Touring the Bases With Bob Wolff

Bob Wolff is one of the most famous television and radio announcers of the second half of the Twentieth Century. He has been inducted to both the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown and the Basketball Hall of Fame as well. His call of Don Larsen’s World Series Perfect Game in 1956 for Mutual Radio [...]

Touring the Bases With Hall of Famer, Monte Irvin

Monte Irvin has had an extraordinary life and I had the privilege to talk to him about his long career in the game recently. He is 92—he will turn 93 on February 25th—and can look back over a remarkable period in our history, as he recalled,  ”It was a time when baseball was really king.” [...]

Touring The Bases With…Durham Bulls GM Mike Birling

Mike Birling is the General Manager for the Durham Bulls located in Durham, North Carolina, in the International League. They have been an Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays since 1998. Their Stadium is Durham Bulls Athletic Park. (a) International League Champions 2002 – 2003 – 2009 Seamheads.Com: What was your first job working in [...]

Touring The Bases With…Norm Coleman

Norm Coleman is an actor, sports writer, inspirational speaker, humorist and photographer. He lives in Half Moon Bay, California. Jack Perconte:  When did your love of baseball begin? Norm Coleman: It began when I was ten years old living in Brooklyn. The year was 1946. My sister Louise, seven years older then me took me [...]

Touring The Bases With…Bob Lazzari

Bob Lazzari and I have become friends over the internet and he is one of those guys that you just immediately know that you would like. He is very thorough and interesting with his reporting and is a great writer. Bob has a way of writing that touches you and makes you reflect on your [...]

Touring The Bases With…Lexington Legends GM Andy Shea

Andy Shea is the General Manager for the Lexington Legends located in Lexington, Kentucky. They are in the South Atlantic League and have been an Affiliate of the Houston Astros since 2001. Their stadium is Whitaker Bank Park. (a) www.lexingtonlegends.com Seamheads.Com: What was your first job working in baseball? How did you obtain that job? [...]

Touring the Bases with…Garrett Totty

Garrett Totty is the Head Batboy for the Texas League Tulsa Drillers.   Garrett also plays catcher on his high school baseball team at Morris (Oklahoma) High School, where this past season he was teammates with Yankee’s 18th round draft choice Hayden Sharp. Seamheads:    Being a batboy on a professional team is probably something that many young [...]

Two and Half Hours with Chip Caray

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Atlanta Braves play-by-play announcer Chip Caray to talk about his career, his life experiences and how he goes about making the excitement of Atlanta Braves baseball come alive for millions of fans across the country.  Over a 7 day period I had the privilege of interviewing [...]

Touring The Bases With…Fort Wayne TinCaps President and GM Mike Nutter

Mike Nutter is the President and General Manager of the Fort Wayne TinCaps located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They have been an Affiliate of the San Diego Padres since 1999 and are in the Midwest League. They play at Parkview Field. (a) www.tincaps.com. Seamheads.Com: What are your responsibilities for the TinCaps? Mike Nutter: Lots of [...]

Touring The Bases With…John D’Acquisto

Former big league right-hander John D’Acquisto was the 17th pick of the 1970 amateur draft, going to the San Francisco Giants in a draft that also featured Mike Ivie, Darrell Porter and “Disco Dan” Ford.  D’Acquisto got his feet wet in the Pioneer (rookie) League before the 19-year-old blossomed in Single-A in 1971, posting a [...]

Touring the Bases With…D. Bruce Brown

D. Bruce Brown is the chairman of the Bob Davids Chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR). The chapter serves the Mid-Atlantic region of the country and is the oldest SABR chapter–named for the founder of SABR, Washington, DC resident, Bob Davids. D. Bruce Brown has attended the last ten SABR national conventions [...]

Touring The Bases With…Lehigh Valley IronPigs GM Kurt Landes

Kurt Landes is the General Manager for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs located in Allentown, PA. They have been a AAA Affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies since 2008 and are in the International League. They play at Coca-Cola Park. (a) www.ironpigsbaseball.com Seamheads.Com: What was your first job in baseball? Kurt Landes: My first job in baseball [...]

