Episode 112 – Jack Coombs and Ed Walsh, special guest Jason Novak and Pete Rose Hall of Fame debate

Episode 112 – Jack Coombs and Ed Walsh, special guest Jason Novak and Pete Rose Hall of Fame debate

Episode 112 – This Week in Baseball Two of the best pitchers of the Dead Ball Era faced off 109 years ago this week, Jack Coombs and Ed Walsh put up matching goose eggs for 16 innings before the game between the Athletics and White Sox was called on a account of darkness. It serves…

Episode 109 – Remembering Jim Bouton (with special guest Craig Calcaterra)

Episode 109 – Remembering Jim Bouton (with special guest Craig Calcaterra)

Very few players in the 20th century transformed the way baseball was perceived as much as Jim Bouton, the hotshot Yankees starter who, after arm injuries and a trade to the Seattle Pilots, wrote perhaps the greatest baseball book of all time. Bouton passed away last week, so Mike and Bill talk about his life,…

The “Duke of Flatbush”, Hall of Famer Duke Snider dies in Escondido, CA 
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The “Duke of Flatbush”, Hall of Famer Duke Snider dies in Escondido, CA 

The “Duke of Flatbush”, Hall of Famer Duke Snider dies in Escondido, CA at age 84. Snider was a power-hitting centerfielder for the great Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the 1950s and is immortalized in Terry Cashman’s song “Willie, Mickey and the Duke”.

Jerry Reinsdorf, and its most controversial player, Albert Belle, join forces when Belle signs with Chicago White Sox
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Jerry Reinsdorf, and its most controversial player, Albert Belle, join forces when Belle signs with Chicago White Sox

1996 – One of Major League Baseball’s most controversial owners, Jerry Reinsdorf, and its most controversial player, Albert Belle, join forces with the Chicago White Sox. Belle signs a record five-year, $55 million deal that makes him the first player to surpass the $10 million per year mark. Reinsdorf, seen as the instigator in the owners’ vote against the collective bargaining agreement, draws the ire of owners in both leagues who feel he sold them out.

Cleveland Indians inaugurate Jacobs Field with a 4-3 victory
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Cleveland Indians inaugurate Jacobs Field with a 4-3 victory

  On April 4, 1994, The Cleveland Indians inaugurate Jacobs Field with a 4 – 3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Eddie Murray hits a home run for the Indians, who played their last game at Cleveland Stadium in 1993. Murray becomes baseball’s all-time leader in games played at first base, manning the position in 2,369…

Tigers release Ernie Harwell after 32 years
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Tigers release Ernie Harwell after 32 years

At a press conference, Tiger management and WJR announce 1991 will be Ernie Harwell’s 32nd and final season in the broadcast booth. The dismissal of the Motor City’s popular play-by-play announcer starts a furor among fans, which includes a threatened boycott of Domino’s Pizza, a business of club owner Tom Monaghan, and the rise of the slogan, “Say It Ain’t So, Bo”, which appears on bumper stickers and T-shirts all over Detroit, referring to Bo Schembechler, the team president and former University of Michigan football coach.

Chicago Cubs trade seemingly over-the-hill pitcher Dennis Eckersley to the Oakland A’s
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Chicago Cubs trade seemingly over-the-hill pitcher Dennis Eckersley to the Oakland A’s

On April 3, 1987, the Chicago Cubs trade seemingly over-the-hill pitcher Dennis Eckersley to the Oakland A’s for three minor leaguers. Eckersley will emerge as the game’s dominant closer, saving 291 games over the next eight seasons, and earning election to the Hall of Fame in 2004.