Saturday, July 31, 2010

Roadtrips to America’s Baseball Landmarks

To some baseball is more than a game, and to these folks of importance can be shrines.

Chris Epting is one of those persons. In Roadside Baseball, he has chronicled the locations of America’s baseball landmarks – some 500 in all.

They range from some of the obvious ones like the site of th old Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field and Yankee Stadium to Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

But there are many more – some quite obscure, but all interesting.

In this Journey into Baseball we speak with Chris Epting about his journeys and what he found.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=477

The House That Built Ruth

A Catholic school in Baltimore that traces its roots to Yankees slugger Babe Ruth recently closed, the victim of declining enrollment and tough economic times.

Ruth spent the better part of 12 years at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys until 1914, when he left at age 19 to sign with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. After he joined the Yankees in 1920, he took the St. Mary’s band to major league ballparks to raise money to replace the main school building destroyed in a fire.

St. Mary’s closed in 1950, and for 48 years it has been the site of the all-boys Cardinal Gibbons School. During the Spring, the Archdiocese of Baltimore said that Gibbons and 12 other schools would close in June because of falling enrollment, rising costs and financial problems exacerbated by the recession.

The school board has resisted the decision. There were protests. There was even a radio campaign to try to save the school and the adjacent field where the Babe played as a youth..

We speak with Michael L. Gibbons, the executive director of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore about what happened and what a historical loss that the demise the school and its field would mean locally and to baseball fans worldwide.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=475

All Things Wiffle Ball

It’s old school and new school. It’ s unique and ubiquitous. It’ s yellow and white. It’ s red, white, and blue. It’s one of America s favorite brands: a classic for nearly 60 years and still a fad-proof fan favorite. The Wiffle Ball remains the great equalizer, befuddling batters of all ages. It curves, zips, and zooms with a mind of its own, turning anyone into a major league pitcher. It stands alone with its eight slots of perforated perfection, distinguished by its asymmetry and unpredictability. With millions of Wiffle bats and balls sold each year, its following is unparalleled with a devotion bordering on obsession. Just ask comedian Drew Carey s manager, Rick Messina, creator of Strawberry Field, one of the country s premier Wiffle venues. Turning his neighbor s adjoining house into a press box and locker room with stadium seats and lights, Mussina set the gold standard for the backyard Wiffle field.

In Wiffle Ball, author Michael Hermann, president of Wicked Cow Entertainment, and The Wiffle Ball Inc.’ s, brand managers, gives readers an inside look at this palatial Wiffle get-up and at the best Wiffle fields around, as well as the down-and-dirty on how in 1953 a down-on-his luck shoe polish salesman and his 13-year-old son concocted the first Wiffle Ball from spare perfume packaging, turning a plastic orb into an American icon.

In this Conversation on the Road we speak with Michael Hermann.

He explores with us The Science of Wiffle, and why a Wiffle Ball, well, wiffles.

He shows us all the how to s: how to build the best field; how to throw the best sinker ball; and how to best tape up a Wiffle Bat, and more.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=473