Classic Baseball Radio

A Saturday game in May can be both an inconsequential checkmark in a season and a game that can be looked back on as a captivating moment in history. It’s impossible to look back at 1972 and ignore the first players' strike that disrupted the first two weeks of the season. Spring training was curtailed, and both hitters and pitchers are still struggling with timing in May. 86 games were wiped from the schedules, never to be rescheduled. The Padres will end up playing just 153 games, while the Mets will play 156.Also looking to find his way in the season is Mets manager, Yogi Berra. Following the sudden passing of Gil Hodges, Berra is finding his feet and beginning to understand the core of the Mets' line-up. It’s an intense spotlight that will shine brightly on him during the 1972 season, as the Mets finish a credible third. That core would head into 1973 ready to claim the National League pennant.The biggest name in the Mets’ line-up is surely Tom Seaver. He has already posted two 20-win seasons (with 25 wins in 1969 and an on-the-nose 20 wins in 1971) and has a Cy Young to his name. Facing him was seen as a near-automatic loss. Not only that, but his record against the San Diego Padres is even more impressive. In terms of overpowering presence, he’s less Mr Terrific and more Mr Terrifying.Can the Padres, with rookie pitcher Bill Grief, hurl the ball and swing the bat to find some magic?Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from May 6, 1972. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game.We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and Crafting The Call.** Links **You can find the boxscore here:https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN197205060.shtml A deep look at the legendary life and career of Tom Seaver, detailing his journey from Fresno, California, to his status as the premier pitcher of his generation. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/tom-seaver/Why is Tom Seaver the undisputed Franchise player of the Mets, and how does he compare to other players?https://sny.tv/articles/mets-all-time-team-26-manProfiling Bill Grief, the durable 6'5" right-handed Texas native who out-duelled Seaver on this afternoon, examining his high-strikeout velocity and post-baseball academic achievements. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bill-greif/A tribute to Nate Colbert, the Padres' first true superstar, recounting his 163 franchise home runs and his devotion to youth ministry.https://www.mlb.com/news/nate-colbert-diesAn account of the sudden passing of Mets manager Gil Hodges just days before the delayed 1972 season, detailing how a grief-stricken clubhouse transitioned under Yogi Berra's leadership.http://www.centerfieldmaz.com/2020/04/remembering-mets-history-1972-mets.htmlYogi Berra’s 1972 Hall of Fame Induction, including context for his managing duties with the 1972 Mets. https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/berra-koufax-inducted-amid-star-studded-class-of-1972The history of the youth-heavy Padres rosters, Buzzie Bavasi’s ticket-promotion strategies, and the physical toll of injuries on the 1972 rotationhttps://eastvillagetimes.com/the-history-of-the-san-diego-padres-volume-1-1969-1973/2/. A comprehensive breakdown of the historic 13-day player strike in April 1972, analysing how it changed labour relations and shortened the schedule.https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-strike-of-1972-when-cooperation-failed/How the 1972 player strike served as Marvin Miller’s first monumental victory, earning players pension increases and third-party salary arbitration.https://blogs.fangraphs.com/marvin-millers-legacy-and-the-decline-of-labor/

Following an injury at the 1937 All-Star Game, Dizzy Dean lost his fastball, and the St Louis Cardinals traded away one of the leading lights of The Gashouse Gang. The Chicago Cubs picked up Dean in exchange for three players and the then-legendary sum of $185,000, convinced that his arm would recover.The fastball never returned, but Dean equipped himself with a new arsenal of knuckles, screws and junkballs ahead of the 1938 season. Six games into the year, and the Cardinals visit the Cubs. Everyone wanted Dizzy Dean on the mound to face his old team, and Cubs manager Charlie Grimm did not disappoint a Wrigley Field crowd of over 34,000. Facing Dean were familiar faces from the Gashouse Gang, including Pepper Martin and Johnny Mize.It’s time for a reckoning.Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1938. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game.You can find the boxscore here:https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN193804240.shtml This game was played on April 24, 1938.We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and Crafting The Call.

