Al Woods joins us on the podcast this week. Al played in the Major/Minor leagues from 1973-1986 with the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. He debuted with the Blue Jays in 1977 as an outfielder. Al was a solid hitter and had several good years in MLB with 1980 being his best. We take the time machine back to the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, Back When There Was Baseball, with our guest Al Woods.

Pat Zachry passed away on April 4, 2024 at the age of 71. We re-air this podcast to honor him.

Our guest this week is one of the winners of the 1976 National League Rookie of the Year award. That is correct, there were two that year and Pat Zachry was one of them. Pat pitched for the Cincinnati Reds when they won the 1976 World Series. He pitched in the Majors for 10 years, with a long stint in the New York Mets organization and ended his career with the L.A. Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Pat also pitched in the Senior League (Florida) and threw a game or two with a broken leg. Listen in as Pat recalls his career and the game Back When There Was Baseball.

We travel back to the 1970s with our guest this week. Darrel Chaney played in the Majors from 1969-1979. He started out his athletic career as a Parade All American quarterback in 1965. Darrel turned down scholarship offers to Notre Dame and Michigan State to pursue his baseball career. He made his name as a utility-infielder, but as all utility players will tell you, they intended to be starters and Darrel was no exception. But when you look at the Cincinnati Reds lineup during the years he was with the club (1969-1975), you had to have been an outstanding player to even make the team. Darrel was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 1976 where he finally got his chance to start and had the best season of his career. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Darrel Chaney.

We merge modern day baseball with baseball played 40+ years ago when we go Back When There Was Baseball. Don Cooper joins us this week. Don played in the Minor/Major Leagues from 1978-1987 with stints in the Majors with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. His experience as a pitcher helped him immensely as he became a pitching coach and had a long stint with the Chicago White Sox from 2002-2020. What is amazing about this long stint is that he worked for 4 different managers: Jerry Manuel, Ozzie Guillen, Robin Ventura and Rick Renteria. He was part of the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox and coached some outstanding pitchers during his tenure.

We take the time machine back to the early 1970s with our guest John Doherty. John was drafted in the 1st round of the 1970 MLB January Draft - Secondary Phase by the California Angels. He played in the Major/Minor Leagues from 1970-1978. John suffered an arm injury early in his career which relegated him to 1st Base. He broke into the Majors in 1974 with the Angels and had a decent season. He also played in the Majors in 1975 which was the last time he played in the Major Leagues. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest John Doherty.

Curt Kaufman joins us this week. Curt received a scholarship out of high school to play baseball at Iowa State University. After that he was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the New York Yankees on July 10, 1979. He worked his way through the minor leagues rather quickly and was named the International League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 1983 with 25 saves while playing for Columbus. Curt first appeared in the Majors with the Yankees in 1982 and was up for a short stint in 1983. He was traded to the California Angels in December of 1983 in exchange for Tim Foli. He played the 1984 season with the Angels and never made it back to the Big Leagues as elbow surgery curtailed his career. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball to the early 1980s with our guest Curt Kaufman.

Doug Rau joins us this week. Doug had a good collegiate career at Texas A&M which earned him a #1 draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the secondary phase of the June 1970 draft. He had an 81-60 record with a career ERA of 3.35 from 1972-1981. However, Doug may be best known for his infamous mound visit during Game 4 of the 1977 World Series as manager Tommy Lasorda was mic'd. He was a very effective pitcher until arm problems curtailed his career. Doug was part of 3 World Series teams, however the Dodgers lost all 3 (1974 to the Oakland A's and 1977-1978 to the New York Yankees). Join us as we travel Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Doug Rau.

Rudy Meoli joins us this week. Rudy played in the Major and Minor Leagues from 1969-1979 for several teams (California Angels, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies). He got up to the Majors in 1971 for a short stint, but 1973 was the season that he established himself. Rudy started at 2B for the Phillies during that infamous 23-22 game with the Cubs on May 17, 1979, which ended up being his last year in the Major Leagues. Join us as we take a trip Back When There Was Baseball to the 1970s with our guest Rudy Meoli.