of kindness, the support of our wings lifting those in need when presented with fear. SabesWings was established to assist those suffering from financial medical toxicity because no patient should choose between treatment and everyday expenses." Learn more about SabesWings by visiting their website (https://www.sabeswings.com/). You can also find all of the information for their upcoming events this September that include a dinner, live auction, golf tournament and cooking with Celebrity Chef, Roshni Gurnani.

The latest Diamond Conversations welcomes former big league catcher, Danny Sheaffer. Playing in Boston, Colorado and St. Louis throughout his playing career, Sheaffer became a large presence behind the plate. Now he has the Firm Foundation catching program that helps young catchers learn the game through drills and exclusive instruction. As a manager in the minor leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals, Sheaffer managed future Hall of Famer, Yadier Molina who has given the Firm Foundation his stamp approval. Sheaffer also shares insight into catching a young Roger Clemens, playing under Joe Torre and Tony La Russa as well as being part of the inaugural Colorado Rockies team in 1993.