Fungos & Fastballs: Baseball History & Trivia

Jerry Dynes

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Baseball
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Join us on this podcast exploring baseball's history and lore, plus enjoy some fastball trivia all in under 30 minutes. Topics will be all over the place - players, traditions, baseball lingo, stadiums, baseball movies/books. Like you, we just want to talk baseball!

1d ago

E48: Fernandomania, Batting Donuts & 2026 MLB Playoff Update (take 2)

Send us Fan Mail A metal ring on a bat and a lefty with a screwball don’t sound like they belong in the same story, but they do and both changed how baseball feels. We start with a piece of baseball history you’ve seen a thousand times: the batting donut in the on-deck circle. Who invented it, how it spreads through Major League Baseball, and why the “heavier warm-up makes you faster” idea might be more myth than measurable truth. We also get into the psychology: if a hitter feels locked in, does the donut still do its job even when the stopwatch disagrees? From there, we bring back our friend of the show, Edwin Noland, for a timely MLB playoffs 2026 check-in. We talk matchups, momentum, and why some teams win October by simply refusing to beat themselves. Edwin makes his World Series picks, and we lay out what we’re watching as the field narrows. Then we go deep on Fernando Valenzuela, Fernandomania, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. We walk through the Chavez Ravine backstory, the scouting moment that lands Fernando in LA, and the breakout 1981 rookie season that turns him into a national phenomenon. It’s not just stats and highlights. It’s culture, identity, and how one player helps reshape a fan base for generations. If you’re into baseball trivia, Dodgers history, and the real stories behind the sport’s rituals, hit subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave us a review. What’s one baseball tradition you love even if it “doesn’t work”? Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com
Oct 5

E47: Sadaharu Oh, Japanese Baseball Legend & Koshien Film Review

Send us Fan Mail October baseball has us on edge, so we take the best possible detour: a trip to Japan to see how the same sport can feel completely different. We start with “Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams,” a baseball documentary that captures Japan’s national high school baseball championship and the intense pressure teenagers carry when a single-elimination tournament becomes a whole town’s pride. The rituals hit as hard as the game itself: bowing to opponents and fans, relentless team-first discipline, and that unforgettable tradition of scooping up infield dirt as a personal keepsake. Then we lay down a clear, practical intro to Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB): the Central League and Pacific League setup, a 143-game season, the Climax Series, and the Japan Series. We also get into the rule differences that make NPB its own ecosystem, including ties after 12 innings and the absence of the MLB-style ghost runner. If you’ve ever wondered why Japanese baseball development produces such polished talent, this structure is part of the answer. We close with a deep dive on Sadaharu Oh, the Yomiuri Giants legend who holds the world record with 868 career home runs. We talk about the flamingo leg kick, the martial-arts-driven rebuild of his swing, the prejudice he faced because of his Chinese heritage, and his friendship with Hank Aaron. We also tackle the debate around how his stats translate across leagues, without losing sight of what his consistency and dominance actually mean. Subscribe, share this with your favorite baseball fan, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com
Sep 28

E46: Inside The Bullpen: Interview with Collegiate Closer Josh Gregoire

Send us Fan Mail A reliever’s job isn’t just throwing hard, it’s living on the edge of “maybe you’re in” for nine straight innings. We bring you inside that world with college bullpen arm Josh Gregoire, who shares what it actually feels like to train, wait, warm up, and perform when the timing is never fully yours. We talk through the routines fans rarely see: how a college relief pitcher balances strength training with recovery, why Josh likes throwing almost every day at different intensity levels, and what bullpen preparation looks like when you can’t always get a catcher. Then we get tactical with scouting reports, including the “circle guy,” the hitter you refuse to let beat you, and how that changes pitch selection and risk tolerance in high leverage moments. From there we go deep on modern pitching details: wristband signals versus PitchCom, what happens when tech fails with the clock running, and why wrist position matters as much as grip when you’re shaping pitches. Josh also opens up about elbow injuries, including Tommy John surgery, the long rehab road back, and the mental battle after a rough outing when your brain wants to replay every pitch at 2 a.m. If you love baseball strategy, pitching mechanics, college baseball stories, and the hidden psychology of the bullpen, hit play now. Subscribe, share this with a baseball friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find Fungos and Fastballs. Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com
Sep 21

