Baseball is Good CoryEngelhardt

Gerry Geurts is the president of CurlingZone and Operations for World Curling Tour. He is also the statistician for USA curling and the Grand Slam of Curling. We will talk about his work with analytics for the sport and what that entails. We will also chat about curling strategy and tips he would give curlers who are looking to better their game through the use of research and analytics. We may also chat some baseball, as he is a noted baseball fan. Please give it a listen!

I am lucky enough to chat with Peter Gorton and Payton Woodson who are helping to create the movie/documentary regarding John Donaldson, the greatest baseball pitcher you have never heard of. Here is the press release for the film...

The legacy of John Donaldson, one of the greatest baseball players and a true American hero, will be restored in the feature documentary film 39 SECONDS. Pre-Production has begun with a major Kickstarter effort: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1039747489/39-seconds. The heavily anticipated film will shoot in the late summer of 2018 with the community’s support for the Kickstarter

Born in Glasgow, Missouri, on February 20th, 1891, John Wesley Donaldson’s life was a life of baseball, and was known in his day as ‘The Greatest Colored Player in the World’. In a 32 year career that began at age 17, he played in over 2300 games from 1908 to 1949, when he became the first black scout in major league baseball history, working for the Chicago White Sox. Then he disappears. Only to be buried in a unmarked grave in Alsip, Illinois. The documentary will highlight the career of Donaldson, and tell the incredible story of his life as a ballplayer, considering the hardships a black man at that time had to overcome, and why such a great man, such a legendary ball player, just disappeared from the American story.

For more information about John Donaldson, the documentary, a project EPK or interviews with the creative team, please contact Brid Henry atstaff.truruts@gmail.com.

Brett Kruschke is the Vice President/General Manager of the Belle Plaine Tigers, a member of the Minnesota Baseball Association’s River Valley League. His playing days (or more accurately, bench days) began in 1991 and he continues to be involved with town-team baseball today, including an active presence on social media and playing with the 35-and-older Belle Plaine Gray Tigers. We will chat about his reflections on playing and working in Minnesota town ball, his stint as an intern with the Sioux Falls Canaries, life as a lifelong Twins fan and more. Please give it a listen!

Travis Aune is the founder of Minnesota Sports Unlimited and the host of the podcast Minnesota Sports Weekly. We will talk about his podcast and website, his love of Minnesota sports (specifically the Twins) and how he got into baseball and his love of sports as a kid. I hope you enjoy this episode, as Travis was absolutely someone who helped me learn that I love podcasting and being a part of this medium, and for that (and many other reasons) I like that I can call him a friend. Have a great day!

John Olson (@Four_Six_Three) is a baseball fan and writer/contributor at TwinsDaily.com and Puckett's Pond. We will talk about his love of baseball, how he came to be a baseball fan, what his process is like for writing an article, and where his twitter handle was born from, among other topics. Please give it a listen. Have a great day!

Matthew Burke is a huge Twins fan. He runs the twitter account @TwinsColdTakes, which he uses to help bring knowledge to fans of the sport of baseball who are angry about players or baseball decisions involved with the Twins who may or may not have a #take that is worth standing by, at least in his opinion. I'm interested in his process as far as searching for ideas/thoughts to write about, and how he found this niche in social media. Please give it a listen!