Back When There Was Baseball: Leron Lee
Back When There Was Baseball
Leron Lee joins us this week as we take a look Back When There Was Baseball. Leron played in the Majors from 1969-1976 with the Cardinals, Padres, Indians and Dodgers. He then travelled to Japan and had a stellar career from 1977-1987. Leron was the leading hitter in Japanese history until it was broken in early 2018 (he held that record for 31 years with a .320 batting average). His best year in the Majors was in 1972 when he hit .300 with the San Diego Padres (a team that lost 95 games). Leron takes us Back When There Was Baseball and talks about...
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Back When There Was Baseball: Bill Haller
Back When There Was Baseball
American League Umpire, Bill Haller, passed away on August 20, 2022. We are re-airing this podcast conducted in 2020 as a tribute to Bill. Bill umpired in the American League for 21 years (1961, 1963-1982) and is considered one of the best umpires in MLB history. You can still see the iconic Earl Weaver "incident" on YouTube where Bill was mic'd for an upcoming documentary. We were very blessed to share an interview with Bill as he discussed the game of baseball as it was when he umpired, compared to the game today. He shared many stories during his career that are priceless....
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Back When There Was Baseball: Al Woods
Back When There Was Baseball
Al Woods joins us on the podcast this week. Al played in the Major/Minor leagues from 1973-1986 with the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. He debuted with the Blue Jays in 1977 as an outfielder. Al was a solid hitter and had several good years in MLB with 1980 being his best. We take the time machine back to the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, Back When There Was Baseball, with our guest Al Woods.
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Back When There Was Baseball: Pat Zachry
Back When There Was Baseball
Pat Zachry passed away on April 4, 2024 at the age of 71. We re-air this podcast to honor him. Our guest this week is one of the winners of the 1976 National League Rookie of the Year award. That is correct, there were two that year and Pat Zachry was one of them. Pat pitched for the Cincinnati Reds when they won the 1976 World Series. He pitched in the Majors for 10 years, with a long stint in the New York Mets organization and ended his career with the L.A. Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Pat also pitched in the Senior League (Florida) and threw a game or two with a broken...
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Back When There Was Baseball: Darrel Chaney
Back When There Was Baseball
We travel back to the 1970s with our guest this week. Darrel Chaney played in the Majors from 1969-1979. He started out his athletic career as a Parade All American quarterback in 1965. Darrel turned down scholarship offers to Notre Dame and Michigan State to pursue his baseball career. He made his name as a utility-infielder, but as all utility players will tell you, they intended to be starters and Darrel was no exception. But when you look at the Cincinnati Reds lineup during the years he was with the club (1969-1975), you had to have been an outstanding...
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Back When There Was Baseball: Don Cooper
Back When There Was Baseball
We merge modern day baseball with baseball played 40+ years ago when we go Back When There Was Baseball. Don Cooper joins us this week. Don played in the Minor/Major Leagues from 1978-1987 with stints in the Majors with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. His experience as a pitcher helped him immensely as he became a pitching coach and had a long stint with the Chicago White Sox from 2002-2020. What is amazing about this long stint is that he worked for 4 different managers: Jerry Manuel, Ozzie Guillen, Robin Ventura and Rick Renteria. He was part of the...
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Back When There Was Baseball: John Doherty
Back When There Was Baseball
We take the time machine back to the early 1970s with our guest John Doherty. John was drafted in the 1st round of the 1970 MLB January Draft - Secondary Phase by the California Angels. He played in the Major/Minor Leagues from 1970-1978. John suffered an arm injury early in his career which relegated him to 1st Base. He broke into the Majors in 1974 with the Angels and had a decent season. He also played in the Majors in 1975 which was the last time he played in the Major Leagues. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest John Doherty.
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Back When There Was Baseball: Curt Kaufman
Back When There Was Baseball
Curt Kaufman joins us this week. Curt received a scholarship out of high school to play baseball at Iowa State University. After that he was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the New York Yankees on July 10, 1979. He worked his way through the minor leagues rather quickly and was named the International League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 1983 with 25 saves while playing for Columbus. Curt first appeared in the Majors with the Yankees in 1982 and was up for a short stint in 1983. He was traded to the California Angels in December of 1983 in exchange for Tim Foli. He played the 1984...
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Back When There Was Baseball: Doug Rau
Back When There Was Baseball
Doug Rau joins us this week. Doug had a good collegiate career at Texas A&M which earned him a #1 draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the secondary phase of the June 1970 draft. He had an 81-60 record with a career ERA of 3.35 from 1972-1981. However, Doug may be best known for his infamous mound visit during Game 4 of the 1977 World Series as manager Tommy Lasorda was mic'd. He was a very effective pitcher until arm problems curtailed his career. Doug was part of 3 World Series teams, however the Dodgers lost all 3 (1974 to the Oakland A's and 1977-1978 to the New York Yankees). Join...
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Back When There Was Baseball: Rudy Meoli
Back When There Was Baseball
Rudy Meoli joins us this week. Rudy played in the Major and Minor Leagues from 1969-1979 for several teams (California Angels, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies). He got up to the Majors in 1971 for a short stint, but 1973 was the season that he established himself. Rudy started at 2B for the Phillies during that infamous 23-22 game with the Cubs on May 17, 1979, which ended up being his last year in the Major Leagues. Join us as we take a trip Back When There Was Baseball to the 1970s with our guest Rudy Meoli.
info_outlineWe travel back to the 1970s with our guest this week. Darrel Chaney played in the Majors from 1969-1979. He started out his athletic career as a Parade All American quarterback in 1965. Darrel turned down scholarship offers to Notre Dame and Michigan State to pursue his baseball career. He made his name as a utility-infielder, but as all utility players will tell you, they intended to be starters and Darrel was no exception. But when you look at the Cincinnati Reds lineup during the years he was with the club (1969-1975), you had to have been an outstanding player to even make the team. Darrel was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 1976 where he finally got his chance to start and had the best season of his career. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Darrel Chaney.