In the great John Ford western, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," a reporter says, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Few 19th Century players muddled the waters between fact and legend as did the great Louisville slugger, Pete Browning. Author Tim Newby's new book "The Original Louisville Slugger: The Life and Times of Forgotten B…

Author Scott H. Longert joins the show this week to talk about his latest book, "Love and Loss: The Short Life of Ray Chapman" (Ohio Univ. Press 2024). Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman was hit by a pitched ball in the temple during a ballgame against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds on August 16, 1920. He succumbed to his injuries the next morning. H…

Our guest this week is Arthur D. Hittner, author of "Honus Wagner, The Life of Baseball's Flying Dutchman," Revised Edition (McFarland, 2024). Originally published in 1996, Hittner's book won the prestigious Seymour Medal for best baseball historical or biographical book in 1997. Wagner led the National League in batting 8 times and hit .324 in his…

Justin Verlander is struggling in his latest return from the injury list. Roger Maris would have celebrated his 90th birthday in the 10th -- he died in 1985. We noticed a lot of pretty famous people were born or grew up Maris's home town of Hibbing, Minnesota (pop. 16,000), including a couple of Hall of Famers (Maris is not one). Finally, Shohei Oh…

Timothy Malcolm wrote the newly revised and updated, "Moon Baseball Road Trips: The Complete Guide to All the Ballparks, with Beer, Bites, and Sights Nearby" (Moon Travel, 2024) being released September 10. He joins us this week to talk about baseball road trips, favorite ballparks and how baseball contributed to revivals in many large American cit…

Bobby Mathews pitched in three major leagues from 1871 to 1887 and ended his career with 297 career wins. Why did he stop playing when he was so close to 300? This episode looks into Mathews' career as well as wins as a statistical category and 300 wins as a significant career milestone to kick off this series about players who came very close, but…

On August 6, 2024, the dreadful Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland A's 5-1 at the Coliseum. This win snapped a 21-game losing streak, the longest losing streak in the Majors in 36 years. The Philadelphia Phillies own the modern record losing streak, 23 games, set in 1961. This episode, Craig and Rex will look back on that record losing streak. Epis…

Professor Robert Ross, author of The Great Baseball Revolt: The Rise and Fall of the 1890 Players League (2016) joins us this week to discuss the first attempt at unionization by Major League players -- the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players which had formed in the mid 1880s. The Brotherhood joined forces with supportive magnates to form…

This week Craig and Rex take a deep dive into Houston's Jose Abreu and Rafael Montero contract fiascos and come away glad we're not the Angels. In Part 2, Ken Johnson did something on an April week night in 1964 that had never been done before in a Major League game - and hasn't been done since. Errata: Mike Trout, if healthy, could have played a p…

Journalist, author Dave Heller joins us this week to discuss his new book, "Parisian Bob Caruthers: Baseball's First Two-Way Star" (McFarland 2024). Caruthers played in the American Association and National League from 1884 to 1893 where he led the AA in wins twice and played with distinction in the outfield when he was not pitching. In this interv…

Craig reports on his short getaway to Cleveland, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Progressive Field. The hosts speculate on stadium drama in Oakland, Tampa and Anaheim. The Mariners blew a 10-game lead in the American League West over a 24-game period, but will anyone remember in October if Seattle hangs on to win the division anyway? Craig and Rex…

Rex attended his first in-person Major League game this week - his Rangers beat Craig's Astros and Rex did an okay job suppressing the urge to be a sore winner. Also this week, a look at standings going into the All-Star Break, Wander Franco may be in big trouble, Randy Hennis had a short, brilliant career for Houston and Rex has a few things to sa…

Hurricane Beryl dealt a blow to our hometown but 36 hours after it passed Hooks & Runs is on schedule against all odds. This week, Craig and Rex riffing on the upcoming Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, Jim Leyland and Joe Mauer (with an obligatory dig along the way on Journey and Bon Jovi from Craig), speculating about I…

