That’s right ladies and gentlemen season 1 episode 18 of the Shawn Mackey show now the first part of this episode we’re gonna get into some Cubs action some things that I see going on that I’d like to discuss. The second part of the show, well we’d like to go ahead and apologize now there were several things said in the second part of the show. Actually, it’s one thing that was said and repeated over and over again and we found out we were actually incorrect so we’re gonna apologize for the second half of today’s show.

So what we did was we recorded the parts of the new segment that we’re kind of putting out here on the Shawn Mackey show. We decided we were gonna discuss the top 100 Major League Baseball players of the 20th century,  and that’s where the apology comes in because it’s not necessarily MLB.

And you’ll see that one of our third wasn’t a guest. He's not a contestant so I’m having a brain cramp right now. What am I trying to say with this? Well, just you know we’re gonna go through a lot of the players on this list and discuss the ones that we got to witness playing, and what they meant to us and then tell stories if there are any of the stories, my father told me regarding some of these players that he’d seen play. 

It’s a very interesting list. As I’ve gone through it come up with one well not a disparity you just gotta look at it and you gotta remember the list was kind of put together by sports writers and analysts and things of that nature so a lot of the guys from the 20th century that were well known in the Baseball circles got together and put together this list so you can only imagine what those meetings were like.

So,  today we’re going to discuss it, so it's Saturday. The Cubs are currently playing the Mariners. We last discussed probably got into that Phillies series. You know the Cubs took a three out of four from the Pirates. They went into extra innings and lost in game two, and I was nervous again here we go. You beat the Pirates in  three 2 to1 and then you win game four of that series 3 to 2 and you do take three out of four from them, but you’re off.

Then you get the Brewers essentially you split that series with them because of the rain out and the make up date on August 18 you beat the Brewers 5 to 3 in game one then you lose 8 to 7 so the Mariners come to town and you lose the first game against the Mariners 9 to 4.

I was listening to today’s broadcast and old Ron Coomer was talking about it just wasn’t the Cubs day yesterday, and obviously, they take the last 9 to 4. Today right now in the Well that it’s showing on top of the seventh, but it could absolutely be a little bit later in that game with the Cubs, but last I checked in on the Cubs today with the Mariners they were holding onto 10 to 6 lead

That is wat gets me into let’s say bringing back an old segment Shit the Pisses Me Off. If I wouldn’t have accidentally erased my little intro for that I would’ve played it right now for you, but it’s the Cubs bullpen. For stretches in April and in May, the Cubs bullpen was top-notch like number one in Major League Baseball and it was great because I’ve been on the bullpen earlier earlier in the season, especially in the podcast. 

I’m thinking that’s a big question for the Cubs is the bullpen and then here we are in the you know a couple of losses that they take I think that loss against the pirates I want to say Daniel Palencia Took that loss and so that’s like two blown saves. I don’t know. Is that a blown save yeah because I want to say the Cubs yeah it was 10 innings and not that game. OK I apologize for that. Drew Pomeran got lost in that, but I know there was a stretch where Palencia blew another save opportunity in a loss for the Cubs so and then we’re looking at today’s bullpen.

The Cubs took a nine to one lead at one point in that game and then next thing you know it was 9 to 6 and the Cubs are kind of holding on for dear life. It’s the bullpen and you know what I want to say in yesterday‘s game too that was the bullpen at one point that game was tied 4 to 4 and then you get into the bullpen and for as well as these guys have been pitching over the last month and a half yeah yesterday it wasn’t there so that tells me that there’s still some issues within the Cubs bullpen.

Genesis Cabrera came in yesterday I believe and gave up a few runs and guess what he gets DFA’d  today you know the dude’s given up like he had a eight point ERA in  9.1 innings pitched it’s incredible how bad he was and everybody was like oh we picked up some help. We got Genesis Cabrera well there was a reason why he was available when the Cubs picked them up so he’s gone now you know you bring Ryan Pressley yesterday in the sixth inning he gives up two runs so now he’s even pitching earlier in games and he still giving up runs so I feel that there are still some questions here within the Cubs bullpen.

I’m still holding onto the show me some really good play over the course of this season right now they’ve got one of the best if not the best record in Major League Baseball at one point within the last week they did have the best record in Major League Baseball OK so you know in the bullpen as much as I’d like to get on them you know as of April 19 they were leading the lead with a 2.46 ERA by May 24 their ERA was 0.82 over their last 24 games Going back to May 14 so they’re really I mean you can’t ask for this bullpen to do more than what they’ve actually been doing

It’s just they seem to right now lose it at the wrong time and you know I wanna say you gotta go into that All-Star break with you. Gotta build a little bit bigger of a lead. You got a pretty good lead in the division so that’s awesome 6.5 games at some point I think it was maybe during that Brewer season or dirt season Jesus Christ during that Brewers I just paused for affect there because I’m gonna edit some things out and you’re not gonna know what was edited out isn’t that crazy? Maybe I’ll have to edit this out. I don’t know.

