Baseball And Bbq

Author, Brett Topel Talks About New York Mets Firsts and Dansons, Julie Day Discusses Pit Boss Heroes while Chef Ray Sheehan Guest Co-hosts Brett Topel is a prolific author whose passion for his subjects comes through in all of his projects.  He returns to the show to discuss his latest book, New York Mets Firsts:  The Players, Moments, and Records That Were First in Team History.  In the more than sixty-year history of the New York Mets, there are many firsts, some more well known than others.  For example, the first Met pitcher to record a win at Shea Stadium (Al Jackson), the first Met to hit a homer at Citi Field (David Wright), the first Cy Young Award winner for the Mets (Tom Seaver), the first Met to pitch a no-hitter (Johan Santana).  However, Brett provides many Mets firsts that even the most ardent fan may not know, but will definitely love finding out Julie Day is the head of corporate responsibility for Dansons which is the the parent company of Pit Boss and Louisiana Grills.  She joins us to disc

Sam Gadziak from RIP Baseball and Homero Gonzalez from Harmacy Hot Sauce Co. with Guest Co-host, Chef Ray Sheehan Make This a Hot Episode to Die For Sam Gadziak created RIP Baseball, https://ripbaseball.com/ a website where, they "celebrate baseball history, one life at a time." Sam finds gravesites of baseball players, executives, announcers and others associated with the game and researches and writes their stories, as well as those of recently deceased baseball figures. As we said in the interview the website should come with a warning as baseball fans who love the game's history will find themselves spending lots of time exploring the site. Sam is also the communications manager for the American Association of Meat Processors and we make sure to include some in barbecue talk. Homero Gonzalez is the creator of Harmacy Hot Sauce Co. where small batch, award-winning sauces, are made by hand. On their website, https://www.harmacyhotsauce.com/ Homero is identified as the "sauce boss" as wel

Traeger Game Day 2023 Winner, Jeremy Wayland with Guest Co-host, Doug Scheiding and Richard Wachtel from Grilling With Rich and The Nats Report Jeremy Wayland is an Emmy winning cinematographer who tells others stories through a camera lens, but Jeremy has many stories of his own to tell.  Some of Jeremy's personal stories involve his love of cooking which combined with his skills and creativity made him the winner of Traeger Game Day 2023 College Football edition.  With the addition of our guest co-host, Doug Scheiding we learn about Jeremy and where he has been and possibly where this cooking journey is taking him.  Jeremy shares the same view as us that  everyone has a story and we really enjoyed hearing Jeremy's.  For more information on Jeremy Wayland go to  https://www.waylandfilms.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/campwestbbq/ Richard Wachtel received a Weber Kettle Grill and became a fan of live fire cooking.  He used that fandom to begin the YouTube Channel, Grilling With Rich, https://www.youtube.c

Patrick Montgomery, Author of Baseball's Great Expectations and Barbecue Hall of Famer, Ray Lampe AKA Dr. BBQ, Plus Guest Co-host, Doug Scheiding Patrick Montgomery is an award-winning writer. His latest book is Baseball's Great Expectations: Candid Stories of Ballplayers Who Didn't Live Up to the Hype. The book examines nine players who were once poised for greatness, but as the title clearly states, for whatever reason, their playing careers never reached the levels predicted.  Revealed ls an often-overlooked side of professional baseball;  the struggles with injury, mental exhaustion, pressure, temptations, and sometimes just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  We often read books which extol successes, but Patrick shows how difficult that success can be to achieve. Ray Lampe AKA Dr. BBQ has been a lover of barbecue since entering his first rib contest in 1982.  He quit the family trucking business after 25 years to become a full-time pit-master,but spent 15 years testing different barbequing styl

