Reading Baseball

February is set aside to celebrate African American history and heritage.  Many say they hope each year's events prompt conversation and awareness.

In a special report for Black History Month, Reading Baseball's Pete Peterson says racism is something that is taught - and it's the responsibility of everyone to teach equality.

Richard "Pete" Peterson is a professor emeritus of English at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the author of Pops:The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up with Clemente.

The Christmas holiday season is a time to spend with family and friends, but it can also be a time to remember the special people in our lives who we've lost.

In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson remembers his friend and former colleague, the best-selling author, Kent Haruf.

 
Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

Pete Peterson's Reading Baseball essays usually focus on baseball.  But today the retired SIU English professor turns his attention to another one of his passions - running.

A newspaper columnist in New York recently wrote a piece claiming St. Louis Cardinals fans were the least deserving of a World Series championship.  In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson takes a look at how the rest of the country views Cardinal Nation as baseball's new evil empire and who he blames for this change in perception.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

When World War I broke out 100 years ago, there was another war of sorts going on within the United States.
In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us about an upstart professional league in 1914 that wanted to become part of Major League Baseball and how MLB adjusted to America's involvement in the "Great War."
 

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.

A former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs passed away recently without a lot of fanfare.
In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us how Jim Brosnan's contribution to the game was more in the form of his literary work, than in his achievements on the mound.
 

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

This week Pete Peterson celebrates the 200th edition of Reading Baseball.   The series of original sports essays and commentaries debuted on WSIU Radio in May 2004.

Now, Pete takes us back to the subject of that very first piece and explains how America's pastime lends itself to the kind of storytelling that has made Reading Baseball so successful over ten years.

Richard "Pete" Peterson is the editor of the St. Louis Baseball Reader and author of Pops: the Willie Stargell Story and Growing up with Clemente.

A Japanese pitcher generated a lot of buzz on the internet recently when he threw a slow, arcing pitch that caught the batter by surprise.  In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us about the history and name of this odd-looking pitch that dates back to the 1940's.
 
 

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

If you'd like your summer reading list to include books about baseball, you may be in luck.
In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us about one work in particular involving a longtime major leaguer who has an unusual connection to the SIU baseball Salukis.
 

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

Major League Baseball's expanded use of instant replay is receiving mixed reviews during the first few weeks of the regular season. In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson examines whether television replays actually diminish the game's unique appeal.
 

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.