So I’m still kind of high on the Cubs bandwagon this year I’m not really losing. Hope I haven’t had many issues to bitch and complain on Facebook so that’s a good thing I would imagine people are kind of like hey OK you know and that’s it I don’t it’s funny cause the only time I really post on Facebook when I’m bitching about the Cubs are the Bears so and I haven’t really poke well and now I’m posted of course the Shawn Mackey show so we’re hoping that you still go to these places and you see that do us a favor share a post share one of our little short videos that we we make from the actual recordings of the show. Tune into the show. It doesn’t cost you a dime. I’m never gonna try to sell you anything and that’s one of the things is we’re gonna get into part of maybe this episode. 

I don’t know. I’ve been rolling around in my brain, but we may get into part of this episode about what I’m seeing now in the podcast realm and it has a lot of similarities to something I had seen that I had done in the past when I kind of stepped away from a full-time teaching position in order. 

OK everybody who had wife barges in on a recording on their scorecard OK all right check your scorecard. I forgot to put up my recording in progress sign look at there it is And she just came in from taking her brand new vehicle over to her parents house to show it off for them, in which I’m sure she got an earful from her old man and why we didn’t drive 472 miles out of town to buy one for $49 cheaper Good thing he doesn’t listen to the show. OK I’m pausing for her to go into the house and she’s lingering so I don’t know what to do all right I think I’m just gonna leave that in the podcast.

So that’s yeah I’m right there. The Cubs are doing some things that are really impressing me. I have to say I’m very excited to see where the season goes. Everybody’s contributing. Pete Crow is having the season when it started at the beginning of the year. I was like oh crap and I’ve hit on this before and Pete Crow was just continuing to do things that we haven’t seen. He’s leading categories. He set records. I think he’s leading all-star voting him and Kyle Tucker for outfield positions for this year‘s All-Star game so that’s pretty awesome. 

Haven’t started to see a drop off Shotat comes back next week. The Cubs are now, after tomorrow,  going out. You gotta go face the Cardinals and then the Astros so a big tell coming up in the next week for the Cubs in that seven games between the Cardinals no days no days off so the Cubs had their typical Mondays and Fridays off or Mondays and Thursdays. I’m sorry here at the beginning of the season now man as of between now and the 29th that’ll be 123-456-789-1011 1213 straight games for the Cubs so and that’ll take us into July so we’re we’re really excited here at the Shawn Mackey show for what’s gonna transpire and then that’s gonna put us right into football season so as far as the second half of the episode goes today when we get into three more players on The sporting news top 100 Baseball players of the 20th century, we may hit them all we may not we’re thinking right now that we’re gonna probably pop in about. Let’s see if this would be the season. This is episode 18 so we’re thinking about episode 23 or so maybe 25 where the season would end and then we’ll start our new season right around football and that’s and that’s what we wanna do cause then we wanna focus on football 

And part of the next season. I’m gonna throw up some episodes that are like live play-by-play so that’s gonna be a treat for me and for you guys because  this is my podcast so I don’t have to be. I don’t have to be prim and proper like you actually hear on network TV. I’m gonna do some episodes where I am because I may just record while I’m watching during the season any game and just do play-by-play because that was one of the deals when I left broadcasting school I had started doing some PA announcing for the semi professional football League that I had once played for so that was neat and then a friend of mine from broadcasting school. He actually tried to get me an interview with the radio station where I could possibly do some games, but it never came about. 

I believe I talked about that earlier in the season on one of the podcast so I get to play now and that’s pretty awesome for me because I get to do a lot of things that I’ve always wanted to do and I don’t have to worry if I’m getting paid for it or am I gonna be able to support my family because I’m old now and I’m past that part of my life and I already have a JOB so as long as I can fit this in during that time or in between the time where I have to work and I have to sleep. 

I’m I can do whatever the heck I wanna do so that’s it for today as far as the Cubs go and my little return of the shit that pisses me off so we’re gonna take a brief pause right now here but the second part of today’s episode are three more players from the 20th centuries top 100 Baseball players.