In part one, Craig and Rex recall some memorable Fourth of July baseball fireworks featuring the ubiquitous Guy Hecker, the irrepressible Boom Boom Beck and the simply legendary Rick Camp. In part two, they discuss the three Expansion Era (1961-2024) pitchers who made an All-Star team then went on to lose 20 games in the season. Also, Bobby Bonilla…

Timothy Zarley has written a wonderful new book, "1901: The War of the Baseball Magnates." (Yelraz Publishing 2024) about the chaotic birth of what we now call baseball's modern era. We talked about some of the franchise movements, contract battles (and lawsuits) with players and the backroom dealings that brought competition to the National League…

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author William "Bill" Ecenbarger is our guess this week to discuss his latest book, "Work, Fight, or Play Ball: How Bethlehem Steel Helped Baseball's Stars Avoid World War I" (Temple University Press 2024). The book chronicles how Bethlehem Steel's "safe shelter" industrial league in 1917 and 1918 helped Major …

Darryl Rhoades has been entertaining audiences with his music and comedy for over half-a-century. As founder and leader of Hahavishnu Orchestra and later as a solo artist, Rhoades recorded several albums and toured across the United States. Rhoades once even opened for The Sex Pistols! He has been featured in Rolling Stone, Village Voice and High T…

Kimberly Ridley has written "Matagorda Magic: The Hidden Life of a Texas Bay" (Texas A&M University Press 2024) about our very own Matagorda Bay estuary right here in our home county on the Texas Gulf Coast. Kimberly joins the podcast this week to talk about the book and her experiences visiting our county and the Matagorda Bay estuary. "Matagorda …

This week Rex and Craig take on Ángel Hernández's retirement, interference & the infield fly rule, Jose Abreu's return, Austin Maddux's arrest and arraignment, Ranger Suarez's hot start, The Chicago White Sox' not-so-hot start, the half-marathon Mom & the pros and cons of embellishing the truth, and the Memorial Day standings and a new album from R…

This week, Craig and Rex talk about closers who had one great year then -- nothing after that, along with anticipating Francis Ford Coppola's new film. -->Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/tT8d3pVUsN -->You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including the books featured in this episode, through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the li…

Fred Frommer is an author, journalist, editor and sports and politics historian. He is a regular contributor to The Washington Post, where his stories often top the paper's "most read" sports and history sections. This week, for our 200th episode, Frommer joins us to discuss how Major League Baseball and its teams responded to the June 1968 assassi…

This week Craig and Rex review three newish releases -- Beyonce's brilliant "Carter Country," Pearl Jam's not so bad "Dark Matter" and Motley Crue's ugly new single "Dogs of War." Also this episode, some trivia answers, how AI impacts music from both a creator and fan perspective, black light baseball, the Rangers' big inning, Astro woes continue, …

Willie Hood is here and this is a MUST listen. Does the MLB draft intimidate you? Do you struggle to understand slot values and bonus pools? Do you wonder how teams pick between college or guys from big name prep high schools? Because, we do too. Thankfully within our space as Guardians fans, we have people that love the draft and digest a TON of i…

Jerry Grillo, author of "Big Cat: The Life of Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Mize," (Univ. of Nebraska Press, 2024) joins us this week for a wide-ranging, fast-paced interview about this legendary Cardinal, Giant and Yankee first baseman. Grillo was an energetic guest and Mize's amazing life provides plenty of material to talk baseball. Grillo's boo…

Author Dan Helpingstine has written several books about baseball in Chicago, including, "South Side Hitmen: The Story of the 1977 Chicago White Sox," and "The Cubs and the White Sox: A Baseball Rivalry, 1900 to the Present." Helpingstine is a life-long White Sox fan - his 2023 essay about Bill Veeck's second tenure as the White Sox owner is the sub…

