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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

43:42

Episode 215 - One Random Game

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/08/19

With Bill unavailable this week, Mike tries an experiment, choosing one game from this week at random from the 20th century to write about. What surprises are in store from August 21st, 1922 as the Browns took on the Athletics? Plus, happy birthday Don "Duffy" Dyer!

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01:31:01

Episode 214 - The Expos Finish Early

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/08/12

Poised to potentially win their first championship, 27 years ago this week, the Montreal Expos were forced to stop playing when all of baseball ground to a halt. Mike and Bill look back at how the team was built, how it almost won, and how it was all torn apart. And they wonder how the story of baseball in Montreal may have been different if they'd been able to complete their season. Plus, happy birthday to Ken Raffensberger and Frank Howard!

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01:23:27

Episode 213 - Steve Carlton K's Number 4,000

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/08/06

Every game Steve Carlton philosophically pitched boiled down, to him, to a game a catch between him and his catcher. It sounds so simple, but Carlton used that recipe to win 329 games and, 35 years ago this week, strike out his 4,000th hitter. Mike and Bill look back on the long and storied career of Carlton, as well as how his devotion to philosophy seemed to turn against him once he lost the magic in his left arm. Plus, happy birthday to Cleon Jones and Gregg Jefferies!

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01:02:48

Episode 212 - Harold Baines Gets Traded A Lot

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/07/29

Few players were traded as often, especially at the trade deadline as newly minted Hall of Famer Harold Baines, who was sent from the White Sox to the Rangers for Sammy Sosa and others 23 years ago this week in what future President George W Bush called the biggest mistake of his life. That's a lot to lay on a guy who was pretty dang good for a really long time, Mike and Bill discovered, as they looked back at his illustrious career.

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02:27:38

Episode 211.5 - Zoom Hangout #16 - Hero of Two...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/07/26

For our latest Zoom Hangout, we are joined by the great Mike Duncan (@mikeduncan) of The History of Rome, The Storm Before the Storm, Revolutions, and the forthcoming biography of the Marquis de Lafayette, Hero of Two Worlds. Mike is an incredibly thoughtful historian and baseball fan who talks to us about the Negro Leagues, producing a history podcast, following baseball from France for the last two years, and living through historic times. Plus, it turns out he's pretty good at trivia.

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01:15:20

Episode 211 - Fred McGriff Goes To Atlanta

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/07/21

We don't talk nearly enough about Fred McGriff, one of the most underrated and underappreciated sluggers of the late '80s and early '90s. Mike and Bill rectify that this week on the 28th anniversary of his trade to the Braves for the 1993 stretch drive, and talk about whether he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Plus, happy birthday to Tommy McCarthy and Mike Greenwell!

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54:52

Episode 210 - Johnny Sets the Benchmark for Catchers

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/07/15

Proving he was perhaps the best player ever to don the tools of ignorance, Johnny Bench surpassed Yogi Berra 41 years ago this week to hit the most homers ever by a catcher. He's since been surpassed, but there's no denying that The Little General was a peerless leader on the field and a fearsome slugger at the plate. And, this week, Mike and Bill look back at what made him tick. Plus, happy birthday to Lee Meadows and Larry Jansen!

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01:04:54

Episode 209 - Bill Acts Like Kind Of a Dickey

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/07/08

Today, few Hall of Famers are as forgotten in the public imagination as Bill Dickey. One man who probably would've liked to forget him far sooner was Carl Reynolds, the Senators outfielder who the usually subdued Dickey flattened with one sucker punch 89 years ago this week. Mike and Bill look back on both their lives and careers and where they went once the dust cleared. Plus, happy birthday to Bump Hadley and Wally Post!

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01:24:38

Episode 208 - What Do You Call a Lawyer Who's Hired...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/07/02

One of the most successful and controversial managers of all time, Tony La Russa was first hired to manage by the Chicago White Sox 42 years ago this week. Now that he's back where it all started for the 2021 season, Mike and Bill look back on his long and storied career at the helm. Plus, happy birthday to Gus Zernial and Corey Koskie!

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01:17:07

Episode 207 - Ol' Pete Sneaks Into a Pennant Race

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/06/24

Despite winning 373 games, tied for most in NL history, Pete Alexander is often overlooked and underappreciated when people talk about the best pitchers of the early 20th century. 95 years ago this week, the Cubs sent him to St. Louis, setting Pete up to become one of the biggest clutch heroes in World Series history. Mike and Bill look back at what made Pete so great, and the personal demons that brought him down. Plus, happy birthday to Aaron Robinson and Billy Werber!