All right, ladies and gentlemen, let’s start it out with a dance party here on the Shawn Mackey show season one episode 18 as we talked about last week on last week’s episode we’re gonna start talking about and highlighting some of the top major League Baseball players of the 20th century

We’re gonna start you out with cool papa he comes in at number 66 on the list many of you right now are probably saying to yourself who the ever loving and hell is Cool Papa Bell. Well that’s why I’m here.

Cool Papa bell played most of his life. I don’t think he even ever made it to Major League Baseball but he’s included on this list and he played for the Negro Leagues. This is a guy who spent most of his life working a full-time job during the day, kind of pitching on the weekends on Sundays and pitching at night. He was supposed to go to night school. That didn’t happen. He spent most of his time playing Baseball and then he got signed and moved and started out playing in the semi pro Leagues.

And the guys got a crazy knuckle Baller big tall, lanky guy. He was a six footer. He weighed about 143 pounds. The dudes called him string bean but  he played in the outfield. He was a pitcher and he lived a long life. He was born in 1903 and passed away in 1991. 

He’s from Starkville Mississippi. He was like the fourth of seven children so that’s pretty impressive there to kind of Well just the time that he grew up in and then of course that’s  a lot of big families around you had a lot of siblings lotta competition there. I’m pretty sure things may not have been the greatest so this kid was out working as a teenager. He was working at a creamery for Mississippi agriculture in Mechanical College. We now called that Mississippi State University, and he was also at the school’s experiment department.

I don’t know what that’s all about.  He ended up moving to St. Louis to live with a couple of his older brothers. That’s where he attended high school but instead of going to night school as was planned, he spent most of his time playing Baseball in the neighborhood then someone found him and he was signed as a knuckleball pitcher with the Compton Hill Cubs and it was a black semi pro Baseball team at the time and then he was pitching on Sundays and then eventually he moved to the East St. Louis area so that’s  kind of  not too far from where I’m at and that semipro. 

They paid them like 20 bucks to pitch each weekend on Sundays, so not a bad deal back in that timeframe.  We're talking like 1922  and he probably might not have even been making 20 bucks during the week to work at his job, but he’s getting $20 to pitch on Sundays. He’s playing Baseball, a game you love.  He Could hit as well so not only was he a pitcher in the Negro Leagues he had over a .325 average for his career and  put up over 1500 hits they called him cool because he struck out Oscar Charleston and Oscar is another guy who is gonna be showcased on the show. 

He is also on the list of top 100 Major League Baseball players of the 20th century so that’s that’s pretty neat so here’s who he plays with throughout his entire career St. Louis Stars, Chicago American Giants, the Stars again, Pittsburgh Crawfords,  Kansas City  Monarchs Detroit Wolves, Homestead Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Chicago, American Giants again and again the Homestead Grays to finish out his career. His career spans  24 years.

So that coming in on the list at number 66 is Cool Papa Bell now I was going through putting things together, and this next player kind of caught my eye because he’s another one of those guys  if you’re steeped in Baseball tradition if you do a lot of reading and follow the history you might know and have heard of this guy he comes in at let’s see number 79

And his name is Joe Medwick and here’s another guy on our list that kind of had two different careers not like Dennis Eckersley.  Dennis Eckersley started his career as a starter and then finished it as a closer one of the best closers in the game, but Joe Medwick kinda had two separate careers during his lifetime all right first of all this guy was a if the ball was anywhere near the plate Joe Medwick was gonna hit

He had such a passion that he played the game with and it was just kind of what they call one of them peer hitters. He had the nickname, ducky and muscles, and he was a major League Baseball player. He played left field with the St. Louis Cardinals during their big Gs House Gang era of the 1930s he played with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants, the Boston Braves and he was the last National League player to win the Triple Crown award in 1937. 

Now that might not still hold true because again. I will have to look that up if anybody has won the triple crown anytime lately so let’s let’s get something going for that for this episode and see if we can’t  verify some of that thing so let’s see the last triple crown winner MLB and we’re gonna pop this up so yeah 2012 Miguel Cabrera won the triple crown playing with the Detroit Tigers so that’s the American League.

Did they say Joe was the last National League?  So let’s see if we’ve got who has this is just showing that Miguel Cabrera did it in the American League let’s see who if Joe still holds up in the national League or do they just give it to one guy?  Joe Medwick he was the last player to win the Triple Crown for the national League in 1937 so there you have it folks yeah I had to look that up. I did it while on the show again.

I’ve got the stats going and I’ve got computer screens and computer monitors going so if I say something, I kinda wanna back it up every now and again you might catch me in a little brain fart moment where I know when I I think I know and then I’m getting confused but if you catch me in one of them, brain fart moments send me an email. I’ll own up to that shit on man I’m man enough that’s right I’m not up.