On this Rex and Craig agree -- Foreigner is a boring band. And it is an outrage that Foreigner is nominated for induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame while Iron Maiden and Soundgarden are not. Then again, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has been a joke for a long time. Why stop now? Rex and Craig review this year's nominees and cast our (imaginary…

The Houston Colt-.45's started an all-rookie lineup on September 27, 1963, the one and only time in Major League Baseball history a team has done this. Houston eventually played a remarkable 16 rookies in the game, another MLB record unlikely to be challenged any time soon. Rex and Craig take a look this week at this lineup to see which rookies pan…

Kristin Cavness is the general manager of the Alpine Cowboys, the only truly independent team in the independent Pecos League (the other 15 teams are owned and operated by league). The Cowboys are owned and operated by a locally-controlled non-profit that keeps Alpine's strong baseball history alive. The team plays their home games at historic Koke…

Bayleigh Von Schneider co-hosts Soxy Chicks, a podcast about Red Sox and White Sox baseball. She returns this week to Hooks & Runs for our annual American League preview. Von Schneider also shared some thoughts on Jordan Montgomery's landing spot (we didn't know yet it would be Arizona), Shohei Ohtani's gambling woes and the perils trying to compet…

Sara Sanchez, who writes and podcasts at Bleed Cubbie Blue, BaseballHQ and the Fantasy Feud podcast, returns to be Hooks & Runs' first three-time guest for our 2024 National League outlook. Sara is a talented, engaging baseball journalist and analyst who deserves your attention. She always delivers the goods. A lot happened between the recording on…

Dr. Ben Wynne, Ph.D. (Univ. of N. Georgia) is our guest this week to talk about his latest book, "A Hound Dog Tale: Big Mama, Elvis and the Song that Changed Everything" (Louisiana State Univ. Press 2024). This is a fascinating interview about a song that was a major rhythm & blues hit for Big Mama Thornton and a ground-breaking success for Elvis P…

Chuck and Zac are back with special guest Jeff Ellis to talk about all the storylines that have prevailed through spring training so far. Angel Martinez, Chase DeLauter, Gavin Williams' injury scare, the organizations continuing middle infield clutter, and more! Plus, things to continue to look for as spring training comes to a close. You can find …

Former Houston Astro Jason Lane is one of 21 pitchers in MLB history that have pitched or pitched at least 10 innings in the big leagues with a career ERA below 1.00. The list includes both Negro League players and players that played in the National Association (1871-75). We are looking at the background and history for all 21 players in this epis…

This week's guest is Jim Leeke, author of the new book, "The Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I" (Potomac Books, 2024). This is the Leeke's fifth book about baseball and the Great War authored by Leeke, a retired journalist, copywriter and U.S. Navy Veteran. We thoroughly enjoyed this chat. This intervie…

Life got in the way this week so we reached back into the archives for this interesting interview with Prof. Levy in January 2022. Here are the show notes from that episode: This week we discuss Hall of Fame southpaw, Rube Waddell with his biographer, Professor Alan Levy. Levy, a professor of history at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, pub…

Rex and Craig are on the case, from Luke Combs' "Fast Car" cover and performance at the Grammy Awards Show with songwriter Tracy Chapman; to our review of this year's Super Bowl halftime show starring Usher and friends; to our inquiring why some people get so triggered by Taylor Swift to Houston Astros pitchers and catchers reporting. Also, Craig h…

Harris Cooper, Ph.D. is the Hugo L. Blomquist Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University and for our more immediate purposes author of "Finding America in a Minor League Ballpark: A Season Hosting for the Durham Bulls" (Skyhorse, 2024). He is our guest this week to talk about his book and the joys of baseball…

This week Craig and Rex conclude the three-part series ranking the first generation concrete and steel ballparks build prior to the Great Depression. This episode includes the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium in New York City, Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston. Episodes Mentioned 127 - The Old Ballparks Project, Pa…

