Hello and welcome to Issue 046 of Clearing The Bases, an email newsletter in conjunction with the My Baseball History podcast hosted by Dan Wallach.
We are less than a month away from the premier of Season 5 of My Baseball History, which is exciting to be able to say. I take July, August, and September off from posting episodes each year to give myself a chance to go on a couple road trips, and to enjoy the nice weather by going to as many baseball games as is financially responsible to do. This summer, I’ve also been doing a lot of work on my house, which has taken up an inordinate amount of time.
I choose to go on a short hiatus each year after having worked for nine straight months lining up interviews, researching and writing those interviews, traveling to record those interviews, editing the audio, recording the segment with my mom, writing and recording the intro and outro to every episode, editing all of that audio, adding in the music to each episode, building the liner notes with photos and captions and links, posting on social media, promoting the show, answering emails, doing the newsletter. It’s nice to have a chance to breathe for a little bit, and, frankly, to reflect on whether I want to keep doing the show for another season. It’s a lot of work to put these episodes out, and I do every aspect of everything related to this podcast entirely by myself.
This is now the fourth time I’ve come back from my hiatus excited and ready to do another season, and I hope that continues for more years after this one. I made the decision to keep going for one more season at the SABR convention in Texas this past June. I ran into so many people there who told me how much they love the show, which always means a lot to hear. Seeing so many people meet my mom for the first time and being able to tell her in person how much they enjoy our segment every episode was a fun experience, too. But what really tipped the scales for me was running into a number of people at the convention who made me think “I have to do an episode with them,” and then being lucky enough to have everyone I approached with an idea for an interview be receptive. After that trip, I had agreements for eight of the nine interviews I’d need for a new season, and a rejuvenated spirit.
By the way, if you hadn’t already heard, it was recently announced that the SABR convention in 2026 will be held in Cleveland - which couldn’t be more convenient for me! If you want to get these dates penciled into your calendar so you can plan to be here next year, the event will be held July 29 through August 2, 2026, at the Hilton Hotel next to the Huntington Convention Center downtown.
Episode 1 of Season 5 will go live on Wednesday, October 8, and after I get off work that evening, I will be driving to Rhode Island to interview someone on Thursday the 9th. I’ll do another interview in Connecticut later that trip before coming back to Cleveland. If you live somewhere between Connecticut and Cleveland and want to grab a bite to eat when I pass through on my way back, let me know and I’ll see if we can make it work. Or maybe if you want to meet up in Cooperstown for an hour or two…?
While I would love for this podcast to eventually become a source of income (ideally, it would be my only job), the reality is that doing this podcast actually costs me money every year. From the fees associated with disseminating the episodes across the globe to all of the different platforms you can listen to podcasts, to web hosting so I can have an actual website where I post the liner notes, to the cost of traveling so I can conduct every single interview in person and ensure that the sound quality of these 2+ hour long episodes remains at the standard I have set for myself, My Baseball History has been an expensive hobby. I love doing it, and I’m incredibly proud of the work I have done over the four seasons which have aired so far, but I will admit that it can be exhausting doing the show, on top of working a real job, on top of renovating a house, on top of trying to have some modicum of a social life.
One of the things I have tried to do to enjoy my free time is go to baseball games. Recently, a friend from South Carolina visited me, and we went to Guardians games on back-to-back nights. The first game was a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Indians team which went to the World Series. If you haven’t already listened to the Bob DiBiasio interview (Episode 8 of Season 4), all we talked about was the building of that 1995 Cleveland roster, and the incredible season the team had. Bob is the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the Cleveland Guardians, and has been a public relations executive with Cleveland for all but one season since 1979. You can listen to our interview HERE. It’s a lot of fun, and very informative.
The first game my friend and I went to was against the Seattle Mariners, who scored four runs in the top of the 1st inning, seemingly putting the game out of reach before Cleveland even got an at-bat. But in true 1995 fashion, the team scratched and clawed for a come-from-behind win as 15 members of the 1995 team watched: Albie Lopez, Chad Ogea, Paul Shuey, Bud Black, Julián Tavárez, Rubén Amaro Jr., Álvaro Espinoza, Paul Assenmacher, Eric Plunk, Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr., Charles Nagy, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, and manager Mike Hargrove.
The next day, my friend and I got to the game early enough to watch the Mariners take batting practice. We walked around the stadium so he could take in the views from lots of different vantage points. We had a great view looking out from a balcony on the fourth level, all the way down the third base line in foul territory. Down on the field, a Mariners player fielded a batting practice ball and immediately started looking around the stadium to see where he could possibly throw the ball into the stands. But he wasn’t looking to just toss it over the outfield fence and into the bleacher seats to the closest fan. He was looking to test himself, and find some place far away. I could see his eyes darting around, and he finally saw the balcony where I was standing with my friend.
I could tell the player was contemplating making a throw, but I’m sure the calculus going on in his head was something along the lines of “Can I even get a throw up there? Nobody in that section is expecting a ball to come their way, so if I DO get it up there, will my throw hit an innocent bystander and hurt them?” I could see the wheels turning in his head, but he also hadn’t looked away the entire time, so I waved my arms as if to say “I know you want to try this, and I’m ready for it.” That wasn’t convincing enough, apparently. He continued looking around for another place to throw the ball in his hand, but no other place would have tested his strength and accuracy quite like where I was standing. I again waved my arms, this time as if to say “trust me, if you can get it here, I’ll catch it.” Apparently, that was convincing enough. Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo took one crow hop and launched it. I promise, I am not exaggerating at all when I tell you I did not have to move an inch to receive this ball. If I didn’t put my hands up to catch it, it would have hit me squarely in the face. It’s one of the most impressive throws I’ve ever seen in my life, and I have the ball to remember that moment forever.
Woo is a 25-year-old Oakland native who made his MLB debut in 2023 and was named to the All-Star Game in 2025. He was the Mariners' most consistent pitcher to begin the 2025 season, pitching at least 6 innings in each of his first 24 starts of the year (which is a franchise record). During that stretch, he never allowed more than two walks in a game, the longest such stretch to start a season since Cy Young in 1893. That accuracy was on full display with his throw to me. It’s been nearly two weeks, and I’m still in awe. I may not be a Mariners fan, but Bryan Woo gained a fan for life that day.
One more thing before I go. I was recently doing some research for the On This Date in Baseball History posts I make on social media every day, and came across this interesting tidbit: there are only four players in MLB history who have stolen a base in four different decades.
- Rickey Henderson (1,406 career steals; stole bases in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s)
- Tim Raines (808 career steals; stole bases in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s)
- Omar Vizquel (404 career steals; stole bases in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s)
- Ted Williams (24 career steals; stole bases in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s)
That is not a typo on Ted Williams’ career stolen bases total. Ted stole two bases during his rookie season in 1939, he stole 14 bases during the 1940s, and he stole seven bases in the 1950s. The final stolen base of his career came during the game at Fenway Park on July 22, 1960 against Cleveland. Obviously, being on this list has less to do with how great of a base stealer you were, and much more to do with having a long career coincidentally begin with a rookie season occurring in a year that ends in 9. Rickey was a rookie in 1979, as was Tim Raines. Omar was a rookie in 1989, and Ted in 1939. Ted is clearly the odd man out in this list, with Omar Vizquel 72nd on the all-time steals list, Tim Raines 5th, and Rickey 1st. As great as they all were, the heavy-footed Williams joins them as a part of this unique group.
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Until next time, I’m Dan Wallach, and this is My Baseball History.
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