Episode 312 - Jackie Jensen, The 'Golden Boy' to the 'Grounded Boy'

Episode 312 - Jackie Jensen, The 'Golden Boy' to the 'Grounded Boy'

March 1, 2026 · 1h 1m · Episode 313

About this episode

The episode explores the life of Jackie Jensen and various baseball anecdotes.

Jeff and Mark open the episode by diving into some Pacific Northwest baseball deep-cuts, starting with the 14-year career of Darnell Coles and the search for his possible lone existing mural. They cover a run of opening day oddities, including Tuffy Rhodes’ three-homer barrage against Doc Gooden in '94 and Harry Caray’s confusion over fans spending their honeymoon at Wrigley Field. The guys also look at the current state of Rookie of the Year droughts for the Padres and Guardians and mourn the loss of the MLB.tv discount to the "ESPN corporate machine." The main feature covers the complex life of Jackie Jensen, the only man to play in a Rose Bowl, a World Series, and an MLB All-Star Game. From his "Golden Boy" status at Cal to being the hand-picked successor to Joe DiMaggio—only to be usurped by Mickey Mantle—the story follows Jensen's MVP peak in Boston and the paralyzing "AV-Phobia" that eventually forced him out of the game. The episode closes with a high-stakes Wax Pack Heroes battle featuring 2003 Topps. 00:00 Welcome01:23 The Darnell Coles Deep-Dive04:59 Opening Day '94: Tuffy Rhodes vs. Doc Gooden07:59 Harry Caray Questions the Youth of America11:30 ROTY Droughts15:07 RIP…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jeff, Mark

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MLB.tv, ESPN

More episodes of Two Strike Noise - A Baseball History Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Two Strike Noise - A Baseball History Podcast podcast page.