Touring The Bases With…Princeton Rays GM Jim Holland

Jim Holland is the General Manager for the Princeton Rays located in Princeton, West Virginia. They have been an Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays since 1997 and are in the Appalachian League.  They play at Hunnicutt Field.  (a)  www.princetonrays.net Seamheads.Com: What is your history with the Princeton Rays? Jim Holland: This will be my [...]

Touring The Bases With…Norfolk Tides GM Dave Rosenfield

Dave Rosenfield is the General Manager for the Norfolk Tides located in Norfolk, Virginia. They have been an Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles since 2007 and are in the International League. They play at Harbor Park. (a) www.norfolktides.com Seamheads.com: This year marks your fifty-sixth consecutive year you have been associated with a professional club. Is [...]

Touring The Bases With…Lansing Lugnuts GM Pat Day

Pat Day is the General Manager for the Lansing Lugnuts located in Lansing, Michigan in the Midwest League. They have been an Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays since 2005. They play in Jackson Field at Thomas M. Cooley Law School Stadium. (a) www.lansinglugnuts.com. Seamheads.com: Your team has an unusual name. How did the name [...]

Touring The Bases With…Terry Tata

Umpire Terry Tata officiated in the National League from 1973-1999, and umpired in four World Series, seven National League Championship Series, three All-Star games and five no-hitters, for two of which he was behind the plate.  During his major league career, he umpired in 3,743 regular season games. Click here to see a video of [...]

Touring the Bases With…Jim Northrup (May He Rest in Peace)

In 1968, Jim Northrup hit two grand slams in one game and became the first person in history to hit three grand slams in a week (and only the second to hit three in a month). He hit four grand slams that season, plus one more in the World Series. In Game 7 of the [...]

Touring The Bases With…Rico Petrocelli

Rico Petrocelli was signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox in 1961 and went on to have a productive 13-year big league career, all with Boston.  After a cup of coffee with the Sox in 1963, Petrocelli arrived in the big leagues to stay in 1965, and by 1969 was one [...]

Touring The Bases With…Harrisburg GM Randy Whitaker

Randy Whitaker is the General Manager for the Harrisburg Senators located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the Eastern League. They have been an Affiliate of the Washington Nationals since 2005.  Their Stadium is Metro Bank Park. (1)  www.senatorsbaseball.com SEAMHEADS.COM: What was your first job working in baseball? How did you obtain that position? How did that [...]

Touring The Bases With…Lindsey Knupp

Lindsey Knupp is the Promotions and Entertainment Director for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs located in Allentown, PA. They have been an Affiliate of the 2009 National League Champions Philadelphia Phillies since 2008, the year they were World Champions! SEAMHEADS: What was your first job working in baseball? How did you obtain the position? How did [...]

Touring the Bases With Barbara Gregorich

Barbara Gregorich is one of the best authorities on women in baseball and her book Women at Play is testament to that knowledge.  Barbara has recently published a portion of her original research notes for Women at Play. This interview talks about her books and her experiences in baseball.  The full, in-depth interview will appear [...]

Touring The Bases With…Kelly Hallquest

Kelly Hallquest is the Food and Beverage Director for the Eugene Emeralds located in Eugene, Oregon. They have been an Affiliate of the San Diego Padres since 2001 and are in the Northwest League. Check out Emeralds on Facebook. www.-ems.com Seamheads.Com: What are your responsibilities for the Emeralds? Kelly Hallquest: I am the Director of [...]

Rob Nelson on the Future (and Could-Have Been Past) of Pro Baseball in Portland

I recently talked with Rob Nelson, the co-creator of Big League Chew shredded bubble gum, Portland Mavericks pitcher (and pitching coach) in the mid-1970s, and all-around fixture of Portland’s baseball scene. Our conversation centered on Big League Chew and the Mavs, but we also eventually got around to the plight of pro baseball in Portland [...]

