Life Around The Seams

Steve Physioc recently announced his retirement after a superlative 47-year career of broadcasting Major League Baseball, college football and basketball, local TV sports and many more unique assignments.

Episode 54 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast might sound a little like an "exit interview" as we follow Physioc's career. It wasn't always smooth. He famously bet on himself at a critical stage in his life, leaving a six-figure job in Cincinnati to move to San Francisco with no guaranteed job. 

Physioc tells an adorable story of how the guy he replaced in Cincinnati introduced him to his future wife; provides lessons to young broadcasters; advice for Jake Eisenberg, who is taking his place with the Royals; working with longtime analyst Rex Hudler for two teams; what he'll miss about working in baseball; and the inspiration for the historical fiction novels he's written. 

Jim Rushford is one of the most improbable players to ever reach the major leagues. Undrafted out of college, he played for two independent league teams, took a year off, then played two more years of independent baseball before even reaching affiliated minor league ball.

Along the way, Rushford worked numerous odd jobs, including pizza delivery guy, which is the inspiration for the title of his new book, "The Pizza Guy Delivers."

In Episode 53, Rushford reveals his remarkable journey to the majors, making his MLB debut at Wrigley Field, his first (and only) home run, playing another eight years, and the hilarious story of how met his wife in the dorms at San Diego State University. 

Wynton Bernard is the feel-good story right now in baseball, a guy who spent the last 11 years playing minor league baseball, including two years of independent ball, who made his Major League Debut at age 31 on Friday, August 12, 2022 for the Colorado Rockies. The video of Bernard telling his mother Janet, via FaceTime, that he was going to the major leagues went viral with millions of views in just a few days.

Over the last 16 months, I've been able to watch and describe Bernard play for the Albuquerque Isotopes, get to know him as a person, and we've had a lot of interviews for the pregame show.

For this special episode of the Life Around the Seams podcast, we've compiled those interviews together, along with some highlights from games, and soundbytes from teammates Brandon Gold and Logan Cozart, Isotopes manager Warren Schaeffer, and Rockies front office executives Clint Hurdle and Chris Forbes. 

Longtime baseball reporter Jeff Fletcher enjoyed an up-close view of Shohei Ohtani's magical 2021 season, and also the two previous disappointing seasons, that made it all the more remarkable to watch this two-way player perform in ways we've never seen before.

Fletcher just published a new book that details the entire life story of Ohtani, from Japan, to the decision of which team to join in the United States, why comparison to Babe Ruth really aren't very accurate, and how once the well-meaning restrictions were taken off Ohtani, it allowed him to flourish as a hitter and pitcher.

Since we both used to cover baseball in the Bay Area, we also have some fun imagining how long the A's competitive advantage would have lasted if Michael Lewis never wrote "Moneyball" and how the baseball world would be different if Billy Beane took the Red Sox job.

Ken Levine and I worked together for three years on Post Game Dodger Talk, where Vin Scully introduced our show. When I heard that Vin Scully died, I immediately wanted to talk with Ken about his life. Then I realized we should record a podcast so that others can hear our stories and memories.

This is a special episode. No fancy intros. Just straight to the point. Ken and I swapping stories about Scully, the greatest baseball play-by-play announcer of all time. 

Tom Drees pitched three no-hitters in 1989 for Triple-A Vancouver, including back-to-back starts. He pitched three no-hit innings in the Triple-A All-Star Game. He was an integral part of the team that won the Pacific Coast League title. But the Chicago White Sox never called him up to the majors and many believe there was an ulterior motive.

On July 6 of that year, when their paychecks had not arrived, the Vancouver Canadians players staged a walkout and refused to play a game, citing it wasn't the first time checks were late. The story became national news, the White Sox were livid, and the organization took it out on the players the rest of the season.

We reflect on Drees' no-hitters, waiting two more years to finally get called up to the major leagues, and how his teammates set the stage three decades ago for publicizing the inequities for minor league baseball players that exists to this day.

Dave Stewart never won a Cy Young award, but between 1987-1990, he was the best pitcher in baseball: four straight 20-plus win seasons; the ace of his hometown Oakland A's team that went to three straight World Series (and who started Game 1 of every series); the starter of the 1989 All-Star Game; a no-hitter in 1990; and the guy who always beat Roger Clemens.

Stewart's rise to the top didn't come easy. We discussed how close he was to leaving baseball after the Phillies released him in 1986. "Smoke" shared why he pulled his cap so low when pitching, which teams didn't want him to throw the forkball that made him a star, what compelled him to visit the hardest hit areas of his hometown during the 1989 earthquake, and yes, the 9-0 record in nine starts vs Clemens.

On the weekend Stewart was inducted into the Albuquerque Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, we reflected on his two years with the Albuquerque Dukes, how pitching in extreme altitude toughed him, how the PCL playoffs prepared him for the MLB playoffs, and what the Hall of Fame honor means to him.

Rickey Henderson is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, unquestionably the greatest leadoff hitter ever, yet the Hall of Fame outfielder is known just as much for Rickey Stories (both fact and fiction) as he is for his on-field dominance.

Author Howard Bryant spent five years exploring this complex individual in his 10th book: "Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original."

We detail the career arc of how the city of Oakland influenced Henderson's early life, how he transformed from a reputation of a selfish star in New York to the most dominant player in baseball in his second stint with the hometown A's, and how he's morphed into a beloved character where the stories are now a charming part of his legacy.

Minor league baseball is filled with new experimental rules: the strict enforcement of a Pitch Clock, a minimum of two pickoff attempts per at-bat, the Automated Ball Strike (ABS) in the Pacific Coast League, a challenge system of the ABS in the Florida State League, bigger bases, and a ban of the shift (in Low-A, High-A and Double-A).

To understand why these rules are being studied, we interviewed former Major League pitcher Joe Martinez, who is now a Senior Director of On-Field Operations for MLB, focusing on experimental rules and equipment changes.

We discussed the purpose of the new rules, what the data is showing on the effectiveness (or unintended consequences), what defines a successful new rule, and which rules are most likely to be used in the Major Leagues in the future.

Suzie Hunter did what a lot of baseball fans dream of doing. She quit her job, and visited every ballpark in Major League Baseball in 2021, despite no guarantee of a job when the ultimate roadtrip ended.

On episode 45 of the Life Around the Seams podcast, we ask Hunter why she did it, if she regrets the decision, the challenge of traveling the country during a pandemic, the necessary precautions to keep herself safe when she was usually alone, her favorite ballparks, souvenirs from each city, plus lessons learned about life and America's Pastime.

This podcast was basically on hiatus in 2021. But it’s a new year, and we re-start the podcast as Suzie Hunter tells us about re-starting her life while driving around the country.