2024 Baseball Comedy

Our PhD Committee examines and celebrates the comedians who love baseball through their unforgettable skits.

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2024 Minicast – James “Deacon” White

Ed Kasputis interviews baseball researcher, James D. Smith III about the barehanded catcher, James “Deacon” White (1847-1939) who will be the only player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 28, 2013.

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2024 Summer of ’68

Ed Kasputis interviews author, Tim Wendel about his book, Summer of ’68: The Season That Changed Baseball – and America – Forever.

From the beginning, ’68 was a season rocked by national tragedy and sweeping change. Opening Day was postponed and later played in the shadow of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s funeral. That summer, as the pennant races were heating up, the assassination of Robert Kennedy was later followed by rioting at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. But even as tensions boiled over and violence spilled into the streets, something remarkable was happening in major league ballparks across the country. Pitchers were dominating like never before, and with records falling and shut-outs mounting, many began hailing ’68 as “The Year of the Pitcher.”

Meanwhile in Detroit—which had burned just the summer before during one of the worst riots in American history—’68 instead found the city rallying together behind a colorful Tigers team led by Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich, Willie Horton, and Al Kaline. The Tigers would finish atop the American League, setting themselves on a highly anticipated collision course with Bob Gibson’s Cardinals.

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2024 Minicast – Charles O. Finley

Ed Kasputis interviews G. Michael Green about his book, Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball’s Super Showman.

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2024 Minicast – Marty Kuehnert

From Tokyo, Ed Kasputis interviews Marty Kuehnert, Senior Advisor to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles about his 40+ year career as an American baseball executive in Japan.

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2024 World Series Review

Hail to the Los Angeles Dodgers as they win their eighth World Series. Ed Kasputis interviews Matt Moreno from dodgerblue.com about this year’s Fall Classic.

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