x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

This Week In Baseball History

Mike Bates and Bill Parker

This Week In Baseball History is a weekly podcast devoted to the history of baseball, hosted by Mike Bates and Bill Parker, the co-founders of The Platoon Advantage and writers on many fine websites.

history

All Episodes

01:02:20

Episode 199 (Rerun) - Fleet Week

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/05/03

While his name is familiar to baseball history fans, the life of Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first acknowledged African-American man to play Major League Baseball, is not. On the 137th anniversary of his debut, Mike and Bill look back on that life, at the efforts of Cap Anson and other bigots to stop his career and ban other black players from the pro ranks, and the effect that treatment had on Fleet in his later years. Plus, happy birthday to Granny Hamner and Russ Ford!

en

01:03:19

Episode 331 - Two Titans Fall

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/04/27

Last week, we learned of the deaths of Whitey Herzog and Carl Erskine, both icons within the game of baseball and beyond, but for vastly different reasons. This week, Mike and Bill look back at their incredible lives and the impact those lives had on the sport and the world at large.

en

01:18:42

Episode 330 - The Rangers' Big Inning

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/04/19

How many rakes do you have to step on before the spectacle of it goes from funny to unfunny to hilarious again? Unfortunately for Baltimore fans, the Orioles put this to the test 28 years ago this week when the allowed 16 runs in the 8th inning to the Texas Rangers. As they sometimes do, Mike and Bill dig into this extraordinary inning on a granular level, talking about the players and events that made it so bonkers. Plus, happy birthday to Jim Lonborg and Dan Cotter!

en

01:18:08

Episode 329 - Fox On The Sox

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/04/12

Was Nellie Fox overrated by old school types who voted him into the Hall of Fame? Or is he undervalued by today's modern metrics that rank him as one off the weakest members of that exclusive club of players? The answer, most likely, is yes to both questions. But he was never more valuable than he was 65 years ago this week, when he collected five hits, including an uncharacteristic homer on Opening Day, kicking off the White Sox drive for the AL pennant in style. Mike and Bill look back at one of

en

01:22:59

Episode 328 - His Grace, Duke Edwin Snider

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/04/05

Overshadowed by the greatness of Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, the third of the holy trio of Golden Age, New York-based center fielders, Duke Snider, was a marvel in his own right. A five tool player whose short peak rivaled Willie's for the title of the best player in the National League and pushed the Dodgers to their first championship. But all good things come to an end and, 61 years ago this week, the Dodgers sold him to the Mets. Mike and Bill look back at the incredible career of the Duke of

en

01:21:11

Episode 327 - Sammy Sosa Takes the Crosstown Express

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/03/29

The Cubs might not be willing to acknowledge it today, but it was 32 years ago this week that they acquired one of the greatest players in franchise history, trading away aging slugger George Bell for a dynamic, young Sammy Sosa. Sosa would go on to challenge for the single season home run record, club more than 600 career bombs, and win an MVP. Mike and Bill look back at Sosa's incredible rise, somewhat inexplicable fall, and try to figure out why the Cubs still pretend that he never existed. Plus,

en

01:28:58

Episode 326 - Judy Johnson Refuses To Go Gray Gracefully

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/03/22

It was the most expensive trade in Negro League history. It was also specificallly designed to be the killing strike that finished off the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Finally, it ended the career of Hall of Fame third baseman Judy Johnson, who refused to report to the Homestead Grays when he and Josh Gibson were traded there 87 years ago this week. Mike and Bill look back at the Hall of Fame lives of Judy Johnson and Cumberland Posey, and the history of the Grays that brought about this historic deal

en

01:23:52

Episode 325 - Baseball Beyond Borders (with Michael...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/03/08

From the very beginning of the National League, baseball's overlords have attempted to grow the sport beyond America's borders. These efforts have met with varying levels of success over the years, but it's clear that baseball has never been more popular abroad than it is in 2024. Our guest this week, MLB.com's manager of storytelling Michael Clair, has a new newsletter that highlights the international game wherever it's being played and is making sure we'll know where the next generation of great

en

01:31:43

Episode 324 - Baseball In the Little Big Apple (with...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2024/03/01

For as long as it has existed, baseball has been intertwined with New York City, with the two developing alongside one another into American institutions. With special guest Kevin Baker, author of The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City, Mike and Bill trace the history of the sport in the greatest city in the world, how New York politics shaped it, and how some of the greatest players and managers in history found their way to New York and made it their own. Plus, happy birthday to

en

01:34:01

Episode 240 - Fandom Rethunk (with special guest...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/03/31

Twenty-six years ago this week, the A's opened at "home" in Las Vegas in front of just 7300 fans. It was an underwhelming experience to say the least. But sports fandom has become complicated by many such disappointments, as Mike and Bill discuss with special guest Craig Calcaterra, author of Rethinking Fandom, who talks about how fans can still fight back against the contemptuous sports industrial complex. Plus, happy birthday to Vic Harris and George Van Haltren.