Matt Abdoo from Pig Beach BBQ, Ray Negron from the New York Yankees, and John Fuhrman, founder of Bubb'n Mutha's makes this another huge triple episode. Matt Abdoo is the executive chef and partner of Pig Beach BBQ and he joins us to discuss the 4th annual Jeff Michner Foundation BBQ Benefit taking place at Pig Beach in Queens, New York on Saturday, April 27, 2024.  Jeff Michner was Matt's brother-in-law and he passed away at the age of 36, leaving behind his wife Sara, and his 16-month-old daughter Hayes. A foundation was created in Jeff's honor to keep his memory alive. The organization embraces the things he loved best: family, friends, and great food. The Jeff Michner Foundation supports families managing loss and grief and provides scholarships to graduating high school students with a love for cooking and golf, two of Jeff’s biggest passions in life.  The Jeff Michner BBQ Benefit celebrates Jeff with an epic barbecue featuring some of the countries greatest pitmasters.   Go to https://www.pigbeachnyc.co

David Sweeten Shares Baseball Stories, Matthew Brown from The Black Garlic Market, and Rene LeRoux, New York State Baseball Hall of Fame Executive Director, Plus Doug Scheiding and Ray Sheehan Make This a Huge Triple Play Episode David J. Sweeten loves baseball and his life has been greatly impacted by bats, baseballs, and gloves.  David has many wonderful  stories as he was a CPA who worked with many well known players such as Joe Morgan, Rusty Staub, Larry Dierker, and Jerry Royce.  He became friends with Joe Morgan and attended 1975 and 1976 World Series games in Cincinnati as Joes’ guest.  Other players David had met and has stories about, include Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, and Jim Bouton.  David also plays in a senior baseball league, which he has done for many years and shares those stories too. Plus Doug Scheiding joins in for a fun discussion. Matthew Brown is one of the founders of The Black Garlic Market.  Matthew gives us another ingredient we can use to up our cooking game which includes makin

John Markus, BBQ Pitmasters Television Series Creator and Eric C. Gray, Author of Backyards to Ballparks John Markus may not have invented competition barbecue, but the television series he created, BBQ Pitmasters is responsible for what many cooks say made them take up competitive barbecue and helped lead to this latest barbecue craze.  John's career includes writing a revival of the animated "Mighty Mouse,” staff writer on Working Stiffs, writing an episode of Taxi, and he then joined the original writing staff of The Cosby Show.  There is much more, but being a barbecue podcast, we invited John on to discuss his career, but especially what led him to create The All Star Barbecue Showdown which later became the beloved, BBQ Pitmasters.  In 2002, John was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame.  Go to https://john-markus.com/ for more informtion on John Markus. Eric C. Gray has written a book which will make you laugh, cry and experience a whole range of emotions.  The book is Backyards to Ballparks:  

Slap Yo' Daddy BBQ's, Harry Soo Spreads Barbecue Love, Sports Radio's, Angelo Cataldi Gets Loud, and Spring Training Correspondent, Gary Looney Helps Usher In the 2024 MLB Season Harry Soo is back and wants to spread barbecue love.  Harry has retired from his 9 to 5 job and is now a full-time pitmaster with lots of projects.  He became a champion pitmaster purely by chance.  It was on his "bucket list" to enter a barbecue competition and with the nudging of a fellow co-worker he did and the rest as they say is history.  Harry has more than 100 first place finishes, 30 Grand Championships, is a television personality (Food Network, Chopped, Smoked, BBQ Pitmasters), and makes and posts incredible videos on YouTube.  We are joined by guest contributor, Ray Sheehan.  More information on Harry Soo can be found at https://www.slapyodaddybbq.com/   Angelo Cataldi has been the voice of morning sports talk radio in Philadelphia for over 30 years on 94 WIP.  Prior to that Angelo was a writer for the Providenc

Prolific Baseball Author, Lew Freedman and Fergolicious BBQ's, Richard Fergola Make This a Can't Miss Episode Lew Freedman is a veteran newspaper sportswriter and author of more than 75 books about sports and Alaska subjects.  He spent seventeen years at the Anchorage Daily News in Alaska and has also worked for the the Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Inquirer.  Lew is also the recipient of over 250 journalism awards.  He previously joined us on episdode 94 to discuss his book, Cy Young:  The Baseball Life and Career and is back to discuss his book, Tales From The Clubhouse:  Great Baseball Moments Remembered.  It would take a lot of episodes to discuss all of the great books Lew has written, but we gladly welcome that challenge. Richard Fergola is an award winning pitmaster and his barbecue team is Fergolicious BBQ.  Featured on season five of the television show, BBQ Pitmasters as well as on the Food Network's show Chopped, Richard is constantly demonstrating his barbecue prowess.  Richard also has created

