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 granula…

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 …

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…

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. Mi…

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 …

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…

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 poli…

Major League Baseball rarely faces a realistic challenge to its hegemony, but, 72 years ago this week, Danny Gardella became the first American-born player to sign with Jorge Pasquel's Mexican League, touching off a short war that challenged the reserve clause, increased salaries at home and abroad, and wound up ending both Gardella's career and th…

Compared to some of the other Japanese pitchers who have transitioned to the United States, Hideo Nomo's American career seems relatively short and underwhelming. But the impact it had on two nations, how players move between leagues, and what fans can expect is immeasurable. After signing with the Dodgers 29 years ago this week, Hideo Nomo went on…

With Mike's attention divided this week, Bill suggested a scaled down episode where the boys focus on birthdays and memorials for the recently departed. And so, happy birthday to Smoky Burgess and Germany Schaefer! And farewell to Chuck Harrison, Dick Thoenen, Ryan Minor, and Carlos Pulido.By Mike Bates and Bill Parker

Despite being acknowledged as one of the all time greats and a very deserving Hall of Famer, Roy Campanella's career doesn't get the appreciation it deserves because of its late start due to segregation and early finish due to an auto accident 61 years ago this week that left him paralyzed. Mike and Bill dig into his career and life at all its stag…

With Bill on vacation, Mike welcomes walking baseball encyclopedia Steven Goldman (@gostevengoldman) in for a chat. They talk about Steve's podcast, The Infinite Inning, returning to a weekly format, what makes a great baseball story, the worst teams in history and, of course, Casey Stengel. Steve also plays Yankees roullette with some fun names fr…

When Cecil Fielder returned from a year in Japan, 34 years agoo this week, it was without fanfare. But by the end of 1990, after slamming 51 homers, Fielder had become one of the most iconic faces in baseball. His time at the top of the spoort would be short, however, and Mike and Bill look back at why. Plus, happy birthday to Delino DeShields and …

It's still Hall of Fame season for, like, one more week, so Mike and Bill sit down with Fangraphs Senior Writer Jay Jaffe, inventor of JAWS, the preeminent tool to evaluate potential Hall of Famers, to talk about the current ballot, the chances of the first time candidate, and how the process has changed as its become more transparent and contentio…

One of the greatest and one of the ornriest players in baseball history, Rogers Hornsby presents a conundrum. Too good not to want on your team, but so disruptive that he was traded in three straight offseasons and wore out his welcome quickly, even for teams that desperately needed him. What was his deal? Mike and Bill look back at his controversi…

With their scheduled guest ailing, Mike and Bill take a thorough look at all the candidates on this year's Hall of Fame ballot and decide they're probably going to need more votes. Plus, happy birthday to Cy Williams and Leo Cardenas!By Mike Bates and Bill Parker

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. And when life mangles your hand, learn a curveball. That was the path to greatness for legendary Cubs right hander Mordecai Brown, whose handicap wound up baffling National Leauge hitters for the better part of a decade. 120 years ago this week, Brown was acquired by Cubbies, who rode him to two championsh…

Sweet Lou was never an apt nickname for Lou Piniella, whose fiery temper and aggressive play earned him respect and fear around the game after he joined the Yankees 50 years ago this week, and became an essential cog in their dynasty in the late '70s and early '80s. But Lou's career would stretch far beyond his time in pinstripes and lead him tanta…

Because his peak was so short, Al Lopez is often overlooked when we think about the great sluggers of the 1950s. But no one could ignore his incredible season in 1953 when, 70 years ago this week, he became just the second player to be unanimously voted AL MVP. Mike and Bill look back at Rosen's short on-field career, surprising impact on the game …

Mike and Bill briefly have some podcast related announcments and Thanksgiving well-wishes up top and then say farewell to the great Willie Hernandez.By Mike Bates and Bill Parker

With a dearth of interesting topics this week, Mike and Bill fire up the random number generator and provide the annotated story of the Montreal Expos visit to Cincinnati on May 1, 1976 against the Big Red Machine. Would the machine break down? Or would the Expos get steamrolled? And, most importantly, can anyone think of a first baseman whose name…

He was one of the best players of the 1980s and, 40 years ago this week, became one of only 13 players in baseball history to win back-to-back MVP Awards. But Dale Murphy is still on the outside looking in at the Baseball Hall of Fame. What happened to knock him off the road to immortality? Mike and Bill look back at his career to find out. Plus, h…

Mike got an unexpected opportunity to attend a World Series game this week, so we're going back to this time of year in 2020 for this week's episode. When relations between the United States and Japan broke down in the prelude to WWII, no one was more despondent than Lefty O'Doul, who had fallen in love with and become an unlikely icon in the islan…

The most important hit in Blue Jays history came 30 years ago this week when Joe Carter launched a walk-off three run home run down the left field line off of embattled Phillies reliever Mitch Williams in Game 6 of the World Series. It remains one of just two home runs that have ever ended a Fall Classic, and an indelible moment that came to define…

He was supposed to be too injured to run. But you don't need to run when you hit a baseball as far as Kirk Gibson did 35 years ago this week, when he hit a flat-footed pinch-hit, walk off home run against the most dominant pitcher and team in baseball, setting the stage for a tremendous World Series upset. Mike and Bill talk all about that moment, …