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. 

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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.

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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.


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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.

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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.

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Podcast Episode 8 -- News reporter turned minor league broadcaster Mike Capps

Mike Capps enjoyed the type of career that most news journalists could only dream they could attain, winning awards, and covering some of the biggest stories of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. But he gave it all up to become a minor league baseball play-by-play announcer.

In Episode 8 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we learn how walking out of his tryout with the Montreal Expos in 1969 led Capps to a career in journalism. He was honored with the George F. Peabody Award for the investigation over a three-year period that resulted in the downfall of the SMU football program. He covered 16 Space Shuttle missions, two tours of duty in the first Gulf War, Hurricane Alicia, the Midwest Floods, the overthrow of the Haitian government, and earned a National Emmy Nomination with CNN for a 10-hour-long broadcast for the fiery end of the Branch Dividian Siege in Waco.

But one morning, Mike woke up with a bedpost in his right hand and blood on his forehead. That's when he knew that he needed to leave television journalism and change his life. And it was baseball that saved his life.

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Podcast Episode 7 -- Pitcher/Comedian Tim Dillard

When you think of somebody who has spent their entire career playing for one organization, you usually think of Tony Gwynn with the Padres, Chipper Jones with the Braves, or Cal Ripken, Jr. with the Orioles. The name Tim Dillard probably does not come to mind. 

Yet in many ways, it's even more remarkable that Dillard has only played for the Milwaukee Brewers organization: 16 years total, parts of four years in the majors (73 appearances), and 12 years in the triple-A Pacific Coast League, eight when the affiliate was in Nashville and four when the affiliate was in Colorado Springs. [Dillard also played very briefly for an independent team.]

In Episode 7 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we discuss how and why Dillard has stayed with one organization, how at age 34 his value now is just as much as a quasi-coach and therapy dog as it is a relief pitcher, based primarily on the 500-plus videos he's made and posted on social media.

We also discuss growing up around the ballpark when his father was a minor league manager, his initial "callup" to the majors, his conversion to sidearm pitcher, his next "callup" to the majors, and his most recent "social media callup" to Milwaukee.

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Podcast Episode 6 -- Switch Pitcher Pat Vanditte

Pat Venditte is the most unique pitcher in professional baseball. He's ambidexterous. He's not a switcher hitter. He's a switch pitcher. Yes, he throws left-handed *and* right-handed, usually in the same game.

In Episode 6 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we learn the story of how Pat's father had this idea of making him a switch-pitcher, when Pat realized throwing with both arms was not normal, the confusion it caused to some people, the challenge of learning to pitch with both arms, and the advantages it creates.

We also discuss how few options he had leaving high school, getting a chance to pitch at Creighton University with both arms, his hilarious professional debut that inspired a rule to be named after him, when he nearly quit baseball in the minor league, why he needed to reinvent himself after injuries, and what it was like making a Major League debut that was unlike anything we've seen in decades.

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Podcast Episode 5 -- Broadcaster/Author Tim Hagerty

Tim Hagerty is the play-by-play announcer for the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padress AAA affiliate), the author of a book titled, "Root for the Home Team," and a correspondent for The Sporting News specializing in unusual tales from minor league baseball's colorful past.

In Episode 5 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, it's not an interview. It's just two baseball nerds talking baseball history -- unusual stories that you can't believe are true, and stories that you thought you knew but didn't completely know.

We learn about a very dangerous foul ball, the earliest attempts to speed up baseball, how to play a game when the infield is saturated, why the Detroit Tigers didn't want to tag out a baserunner one day, what happens when a ball is split in half, and when did Pete Rose actually break the all-time hits record.

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To purchase a copy of Tim's book, click here.

Podcast Episode 4 -- Brian & David Holman

Brian Holman thought he knew heartache on the pitchers mound. He once retired 26 batters in a row, against the defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics, before Ken Phelps spoiled the perfect game with a pinch hit home run. His promising career ended prematurely due to shoulder injury ... and then he experienced real heartbreak.

Brian needed open-heart surgery. His daughter Kassidy was diagnosed with leukemia. His son David fell 30 feet off a ski lift and nearly died, then doctors discovered a tumor in his brain that required surgery. David made a full recovery and he's now pitching for the Colorado Rockies triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque.

In Episode 4 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we visit with Brian and David about the highs and lows of baseball, injuries, life in the hospital, the strength of their family, and the enduring bond of baseball.

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* YouTube video from the night Brian Holman was almost perfect.

Podcast Episode 3 -- Chris and Pat Valaika

Chris and Pat are two of the four Valaika brothers that were the starting shortstop for the Hart High School baseball team for 13 years. All four were drafted by Major League Baseball teams. They experienced a rare on-field reunion from June 5-7, 2018 when the triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (Pat's current team) played the Iowa Cubs (where Chris is now a coach).

On Episode 3 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, Chris and Pat sat down to discuss baseball, brotherhood, and what it's like when your father is thousands of miles away, and you're unable to speak to him ... because he's been in a coma for over three years.

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* YouTube clip of Pat's emotional home run on Father's Day:

Podcast Episode 2 -- Ballhawk Zack Hample

Many people hope they get a ball when they attend a baseball game. A few lucky people have secured multiple baseballs. Zack Hample has obtained over 10,000 baseballs at 53 different stadiums, and incredibly, this is now his job. Yes, getting baseballs at ballparks is how he makes his living.

In Episode 2 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we trace this incredible journey, from his first ball at Shea Stadium, his first summer as a dedicated ballhawk, the strategy involved in getting Alex Rodriguez's 3,000th hit (a home run), the controversy surrounding negotiations for the ball, how this hobby became his job, why people pay him money to attend a game, and how much longer he can continue as the most famous ballhawk in the country.

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Podcast Episode 1 -- Slugger/Filmmaker Cody Decker

Cody Decker is probably best known for making a video about how the El Paso Chihuahuas players and coaches made Jeff Francoeur think one of their teammates is deaf. Or that he's married to Jen Sterger.

He's all that, and much more. Cody grew up playing baseball and acting in theatre, and he's merged those interests throughout his career as a professional baseball player, which he admits has brought him noteriety that's been a blessing and a curse.

In in inaugural edition of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we trace Cody's life from a kid in Santa Monica to the 31-year-old player who is currently third on the active list or most home runs in the minor leagues.

We also dive into the behind-the-scenes stories of the short films that made him famous, the reaction of teams past and present, how Major League debut, and reluctantly preparing for life after baseball (even though he doesn't want to stop playing this game anytime soon).

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