Midnight Library of Baseball

I’ve written about both The Natural and Field of Dreams, so I thought it would be fun to compare the two films, based on a number of different criteria, to see, in the end, which film came out ahead.

In this episode, I talk with Jason Turbow, author of “The Baseball Codes, the Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime,” about his updated views on the code since writing the book and viewing the changes in baseball. 

People think they know what they saw in 1993 between Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura, just like they think they know what they saw in the 1996 collision between Albert Belle and Fernando Vina. But they don’t, because behind the scenes, the code was dictating the behaviors and actions of players. In this episode, I break down some of the most important and interesting elements of the code, elements that the baseball world works hard to keep secret.

Before Roy Hobbs of “The Natural,” there was Eddie Waitkus, a star of the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, whose forgotten true story was more fascinating than the fiction that came after.

In this episode, I dive into the life and career of Rick Ankiel, whose unbelievable twists and turns are only surpassed by the amazing relationship he developed with a baseball team and baseball town. 

In this episode, Jeffrey Lambert, host of the podcast, Rounders, stops by to chat with me about what makes baseball so different from other sports, and why we love it so much. We also discuss cultural shifts that have affected the game, as well as some of our favorite all-time baseball books. 

People who remember relief pitcher Donnie Moore often connect Moore’s role in what Al Michaels called “the most dramatic hour of sports I’ve ever seen," to Donnie Moore, three years later, shooting his wife and himself. In this episode, I explore the deeper story that sheds light on what happened on July 18, 1989. 

In part 1 of a three-part series, I trace the echoed story of Bill Buckner and his infamous error back to the source, and back even before that, to get a full picture of what happened before, during, and after the game, so that we can understand what we lose when we begin to see the echo as the story. 

In this episode, I'll explore the true story of Doc Moonlight Graham from Field of Dreams, and other men who could have been known for a major league baseball career, but ended up being known for something else entirely. 

In this episode, I’ll explore the reasons why there has not been a female at the highest level of baseball, and the factors involved in a female making it to the big leagues. And by the end of the episode, I will be asking a completely different question.