Baseball – The Sports Fan Project

The No. 3 Episode of Conversations – Don Drooker

June 3, 2026June 3, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

**^{Don Drooker from 2015 with many of his baseball cards. (Photo by Dave Martinez/Daily News-Sun)}**

(Editor’s Note: As we close in on the fourth anniversary of the launch of Conversations with Sports Fans [June 9th] we’re counting down the top four most-listened-to episodes in the show’s history. This is the third most-listened to episode.)

My wife’s cousin, John Gola III, owns a wildly popular and successful sports card and collectible shop in Phoenix, AZ, aptly named, AZ Sports Cards. I thought John would make a fantastic Conversations’ guest as someone working in the ever-changing and growing sports collectible industry.

John was squeamish about joining me, but offered up a worthy substitute in one of his store’s employees: Don Drooker.

In parlance Don (and many others) will understand, as a guest he was a Gem Mint.

To that moment, his was the longest episode I’d done. It clocked in just under 90 minutes and I was worried how it would be received.

Turns out, it was received very well!

Don shared stories of his fandom dating back to the time he saw Hall of Famer Ted Williams make his triumphant return from service during the Korean War. Yes, you read that correctly, Don was in Fenway Park that day in 1953 and witnessed Williams receive a standing ovation for simply appearing as a pinch hitter and then again after popping out.

From there, the recollections continued to flow, including those of Bill Russell in Boston Garden, Lew Alcindor in Pauley Pavilion, Vin Scully calling Dodger Baseball, George Brett‘s 3,000th hit, and seeing the California Angels play in Wrigley Field … Los Angeles’ Wrigley Field!

No wonder this episode’s had so many listens!

Haven’t listened to the Don Drooker episode yet? Check it out below.

Similar episodes to Don Drooker:

Season 2, Episode 18 Dennis Hafeli – One of my former high school English teachers, Dennis Hafeli was heavily into sports collectibles (especially cards and autographs) and during our Conversation he shares tales from his 25 years attending the card show in Cooperstown, NY, each Hall of Fame Induction Weekend; being present for Hank Aaron‘s record-breaking 715th home run; popping in to visit Mark Fidrych when he and his family happened to be in Northborough, MA, on a vacation; and serving as entertainment for the Detroit Lions’ 1980 training camp.
Season 5, Episode 22 Conversations Live at AZ Sports Cards – This one actually features more Don Drooker and an assortment of other hobby heads when I took the show to a remote location for the first time.

^{My Conversation with Don Drooker.}

Conversations with Sports Fans – Michael Clair

May 14, 2026May 14, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

^{My guest Michael Clair with the World Baseball Classic trophy and the cover of his debut book.}

Around the time I was preparing to head to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the World Baseball Classic and Event No. 47 of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project, I happened to catch this video from Major League Baseball about Korean baseball entitled “Behind the Flag.”

One of the individuals featured speaking about Korean baseball was someone name Michael Clair. Another featured speaker was Jee-ho Yoo, a 2-time former Conversations with Sports Fans guest (S:4, E:7 and S:5, E:17) and an English-language sports writer for Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

I figured anyone worthy of sharing screen time with Jee-ho was worthy of me doing a bit of research about. Turns out Michael is MLB.com’s lead writer for all things international which, of course, included the WBC. A little further sleuthing and I discovered Michael was about to publish his first-ever book, We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball: How the Czech’s Amateur Underdogs Became World Baseball Classic Heroes. It’s the story of the improbable rise of Czech Republic baseball. As I read the synopsis, I was reminded of the uniqueness of this national team where the players (almost to a man) worked full time jobs and played baseball on nights and weekends.

While I’m always up for talking baseball and writing, I was especially intrigued about the Czech story so I reached out Michael.

And here we are😊

During this episode Michael shares his journey from New England to telling the story of international baseball as MLB.com’s senior manager of storytelling and special projects. Oh yeah, we talk plenty about the Czech team and We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball.

I’m also delighted to give away an author-signed copy of the book to one lucky entrant. All you need to do to enter is email me at hilldouglast@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, May 22, 2026, and you’re in the drawing. If you’re a member of the $80 for 80 Circle of Champions and enter, your entries will be tripled!

Good luck!

^{My Conversation with writer Michael Clair.}

Fan Teaser: Week 183 Solution

April 26, 2026April 25, 2026DouglasTHill2 Comments

^{This one’s a deep thinker. What say you?}

This week’s #FanTeaser was the feast of the seven, er, three fishes.

A few of you correctly figured out that those photographed above are Kevin Bass, Mike Trout, and Tim Salmon.