Professor Katherine Rye Jewell (Fitchburg State) joins us this week to discuss her new book "Live from the Underground: A History of College Radio" (Univ. North Carolina 2023). Jewell relates in her wonderful book and this interview how college radio progressed from a sleepy "left of the dial" collegiate training ground to a major force in the popu…

It's been a minute but Rex and Craig this week pick up the old ballparks project started in Episode 127. Andrew, Craig and Rex ranked the 14 brick, concrete and steel ballparks build between 1909 and 1923 (with the Baker Bowl, built in 1895 thrown in for good measure) based upon several factors we don't remember and didn't exactly follow. This epis…

Zac and Chuck are back after the new year and they’ve got Quincy(@QuincyWheeler1) from the Guardians Fancast and Covering the Corner with them! A relatively mundane off-season has led the us to talk about the moves so far, the impending storylines of pitching, the outfield and a 20-year old rookie rule 5 pick who may not be a Guard much longer? We …

Bill Lamb is our guest this week to discuss the sad and tragic Len Koenecke. Koenecke played three seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the Great Depression. The Dodgers released Koenicke in September, 1935 while the team was in St. Louis and sent him home to New York by plane with two other players. Koenecke never made it home in a story filled…

Julia Simon's book, "The Inconvenient Lonnie Johnson," is new in paperback via Penn State University Press. This book, originally released in late 2022, examines the life and times of New Orleans blues and jazz great Lonnie Johnson through his music, from his first cut, "Mr. Johnson's Blues," on Okeh Record in the mid 20s to his unforgettable balla…

We are closing the books on 2023 and that means it is time for the eagerly anticipated Hooks & Runs Best of 2023. This year we do not disappoint - here is a list of artists mentioned in the show, more or less in order: Brothers Osborne, Waxahatchie, Little Nax X, Saxon, The Weather Station, Nothing More, Michael Schenker Group, Gregor Barnett, Tayl…

In this episode, Carolina Panther attendance woes; the Houston Oilers are back, baby; what are the Kansas City Royals up to; Shohei Ohtani's most unusual opt-out; a game of chicken in Tampa/St. Pete; plus Craig and Rex review the brilliant Sam Pollard documentary, "The League" (2023) about Negro League baseball. Past episodes referenced: 46 - A Jou…

This week Rex and Craig discuss Shohei Ohtani's record contract to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers and decision time for Houston in the wake of an SB Nation article that ranks the Astro farm system 30th out of 30 teams going into 2024. The co-hosts also muse on Florida State's omission from the college football playoffs and the KISS farewell tour,…

Zak Ford released a fascinating book this fall, "Called Up: Ballplayers Remember Becoming Major Leaguers" (McFarland Press 2023). Ford's book is an oral history that includes interviews with 109 former and curren tMajor League players from the 1960s to the present. The players related their experiences and memories being called up for the first tim…

Craig and Rex riff on New Mexico State beating Auburn, Texas A&M is really proud of beating Abilene Christian and Sam Houston, the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot, who might be the baseball equivalent to Journey, MLB owners approve Oakland's move to Las Vegas and the Rolling Stones are going on tour. Episodes Mentioned: 143 - The Rays Are Getting Their Ne…

We are back! Thank you to all of you for hanging with us, life gets crazy. Zac and Chuck are joined by Justin Lada to talk about the myriad of off-season news. Steven Vogt, Jonathan Rodriguez, George Valera, De Los Santos, Barlow, Chase DeLauter, and Kyle Manzardo? It's all here, as much as we could squeeze into an hour and a half at least. Justin …

Professor Langston Collin Wilkins (Wisconsin-Madison) joined us this week to talk about his newly released book "Welcome 2 Houston: Hip Hop Heritage in Hustle Town" (Univ. of Illinois Press, 2023), exploring "the relationship between music creation, place attachment and local heritage within Houston, Texas’ hip hop music scene." We talked about the…