Dr. Travis Stern's new book, "Ballplayers on Stage: Baseball, Melodrama, and Theatrical Celebrity in the Deadball Era" (Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2024) explores the relationship between professional baseball and professional theater in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Stern joins us in this episode to talk about his book and the how baseball and the theater contributed to the rise of the American culture, culminating with Babe Ruth's emergence as a national hero in the early 1920s.

Stern is an Associate Professor of Theater Arts at Bradley University.

Travis Stern on Bluesky (@travisstern.bsky.social)
Travis Stern at Bradley University

In Part Two, Craig went to a Duster show and talks about Duster, the show and the unusual opening act, Dirty Art Club.

Errata: At one point Stern mentions seeing the "Yankees and Mets." We believe he meant to say "Yankees and Dodgers" as the Mets were not a team in the Deadball Era.

Episodes mentioned or discussed:
205 - Baseball at War: Working and Playing Ball in the Bethlehem Steel League w/ William Ecenbarger (https://tinyurl.com/hooks2051114)
82 - Rube Waddell Would Make A Hell of a Movie w/ Prof. Alan H. Levy (https://tinyurl.com/Hooks821114)

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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.

Craig and Rex contemplate the end of the 2024 baseball season as the Dodgers took the first three World Series games from the Yankees. They then turn their attention to the 1949 film "It Happens Every Spring," starring Ray Milland, Jean Peters and Paul Douglas. It's a screwball comedy with a baseball-related plot. Thumb's up all around. Finally, a few words about a North Carolina man that combined artificial intelligence with internet bots to try to take on the online music business. The man is innocent until proven guilty, of course.

Justice Dep't press release in the AI, music bot case.

You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.

Five players in MLB history have driven in 2,000 run in their career. Barry Bonds concluded his amazing 22-year career 4 RBI short of 2,000. This week we examine Bonds' career and try to find out how he came up short.

Also this week, Craig and Rex with their favorite new albums released the third quarter of 2024.

Errata: The reports are Bonds' head circumference grew by 1 to 1.5 inches, not that his hat size grew by 1.5 sizes. The book, "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero," by Jeff Pearlman, released in 2006, not 2007. The book is available through our affiliate link below or wherever you buy books.

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-->You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including the books featured in this episode, through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

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Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.

This week Craig and Rex review Craig's sketchy pre-season predictions and ruminate about the on-gong MLB playoffs.

Errata: Met closer Edwin Diaz has one year left on his contract, not three.

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-->You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including the books featured in this episode, through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.

After beating the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium 3-2 to wrap up a 6-4 road trip, the Phillies cam home leading the National League by 6.5 games with 12 games to play. What followed remains the most dramatic late-season collapse in Major League history. The Phillies lost 10 straight games, including all seven on the following home stand, and finished one game behind St. Louis.

In this episode, Craig and Rex review the Phillies 1964 season, trying to answer the question: Who is to blame for the Great Philadelphia Phillies Collapse of 1964?

Errata: After Philadelphia's 6-4 loss to Milwaukee on September 26, the Phillies had lost six in a row and eight of their last nine. After beating St. Louis 1-0 on October 2, the Mets' record was 52 wins, 108 losses.

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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.

Author Scott H. Longert joins the show this week to talk about his latest book, "Love and Loss: The Short Life of Ray Chapman" (Ohio Univ. Press 2024). Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman was hit by a pitched ball in the temple during a ballgame against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds on August 16, 1920. He succumbed to his injuries the next morning. He is the only player in Major League history to die from injuries sustained during an MLB ballgame. Longert's book examines Chapman's idyllic life and his sudden, tragic death, combining detailed research with compassion for the ballplayer and his family, friends and teammates.

Scott Longert's website - https://scottlongert.com/
Scott Longert on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/scott.longert
Ohio Univ. Press - https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821425664/love-and-loss/

Errata - Shohei Ohtani hit 54 home runs and stole 59 bases this season.

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Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.

In the great John Ford western, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," a reporter says, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Few 19th Century players muddled the waters between fact and legend as did the great Louisville slugger, Pete Browning. Author Tim Newby's new book "The Original Louisville Slugger: The Life and Times of Forgotten Baseball Legend Pete Browning" ( University Press of Kentucky, 2024) dives into Pete's wild story head first, separating legend from fact and delivering an engaging and rewarding book. Newby is our guest this week to talk about myths, legends, Pete Browning and baseball in the wild and untamed 19th Century.

Tim Newby's The Original Louisville Slugger is available through the publisher, through the Hooks & Runs affiliate site (see the link below) or wherever you buy your books.

Tim Newby on Twitter/X (@Tim_Newby9)
Tim Newby on Instagram (@tim_newby9)

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-->You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including the books featured in this episode, through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

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Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.

Our guest this week is Arthur D. Hittner, author of "Honus Wagner, The Life of Baseball's Flying Dutchman," Revised Edition (McFarland, 2024). Originally published in 1996, Hittner's book won the prestigious Seymour Medal for best baseball historical or biographical book in 1997.

Wagner led the National League in batting 8 times and hit .324 in his storied career. Over 100 years after his last Major League game, The Flying Dutchman is still considered by many to be the greatest shortstop who ever played. Hittner's revised edition brings Wagner to life for a new generation of fans.

Arthur D. Hittner's Website: www.hittnerbooks.com/

-->Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/tT8d3pVUsN
-->You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including the books featured in this episode, through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - www.hooksandruns.com
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
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Hosts Emeritus:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024.