en

01:21:07

Episode 239 - Return of the Mike

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/03/23

Mike returns to talk with Bill about his absence, his son Charlie, and the future of TWIBHistory. Plus, happy birthday to Stan Spence and Ramon J. Martinez.

en

01:18:20

Episode 238 - Jay Jaffe - Bill and a Bud Episode 3

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/03/16

Bill is joined by Jay Jaffe (Fangraphs, The Cooperstown Casebook) to chat about two all-time greats who made notable Spring Training debuts this week, and Jay's team of choice, the 1981 Dodgers. Plus, happy birthday to Charlie Root!

en

01:21:03

Episode 237 - Steve Goldman - Bill and a Bud Episode 2

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/03/09

Our so-well-named "Bill and a Bud" series continues with now a very familiar voice on this podcast, the great Steve Goldman (Baseball Prospectus, The Infinite Inning podcast). We talk about two Hall of Fame selectees from this week in history, Hack Wilson and Casey Stengel, and one weird game they have in common, plus the Players' League of 1890 and what the players and owners might learn from a thing that happened over 130 years ago. Also, happy birthday to (me and) Darryl Strawberry!

en

01:21:09

Episode 236 (Repost) - Mike Duncan - Bill and a Bud...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/03/02

Now with the right file! For the next few weeks (or that's currently the plan), we'll be bringing you episodes that are a bit different, as Bill and one of our favorite past guests have more-casual-than-usual chats that may or may not focus on events from this week in history. This week, Bill and author and podcaster Mike Duncan talk a bit about Larry Doby (who was selected for the Hall of Fame this week in 1998), then a lot about the 2021 Mariners and Mike's article on the same for Baseball

en

01:01:28

Episode 88 Rerun - Emmett Ashford Gets His Shot

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/02/23

In another rerun, as we near the end of Black History Month, Bill takes us back to three years ago this week, when we discussed Major League Baseball's first Black umpire. New stuff next week, almost guaranteed! Original description: We know that, even after Jackie Robinson's debut, Major League Baseball didn't integrate all at once. In fact, one of the last groups to integrate were the umpires, when Emmett Ashford took the field for the first time, 53 years ago this week(ish). Mike and Bill look

en

47:06

Episode 35 Rerun - The Kidnapping of Chris van der Ahe

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/02/16

Bill's back again with a classic from the archives. Original description: On February 7, 1898, St. Louis Browns owner Chris von der Ahe left to dine at a local hotel. He never arrived, instead spirited away to Pittsburgh. Mike looks at von der Ahe's strange and inspiring life from his early days as a German immigrant to his kidnapping/arrest to his ultimate downfall. It's a story of inspiration and hubris that wound up shaping the early history of the professional game. Also, happy birthday to

en

01:08:57

Episode 86 Rerun - Rod Carew Escapes the Twins

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/02/09

If you haven't heard the sad news, please check out the first few minutes, when Bill explains why we had to go back to our episode from three years ago this week, on the life and career (and the Twins' mistreatment) of Rod Carew. Bill, at least, will be back next week, with...something! All the best, everyone.

en

01:07:29

Episode 235 - Dihigo and Lloyd Go In Together

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/02/03

Criminally underappreciated in their lifetimes, Martín Dihigo and Pop Lloyd both have solid claims to the title of best player in the first half of the 20th century. But they remain a mystery to most baseball fans in the 21st. Mike and Bill look back at two of the greatest to ever take the field and how universally regarded they were by black and white peers who played with and against them. Plus, happy birthday to Willie Kamm and Lee Thomas!

en

01:32:08

Episode 234 (Repost) - Prime Time

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/01/27

Deion Sanders was one of the greatest, and most controversial athletes of the 1990s, one that would frustrate fans of both baseball and football who just wanted him to pick a sport. This week, 28 years ago, Deion won an NFL championship with the 49ers, becoming the first player to appear in a World Series and a Super Bowl. Mike and Bill dissect Neon Deion's bisected career and come away with an appreication for a singular talent. Plus, happy birthday to Sam Jethroe and Bob Nieman!

en

01:31:57

Episode 233 - The Phillies Shake Their Ashburn

This Week In Baseball History ·

2022/01/20

Mays. Mantle. Snider. The 1950s were so awash in great center fielders, it's become fashionable to overlook Richie Ashburn, who was stuck on a bunch of bad teams despite being a truly deserving Hall of Famer. Sixty-two years ago this week, he was shipped from one cellar dweller to another when the Phils sent him to the Cubs. Mike and Bill talk about what made Ashburn so invisible and why he's still being underappreciated today. Plus, happy birthday to Carl Morton and Darrell Porter!

en

368 results

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Biography Flash

Inception Point Ai