Passed Ball Show

12-9-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opines about the Baseball Hall of Fame screwing over the late Dick Allen, adding him to the list of players the Hall has neglected. Dick Allen was one of the best right handed power hitters the game has ever seen and it is criminal the BBHOF did not elect him in while he was still alive. John then talks about load management in the National Basketball Association. Now is not the time to mandate players play when they are healthy. What is the sense when there are no fans in the stands? The fact this is brought up now makes it seem the NBA is prioritizing money over health and well being of its players. John then states that if it wasn’t for the Cowboys and the Eagles terrible seasons, neither the Giants nor Football Team would have won their games against winning teams this past week. John also talks about College Football teams saving face by having games cancelled against superior opponents. Florida State did it against Clemson and Michigan avoided an embarrassment against Ohio State. Should a team with seven or eight games played be permitted to play in the BCS playoff?

12-5-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by stating definitively that a signing of James McCann will be an overpay, a mistake, and a decision that will not lead to prominence for the New York Mets franchise. John then cites several other options the Mets could trade for if the price tag for JT Realmuto is too high. He then questions why we are talking about price tag when the Mets now have the richest owner in all of US professional sports? Being a Mets fan means you have learned to celebrate mediocrity. When the Mets celebrate the thirty-fifth year anniversary of their last World Series Championship, only eight teams would have waited longer to either celebrate another or their first. Are the Mets settling for the second best at each position and if so, what does that mean? John then gets into some discussion on the merits of Curly Lambeau as an all time NFL Head Coach. He ranks him in the top five and goes over the rest of his top ten. Then finishes off the program by naming the eight teammates to both run for over 1,000 yards in the same season and why we may never see that again.

12-3-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this version of the program by simplifying the difference between a good team and a bad team, a good coach and a bad coach, a great star player and a very good star player. It is whether their team wins or loses- whether their team scores in some cases one more run, one more point, or one more goal than their opponent. Seems cavalier to say that, maybe even patronizing, but we tend to judge coaches (managers) and star players by their ability to win. Most of the time, they have less to do with the winning or losing. John cited the careers of Andy Reid, Doug Pederson, Casey Stengel, Bruce Bochy, Joe Torre, Mike Brown, LeBron James, and others to prove that the best do not win all the time. But most importantly, John shows that the win or the loss is the determining factor for how good a team is, not how good the coach/ manager or star player is. John spends a little time talking about baseball and its non- tender deadline and why fans/ media need to just allow each MLB team to determine whether their players are warranted a contract for the next season. John compares the great careers of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle and declares Mickey would win in a poll because there are less people responding to the poll that saw Joe D play. John chooses Mickey, but by the slightest of margins and explains why. Finally, why is Drazen Petrovic in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and not Reggie Lewis?

11-28-2020 Passed Ball Show. John spends this show talking about how there is a misconception that those that are testing positive for the coronavirus because they are negligent. This sentiment is more popular as it applies to athletes and professional sports. The Baltimore Ravens are the latest pro-sports team to have an outbreak among its players and staff. This is resulting to those in the general public (and media) to assume this is their own fault. The only fault that exists here is the assumption that anybody that gets this virus is the one to blame. It is as if they are either choosing to get the virus or are blatantly disregarding the guidelines of the CDC. Members of the media in Pittsburgh are calling for the Ravens to forfeit their game to the Steelers because of this. Has their view changed since at least two (maybe three) members of the Pittsburgh Steelers tested positive? John then talks about the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in professional sports. When a player fails a drug test, it is assumed they failed because they were the only one taking a banned substance and it is an isolated incident. John contends that way more players on all sports are using variations of PED’s and are getting away with it. He talks about the advantage the pharmacists, chemists, lab technicians, and even trainers have in their quest to develop a substance that does not come up under a standard test. There is also a movement to develop PED’s (some are already being used) that enhance performance without naturally increasing an individual(s)’ body mass. John then talks about a bizarre story about a 1918 professional hockey arena bring down and a team suspending operations. Finally a Mount Rushmore of pro sports head coaches/ managers who have won the most championships in their respective sports.

11-26-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by wishing everybody a Happy Thanksgiving and hoping all get to enjoy the day with their family. Thanksgiving is synonymous with family, of course, but there other specifics. Turkey, Pumpkin Pie, and Football. The history of football on Thanksgiving dates all the way back to 1920, the inception of the National Football League. John talks about some of the best games and accomplishments in the history of Thanksgiving, both on the pro and college football level. John then talks about one of the best offensive position players to ever play professional baseball, Turkey Stearnes. Stearnes accomplishments during his Negro League career speak for themself, as he is the unofficial all time Negro Leagues home run champion, led the league in HR seven times, hit .344 for his career, and hit over .400 three times. John mentions the five Negro Leagues players featured in his Top 100 Offensive Position Players All Time book. He concludes this program by giving his top ten when it comes to the best Pro Football Head Coaches of All Time. It is as follows-

1. Bill Bellichick

2. Vince Lombardi

3. Paul Brown

4. George Halas

5. Don Shula

6. Chuck Noll

7. Bill Walsh

8. Hank Stram

9. Tom Landry

10. Bill Parcells

Who did he miss? What is yours?

