Kent Tekulve #543

This week we talked about the Rubber Band Man, 1979 World Series hero, submarine pitcher, sunglasses wearer, Mr. Rogers guest, and hero of the podcast...Kenton Charles "Teke" Tekulve. Teke had one of the most iconic looks in baseball. Tekulve didn't make his MLB debut until he was 27. He then went on to pitch until he was 42.  Tekulve pitched in 1050 games for the Pirates, Phillies, and Reds, leading the NL in games 4 times.  

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Ken Phelps #182

 

This week, we heard that Steinbrenner's baseball people love Ken Phelps' bat! And for good reason, Ken hit 105 home runs in 1,399 at-bats for the Mariners. A rate of a home run every 13.3 at bats! But anyone who watched Seinfeld knows...the Ken Phelps for Jay Buhner trade didn't work out for the Yankees. We talked about Ken's interesting college path and his outstanding Minor League career. 

Other topics: Nazo No Sakana's latest transformation, mustaches and glasses, and a near perfect game.

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Jim Walewander #106

This week's card...a listener request, it's Detroit Tigers pinch runner, utility man, and Dead Milkmen fan extraordinaire Jim Walewander! Jim became a fan favorite in 1987 for his quirkiness and played an important part in the run for the AL East title. Jim's taste in clothes and music earned him a lot of ink in the press...but he only played 162 games in his pro career. 

Other topics: Harwood Heights, "weird" athletes, Punk Rock Girl, and Mitch Albom

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Don Sutton #575

On January 19th, 2021, Don Sutton passed away. We celebrated Don and his 23 year MLB career, ridiculous stats, game show appearances, outstanding perm, and his appearance in RBI Baseball. We also took a minute to mourn the passing of Hank Aaron. Sutton was a durable pitcher and Match Game panelist who won 324 games and struck out 3,574 batters in his 23 season career. Between 1972 and 1976, Don had the best stretch of his career. He was in the Top 5 in Cy Young voting each season, had a 93-51 record with 68 complete games, 25 shutouts, and a 2.73 ERA. 

RIP Don Sutton 1945-2021.

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Paul Noce #542

 

This week we discussed Paul Noce! Some weeks we have 20 plus season careers to cover, other times it is a guy with 71 total MLB games. Paul had a long minor league career, made stops in the big leagues with the Cubs and Reds (for 1 glorious at bat!) and has gone on to have a long coaching career. 

Other topics include: Eck follow-up, a brawl at Wrigley, and a funny minor league card

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Links: 

About Paul on ⁠Greatest 21 Days⁠ and another excellent card!

The ⁠Brawl⁠ with the Padres

Article on ⁠SABR⁠

Coaching Tip⁠ of the Day by Paul Noce

Dennis Eckersley #72

 

Our card this week is Dennis Eckersley! Our first Oakland A's player. 1987 was a turning point in Eck's life and career. Eck had 14 seasons under his belt. He was about to find a second career as the most dominant closer in MLB culminating with the 1992 AL MVP and Cy Young. He was finally sober after a long struggle with alcoholism and playing for his hometown team. 

Other topics: Eck's timeless look, a bizarre love triangle, Richard Marx, and that 1988 World Series moment...yeah, you know the one.

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Rey Quiñones #358

This week's topic...Rey Quiñones! According to former Mariners GM Dick Balderson - Rey "had the potential to be the best in the game, but what a strange guy.”  At one point Ted Williams compared Rey to Frank Robinson. That didn't quite pan out, he was a Red Sox top prospect with a decent bat traded for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen. Rey was our first Seattle Mariners player, so we discussed their early history. 

Rey is one of our favorites. According to teammate Henry Cotto - “Rey Quiñones is hard to understand." We tried to understand him.

Card on ⁠Beckett  ⁠

⁠Dorktown⁠

Rey Quiñones' entry in the SABR Bio Project⁠

⁠Nintendo Power⁠, no longer a magazine, but of course in 2020 is a podcast

⁠Bartleby, the Scrivener⁠ by Herman Melville

Quotes by Henry David Thoreau on ⁠Goodreads