What does that trio have in common?

Well, apart from all spending time playing for California-based MLB teams, their surnames are all a bit, shall we say, fishy sounding.

So, if we wanted to make it a bona fide Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition and craft a Feast of the Seven Fishes edition of the#FanTeaser, who should be added?

For starters how about Baseball Hall of Famer Jim “Catfish” Hunter?

There’s also more trout to be served in the form of Dizzy and his son, Steve Trout.

And, yes, there are four other Salmons to have appeared in MLB (Roger, Harry, Chico, and Brad) and even a Crab (Roy).

My preference is to go back to the MLB bass hole for our seventh member. There are, in fact, eight more Basses beyond Kevin. There is Anthony, Brian, Dick, Doc, John, Leroy, Norm, and, my choice, Randy.

**^{Hanshin Tigers’ first baseman, Randy Bass, won the offensive triple crown twice during his six seasons in Japan. (Photo by Kyodo)}**

Why Randy, you ask?

Well, it certainly isn’t for his relatively pedestrian 6-year, 130-game MLB career with a .212 batting average and nine career homers.

However, Randy played his final six professional seasons in Japan for the Hanshin Tigers where he batted .337 and belted 202 homers, including a whopping 54 during the 1985 season when he led the Tigers to their only NPB championship. In 2023 he and Venezuelan, Alex Ramirez, were the first two foreign-born players inducted into Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame. (Check out this article about their complicated path to induction here.)

And, the real reason for selecting Randy – I suppose – is the Japanese culture’s affinity for – wait for it – fish.

Sushi — **^{A tray of Japanese sushi.}**

Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.

Inside Baseball – April Edition

April 22, 2026May 8, 2026DouglasTHill

Fan Teaser: Week 181 Solution

April 12, 2026April 2, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

^{Another no-crop Fan Teaser Friday! Pictured above is the answer to one of the best trivia questions ever. Who’s the only man to win a MLB World Series and play in The Masters? Bonus points for naming the other three men he’s pictured with above.}

Meet Sammy Byrd aka “Babe Ruth’s Legs” aka the only man to both win a MLB World Series and play in The Masters.

A native of Georgia, Byrd grew up in Birmingham, AL, where the family home was next to Roebuck Golf Course. That’s where he learned the game of golf. A product of Simpson High School, he was a 2-sport star there, playing both baseball and basketball. It was baseball that afforded Byrd his first taste of professional sport.

He signed with the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association as a 20-year-old in 1926. A scant year later the New York Yankees and purchased his contract and assigned him to the Albany Senators. By 1929 he was playing for the Yankees alongside Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. It was with the Yankees in 1932 that he appeared in one World Series Game during the pinstripers’ sweep of the Chicago Cubs.

Speedy and solid defensively in the outfield, near the end of his time with Yankees, Byrd’s role became primarily that of a defensive replacement and/or pinch-runner for the aging Ruth, thus earning the nickname “Babe Ruth’s Legs.” Released by the Yankees following the 1934 season, Byrd signed with the Cincinnati Reds for a pair of seasons before a knee injury following a wall collision in an early night baseball game led to the end of his professional baseball career. His pursuits on the PGA Tour began in 1936 even though he’d turned pro in 1933.

Even while a baseball player, Byrd earned the reputation as the best golfer among the Major Leaguers. He would often play with Ruth and, of course, there was money involved. Later in life, Byrd paraphrased Lee Trevino when he said, “I had to win. Babe could afford to lose $50; I couldn’t.”

Golf legend, Bobby Jones, played with Byrd in 1930 and said of him, “The best man off the tee I’ve ever seen.” In January of 1937 Byrd won a baseball players’ tournament by a whopping 14 shots in Sarasota, FL.

Ultimately, Byrd became the head pro at Pennysylvania’s famed Merion Golf Club (host of the 2026 U.S. Amateur) before moving to Michigan to succeed Jimmy Demaret as the pro Plum Hollow Country Club. All along, he was stacking experience on the Tour, winning the Greater Greensboro Open in 1942 over the likes of Ben Hogan. A year prior, he finished in third place at The Masters behin only winner Craig Wood and Byron Nelson. He and Nelson tangled again in the 1945 PGA Championship, when Nelson bested Byrd 4-and-3 in the match play championship.

All totaled, Byrd won 11 professional golf tournaments including six on the PGA Tour and had the top three finishes at both The Masters and PGA Championship. His best finish in the U.S. Open came in 1939 when he tied for 16th.

