Author, Rick Vaughn, "100 years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront. How the Game Helped Shape a City" discusses Al Lang & the evolution of MLB Spring Training in St. Pete. Rick’s front office career spans the Orioles, Redskins & Vice President of Communications with the Tampa Bay Rays. #RaysUp

• Baltimore, rolling out Camden Yards
•  Rick's book of baseball stories  -  "100 years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront. How the Game Helped Shape a City"
• Al moved to St. Petersburg for his health & fell in love with the community
• Brought the best teams to St Petersburg - Boston Braves, New York Yankees, St Louis Cardinals & . . . 
• Keeping it fresh - Boston Braves depart St Pete on Tuesday & Al has a new team, the St. Cardinals in place by Saturday
• Babe Ruth's Train
• Tampa paid Cubs to bring their spring training to the city 
• Al Lang, philanthropy
• The Depression, Spring Training & the impact on St. Pete
• Babe Ruth & St. Pete, a love affair
• Yankees moved team from New Orleans to turn down the Babe’s night life
• All Children’s hospital recipient of Ruth’s generosity
• Minor League Map of Florida - watching up & coming players 
• 1968 - 29 future Hall of Famers in Al Lang Field 
• 90 Tampa natives that have played Major League Baseball
• Seaver & Gooden both playing in Tampa high schools simultaneously
•  minor league players in Tampa - Justin Crawford with the Threshers
• 1960 the death of Al Lang
• Fighting Segregation in Tampa Bay Baseball - Bill White & Dr. Ralph Wimbish, 
• Cardinals brought all players, managers & families under one roof in St. Pete 
• Did Florida lose spring training teams to Arizona due to segregation?
• Al Lang & Rick Vaughn strong champions of the game
• prepping for the launch of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
• Buck Showalter or Socha could have possibly been the first Rays GM
• Rays original Owner & GM had not worked in baseball
• What makes a great ballpark experience in an outdoor open ballpark
• Rays future stadium should honor the past & deliver a park with modern day amenities
• Build a Rays stadium in Ybor reflecting the history of Ybor & the cigar factories
• Tampa Bay needs a champion for baseball and the Tampa Bay Rays
• Wade Boggs stories at Al Lopez field & Tino Martinez working in cigar factory
• Tampa baseball with the Cubs & Red Sox
• Augustus Busch Jr, owner of St. Louis Cardinals brought Busch Gardens to Tampa

Rick's book on Amazon @
"100 years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront. How the Game Helped Shape a City"
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Special Thanks to  William Ross Chernoff's Nomads for Makie Elkino
Originally broadcast on July 28, 2023 on BaseballBiz On Deck

Josh Weaver, Managing Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Museum & Fan Host with the Tampa Bay Rays shares his Opening Day at the Trop and a visit to the Tampa Baseball Museum

• Opening Day with the Tampa Bay Rays
•  Start with dropping the banner for the 2022 AL Wild Card
•  “Big Game” James Shields – throwing out the opening pitch
•  Shields, Carl Crawford & Joe Maddon were pivotal to the franchise turnaround
•  Opening Day talent brought the excitement - Wander Franco, Jose Siri, Manuel Margot & World Baseball Classic star, Randy Arozarena
•  Rays Talent continues & Kevin Cash keeps the engine running
•  Cash visited Siri at home during off-season
•  Owner, Stu Sternberg visited with the Fan Host pre-game to share his appreciation
•  "Baseball is Back" All smiles on Opening Day - Detroit & Rays Fans enjoying the game
•  Young fan shares an Opening Day ball from a Detroit Tiger player on the field
•  Baseball bridges all languages with fans
•  Creating a safe and memorable experience for a first time visit to a ball field
•  Former Tampa Bay Ray, Austin Meadows – a fan favorite who has become an advocate for mental health
• Former Ray, Ben Zobrist, might work on a project for young athletes and mental health
• Don (ZimBear) Zimmer will be inducted into the Ray's Hall of Fame
• Carl “The Catch” Crawford’s speed can be seen in Wander Franco & Siri
  
  
• Tampa Baseball Museum (TBM) teams up with East Bay Youth Athletics Little League & Malcolm Sweat 
• Florida Sports Hall of Fame & TBM threw a special event  
• Baseball, Bourbon & Cigars - Fans had 1 on 1 experiences with sports legends,  Johnny Damon, Mike Heath, Buc’s Super Bowl champions & NHL Hockey legend – Phil Esposito
• A walk through the Tampa Baseball Museum and the home of Al Lopez
• Tampa is full of World Series champions and great players like Gary Sheffield, Tino Martinez, Pete Alonso, Doc Gooden, Lance McCullers Jr. to name a few.
• Great and unexpected guests that visit the museum and share their stories
• 2 Tampa Bay area players, Lance McCullers & Kyle Tucker from 2022 Astros World Series champions 
• 25 Yeas Ago – Tampa natives, Luis Gonzales & Wade Boggs broke in the first Tampa Bay Rays games
• Josh invites everyone to visit the Tampa Baseball Museum  to play Trivia games and see “Pete’s Cleats” plus the Wall of Legendary autographed balls  

Tampa Baseball Museum is open Thursday, Friday & Saturdays from 10 AM to 4 PM  https://www.tampabaseballmuseum.org/
For more information on Mental Health  reach out to the National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMI)
Thanks to Malcolm Sweat for all that he and his team does for baseball youth at East Bay Youth Athletics Little League

Mark can be found on Twitter @TheBaseballBiz & at
Special Thank you to
William Ross Chernoff's Nomads for the Music
Makie Elkino