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02:36:48

Episode 206.5 - Zoom Hangout #15 - The Negro Leagues...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/06/18

At an extremely opportune moment, we welcome Sports Reference creator, owner, and president Sean Forman on to discuss Baseball Reference's decision to recognize that the Negro Leagues were the equivalent of their American and National League contemporaries, and the steps they took to make that clear across the site. It's an important step toward correcting the historical record, even if the injustice done to those players can never be rectified. Plus, we give away a bunch of stuff related to the

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01:04:03

Episode 206 - Alexander Cartwright Invents Baseball?

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/06/16

The details surrounding the origins of baseball will always be somewhat obscured by the fog of the 180 or so years that have passed since games like town ball and rounders evolved into baseball. But there is one thing we do know. 175 years ago this week, a game was played by the Knickerbockers, a group of New York white collar workers who have as good a claim as anyone to the sport's originator. Mike and Bill talk about what is known about this game and team, and the man who has gotten the credit as

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01:05:18

Episode 205 - Dock Ellis Trips and Falls Into a No-No

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/06/11

At first glance, it's a fun story: pitcher throws a no-hitter on LSD 51 years ago this week. It sounds like an underdog, counterculture story from the tail-end of the '60s. And it was, sort of. But it was also, as Mike and Bill recount, just one of many stories in the life of Dock Ellis that eventually led to abuse and tragedy for him and for his family as he descended further into addiction. Meanwhile, Mike also wishes a happy birthday to Bud Harrelson.

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57:56

Episode 204 - The Week That Everything Happens to Lou...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/06/03

For some reason, the first week of June turned out to be a momentous one in the life of Henry Louis Gehrig. It marked the day he replaced Wally Pipp, the day he hit four home runs in a game, and the day he died, 80 years ago this week, in 1941. Mike and Bill sort through the short but impactful life of Laruppin' Lou this week in honor of the first MLB-wide Lou Gehrig Day. Plus, happy birthday to Rube Oldring and Ray Lankford!

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01:11:26

Episode 203 - Willie Mays Meekly Debuts

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/05/28

There may have never been, and may never be, a baseball player better than Willie May. But it didn't seem like that at first, as Mays struggled upon his initial exposure to the Bigs 70 years ago this week and would suffer a crisis of confidence that could have ended his career before it began. How did he get through it to become Willie Freaking Mays? Mike and Bill look back at Willie's rise to find out. Plus, happy birthday to Dave Hollins and Deacon Phillippe!

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02:36:24

Episode 202.5 - Zoom Hangout #14 - Old Friends...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/05/24

For our 14th Zoom Hangout show since the start of the pandemic, our old buddy Steven Goldman (@GoStevenGoldman) talks baseball and Bob Dylan with us while we watch Corey Kluber throw a no-hitter. Plus, we give away some autographed memorabilia to a couple of lucky patrons. Thanks to everyone who joined us this month and stay tuned to @TWIBHistory on Twitter for a big announcement about our next Zoom Hangout guest in the coming weeks.

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01:04:23

Episode 202 - Operation: Tiger Strike

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/05/19

In one of the strangest games ever played, 109 years ago this week the "Tigers," a ragtag group of replacement players gathered at the last minute when the regular nine all struck in support of a suspended Ty Cobb, lost a laugher to the Philadelphia A's. It'd be pretty funny if the whole situation didn't wind up so sad, as Mike and Bill find out. Plus, happy birthday to Eric Show and Rick Rhoden!

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01:10:24

Episode 201 - Joe DiMaggio Goes Streaking

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/05/13

It's one of the most iconic records in sports, Joe DiMaggio's unbelievably improbable 56 game hitting streak, that began 80 years ago this week. Breaking off a new hundo, Mike and Bill go step by step through this incredible accomplishment and marvel at the talent and luck it took to ultimately pull it off. Plus, happy birthday to Chicken Wolf and Gentleman Jim Hickman!

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01:13:08

Episode 200 - The Twins' Killer (with various special...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/05/06

For their 200th episode, Mike and Bill feel they've earned the right to be a little self-indulgent, so they're celebrating the greatest Twins slugger of them all, Harmon Killebrew, on the 57th anniversary of he and three other Twins hitting four consecutive home runs in extra innings to beat the A's. Plus, some new friends stop by to talk about the importance of 200 milestones. And happy birthday to Clay Carroll and Charlie "Piano Legs" Hickman!

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01:02:20

Episode 199 - Fleet Week

This Week In Baseball History ·

2021/04/29

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!

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