2013 NL Manager of the Year, Clint Hurdle and Award-Winning Pitmaster, Matthew Deaton with Guest Contributor, Ray Sheehan AKA Chef Ray Clint Hurdle is a former Major League baseball player, but he readily admits the 10 year baseball career, during which he played for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals served as the training for his post playing career when he excelled at being a Major League baseball manager.  Clint regaled us with many stories from his career, including how he got started managing.  Once Clint got to the Major Leagues as a manager, he managed the Colorado Rockies to a 2007 World Series appearance and later the Pittsburgh Pirates and capped off a very successful 2013 season with being named National League Manager of the Year.  To find out more about Clint Hurdle he encourages you to go to https://www.clinthurdle.com/ Matthew Deaton is an award winning pitmaster who  fell in love with barbeque very young. He studied the traditions of age-old wood-s

It's a Bonus Episode with Smoked BBQ Source's, Joe Clements, JustinTime Baseball's, Justin Sherman, and International Baseball Promoter, Dmitry Sagalchik Joe Clements is the founder and editor in chief of https://www.smokedbbqsource.com/  which is one of the largest barbecue and grilling websites.  Arranging this was worth the effort as Joe joined us from his home in Australia which was 16 hours ahead of us.  Joe's Smoked BBQ Source website is filled with barbecue recipes and techniques, smoker and grill reviews, and much more.  Joe may live in Australia, but his heart is anywhere great BBQ is served and Joe has become quite knowledgeable about American BBQ. Justin Sherman and Dmitry Sagalchik make a great team as they join us to talk youth baseball and international baseball.  Justin is the founder of JustinTime Baseball, www.justintimebaseball.com, an independent baseball/softball training and coaching business.  Dmitry is extremely knowledgeable about international baseball and was instrumental in bringing

Former MLB Player, Curtis Granderson aka the Grandyman and High School BBQ League Founder, Mike Erickson with Guest Co-host, Doug Scheiding Plus a Listener Shares Their Baseball Pet Peeve Curtis Granderson is nicknamed the Grandyman. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers,Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Miami Marlins.  He was recently inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame.  Curtis had an exceptional career on the playing field, but his post playing career is just as exceptional as he is involved with The Players Alliance, as well as his Grand Kids Foundation.  Our discussion covers so much more than his playing career and philanthropical endeavors as we also discuss Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the numerous awards Curtis has won, and much more, including his love of food. Mike Erickson is known as the BBQ Principal. He is the founder of High School BBQ and the Tex

Journalist and SNY Televison's, Anthony McCarron and Dansons / Pit Boss Marketing Manager, Barrett Browne with Guest Co-host, Ray Sheehan AKA Chef Ray Anthony McCarron is a seasoned journalist and a popular contributor on SNY televison who provides insights and news on Major League Baseball.  Anthony has written for the Miami Herald, Newsday, and the New York Daily News as well as writing the book, The Mets 50th Anniversary Celebration with his co-author, Andy Martino.  Our conversation veers off in many wonderful directions, but Anthony's career and baseball are discussed in depth.  Joe Garagiola once said, "Not only was I not the best catcher in the Major Leagues, I wasn't even the best catcher on my street."  We ask Anthony if there is anything in that quote he can relate to as he lives with another sports journalist and his answer may surprise some. Barrett Browne is the marketing manager at Dansons which has become a leader in the outdoor cooking industry.  They are the parent company behind Lo