After his playing career ended, Byrd became a noted golf instructor and one of his proteges, Jimmy Ballard, became a wildly successful instructor and coach, earning the honor of “PGA Coach of the 1980s.” You’re able to read more about this at this link.

Extra Credit Answer: For those wondering who the additional fellas are above, on the left that’s Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. In the photo at right is Byrd and Ben Hogan during a tournament in Portland, OR.

^{Enjoy this wonderful video about Byrd’s life on and off the golf course.}

dJust to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Conversations Live at AZ Sports Cards

April 2, 2026April 2, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

**We took the show on the road and now you can listen to the show.**

I decided to take the show on the road a couple weeks ago and the results are in. Well, at least the episode that came out of a 2-hour stay at AZ Sports Cards in Phoenix is now ready for public consumption:-)

In actuality, I had no preconceived notion what might occur when I sat at the high top table with my phone, a microphone, some business cards, and a handful of 2025 Allen & Ginter packs John Gola, owner of AZ Sports Cards, had donated to the cause for me to hand to any brave souls who were open to chatting with me.

The first Conversation was an easy one. We caught up with former guest Don Drooker (S:1, E:11) whose sports fan journey is still one of the most popular shows in our four-plus season history. (Seriously, if you’ve not listened to that one yet, do yourself a favor and head over there ASAP. The man name drops Ted Williams, Bill Russell, and Los Angeles’ Wrigley Field … yes, there was one!)

^{Clockwise from upper left, during my Conversation with Achilles, his dad, siblings, and cousins served as an audience; Carrie and Melissa were in town from Wisconsin, enjoying the warm weather, and some Milwaukee Brewers’ baseball; John’s a fan of the Chicago White Sox and sounded an optimistic tone about the south siders for this season; Josh and Tim were part of my traveling team who were along on the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events journey for Cactus League action. (All photos by Stephen Miller)}

From there, I was able to speak to seven customers who’d happened into AZ Sports Cards that Monday morning and I learned about who they were fans of and why they were in the store. As you can imagine, some were Arizonans but many others were snowbirds or vacationers who, like me, were in town for some Cactus League action. They got to open some packs and talk about some of their favorite finds as well and, Achilles, gifted my father a Ron Santo he pulled, which warmed my heart and made my dad smile when I told him about it.

To learn what AZ Sports Cards is up to, give their Facebook page a Like and Follow here.

^{The remote recording from AZ Sports Cards.}

The Sports Fan Project Bracket Challenge – Final Four Update

March 30, 2026March 30, 2026DouglasTHill

Fan Teaser: Week 179 Solution

March 29, 2026March 27, 2026DouglasTHill1 Comment

Did you successfully figure out that the ballplayer pictured above was Walter “The Big Train” Johnson?

Johnson pitched for 21 seasons with the Washington Senators from 1907-27.

By the time Johnson retired he’d amassed more career pitching victories (417) than any other pitcher not named Cy Young (511), the most shutouts all time (110, a record that still stands), and the most strikeouts (3,509, still good for 10th all-time; though Max Scherzer is within 21 of surpsassing him).

We chose Johnson as this week’s subject because of his final Opening Day start, which occurred April 13, 1926, against the Philadelphia Athletics. It’s widely regarded as the greatest Opening Day performance (pitching or hitting) of all time. Johnson threw a 15-inning complete game shutout, allowing three hits, walking three more, and fanning nine en route to the 1-0 Senators’ victory. His Game Score of 111 is still the highest ever for an Opening Day as is his Win Probability Added score of 1.552.

Of course, the fella on the bump for the A’s that date wasn’t too shabby either, though I doubt most have heard of Eddie Rommel, who pitched a 14.1 complete game, scattered nine hits, and walked six, before allowing Joe Harris‘ 15th inning single that scored teammate Bucky Harris to end an Opener that only last two hours, 33 minutes.

Any chance that Opening Day performance will ever be equaled <snickers, knowing the answer>? There were three Opening Day shutouts this season and in only one of those three did the starting pitcher pitch into the seventh inning (Max Fried for the New York Yankees).

Johnson went on to become a member of the inaugural National Baseball Hall of Fame induction class of five in 1936. The others were Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth.

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Fan Teaser: Week 176 Solution

March 8, 2026March 4, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

While possible, it’s highly unlikely the conclusion of the 2026 World Baseball Classic can rival the finish of 2023’s installment.

Team Japan (the home team) led Team USA, 3-2, with two outs and the bases empty in the top of the ninth inning when American Mike Trout strode to the plate.

On the mound for Japan was none other than Trout’s then-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim teammate Shohei Ohtani.

What ensued came directly from central casting.