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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

01:28:21

Episode 305 (Rerun) - Our Idiot Brothers, Part II

This Week In Baseball History ·

2026/01/08

Bill and Mike are both still recovering from holiday colds that their adorable nephew and niece shared with them, respectively. So this week's episode is a re-run of the second in our Idiot Brothers series to get you ready for next week, when your intrepid hosts will return with Part III. Until then: It remains hard, at times to be brothers. We covered that back in January, 2023 with a set of siblings who fell well short of their illustrious kin. But there are still so many bad (or just mediocre)

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01:20:15

Episode 279 (Re-run) - Our Idiot Brothers, Part 1

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/12/27

Mike and Bill are back home for the Holidays and, as every year, are confronted with the reality that they're the idiot brothers of some very talented and impressive people. So, in honor of that, we present this re-run of Episode 279: Sometimes it's hard being brothers. It's even harder being brothers when you're the black sheep of the family. The guy who has to watch his sibling, who shares so much of your DNA, exceeds all your wildest hopes and dreams while you're left behind. Not that we're

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01:31:42

Episode 391 - Catfish Wriggles Off the Line

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/12/20

Aside from "The Babe," there's probably no more recognizable nickname in baseball than "Catfish." But Jim Hunter proved easy to catch and hard to keep for Athletics owner Charlie Finley 51 years ago this week, when Finley's negligence led to an arbitration decision that freed Hunter from his contract with Oakland. As baseball's first modern free agent, Hunter served as an excellent test case for ballplayers who were eager to see what their prices were on the open market, and the answer to that was:

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07:22

Episode 390.5 - Memorializing Gary Gray

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/12/12

After accidentally excising Bill's memorial segment last week, Mike sheepishly presents it here, on the life and career of Gary Gray.

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57:20

Episode 350 (Re-run) - Ron Santo Stays In Chicago

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/12/12

One of the greatest Cubs of all time, Ron Santo was almost traded out of his beloved adopted home 46 years ago this week, but turned the tables on his team, becoming the first player to invoke his 10-and-5 rights and forced a trade to the other side of town. Mike and Bill recount the life and career of the self-professed biggest Cubs fan in the world, even when his team and fans weren't always his biggest fans. Plus, happy birthday to Clyde Kluttz and Jay Bell!

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01:27:04

Episode 390 - Jim Piersall Gets Rehomed

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/12/05

Life is hard. Life with a mental illness is harder. Life as a celebrity with a known mental illness is harder still, as Jim Piersall discovered. But Piersall's illness was also hard for others, including the Boston Red Sox, who decided life was simpler without him 67 years ago this week and traded him to Cleveland. On this anniversary, Mike and Bill look back at the first ballplayer to speak openly about his mental health struggles, how they affected his life and career positively and negatively,

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01:26:19

Episode 389 - Jim Jam Comes Home

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/11/29

One of the most feared sluggers in history, Jim Thome is universally regarded as possibly the nicest. On the 20th anniversary of his trade from the Phillies back to the American League Central, Mike and Bill look back at career of the gentlest giant in baseball history and come away with exactly the same picture that hoped to. Plus, happy birthday to Clint Thomas and Jimmy Sheckard. And farewell to Darryl Patterson and Mike White.

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01:21:21

Episode 388 - George Brett Nabs Some Hardware

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/11/21

After nearly hitting .400, you'd think that George Brett would be an easy choice for AL MVP in 1980. And, while he'd snag the award 45 years ago this week, it was over some pretty hilarious objections by Yankees writers. Mike and Bill look back at Brett's incredible career that defined more than a decade of Royals baseball and come away with an incredible appreciation not just for his abilities, but his flair for the dramatic. Plus, happy birthday to Cristóbal Torriente and Everett Scott! And

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01:19:04

Episode 387 - The Old Gray Fox Runs Down Its Quarry

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/11/14

It's impossible to talk about the American League's early years without talking about Clark Griffith, the former pitcher and manager who, this week 106 years ago, finally completed his quest to become a big league owner. Griffith's Senators would eventually become a laughingstock, and his legacy complicated by his complicity in perpetuating the color line, but his early years were filled with success. Mike and Bill look back on one of the longest baseball lives, a 75 year span in which Griffith was

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01:33:35

Episode 386 - Strawberry Shakes Up the Dodgers

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/11/08

Darryl Strawberry looked to be on a Hall of Fame path when he signed the second biggest contract in big league history with the Dodgers. But his homecoming to Los Angeles would prove to be bitter fruit, as injuries, legal, and personal problems short circuited his career. Strawberry's story is a complicated one, full of condemnable behavior and moments of what seemed like hard-earned redemption. But, ultimately, it's a cautionary tale of how not to treat a sensitive person and how that sensitive

