The Fair Pole Podcast

We're back! After a (too lengthy) hiatus the Fair Pole Podcast returns with our 34th episode. This week, host Chris Edwards talks about the origins of Spring Training and visits with 19-year veteran Fred McGriff. 

In the conversation, Edwards and McGriff talk about:

- Growing up in Tampa and Fred's love of baseball
- How great the high school baseball was in Tampa
- Getting cut from his high scho...

On episode 33 of the Fair Pole Podcast, host Chris Edwards visits with Brooks Webb the Director of Baseball Operations for Vanderbilt Baseball.  During their conversation, they cover Brooks' baseball journey as well as other topics, including:

- Pitching for a school that was a division one but was a division three by the time he arrived on campus
- Differences in division one versus division two or three
- Wa...

In episode 32 of the Fair Pole Podcast, host Chris Edwards visits with Joe Vasile, a broadcaster for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees and host of the new Secondary Lead Podcast. 

Edwards and Vasile discuss Joe's journey to create a baseball history podcast and dive into the current season of the life and times of Ken Caminiti and the backstory behind the podcast as well as some of the backstory that Joe will tell in ...

Episode 31 of the Fair Pole Podcast features a chat with Neil Solondz who hosts the pre and postgame shows for the Tampa Bay Rays Radio and TV broadcasts. Neil also handles some of the play-by-play during the course of the season. 

The conversation with Solondz features a wide array of topics including:
- When he learned he wanted to be a baseball broadcaster
- His career in minor league baseball working for Lakewo...

Inside episode 30 of the Fair Pole Podcast, host Chris Edwards visits with Jason Immekus, an assistant coach at Crowder College. Chris and Jason have a wide-ranging baseball conversation including:

- Jason's baseball journey pitching at a junior college before going on to compete at Washburn 
- What life was like playing Independent Ball in the Frontier League
- What made him want to get into coaching once his...

This week on the Fair Pole Podcast, host Chris Edwards chats with Cris Perez who holds a hybrid role for the Cincinnati Reds as both a bullpen catcher and working on the Baseball Operations side with the analytics and data teams. 

Over the course of the conversation, the duo discussed a wide array of topics including:
- Love for baseball in Cris' life
- College baseball career at Duke and Southern California <...

In this week's episode of the Fair Pole Podcast, host Chris Edwards chats with Lance Van Auken, Executive Vice President of Little League Baseball. During the conversation this week:

- How Lance began his affiliation with Little League Baseball
- Serving on the rules committee for 17 years and the evolution of the rules
- Player safety as it relates to pitchers and overuse injuries
- Little League's b...

Episode 27 of the Fair Pole Podcast features Geoff Arnold who just completed his first season as the radio and television broadcaster for the Baltimore Orioles. Host Chris Edwards and Arnold cover a wide variety of topics including:

- Where Geoff's love of baseball began
- Finding his love of broadcasting in college
- Starting his professional baseball career as an umpire before changing to broadcasting
- ...

On episode 26 of the Fair Pole Podcast, host Chris Edwards visits with Chris Pollard, head baseball coach at Duke University. 

Edwards and Pollard discuss a wide-range of topics including:

- Pollard's recruitment to Davidson College
- Playing Independent Baseball in 1996
- When did he learn he wanted to be a coach
- Lessons learned as a young head coach
- Turning around the programs at Appalac...

Episode 25 of the Fair Pole Podcast features the President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Tim Mead. During the conversation this week, host Chris Edwards moderates a wide-ranging conversation with Mr. Mead including several topics, such as:

- Spending 40 years with the Los Angeles Angels including 22 as the Vice President of Communications for the club
- Working for your favorite team when they win the World Se...

Episode 24 of the Fair Pole Podcast features former MLB pitcher, Kevin Jarvis, who pitched in the big leagues from 1994-2006 for 10 different teams. Host Chris Edwards and Jarvis discuss a number of topics including:

- Playing at Wake Forest University
- Experience in the Cape Cod League
- MLB Draft, MiLB experience
- His first MLB appearance
- Bouncing around from team to team
- Playing in Japan for a ...

Episode 23 of the Fair Pole Podcast includes a visit with long-time Washington Nationals television announcer Bob Carpenter. During the visit, host Chris Edwards chats with Bob about his love for baseball and figuring out when he wanted to be a broadcaster. 

Also included in the chat this week:
- Bob working with Hall of Famer Jack Buck
- Favorite memories from working with the Cardinals, Twins, Mets, Rangers and N...

Episode 22 of the Fair Pole Podcast features Carter Hicks who works in Baseball Operations for USA Baseball and has a hand in multiple areas of USA Baseball including the selection of National Teams, including the Olympic team, running a National High School Baseball Tournament and more. 

We visit with Carter to chat about his journey from playing high school baseball in Apex, North Carolina to being a part of our national...

On episode 21 of the Fair Pole Podcast, Chris Edwards explains the history of the stolen base and his rise in baseball history. Then, Chris visits with Sean McDonough of ESPN and the Boston Red Sox to discuss his love for baseball and more.

Some of the topics they discuss:

- Why Sean went to Syracuse and how that decision changed his life forever
- Calling Triple-A Baseball games while still in school
- Be...

Episode 20 of the Fair Pole Podcast is coming at you this week with host Chris Edwards taking a look at the history of the Designated Hitter in baseball and Chris even gives his thoughts on the universal DH in Major League Baseball this season.

Edwards is then joined by Francisco Cabrera who is best known for his game-winning base-hit in Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series which sent the Atlanta Braves ...

As Major League Baseball makes its return to the field, Chris Edwards explores some of the history and nuggets that have happened on Opening Day. 

Later, Chris is joined by this weeks' guest, Scott Strickland, the Assistant General Manager of the Durham Bulls. The two chat about a bunch of topics including:

- Scott's journey to Durham first as assistant groundskeeper, before becoming the head groundskeep...

In episode 18 of the #FairPolePodcast, host Chris Edwards chats with Hall of Fame scout, Howard McCullough. 

During the conversation this week the two chat about 
- Howard's start at East Carolina as a catcher
- Coaching at JF Webb High School in Oxford, North Carolina
- Moving from high school coach to being on staff at the University of North Carolina
- Why he wanted to become a scout
- His time ...

In episode 17 of the podcast this week, Chris Edwards chats with Melanie Newman one of the new members of the Orioles TV/Radio broadcast team. 

Some of the topics included in the podcast this week:
- Growing up in Atlanta and being a Red Sox fan
- Why and how she got to Troy University
- How she got into Minor League Baseball
- Being the number-one voice of the Salem Red Sox
- The importance of relation...

In episode 16 of the #FairPolePodcast - host Chris Edwards visits with Pete Tucci of the Tucci Lumber Company. During this conversation, Chris and Pete chat about his baseball journey from being a high school player in Connecticut to his journey to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a bat manufacture. 

Pete's story of highs and lows around the game of baseball is something people at all levels of the game can appreciate.