Past Ball Podcast

🎙️ The Wildest Trade in Baseball: Kekich and Peterson Swap Wives

The Pastball Podcast – Baseball’s Strangest Stories, One Episode at a Time.

🔊 LISTEN NOW 🔊

This is the baseball story so strange, it sounds made up—except it’s 100% real.

In this episode of The Pastball Podcast, we dive deep into one of the most bizarre and talked-about off-the-field trades in Major League Baseball history: the 1973 wife swap between New Yo...

This episode of the Pastball Podcast is all about "Fernandomania"—the electrifying phenomenon that swept through baseball in 1981. Host Matt explores the meteoric rise of Fernando Valenzuela, the 20-year-old Mexican phenom whose dazzling screwball and captivating presence ignited a cultural movement. From his remarkable 8-0 start with five shutouts and an ERA under 1.00, to the packed stands at Dodger Stadium filled with ...

On this episode of the Pastball Podcast, host Matt takes us back to 1993, a pivotal year that forever altered the landscape of Major League Baseball. After a 16-year hiatus, MLB expanded its reach, welcoming two new franchises: the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins. Matt dives into the unique challenges and opportunities of this expansion, exploring how the wild expansion draft unfolded and the strategic choices made by both...

This week on the Pastball Podcast, host Matt revisits one of baseball's most infamous unravelings: the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies. On September 20th, with just 12 games left, the Phillies held a commanding 6.5-game lead in the National League, seemingly destined for the pennant. What followed was an unthinkable ten-game losing streak, as manager Gene Mauch relentlessly pitched aces Jim Bunning and Chris Short on short rest, ult...

Did you know the gates of free agency in Major League Baseball swung open not with a bang, but with a lockout? Join host Matt on this episode of the Pastball Podcast as we journey back to 1976, a pivotal year in baseball history. Uncover the gripping story of MLB's first-ever owner-initiated lockout, a direct response to players challenging the iron grip of the reserve clause.

We'll delve into the groundbreaking efforts ...

Step back in time with Past Ball Podcast host Matt to September 1, 1971, a monumental day in baseball history. In Episode 135, we delve into the story of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the first Major League Baseball team to field a starting lineup comprised entirely of Black and Latino players. Discover the significance of Rennie Stennett, Gene Clines, the legendary Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Manny Sanguillén, Dave Cash, Al Olive...

Relive the moment a single, catastrophic blown call in the 1985 World Series between the Royals and Cardinals didn't just cost St. Louis a game, but arguably the championship. Join Matt as we delve into the chaos of Game 6, the uproar over umpire Don Denkinger's safe call on Jorge Orta, and the devastating ripple effect that altered the series, impacted a franchise, and ultimately shifted how Major League Baseball viewed the integ...

What happens when the baseball season splits in half—and your team has the best record but still misses the playoffs? Welcome to 1981. In this episode of the Pastball Podcast, host Matt unpacks the chaos of the MLB players' strike, the bizarre “split season” format, and how the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals got robbed. It's a wild ride through labor disputes, playoff confusion, and one of the weirdest years in bas...

They dominated the regular season. They steamrolled the playoffs. They broke an 88-year curse. So why does no one talk about the 2005 Chicago White Sox? In this episode of the Pastball Podcast, host Matt takes you through the overlooked greatness of one of baseball’s most efficient and underappreciated World Series runs. From Ozzie Guillen’s fiery leadership to four straight complete games in the ALCS, this is a championship story ...

Was it hustle or was it havoc? In this explosive episode of the Pastball Podcast, host Matt dives into the unforgettable 1970 MLB All-Star Game collision between Pete Rose and Ray Fosse. Discover how a single play in an exhibition game ignited decades of debate, changed one career forever, and redefined the meaning of “playing to win.” If you're a fan of baseball history, legendary moments, or heated sports controversy, this is...

Welcome back to Pastball Podcast, where we relive baseball’s weirdest, wildest, and most head-scratching moments. Today, we’re talking about a man who could launch a baseball into orbit—but when it came to base-running, things got... complicated.

In this episode, we break down Jose Canseco’s legendary mishaps on the basepaths, including:

⚾ How a six-time All-Star and 40-40 club member led the league in getting caught stealing in 1986...

April 15, 1947. Jackie Robinson stepped onto the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers, forever changing baseball by breaking the color barrier. But while Robinson made history, Phillies manager Ben Chapman made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In this episode of the Pastball Podcast, we examine one of the ugliest yet most pivotal moments in baseball history—when Chapman and the Phillies taunted Robinson with relentless racial slurs. B...

Before the Mets. Before MLB expansion. There was The Continental League—a baseball league that never played a single game but reshaped the sport forever.

In this episode of the Pastball Podcast, we take a deep dive into the forgotten story of the Continental League, the brainchild of Branch Rickey in 1959. This ambitious attempt to create a third major league sent shockwaves through baseball, forcing MLB to confront the future of th...

Welcome back to the Pastball Podcast, the podcast where baseball's bigots moments live forever. Today we're going to rewind to October 17th, 2004, when Dave Roberts turned a stolen base into Red Sox immortality. It's game four of the ALCS Yankees. They're up three nothing in the series. Bottom of the ninth, the Sox are three outs away from being swept again. But then Kevin Millar walks. Enter pinch runner Dave Roberts.

Everyone ...

Welcome back to the Passball Podcast, where old grunges come back to haunt the diamond. And today we're going to rewind it back to May 29th, 2017, when Hunter Strickland finally got his revenge on Bryce Harper. Over something that happened three years earlier? Yes, back in 2014, the NLDS Harper took Strickland yard, not once, but twice. Both no doubt bombs. Strickland, then the Giants reliever.

He didn't forget. let's fast forwa...

Beard Laws (00:14)

Welcome back everybody to the Passball Podcast, a podcast where history steps up to the plate. And today we're going to dive into a baseball legal battle that changed the game forever. The Federal League's fight against Major League Baseball. The Federal League, which was a short-lived third major league, as called by some people, that was from 1914 to 1915 and it actually dared to challenge the national and Ameri...

🚨 Injuries happen in baseball—but a sneeze? In this episode of Pastball, we dive into one of the strangest DL stints in MLB history. It was 2004, and Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa, known for launching baseballs into the stratosphere, found himself sidelined by an unexpected foe… his own sneeze.

💨 One mighty achoo! and Sosa strained his back so badly he had to miss games. How does something like that even happen? What’s the s...

Pastball Podcast – Episode 123: Glenallen Hill’s Arachnophobia Nightmare

What happens when one of baseball’s most feared sluggers comes face-to-face with his greatest fear? In Episode 123 of Pastball, we dive into one of the strangest, most terrifying injuries in MLB history—the time Glenallen Hill literally ran from a nightmare… and ended up on the injured list.

Hill, a power-hitting outfielder, suffered a freak accident in ...

Pastball Podcast – Episode 122: Marty Cordova’s Tanning Bed Mishap

Baseball injuries are common—pulled hamstrings, sore shoulders, even the occasional fastball to the ribs. But getting benched because of a tanning bed? That’s a whole different ballgame.

In Episode 122 of Pastball, we dive into the sunburnt saga of Marty Cordova, the former MLB Rookie of the Year who made headlines for an off-the-field injury that still has ba...