11-23-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by talking about what it is like to be a sports fan. It is okay to be critical, it is okay to want to see change- especially in situations when a fan(s)’ favorite team is losing often or if the particular season seems to be a losing one. A fan can want to see a new coach/ GM, and can even call for the star players to be traded, released, but never, EVER, should a fan be allowed to root for their favorite team to lose. When a fan does that, it should be an insult to all the die hard fans of the given team. That fan should lose their ‘card.’ They should automatically be demoted to a lesser level fan. The other fans should not welcome these fans in their celebration in the event the team eventually turns things around. John then talks about the awful play in the closing minutes of the Colts/ Packers game on Sunday. For two teams that are 7-3, it looked as if both teams were trying to lose. John explains. John then talks about a missed opportunity at the end of the Ohio State/ Indiana game and why he was disappointed in Indiana’s last drive in its attempt to tie the game. John finishes by talking a little bit about the NBA free agency before picking the best fit for a New York Yankees catcher for 2021 and explaining what should be done with Gary Sanchez. All the while waiting for the rapture... call it when you see it.

11-19-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens this show by questioning those who use this time of year to make cases for marginal MLB players to get into Cooperstown. Comparing the players to others who barely made it is counterproductive when some of the game’s all time greats remain on the outside looking in. What other sport has the equivalent to its all time hits leader, all time home run leader, the players with the third and forth highest batting average in the history of the sport, the player with the most Cy Young Awards, the player with the most MVP’s, two of the only six players to ever have both 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, and the four players with the highest single season home run totals NOT in its respective Hall of Fame? But let’s forget about that when we try to use stats to get a marginal player into the Hall through the back door. John talks about the impact of failing a PED test now as opposed to years ago and why Robinson Cano may be considered by the Veterans Committee for the Baseball Hall of Fame thirty to fifty years from now. John then talks about the NBA draft and how it was expected to be disappointing (it did not disappoint to be disappointing). Would LaMelo Ball have been the number one overall pick if it wasn’t for his dad? Has Gary Sheffield Jr. overtaken LaVar Ball for trying to gain fame just because who his father is? Finally, John puts together a list of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League right now.

11-14-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens up the program talking about why it has been difficult to be a New York Mets fan. He relates it to what is probably like to be a fan of most other baseball teams. Those teams’ fans know what it is like to win. Only eight MLB teams can go back further than 1986 since their last World Series Championship. Mets fans still celebrate that team like it won last year. It is fair to ask fans of other teams to be happy for Mets fans since they seemed to not have deserved good things for a long time. Sports teams should not be run like a business, as new Mets owner a Steve Cohen said. The next year or so should be rough for a lot of sports fans as it has become evident that the mentality of most owners is to operate their team this way. John is on the Tony LaRussa bandwagon. He has a message for cancel culture and most of the hypocrites that believe in it. He also gives another reason he likes the fit. Finally, John gives a little bit of respect for a NFL quarterback that doesn’t seem to have gotten enough of it, Phillip Rivers. Enjoy.

11-9-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by talking about the huge drop off when it comes to quarterback play in the National Football League. John is wondering when the next backup or third string QB will prove they belong in this league. As it does not look good, he suggests a team giving Collin Kaepernick a workout. If that ship has sailed because of Kaepernick’s interest, or he is simply not in the appropriate shape to play, John understands. But there is no reason these players deserve a chance over him assuming he wants to play, he is in shape to play, and he is healthy. Nick Falk, Duck Hodges, Ben DiNicci, and how many other quarterbacks have proven they cannot play in this league? It is an embarrassment Kaepernick has no gotten at least a workout for a NFL team. John then talks about some of the positives of the NFC East division. If Dak Prescott were healthy and playing, the Cowboys would have beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers and would likely be running away with the division. The Football Team have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL and the Giants have a solid and deep offensive line. If all the best features of the four teams in the division were combined, they would make a solid playoff football squad. John mentions the fact that Cowboys QB Garrett Gilbert’s father Gale was part of five straight teams that made it to the Super Bowl and the fact that Kyle Allen broke his ankle in nearly the same spot as Alex Smith and Joe Theismann. Finally, John talks about the embarrassment former Astros General Manager Jeff Luthnow is for attempting to sure the Houston franchise and why he deserved to lose his job.

11-9-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by talking about the huge drop off when it comes to quarterback play in the National Football League. John is wondering when the next backup or third string QB will prove they belong in this league. As it does not look good, he suggests a team giving Collin Kaepernick a workout. If that ship has sailed because of Kaepernick’s interest, or he is simply not in the appropriate shape to play, John understands. But there is no reason these players deserve a chance over him assuming he wants to play, he is in shape to play, and he is healthy. Nick Falk, Duck Hodges, Ben DiNicci, and how many other quarterbacks have proven they cannot play in this league? It is an embarrassment Kaepernick has no gotten at least a workout for a NFL team. John then talks about some of the positives of the NFC East division. If Dak Prescott were healthy and playing, the Cowboys would have beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers and would likely be running away with the division. The Football Team have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL and the Giants have a solid and deep offensive line. If all the best features of the four teams in the division were combined, they would make a solid playoff football squad. John mentions the fact that Cowboys QB Garrett Gilbert’s father Gale was part of five straight teams that made it to the Super Bowl and the fact that Kyle Allen broke his ankle in nearly the same spot as Alex Smith and Joe Theismann. Finally, John talks about the embarrassment former Astros General Manager Jeff Luthnow is for attempting to sure the Houston franchise and why he deserved to lose his job.