E45: Spahn, Marichal and the Greatest Game Pitched & Baseball Musicals

Send us Fan Mail A Jackie Robinson musical with songs about out-of-shape spring training? A Bull Durham stage adaptation that got called a bunt? Before we get anywhere near the mound, we’re having a little fun with the fact that baseball somehow finds its way into every corner of American culture, even Broadway. We dig into the hits, the flops, and the wonderfully weird attempts to turn baseball stories into musical theater, including The First, a short-lived 1981 show built around Jackie Robinson’s life. Then we lock into the main event: the July 2, 1963 matchup between the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee Braves, a game many fans still call the greatest pitching duel ever. We set the scene at breezy, cold Candlestick Park, talk about how the enlarged 1963 strike zone shaped the era, and explain why a random mid-season night could feel bigger than a postseason game. From there, it’s all about two Hall of Famers going the distance. We compare Warren Spahn’s veteran brilliance and career milestones with Juan Marichal rise, his Dominican Republic roots, and that unforgettable high-kick delivery. The result is a 1-0 marathon that stays scoreless through nine, stretches into the 16th inning, and ends on a Willie Mays walk-off, with both starters finishing what they started. If you love baseball history, pitching mechanics, and the kind of trivia that makes you see the game differently, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review with your pick for the greatest pitching duel of all time. Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com
Sep 14

E44: Ruth, Aaron, Bonds and…Roger Connor? The Career Home Run Record & The Two-Strike Bunt

Send us Fan Mail A single foul bunt can flip a game, a fantasy matchup, and your mood, and it all traces back to baseball’s earliest arguments about pace, fairness, and what counts as a strike. We start with the surprisingly sharp “foul bunt with two strikes” rule, why it exists, and how the late-1800s game forced MLB to evolve from endless foul balls to a cleaner, faster rhythm. It’s baseball rules history with real consequences, plus a quick detour into a very specific piece of nostalgia: the Reggie Bar. From there, we zoom out to one of the biggest storylines in baseball history: the progression of the MLB career home run record. Everyone knows the headline names, but the record didn’t begin at 714. We walk through the early leaders, then stop on Roger Connor, the forgotten Hall of Famer who held the mark for 26 years and may even be tied to why the New York Giants (and later the football Giants) have that name. Then we follow Babe Ruth’s climb, including the tale of Ruth’s last home run ball and how these artifacts wind up in Cooperstown. The conversation turns heavier with Hank Aaron’s chase of 715, the racist hate mail and death threats he endured, and how different that moment feels when you remember what he and his family carried just to let the record happen. Finally, we get into Barry Bonds, the PED-era cloud, the muted reaction outside San Francisco, the headlines, and the strange afterlife of the record baseball itself. We close by answering our trivia question with the only other 700 home run hitter: Albert Pujols. Subscribe for more baseball history and trivia, share this with a friend who loves records, and leave a review with your take: should fans celebrate the number, the story behind it, or both? Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com
Sep 10

E43: Should Have Won? How The 2001 Diamondbacks Stunned The Yankees Dynasty

Send us Fan Mail One inning from a fifth championship in six years, the 2001 Yankees watch the unthinkable happen and it still stings. We dig into the World Series that felt prewritten for a New York dynasty, then swerved hard when the Arizona Diamondbacks refused to play the part of overmatched newcomer and turned Game 7 into a baseball gut punch. We walk through why this matchup was so charged: the Yankees’ veteran core and Mariano Rivera’s near-perfect postseason record, Arizona’s rapid expansion-team build, and the post-September 11 backdrop that wrapped Yankee Stadium in emotion. Along the way we hit the key storylines that define the 2001 World Series: Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling as a two-ace nightmare, New York’s quiet bats early, and the remarkable swing when the series returns to the Bronx. Then we relive the moments people still argue about. Games 4 and 5 deliver back-to-back, last-out, two-run tying homers off the same closer, turning October drama into legend. Game 6 flips the script again with a Diamondbacks pounding that forces a winner-take-all Game 7. Finally, we break down Rivera’s ninth inning, the key defensive mistake, Tony Womack’s tying hit, and Luis Gonzalez’s broken-bat walk-off that ends a would-be four-peat in seconds. If you love baseball history, great pitching, and the anatomy of a collapse, hit play, subscribe on your favorite platform, and share the episode with a friend. After you listen, what’s your single most shocking World Series moment? Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com
Sep 7