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59:34

Episode 385 - A Very Red World Series

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/10/31

Oh Lord, what a few weeks it's been on the podcast, with problems both technical and personal getting in the way and forcing a truncated episode this week. But don't worry, because 50 years ago this week, the Reds and Red Sox squared off in one of the greatest World Series of all time. And Mike and Bill have a lot to say about it as they recount the titanic battle between two exceptional teams - the triumphs, the heroism and the heartbreaks of what surprisingly turned into a very evenly matched

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01:21:23

Episode 384 - Showing You The Show Me Series (with...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/10/17

We've talked about the 1985 World Series before on this podcast, but never with the guy who literally wrote the book on it. Marshall Garvey joins Mike and Bill for the 40th anniversary of when the teams clinched their respective pennants, setting up the second all-Missouri World Series matchup. Garvey's new book, Interstate '85: The Royals, The Cardinals, and the Show-Me Series relies heavily on player interviews with more than 25 of the players who took the field in that showdown, as well as Don

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01:34:15

Episode 383 - Edgar Doubles Into Our Hearts

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/10/10

There are so many ways in which Edgar Martinez's career might not have happened. He could have missed the open tryout where he was discovered. He might have become disheartened by his extended minor league apprenticeship. The Mariners might have been dissuaded by the potentially debilitating vision problems he fought hard to overcome. But it did, fortunately for Seattle, because 30 years ago this week, the first truly great designated hitter in baseball history lined The Double down the left field

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01:31:25

Episode 382 - Next Year Finally Comes To Brooklyn

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/10/03

The decades of baseball in Brooklyn were mostly marked by one failure after another until the club got their act together in the 1940s. Still, the Dodgers seemed uniquely capable of breaking their fans' hearts until 70 years ago this week, when they finally beat the Yankees to claim their one and only World Series in their original home. That moment in the sun was all too brief, however, as they'd pack up and move to the West Coast just two years later. This week, Mike and Bill look back at that one

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01:17:39

Episode 118 (Re-run) - The Life and Death of Lyman...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/09/27

Mike's doing better after his bout with pneumonia, but his voice is still on the fritz this week. So we have one more classic episode of TWIBHistory for you before we get back to business of recording new material. Apologies all around, but the good news is that we get the chance to rebroadcast one of the most compelling and tragic stories we've done. Lyman Bostock was one of the most dynamic young stars in the American League, compared favorably with Rod Carew and predicted to win multiple batting

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58:29

Episode 168 (Re-run) - The Griffeys Go Back-to-Back

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/09/20

So, it turns out Mike has pneumonia. He's getting better. But while we wait for him to complete his rehab assignment, please enjoy this re-release of Episode 168 on Kens Griffey Sr. and Jr. Baseball is a game that is most often passed down from one generation to the next. But some of those handoffs are more effective than others, like with the the Griffeys, Kens Sr. and Jr., who hit back-to-back homers 35 years ago this week, the first and only time a father and son have done that in baseball

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01:12:26

Episode 381 - A Celebration of Davey Johnson

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/09/12

Please excuse Mike this week, as he is dealing with some laryngitis and was on restricted duty during this episode. But Bill certainly stepped up as the pair celebrate the life and career of the great Davey Johnson to mark his passing at the age of 82. Johnson was a star as a player and a superstar as a manager, leading the Mets to their second championship in 1986 and adding significant value to basically every team he helmed. But he also had a pugnacious and self-destructive streak that seemed to

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01:28:49

Episode 380 - Baseball's New High Score

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/09/05

Baseball is a beautiful game when it's played well. But when it isn't...well, you get games like one that occured 103 years ago this week, when the Phillies and Cubs squared off in the highest scoring game of all time. 51 hits, 21 walks, and 9 errors later, the teams had collaborated to produce 49 runs, of which only 28 were earned. What exactly went wrong here and who were the players who had to suffer through such indignity? Mike and Bill look back on an anti-classic to try and figure it out

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01:04:20

Episode 260 (Re-run) - SABR Pirate Radio, Part 2...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/08/29

Apologies for an extra re-run this month. Mike is dealing with a personal thing, and we will be back with a new episode next week. Some people podcast about history. Some people witness it. Melissa Ludtke made it happen, successfully fighting back against Bowie Kuhn and Major League Baseball to ensure women in journalism could be on equal footing with male sportswriters. Mike, Bill and Mike Duncan (@MikeDuncan) talk with her about that experience, about the importance of representation for women in

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01:18:54

Episode 379 - The Little League World Series Gets A...

This Week In Baseball History ·

2025/08/22

Perhaps nothing unites more baseball fans than the shared experience of playing Little League Baseball. But, until 1974, only boys were allowed to play. After that, it took until 1984, 41 years ago this week, before the first girl played in Little League's crowning jewel, The Little League World Series. On this auspicious anniversary, Mike and Bill look back at the origins and history of Little League Baseball, and of the Little League World Series itself. And, aside from a few significant bumps in

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