Fuck it all right so we got Joe Medwick now I said he had two kind careers so he gets into a contract dispute or something like that. He wants a trade he gets traded and then one of his old teammates Bob Bowman he facing Bob Bowman in a game and boom Bowman drills him with a pitch in the head> Joe Medwick  turns out to be fine and he has an exceptional career after getting hit in the head but the career is just not the same and we’ve seen this happen throughout Baseball all the time I wanna say there’s been a death due to a beaning Tony Collagia Calgro Cal oh my God I can’t think of the guy

I know the Cubs had someone that he was a big time kind of top prospect and I wanna say that one of the first games playing up in the major Leagues for the Cubs and this is recently as in within 20 years I want to say, but he got hit and  his career was never the same afterwards either. Sometimes  you get hit in the upper head like that and for some players it kind of takes your confidence away and makes you gun shy.

Maybe that’s what happened to Joe before he played 1000 games before he got hit in the head. He has a .338 average during that time puts up 145 home runs has 873 RBIs he gets hit in the head he plays 900 more games but he ends up during that span with a .305 batting average only hit 60 home runs and put up 510 RBI so one of these

79 on the list and the tale of two careers  before and after the hit by pitch so I can’t think of that guy‘s name oh my gosh, Tony, let’s see if I can Google Tony Conigliaro. He is the most famous person to be associated with getting hit by a pitch. He was struck by a fastball in 1967. It said it nearly ended his career so I don’t. I don’t think that maybe he wasn’t the one I was thinking of who passed away due to being hit by a pitch. He did have a fractured cheekbone and had severe vision problems, but that kinda impacted his career, but he did die early at the young age of 45 and that was from complications of that injury so I knew there was something about that. My dad had told me that story a long time

And who is the guy that got the Cubs? Oh I can’t think of his name. It wasn’t too recently yeah OK here we go all right I was right within 20 years. It was a kid named Adam Greenberg and it happened in 2005.  So coming up here just about 20 years ago and it was his MLB debut with the Cubs. He was pinch hitting in the eighth inning against the Marlins and he was hit in the back of the head by 92 mile an hour fastball> He suffered a concussion, skull fracture ending his game, and I don’t think the kid ever played after that if he did no one ever heard of him from that.

 so getting hit by a pitch that’s kind of a big deal in major-League Baseball. It's not something you want to have to deal with.  these guys especially nowadays and today’s game dudes are throwing 102 miles an hour. Holy crap. I know why now they’re wearing that extra flap that comes down across their jaw in their mouth.

They need to protect themselves because those balls come at you at 102 miles. How would Joe Medwick air Bob Bowman probably didn’t throw any faster than 85 miles an hour  back in those days what? What year was that 1940 dudes in 1940 I mean they weren’t throwing with the velocity. We already know they weren’t working out. They were working full-time jobs in the off-season and  some of them probably did lift weights and work out but not not like in today’s society and there was if a dude was throwing 100 or two in the 1940s I’m just gonna confidently say that nobody was throwing 102 in the 1940s.

That impacts Joe Medwick‘s career back then I’m sure it’s gonna impact the dude’s career in today’s game. If you get hit with anything above 85/90 especially 102 mile an hour fastball that’s that’s insane that’s insanity so all right we’re gonna finish out today’s episode or this part of today’s episode.

 I haven't really decided yet if I’m gonna record these Major League Baseball snippets and then add them  to my discussion about the Cubs if I still wanna get that in as we talked about on last week's show, that’s the Shawn Mackey show. I’m just gonna be me doing me and giving you my take on things and I am a dumbass Chicago sports fan so a lot of it is going to revolve around sports, but there might be times where this show kind of goes off and takes a different track every now and again cause I’m gonna keep track of the things that have me wanting to speak out and share my opinions and this is where that’s gonna happen so the next guy on our list that we’re gonna round out and finish up today is number 74 on the list. 

