This blog has permanently migrated to Substack

A brief note to anyone who stumbled upon this long neglected blog.

It's migrated.

You can now find similar musings, hopefully much more consistently, over at Substack.

Find me at https://joshuasuchon.substack.com/

Talk to you there. 

Podcast Episode 14 -- Steve Lyons

Steve Lyons played professional baseball for 13 years and has broadcasted Major League Baseball for over 20 years. On a personal level, the former Red Sox and White Sox utilityman had a major influence on my wardrobe, especially the socks I wear.

On Episode 14 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, Lyons tells hilarious stories about his life, on and off the field. It starts with why the Boston Red Sox couldn't find him on the day he was drafted in the first round of the 1981 draft. Then how, on his first roadtrip in the minor leagues, the bus driver died, a player nearly fell out of the bus, and the bus caught fire. Welcome to Steve Lyons' career.

We discuss playing center field on the night Roger Clemens struck out 20 batters, the demons Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd faced, getting traded for Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, getting sent back to the minors, playing in Hawaii, playing tie-tac-toe in the infield during games, and of course, the night he dropped his pants on the field during a game.

Mostly, we just giggle and laugh, as Lyons tells fascinating and very candid stories for over 90 minutes.

Listening options:

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* And here's the clip of Lyons dropping his pants.

Podcast Episode 13 -- Dominic Latkovski of Zooperstars!

Dominic Latkovski has seen the world through huge inflatable animal characters based on famous professional athletes. He's the founder of the Zooperstars!, one of the most enduring touring acts that is approaching its fourth decade entertaining fans at sporting events.

In Episode 13 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we learn how Dominic got his start with triple-A Louisville in the early 1990s, recruiting younger brother Brennan to join his act, creating BirdZerk! to start touring outside of Louisville, and then creating legendary characters like Harry Canary, Cow Ripken, Jr. and Roger Clamens.

Dominic scalped tickets to a Garth Brooks concert to raise money to attend his first Trade Show at the 1992 Baseball Winter Meetings. He hasn't missed one since. After the 2018 Trade Show ended, we chatted about injuries, appearing on America's Got Talent, which athletes love their alter egos most, and why the Zooperstars! have stood the test of time. 

Listening options:

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Podcast Episode 12 -- Houston Astros president Reid Ryan

Reid Ryan wanted to be a pitcher in the major leagues, just like his Hall of Fame father Nolan Ryan. But when his career stalled in the minors, Reid forged his own path as a baseball executive, first bringing minor league baseball in Texas to Round Rock and Corpus Christi. He's currently the president of the Houston Astros.

In Episode 12 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we trace Reid's life growing up around baseball, in the clubhouse when his father played, the heckles he received playing youth baseball, a famous exhibition game when he pitched against his father, running two of the most successful minor league teams in the country, and then getting his own "callup" to the majors.

Reid tells us when he realized his father was kind of a big deal, where he was during the legendary fight between his dad and Robin Ventura, when his kids realized their grandfather was a big deal, and how he uses his children to learn how to reach the next generation of baseball fans.

Listening options:

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Podcast Episode 11 -- Dan Hayes and Matt Hurst, past & present ball scribes

Dan Hayes and Matt Hurst joined me for our annual Bucket List football weekend recently. We decided to record a Podcast, where we talked about our time as either former newspapers ball scribes (Hurst, myself) or current ball scribe (Hayes).

Between the three of us, we've been a beat reporter for all five California teams and seven teams total, with a combined 25 years of experience.

We discuss our initial "I can't believe they're paying me to do this" moments, this story behind the story of how a few scoops came to fruition, the scoops that got away, what it's like eating with Mike Scioscia, writing two stories about two potential new managers (just in case), and why one of us exited the journalism world to work.


Listening options:

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Podcast Episode 10 -- Producer/Documentary filmmaker Sean Maddison

Sean Maddison does not understand the term "offseason." He's the leader producer for the San Jose Sharks television broadcasts on NBC Sports Bay Area. Then after the grind of a grueling season, Maddison makes documentaries. Not simple easy documentaries, but emotional stories about the intersection of sports and society.

In episode 10 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we find out why Sean Maddison won't just rest and enjoy the offseason. He's produced over 10 documentaries, but we'll focus on three: OUT, the Glenn Burke Story; TOMBOY, elevating the conversation about gender in sports; and LETTERS TO 87, a tribute the late 49ers legend Dwight Clark.

We also discussed why he moved to New York when his producing career was just getting established in the SF Bay Area, producing VH1's "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs" and how that experience shapes his work to this day.

Listening options:

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To watch the beautifully produced LETTERS TO 87, grab a kleenex and follow this link.

Podcast Episode 9 -- Producer/Statistician David Feldman

David Feldman is not somebody who sports fans see. He's not somebody who sports fans hear very often. But his fingerprints are all over a lot of the live sporting events that are viewed by thousands, if not millions.

In Episode 9 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, our guest is David Feldman. Not the David Feldman who is an on-air host for NBC Sports Bay Area, but the David Feldman who is a producer for numerous live sporting events across multiple networks, and an official scorer for Major League Baseball games. We discuss growing up in the left field bleachers of the Oakland Coliseum with a diverse group of characters, how a chance encounter with then-A's play-by-play announcer Greg Papa led to a prediction that launched his career, and we trace how he rose through the ranks in the production truck.

We also learn how Reggie Jackson learned to trust him, get his advice for up-and-coming sportscasters, how you produce a sport that has never been televised, and find out the pros and cons of sharing a name with somebody who is on television almost every night.

Listening options:

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