Midnight Library of Baseball

Ep. 15: From Obscurity to Immortality

n the early 1900s, there was no such thing as a consecutive games streak, because nobody followed it. Until a man named Al Munro Elias brought the statistic into the public consciousness. Even then, few players actively chose to pursue the streak. So of all the people to attempt this feat, of all the people to do what no one else had come close to doing after Lou Gehrig, why Cal Ripken Jr? In this episode, I try to get to the bottom of this question.

Ep 14: The Streak

The consecutive game streak is not just something that happened with Cal Ripken Jr. The whole, fascinating story involves Lou Gehrig, dozens of aspiring ballplayers, statistical pioneers, and a rollercoaster of emotions, perceptions, and changed minds regarding a record people ignored, ridiculed, and finally, revered.

Ep 13: Why Didn't He Just Try?

Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is known in baseball history as the man who saved baseball, the man who took charge, and acted. But he is also known as the man who did nothing in some of the biggest issues to ever occur in the major leagues? Was he a man who intentionally stood in the way of human rights and progress, or was he simply a man of his time?

Ep 12: Here Comes The Judge

In the second part of this 3-part series, I dive into Kenesaw Mountain Landis’ transition from federal judge to first baseball commissioner, and what happens when the judge gets down to business. Lives will be destroyed. More conspiracies uncovered. But while he’s cleaning up baseball, Landis is also willfully preventing millions of Americans from enjoying the game. The man seen as a saint, as a tough-as-nails hero, is not quite as shiny and pure as advertised.

Ep 11: The Commissioner Who Would be King

For all the known controversies and unbelievable stories surrounding Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, there are just as many mysteries. In this episode, I dig into the origin story of the man who shaped baseball like no other commissioner in the history of the game.

Bonus Episode: Author and journalist Scott Miller stops by the library

I sit down with Scott Miller to discuss his new book about the relevance of managers, fifty years ago, and today. I love the overlooked and misunderstood parts of the game, and during our conversation, Scott Miller does not disappoint.

Ep. 10: The Secret History of Night Baseball

In this episode, I uncover some hidden stories and unforeseen outcomes of night games in Major League Baseball, including a son who learned, after his father’s death, how integral his father had been in the development of lights in the game.

Ep. 9: The Game that Feared the Dark

In this episode, I dig into the question, why did it take Major League Baseball 55 years to introduce the night game, when the first night game actually occurred in 1880? I’ll explore the reasons, and the overlooked consequences to millions of fans.

Ep. 8: The Haunted Game

What do hauntings look like in baseball, and where are ghosts most entrenched? In this episode, I answer these questions, and I explore some of the fascinating, overlooked elements of the most well known curse in baseball history.

Ep. 7: Sorry Ray. This guy did it first.

In this episode, I try to solve the mystery of why Larry Luebbers spent the equivalent of $300,000 to rebuild Crosley Field on his farm, ten years before a fictional character named Ray Kinsella would decide to accomplish a similar feat.