This is a guy from here like he was. He was born in Springfield Illinois. I think he may have and I’m gonna have to look at this, but I think he may also have well, let's just go. Let’s just back up back up. OK we back the truck up so this guy on this list is Robert Robin Roberts. He was born in Springfield Illinois. There is a stadium that is located in Springfield. It is Robert Robert Stadium? It is Home to the Springfield lucky horseshoe, which is one of those collegiate Baseball teams where these kids who play college ball get picked and sign with all these different area teams and then they have a season in the Summer And the Springfield. Lucky horseshoes are the team that is in Springfield Illinois. They used to be the Springfield sliders they were something else well

The team has gone through a major renovation over the last couple years they were bought and purchased by a group that includes former WWE stand out Jeff Jarrett, so that’s interesting to hear and this kid Robin Roberts is number 74 on the list born in Springfield, Illinois he was Part of the army core training programs at Michigan State university he went to Lanphier high school and that that’s exactly where the stadium is so you have Lanphier high school the parking lot and then right next to it basically on the grounds of Llanfair high school I think that’s where Llanfair plays their games. I don't know. I’m not very certain on that but right there and the property of Lanphier high school is Robin Robert.

All right, so he went to Michigan State after World War II. He played basketball and did not play Baseball.  He led the Spartans basketball team and field goal percentage in 46 and 47 was captain of the team during that season and 49 and 50 seasons he earned three varsity letters in basketball Wow he plays college Baseball. This is like the whole Palmer deal. Paul Moller gets strapped as a pitcher in Major League Baseball makes this list here as well. Robin Roberts is a freaking stand out college basketball player and I know there’s another guy on this list Tony Gwinn some of you may or may not know Tony Gwinn was also a standout basketball player in college. I don’t know if he was a big-time scoring guy but I think he was  little point guard a lot of assists to his career so we kind of get into that when we talk about Tony Gwinn cause I know he’s also on this list so that’s gonna be very interesting as well And again he tries out for Michigan State Baseball team and he’s a pitcher so and that’s what Rob Roberts was known for through Major League Baseball. He was a pitcher. He made his major League Baseball debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on June 18, 1948 in 1950 the use of the pitching staff was named the WizKid and he led their team to their first National League pennant in 35 years he started three games in the last five days of the season holy shit this is this is this is beautiful stuff because this goes back to what I have said before in Major League Baseball.

We have all the pitchers, all the specialty pitchers and hell you got starters nowadays that  they’re like yeah he’s a starter. He’ll get you five maybe 5 1/2 innings and that’s about it and then you got all the specialty pitchers coming in after that and nobody throws the ball God forbid you reliever three days in a row and then you can’t use them probably lose a game because he’s your best guy but oh goodness he pitched for three days in a row. We gotta get the poor pumpkin, some rest otherwise he just won’t be himself tomorrow.

 and here’s here’s Robin Roberts pitching three games in a five day span are you freaking kidding me man he also was the Phillies first 20 game winner since Grover Cleveland Alexander did it in 1917 so Robin Roberts plays with the Phillies the Orioles, the Houston Astros any pictures for my Chicago Cubs in 1966 had like an 18 year career seven times All-Star four time major League Baseball wins leader from 52 to 55 two times the strikeout leader in major League Baseball 1953 and 1954 Philadelphia Phillies retire his numbers he has also Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980 oh no I’m sorry 1976 the bicentennial year I don’t even know what sound effect I was good with like for Fourth of July. 

I can’t even think right now holy crap so there you go folks . This week's addition of the top 100 Major League Baseball players of the 20th century we got through number 66 Cool Papa Bell. Number 79 Joe Medwick, and number 74 Hometown boy  and here’s this is one of those deals. OK I say hometown boy I live in Chatham. Chatham is just south of Springfield but nobody knows Chatham so  weirdly enough. I have a friend that I graduated high school with. We both graduated from the same Chicago public high school and we both now live in Chatham and there’s a few other people from our high school that live around this area as well who I run into from time to time but people always ask her. Where do you live and I always just say like 7 miles south of Springfield.

But that was one of those things growing up as a kid when I went to Carbondale for the first time and  we meet people like where are you from and I’d be like from Chicago and they’re like oh yeah me too and I’m like oh really what neighborhood where’d you go to high school and they’re like I lived in Schaumburg and I come on man Shit if you’re from Chicago  Schaumburg so but it used to always drive us crazy when people would say they were from Chicago and they’re from Schaumburg or they’re from Arlington Heights or Evanston  and it’s like and then they be like what town did you live and I said Chicago that’s I told you Chicago like really yes I had a Chicago address. I had a Chicago ZIP Code. I went to Chicago public high school. I grew up on those streets of Chicago. It’s not the same when you’re from the suburbs, especially back in those days I mean it was the 80s kids were left to roam the streets all the time if you roam the streets in Schaumburg and Arlington Heights in Evanston during your days of being kicked out of the house so your mom didn’t have to deal with you. It wasn’t the same as those of us who were roaming the streets in Chicagoland during those same time periods so yeah I’ll get off my soap.