AL.com asked me to write this column after the death of my former editor and great friend Joe Distelheim. This, from December 30, 2020. For whatever outrageous reason, Joe Distelheim agreed it was a good idea to send me and a laptop to the Dominican Republic. I would write a series about baseball and how … Continue reading The best editor a writer could ever have

“Never a Bad Game,” which chronicled the first 50 years of the Southern League, has been updated and re-released. (Ordering information below). Over the coming weeks, I’ll present excerpts from 10 of my favorites of the 50 stories told in the book. Fran Kalafatis was in Montgomery in March 2012, doing advocacy work on behalf … Continue reading Book excerpt: The magical four-homer night of George Kalafatis

“Never a Bad Game,” which chronicled the first 50 years of the Southern League, has been updated and re-released. (Ordering information below). Over the coming weeks, I’ll present excerpts from 10 of my favorites of the 50 stories told in the book. Professional baseball was returning to Birmingham on April 14, 1981 after a five-year … Continue reading Book excerpt: You know Bo made a brief stop in the Southern League

“Never a Bad Game,” which chronicled the first 50 years of the Southern League, has been updated and re-released. (Ordering information below). Over the coming weeks, I’ll present excerpts from 10 of my favorites of the 50 stories told in the book. Next time you’re having one of those TV nostalgia nights, watching some classic … Continue reading Book excerpt: Cheers to the author of the Southern League’s first perfect game

You can’t appreciate where NASCAR came from, where it was on the sports spectrum, where it was so desperately trying to go, unless you were loitering around the sport in the early 1990s, as I was. You couldn’t fully appreciate it unless you were standing in the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, near to that … Continue reading New York and NASCAR: Memories from championship banquets past

“Never a Bad Game,” which chronicled the first 50 years of the Southern League, has been updated and re-released. (Ordering information below). Over the coming weeks, I’ll present excerpts from 10 of my favorites of the 50 stories told in the book. It was the kind of hype rarely seen in the minor leagues, where … Continue reading Book excerpt: The heavyweight matchup, Peavy vs. Prior

“Never a Bad Game,” which chronicled the first 50 years of the Southern League, has been updated and re-released. (Ordering information below). Over the coming weeks, I’ll present excerpts from 10 of my favorites of the 50 stories told in the book. Cal Ripken Sr. was a baseball lifer, a winner of more than 1,000 … Continue reading Book excerpt: Cal Ripken, a close call in Asheville and long run in The Show

“Never a Bad Game,” which chronicled the first 50 years of the Southern League, has been updated and re-released. (Ordering information below). Over the coming weeks, I’ll present excerpts from 10 of my favorites of the 50 stories told in the book. The Spanish Trail Inn sat on the fringe of Tucson, a motel whose … Continue reading Book excerpt: The inimitable “Super Joe” Charboneau

“Never a Bad Game,” which chronicled the first 50 years of the Southern League, has been updated and re-released. (Ordering information below). Over the coming weeks, I’ll present excerpts from 10 of my favorites of the 50 stories told in the book. Manley Johnston, a towering figure with a huge, strong right hand that could … Continue reading Book excerpt: Manley Johnston, the first two-way superstar of the ‘modern’ Southern League

“Never a Bad Game,” which chronicled the first 50 years of the Southern League, has been updated and re-released. (Ordering information below). Over the coming weeks, I’ll present excerpts from 10 of my favorites of the 50 stories told in the book. He was the winningest manager in the first 50 years of the Southern … Continue reading Book excerpt: Phillip Wellman, much more than three minutes of video infamy