The Boston Red Sox are in trouble. They are 36-37 at home, and have three games left to avoid the losing record; and they've just lost the first game in a two-game series against the Detroit Tigers. Locked in fourth place, they are playing for pride and to avoid a losing season in Fenway Park.But they have an ace in the line-up. Ted Williams, returning from military service in Korea, is coming back into the Boston lineup and batting .400 for the season. Ahead of him in he line-up is Jim Piersall, finding his form after spending most of 1952 being treated for bipolar disorder.In the Red Sox way is soon to be crowned Rookie of the Year Harvey Kuenn, and Mr Tiger himself Al Kaline… however, at this point in his storied career, Kaline is a rookie who’s only been playing in the Majors for three months.Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1953. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game.You can find the boxscore here:https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS195309170.shtmlThis game was played on September 17, 1953.We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and Crafting The Call.

The records credit Jim Bouton with the win, but everyone who followed the Yankees' 1963 season knows that the driving force in the middle of the year was Elston Howard.Stepping up into a leadership role after Mickey Mantle broke his foot and moved to the Injured List for ten weeks, the Yankees catcher would shepherd the rotation through the summer months with performance like this one, taking the young Bouton through 8 scoreless innings.Howard earned his American League MVP award by putting the Yankees on his broad shoulders.Neither should we ignore opposing pitcher Claude Osteen. The left-hander packed heat alongside an arsenal of breaking pitches. Already established as the Senators' ace, the offence would rarely back him up, and 1963 would end with a 9-14 record. The Dodgers would offer him a lifeline, and in 1965, he would join Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, and Johnny Podres in a devastating rotation in Los Angeles.Today? Today, you can see the difference Howard makes when supporting a young pitcher.Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1963. Just as radio stations recreated baseball games from ticker-tape messages, we can research this classic game and present it to you as if you were listening to the radio in 1963. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game.You can find the boxscore here:https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA196306190.shtmlThis game was played on June 19, 1963We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and Crafting The Call.

Knuckleball pitcher Dick Fowler spent his entire career in the Majors with the Philadelphia Athletics. During the Second World War, he enlisted at the age of 22 and served three years with Canada’s 48th Light Highlanders, known as "The Ladies from Hell" thanks to wearing kilts on the battlefield.His first start on returning from service saw him face the St Louis Browns and hurl a no-hitter, the first Canadian to do so. Fowler is on the mound to face the Browns once more in today’s game.The Philadelphia Athletics are sitting in third place in the American League. Managed by 84-year-old legend Connie Mack, the Athletics are coming off 14 years without a winning record. Can the old-school tactic of manufacturing runs with small-ball batting and pitching bring back the glory years?They face a team fighting to escape a slump. The St Louis Browns have lost eight of their last ten games, but took the first game in this two-game series by 12 runs to 3. On the mound is Fred Sandford, who’s looking to find confidence in his fastball.This episode is a new approach to telling the history of America’s favourite game. Just as radio stations would recreate baseball games from tickertape messages, we can research this classic game and present it to you as if you were listening to the radio in 1947. Your comments are welcome.Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1947. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game.You can find the boxscore here:https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA194706250.shtml This game was played on June 25, 1947.We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and Crafting The Call.

The 1969 World Series saw the Baltimore Orioles humbled by the Miracle Mets. The team carried that burden through the 1970 season, using it not to fall, but to rise. After 108 wins in the regular season, they stormed back to the World Series.Facing them were Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine." While the Orioles' offence delivered the runs, it's widely regarded that the defence won the World Series in 1970. And if the defence won the series, the MVP holding back the Reds was Brooks Robinson.For five games, Robinson put on a defensive clinic that has never been equalled. He repeatedly dove to his left and right, backhanded rockets down the line, and made seemingly impossible throws from foul territory to rob Johnny Bench and Lee May of base hits.And he hit.429 into the bargain.Today's broadcast is Game 5 of the series. The Orioles won two on the road and have split the first two games in Memorial Stadium. Can they seal the win, wipe away 1969, and lift the trophy?Jim Simpson calls the game.You can find the boxscore here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL197010150.shtml This game was played on October 15, 1970.

The 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs an the Detroit Tigers is all square heading into Game 3 game apiece. The Cubs starting pitcher is 36-year-old veteran Claude Passeau, and he's about to throw a near perfect game with just 28 plate appearances by the Tigers. While his name is not brought up in discussions of the best pitchers of the era, his performance in Game Three is one of the all-time pitching appearances in World Series history. When the Cubs return to Wrigley Field, the Curse of the Billy Goat would kick in, but for now sit back with Bill Slater and Al Helfer behind the microphone. You can find the boxscore here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET194510050.shtml This game was played on October 5, 1945.