Hooks & Runs

Dr. Graley Herren is Professor of English at Xavier University and author of the new book, Dylan in Cincinnati (University Press of Mississippi, September 2026). He joins us this week to talk about the book and all things Bob Dylan.

Dr. Herren at Xavier: https://tinyurl.com/herrenxavier
Dr. Herren's Substack, Shadow Chasing: https://substack.com/@shadowchasing
Dr. Herren is on the editorial board of The Dylan Review: https://t...

Rex and Craig discuss the Grammy Award winning rock band Turnstile, released "Never Enough: Versions," remaking their most recent album "Never Enough" in collaboration with artists as diverse as Angel Du$t, Hayley Williams, and Shabaka. 

Also, a look at the MLB team owners unserious proposal for the new collective bargaining agreement plus revisiting the first ever immaculate inning.

Consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purch...

It's all in the title.

Errata: This episode is late arriving - since recording and through September 5, Baez is 13-74 (.176) with 4 home runs and 27 strikeouts in 74 innings since hitting the historic three home runs. Kyle Tucker slashed .195/.293/,310 in August and in 5 game is slashing .133/.333/.333 in September.

Consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if available), thro...

Craig and Rex take on the big issues of the day for episode number 300 - Joshua Baez's historic debut, Ritchie Blackmore's return to Deep Purple (for one song), Tommy John's passing causes reassessment of his Hall of Fame Credentials, and John Paycheck (Johnny's son) is a nepo-baby we can support.

Errata: Yes, we know Roger Clemens (354 career wins) is not in the Hall of Fame, but unlike Tommy John, Clemens' exclusion is not on the ...

This week Craig and Rex take a look at players that led their league in home runs after 1920 but hit less than 200 career home runs. The list includes one Hall of Famer (George Kelly), some that came close (Jake Daubert) and some that leave all but the most fervent fans scrambling to Baseball Reference (Nick Etten). 

Consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if available...

This week we resume our series Texans in the Hall by looking at the lives and careers of two great Texan ballplayers - Louis Santop and Biz Mackey. Santop and Mackey were both born in the Texas in the late 19th Century and represent two of the four former Negro League catchers inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

Our guest is Thomas Kern, a contributor to ¡Arriba!: The Heroic Life of Roberto Clemente (SABR 2022), and co-editor to T...

Bruce S. Allardice joins us this week to discuss the Chicago White Sox in the years immediately after the Black Sox scandal that tainted the 1919 World Series. Allardice is the author of After the Black Sox: The Chicago White Sox in Transition, 1920-1926 (McFarland Press 2026). The discussion covers the World Series scandal, the players involved, the "Clean Sox" - players like Dickie Kerr and Eddie Collins that were not involved in...

Professor Willie Steele (Lipscomb) joins us this week to discuss the forthcoming 9-Online Virtual Baseball Conference. Steele is a conference co-director and past editor of NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture. Steele is also an expert on the works of W. P. Kinsella ("Shoeless Joe") so naturally, the conversation veered that direction.

Also this episode, some thoughts on AI music and the return of vinyl.

Willie Steele at...

Professor John Ferling (University of West Georgia) joins the podcast this week to talk about his new book, Baseball As It Was: Building Champions Before Free Agency Changed Everything (Tatra Press, May 2026). The book examines the period 1946-1957, the years after World War II, with particular focus on the Cleveland Indians and the Boston, and later the Milwaukee Braves.

John Ferling, Ph.D. - http://johnferling.co...

This week on Hooks & Runs, the theatrical doom metal quartet Castle Rat gets a major article in Spin, Craig wanders into more Astro sign stealing controversy on social media, the truth about (Babe) Ruth (in 1922), Portland vs Salt Lake City as an expansion candidate, and remembering René-Robert La Salle's vacation to our home county.

Source: Steve Appleford, "Castle Rat Brings to Life a Mythic World of Ancient Heroes and Villain...

Randall Sullivan, former contributing editor to Rolling Stone and author of The Price of Experience, and Untouchable, joins Hooks & Runs this week to discuss his latest book, The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroads (Grove Atlantic, June 2026). The First All-Star Game chronicles a defining moment for both baseball and the nation, weaving together the sport's early lively ball history with the Jazz A...

Between players jumping contracts and entangling themselves in gambling scandals; the lack of a clear, consistent enforcement authority and conference (league) realignments, one could easily confuse current state of the NCAA with the chaotic state of 19th Century baseball.

This week, John A. Fortunato joins us to make sense of college sports today. Fortunato is a professor of communications and media management at Fordham University...

Chapter 1 - Paul Hofmann, Ph.D., Associate Provost for International Affairs at the University of Louisville and Society for American Baseball Research member, joins us this week to discuss Charlie Ferguson, a forgotten 19th Century baseball star. Ferguson played four seasons in his early 20s with the Philadelphia Quakers (now, Phillies) in the National League and by 1887, Ferguson's final season, he emerged as a rising two-way sta...

Author Perry T. Cooper is our guest this week. Cooper's new book, "The 1890 Louisville Cyclones: Major League Baseball's Original Worst-to-First Team" (McFarland, March 2026). Louisville finished the 1889 American Association season with 27 wins, 111 losses, the first Major League team to lose 100 games during a campaign. Under new manager Jack Chapman, Louisville rebounded in 1890 to first place in the AA and an 88-44 record. ...

This week it's Rex and Craig musing over baseball and music news of the day including:

• Wander Franco's legal troubles are not over;
• Shohei Ohtani's amazing year;
• Fernando Tatis, Jr.'s power outage;
• NL Central excellence;
• the Tampa Bay Rays are at it again;
• the trouble with Minor League Baseball
• The age of Avatar Ozzy; and
• Favorite first quarter 2026 albums.

Sources: Sha Be Allah, "SOURCE SPORTS: Immigration Experts Believe Wander F...

David Faflik, a Professor in the Department of English at the University of Rhode Island has a new book titled "Segregation Games: Boston, Busing, and the Making of Red Sox Nation" (Univ. of Massachusetts Press 2026). 

The book examines the "surprising ties in 1970s Boston between the racial segregation of the city’s schools and the racial controversies expressed on and off the field of 'Red Sox Nation.'" 

David Fafli...

Our guest for Chapter 1 is John McMurray, chair of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)'s Deadball Era Research Committee. His essay, "September 1, 1906: A Pivotal Game Early in the Deadball Era," appeared in the Committee's newsletter, "The Inside Game," earlier this year. 

The game between the Philadelphia A's and the home team Boston Americans (now Red Sox) lasted 24 innings with the A's winning 4-1. The game fe...

Author and historian Kevin J. Abing is our guest this week to talk about the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals, on the 100th Anniversary of the team's first World Series championships. 

Abing is author of "Baseball Magic and Mayhem in St. Louis: The 1926 Cardinals, World Series Champions" (McFarland Press, 2026). Abing's meticulously researched book tells the story of the Cardinal's rise from National League doormat to dominance and the...

Hooks & Runs returns to weekly episodes with this continuation of our series "Texans in the Hall." This entry examines the career of Tris Speaker, who played 22 years in the Majors hitting .345 with over 3,500 hits and a record 792 career doubles. He also re-wrote the book on how to play center field. Speaker was born and is buried in Hubbard, Texas in Hill County.

In part 2, another baseball card draw that includes a should be ...