Back When There Was Baseball

We are pleased to host one of the best relief pitchers in MLB history. Jim Kern joins us this week. He won the American League Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1979 and was one of the best relief pitchers in the history of the game until he suffered an arm injury. He was not highly touted out of high school but signed with Cleveland in 1968. He entered the Marine Corps in 1969, and we would like to thank him for his service. Jim progressed as a hard throwing reliever which culminated in his best season in 1979 with the Texas Rangers. His nickname was "Emu" and he appeared in 3 consecutive All-Star games from 1977-1979. Jim's stats in a 4-year span rank him as one of the best in MLB history. We hope you enjoy this interview with Jim Kern as we go Back When There Was Baseball.

We take the time machine this week Back When There Was Baseball to the mid-1960s with our guest John Werhas. John was signed in 1960 by the Dodgers after being a 2-sport athlete out of USC (baseball and basketball). He was the opening day starter at 3rd base for the Dodgers in 1964. After he struggled hitting, Manager Walt Alston inserted Junior Gilliam at 3rd base which provided the Dodgers with an all-switch-hitting infield in 1965 (1B - Wes Parker, 2B - Jim Lefebvre, SS - Maury Wills, 3B - Junior Gilliam). John exited baseball after the 1973 season and devoted his life to the ministry.

When you talk about the greatest outfield arms in the history of the game players such as Roberto Clemente, Dave Parker and Ichiro Suzuki come to mind. However, our guest this week may have the greatest arm of them all. Ellis Valentine joins us to talk about his MLB career. Ellis was drafted in 1972 in the 2nd round by the Montreal Expos and made his Major League debut in 1975. He was part of that great outfield in the late 1970s which consisted of himself, Andre Dawson and Warren Cromartie. He was traded to the New York Mets in 1981 and also played for the California Angels and Texas Rangers to end his career. Injuries curtailed his career, but we consider Ellis one of the better players of his generation. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Ellis Valentine.

John Morlan is our guest this week. He played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 1971-1977 with stints in the Major Leagues in 1973 and 1974. John is our first guest that was drafted 4 times before signing with the Pirates out of Ohio University. He participated in the 1974 season which included the Dock Ellis incident where Dock attempted to hit every Cincinnati Reds batter on May 1. The Pirates also won the National League East but lost to the L.A. Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. Enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball with John Morlan.

Doug Corbett joins us this week. Doug played college baseball at the University of Florida but was not drafted. He signed with the Kansas City Royals for $500 on a free agent contract in 1974. Doug debuted with the Minnesota Twins in 1980 and had a great year as a relief pitcher, which resulted in a 3rd place finish for Rookie of the Year award (behind Joe Charboneau and Dave Stapleton). He played for the Twins, California Angels and Baltimore Orioles in a career that lasted through the 1987 season. Enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Doug Corbett.