E42: Wacky Baseball: Strange Tales of Lightning Strikes, Sausage Races & “The Bird” Mark Fidrych

Send us Fan Mail A lightning bolt knocks a pitcher unconscious and he still demands the final out. A Hall of Fame manager argues in a downpour while holding an umbrella and gets tossed on the spot. A big leaguer takes a swing at a racing sausage mascot and it somehow ends with fines, a suspension, and a story that will live forever online. If you love baseball history, weird MLB trivia, and the kind of true tales you would swear were fiction, this one is for you. We jump from Ray Caldwell’s shocking 1919 moment to a very personal memory of the 1997 World Series in Cleveland, when the “confetti” turned out to be actual snow. From there we dig into Frankie Frisch’s rain-soaked sarcasm, plus the Milwaukee Brewers sausage race, including the lore, the costume chaos, and the infamous Sausage Gate incident. These aren’t just funny detours. They’re reminders that baseball is a public stage where weather, ego, timing, and a little theater can turn a regular game into a permanent headline. We also pay off our opening trivia question: only one baseball player has ever appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, and the answer leads straight into our featured player profile of Detroit Tigers phenomenon Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. We talk about his joyful mound rituals, instant celebrity, the pressures that came with it, and the injuries that changed the arc of his career, plus the legacy that kept showing up decades later in the hearts of Detroit fans. If you enjoy stories that capture the soul of the sport, subscribe, share this with a baseball friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find Fungos and Fastballs. Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com
Aug 31

E41: Sliding Billy Hamilton, Hall of Fame Speedster + 2026 MLB Update & What Makes a Save

Send us Fan Mail The standings say one thing, the vibes say another. We start by going round the horn with our friend Edwin Nolan for a rapid-fire MLB update as of August 30, 2026, sizing up who looks real, who looks shaky, and which races might go down to the final week. The AL East is a traffic jam of contenders, Kansas City suddenly refuses to go away, the AL West can’t decide who wants the crown, and the National League picture features Milwaukee’s dominance, Atlanta’s pitching edge, and the Dodgers holding a firm grip out west while the wild card fight stays nasty. Then we pivot from “who’s hot” to “what counts” by cracking open the baseball rule book to explain the save. We walk through how the statistic came to be, why it became official in 1969, and what actually creates a save situation today. We keep it practical: the winning team requirement, why the closer cannot also be the winning pitcher, and the three official ways a reliever earns a save. The tying-run-on-deck rule gets special attention because it explains those head-scratching moments in fantasy baseball and late-game strategy. We even share a truly odd case where a pitcher gets a save without throwing a pitch. To close, we take the way-back machine to the 1890s for Hall of Famer Billy Hamilton, the original “Slidin’ Billy.” We dig into why his stolen base totals live in a different statistical universe, how equipment and scoring rules shaped the running game, and why his production still deserves respect even when comparisons get messy. Stick around for the trivia payoff too: the left-handed pitcher with the most career saves in MLB history. If you like smart baseball talk, clear rules explanations, and baseball history that actually connects to today’s game, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a quick review. What part of baseball scoring has always felt the most confusing to you? Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com

Join us on this podcast exploring baseball's history and lore, plus enjoy some fastball trivia all in under 30 minutes. Topics will be all over the place - players, traditions, baseball lingo, stadiums, baseball movies/books. Like you, we just want to talk baseball!

Creator

Jerry Dynes
Years Active

2026
Episodes

49
Rating

Clean
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© 2026 Fungos & Fastballs: Baseball History & Trivia
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