Sean and Eds Do Baseball

90 Baseball’s Union Association with Justin McKinney

In celebration of 90 episodes (the toilet paper anniversary) Sean and Eds put their feet up and welcome award winning author and SABR member Justin McKinney to the show for a highly anticipated spot start. Justin takes to the mound and delivers a short summary of his book; "Baseball's Union Association: The Short, Strange Life of a 19th-Century Major League." (winner of SABR's 2023 Baseball Research Award.) In just one season the Union Association came and went, had some serious trials and tribulations, and a colourful cast of characters; its a wonder they made it one full season at all, and thankfully Justin is here to tell us most of the story.

89 Charlie Faust

Eds returns to the bump with a story of a man whose biographer described him as "the least athletic person apart from Eddie Gaedel to play in the major leagues." Charlie grew up seemingly destined to work the land under the watchful eyes of his younger brothers back home in Kansas, but a trip to the county fair would change not only Charlie's life, but spur the Giants to one of their greatest stretches in team history.

88 Rinku Singh

Sean toes the rubber and delivers a changeup with some late break, as he tells the story of Rinku Singh. A former Olympic hopeful in javelin, Singh gives up everything to enter a baseball throwing competition, even though he had never even seen a baseball game before. Singh's life would change and he would end up in the big leagues- but not for baseball. 

87 Abbott and Costello

Eds returns to toe the rubber with the story of two great entertainers. He begins with the life of Bud Abbott who quit school and joined the family business, following in his father's footsteps through the Northeastern Burlesque wheels, where he would meet his greatest match in Lou Costello; together they would take the entertainment by storm but not without some stormy days of their own. Nonetheless the two men gifted us with one of the greatest comedic bits the world (not just the baseball world) has ever seen.

86 Gus Weyhing

Sean winds up and tosses a wild one with the life of Gus Weyhing. Gus was not just wild on the mound- setting the MLB record for hit batsmen- but also off the field with numerous arrests and mischieveous moments throughout the pitcher's life. 

85 Brandon Martin

Returning to the bump after back to back outings by Sean, Eds tells a story that is part sports documentary part true crime with the story of Brandon Martin. The former first round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays whose inner demons, which had been brushed aside in the name of his career, quickly began to re-surface after becoming one of the organization's highly touted prospects. Big Thanks to : This is MONSTERS - season 3 episode 4 (YouTube)                         Nathan Fenno - LA Times - Nov19/2020 & April 28/2017

84 Eiji Sawamura

Inspired by the WBC; Sean takes the mound again and delivers the story of Eiji Sawamura. A teenage pitching phenom who got the opportunity to face the best of the best at the young age of 17. Sawamura's career and life would be cut short but he made such an impact that the yearly award for the best pitcher in Japan still bears his name to this day.  

83 Jeffrey Loria and The Expos

Sean gives Eds a "Balle Courbe" with the story of Jeffrey Loria's early years in baseball and his tumultuous time as owner of the Montreal Expos. Loria would only own the team a few years but his time there left a deep scar in the hearts of Montreal baseball fans and ignited conspiracies about the commissioner's intentions. 

82 Waconah Park and Foul Ball

Eds takes the mound once again with a story about "The Bulldog" Jim Bouton and more specifically about Waconah Park. Bouton who "never did anything half way" took it upon himself and some of his friends to fight city hall in order to save an historic landmark in his adopted hometown of Pittsfield. 

81 Dobie Moore

Sean winds up and delivers a bit of a screwball detailing the extremely talented Dobie Moore. Arguably the best shortstop to ever play the game; Sean and Eds are joined by guest Andrew Stoeten to discuss Moore's meteoric rise on the field and his sudden violent descent off it.