Effectively Wild Episode 1887: There Used to Be a Ballpark (And it’s Still There)

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Dodgers’ and Mets’ “statement” series and the awe and anxiety inspired by Jacob deGrom, follow up on Vin Scully’s musical taste, retractable mounds, and Justin Verlander vs. Max Scherzer, and discuss a recent Rockies pickup and promotion and a hazardous mound visit, followed (33:00) by a Past Blast from 1887. Then (46:52) they talk to 95-year-old Ron Teasley, one of four living former Negro Leaguers from the MLB-designated 1920-1948 “major league” period, about his amateur and professional baseball career in Detroit, in the Dodgers’ minor league system, and with the New York Cubans, his memories of Minnie Miñoso, Buck O’Neil, and other Negro Leagues legends, breaking color barriers, the MLB reclassification and what else the league should do for former Negro Leaguers, his decades as a coach, the declining African-American presence in MLB, and more. Finally (1:23:50), they bring on author, editor, and historian Gary Gillette to discuss the restoration of one of the last surviving Negro Leagues ballparks, Hamtramck Stadium, as well as the ongoing efforts to preserve and uncover information about pre-integration Black baseball. Audio intro: J.J. Cale, “Slower Baby” Audio interstitial 1: Dick Haymes, “Little White Lies” Audio interstitial 2: Radiator Hospital, “Detroit Diamonds (Sacred Strays)” Audio outro: The Kinks, “Preservation” Link to Ben Clemens on deGrom Link to fastest sliders spreadsheet Link to Plaschke on Scully Link to Globe Life Field site Link to retractable mound image Link to retractable mound video Link to Verlander/Scherzer stat Link to all-time strikeout leaders Link to FG post on Lamet Link to article about Rockies hire Link to LinkedIn page Link to article about Rockies firing Link to Keith Law tweet Link to article about Nationals hire Link to pitching coach injury article Link to Teasley’s first EW appearance Link to Teasley bio Link to more Teasley info Link to 1945 article on Brown Dodgers Link to 1948 article on Teasley Link to second 1948 article on Teasley Link to third 1948 article on Teasley Link to 1989 article on Teasley Link to 1991 article on Teasley Link to 1999 article on Teasley Link to 2021 article on Teasley Link to info on the Mandak League Link to column about reparations Link to article about pensions Link to video about Hamtramck Link to video about Hamtramck unveiling Link to other video about unveiling Link to article on Hamtramck unveiling Link to The Biographical Encyclopedia Link to EW episode about 42 for 21 Link to Hamtramck website Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1887 story source  Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: [email protected] var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source