Touring The Bases With…Julia Janssen

Julia Janssen is the Director of Marketing for the Lansing Lugnuts located in Lansing, Michigan. They have been affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays since 2005.  They are in the Midwest League.  Website: www.lansinglugnuts.com SEAMHEADS:  When did you discover your love for baseball? How did you wind up on your team? Julia Janssen: I’ve always [...]

Touring The Bases With…Molly Radcliffe

Molly Radcliffe works in Ticket Sales and Alumni Relations for the St. Louis Cardinals. SEAMHEADS: What was your first job working in baseball? How did you obtain the position? How did that first job help you get to where you are today? Molly Radcliffe: I started working in baseball in 2007 when I was hired [...]

Touring the Bases With Peter Bock of the Coastal Plains League

College baseball is set to go off this week.  Wood bat leagues like the Coastal Plain League will be evaluating college talent before their start-up in late May.  Here is a behind-the-scenes look at that league with one of the league founders, Peter Bock. The Coastal Plain League operates in three Atlantic Coast states.  The [...]

Part II of the Rob Nelson Interview: Playing for the Portland Mavericks, a Game Called Boku, Et Cetera

I earlier posted the portion of my talk with Rob Nelson in which he talks about co-creating Big League Chew and his 30 years managing one of the legendary bubble gums. In this part, Rob Nelson describes how he came to be a Portland Maverick, what it was like to be on the team, and [...]

Talking With Rob Nelson About Big League Chew

The story of the creation of Big League Chew in the Portland Mavericks’ bullpen in 1977 is told in shorthand on the back of every package of “the ballplayers’ bubble gum,” and Rob Nelson, the co-creator, along with Jim Bouton, has told the longhand story on a few occasions. I talked with Nelson recently about [...]

Touring The Bases With…Lisa Fegley

Lisa Fegley is Ticket Sales & Promotions Director for the Jupiter Hammerheads, an affiliate of the Florida Marlins.  She also works for the Palm Beach Cardinals – which is an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.  They play in Roger Dean Stadium, the only Stadium in the country with two minor league teams sharing a [...]

Touring The Bases With…Jackie Kampf

Jackie Kampf is the Marketing Assistant for the Montgomery Biscuits located in Montgomery, Alabama.  They have been an Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays since 2004 and are in the Southern League. SEAMHEADS: What does your job consist of? What are your responsibilities? JACKIE KAMPF: My title is Marketing Assistant for the Montgomery Biscuits.  My [...]

Touring The Bases With…Mike Vaccaro

Mike Vaccaro is the lead sports columnist for the New York Post and the author of  The First Fall Classic: The Red Sox, The Giants, and the Cast of Players, Pugs, and Politicos Who Reinvented the World Series in 1912, 1941: The Greatest Year in Sports and Emperors and Idiots.  He has won more than [...]

Touring The Bases With…Courtney White

Courtney White is the Group Sales Account Executive for the Oklahoma City RedHawks located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  They have been an affiliate of the Texas Rangers since 1983 and are in the Pacific Coast League. Their website is: www.oklahomaredhawks.com SEAMHEADS: What does your job consist of?  What are your responsibilities? COURTNEY WHITE: Currently, I [...]

Touring The Bases With…Doug White

Doug White, the Pitching Coach of the Johnson City Cardinals talked with Alfonso Tusa about his pitching philosophy, great satisfaction in the 2010 season, how baseball has enhanced his life and his everyday work with the pitching staff. Alfonso Tusa: The JC Cards hadn’t won the Appalachian League Championship since 1976. Were you aware of [...]

Touring The Bases With…Doug Gladstone

Doug Gladstone is the author of A Bitter Cup of Coffee: How MLB and The Players Association Threw 874 Retirees a Curve, in which he champions the cause of former major league players who don’t qualify for a pension because they didn’t meet the required service time.  An excerpt from an article Doug wrote for [...]

Touring The Bases With…John Castino

John Castino was selected co-rookie of the year (with Toronto’s Alfredo Griffin) in the American League for 1979 after batting .285 with eight triples. Due to the tie, the voting process (and point system) was changed in 1980. Castino hit .302 in 1980 and led the American League in triples in 1981, but back problems [...]

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