Press Box Chronicles with Jeff Pearlman is an engaging and entertaining podcast. It is hosted by Jeff Pearlman who is a self described cranky middle-aged sportwriter. He takes you behind the scenes of his stories and how they were created. I listened to episodes about Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark Fidrych, 1986 New York Mets, and Tupac Shakur. Pearlman is a great storyteller and he captures your attention.
The episode Mark Fidrych: How Injury and Neglect Derailed a Detroit Tigers Phenomenon is about former Tigers’ star Mark Fidrych. Pearlman describes the eccentric behavior of Fidrych; which included talking to a baseball, sculpting the pitcher’s mound by hand, and pointing at home plate before he pitched. Fidrych had an outstanding rookie year but was injured a few years into his career and was never the same pitcher. Nonetheless, Fidrych’s dominance early in his career and quirky behaviors bring back fond memories for Pearlman.
Pearlman describes the 1986 Mets team in The Craziest Flight in Baseball History: the 1986 New York Mets Plane Ride After The NLCS. At the beginning of the episode, Pearlman talks about how wild the team was. Players partied hard and got in fights on and off the baseball field. Following the Mets victory over the Houston Astros in the NLCS, the Mets boarded a flight back to New York after drinking heavily in their locker room. During the flight, more alcohol was consumed, drugs were taken in bathrooms, food was thrown, and players fooled around with their wives in their seats. The wives who were not used to drinking while flying at high altitudes, threw up on their expensive outfits. The airlines billed The Mets for thousands of dollars of damages to the interior of the plane. Though the upper management of The Mets wanted the players to pay for the damages, manager Davey Johnson ripped up a letter during a team meeting that was addressed to them. Despite all these extracurricular activities, The Mets won the World Series that year.
In an interesting episode about Tupac Shakur, Pearlman describes the beginning of his legendary career. While living in Marin County, California, Tupac joined an artist group led by Leila Steinberg. Steinberg recognized Tupac’s talent and put him in contact with the rap group the Digital Underground. He was eventually hired as the group’s roadie and hype man. Even before he became a star he was wild and Pearlman tells interesting stories about him.
Another incredible episode about Tupac Shakur is I Found The Real Baby From Tupac Shakur's 'Brenda's Got a Baby. Pearlman uses the services of a genealogist Michelle Soulli to find the baby and mother described in Tupac's song "Brenda's Got a Baby." Soulli is able find their contact information and Pearlman meets the baby now man-Davon Hodge. Hodge describes his journey being adapted and meeting relatives using genealogy websites. Soulli contacts the mother and she is desperate to meet her son. A beautiful moment is at the end of the episode when Hodge reunites with his mother.
Press Box Chronicles with Jeff Pearlman is filled with fascinating stories that will grab your attention. The episodes are mostly sports related but there are also interesting ones about Tupac due to Pearlman’s book about him recently being published. Pearlman has an engaging and humorous storytelling style that will appeal to a general audience.
Due to the adult content in this podcast, it is recommended for mature audiences only.
Michael Walsh is an Adult Services Librarian at the Will Library. He is currently reading by Never Flinch by Stephen King.