Former MLB Player and Gold Card Owner, Trevor May and Lillie's Q BBQ Chef, Charlie McKenna Offer Fascinating Looks at Baseball and BBQ On Episode 225 Trevor May is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.  He played for the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, and the Oakland Athletics.  Trevor was selected in the fourth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft by the Philadelphia Phillies and was once considered the Phillies best prospect and won the Paul Owens Award which is awarded to the Phillies best minor league pitcher.  Trevor was traded by the Phillies to the Minnesota Twins and later signed a two-year contract with the Mets and finally signed a one year deal with the Athletics; at the end of which he announced his retirement.  His second act has the potential to be even better than his first as he is involved in lots of social media and things which he is passionate about.  Trevor gives tons of information which baseball fans will love, including what a gold card is. Go to https://www.iamtrevormay.co

Former MLB Player and Current SNY Analyst, Todd Zeile, Kurvball Whiskey's CBO, Monica Badlani, and Eddie the Legend Author, Brian Scala Make This Another Huge Triple Play Todd Zeile is a former Major League Baseball player whose varied positions included, third baseman, catcher, and first baseman. He played sixteen seasons, from 1989 to 2004, for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and Montreal Expos.  We first met Todd at the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame dinner when he was there to support one of the inductees and again a year later when Todd received the honor of being inducted into the same aforementioned Hall of Fame.  Other than his several years with St. Louis, Todd's career was spent with different teams every one or two years and this gave him a unique perspective.  We discuss all of the preceding and much more with Todd, including his outstanding

Versatile Sportscaster, Pete McCarthy and Pitmaster and High School Competition BBQ Team Coach, Sean Hill Pete McCarthy has a very distinctive voice which has been heard all along the radio dial.  Pete works very hard at his craft and has provided sports updates on Sirius XM, and as a sports talk show host on WFAN. Pete also gives sports updates on WFAN, WINS, WCBS, and CBS Sports Radio.  Pete has interviewed numerous sports personalities and discusses many of them and provides insight into a career that has benefited greatly from his versatility which enables him to handle many jobs in broadcasting.  Pete is also a fan of a few teams, especially the New York Jets football team and he shows his true fandom as he shares the frustration he feels along with other fans. Sean Hill is a pitmaster who competes on the Texas Moonswiners BBQ team.  He has taken his love of barbecue and shares it with high school students as he coaches their team in the Texas High School BBQ League.  Just three years after his change of

Tina Cannon, Season One Winner of Netflix's BBQ Showdown, MLB Pitcher, Matt Wisler, and a Huge Announcement from Champion Pitmaster, Doug Scheiding Make Episode 222 a Rare Triple Play Tina Cannon has competed in barbecue competitions since 2009 with more than 200 category wins. She has appeared in cooking competition shows on Travel Channel, Destination America, Netflix, and Food Network, as well as some local networks.  Tina is a classically trained chef with over 35 years in the culinary industry.  She was the season one winner of Netflix's, American Barbecue Showdown.  Tina believes in giving back to the community and last year cooked over 60,000 meals for her local Meals on Wheels.  She sells the rub, Tina Cannon's European Blend, comprised of the same ingredients she used on winning beef ribs on BBQ Showdown, while donating the profits to charity.  To purchase the rub and special Tina Cannon related swag or to learn more about Tina go to https://tinacannoncooks.com Matt Wisler is a Major League Baseball

Former MLB Player, Kelly Stinnett, Chunky BBQ's, John Shirey, and Guest Co-host, Gary Mack Add Their Own Special Flair Kelly Stinnett played catcher for six teams over 14 Major League seasons. His rookie season was spent with the New York Mets and he later played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Kansas City Royals. Making it to the majors is a daunting task that most never accomplish, but playing for 14 years is a huge triumph. Kelly discusses life in baseball as a player and life in baseball when his playing career ended. His post-playing career is dedicated to helping young players play the game right and his guidance is helping them immensely. Kelly may not have been the biggest star on the teams he played for, but he shines brightly now as he shares his life stories with us and guest co-host Gary Mack. John Shirey is a competitive barbecue cook and his team is Chunky BBQ. There does not seem to be a contest whose distance is too far away for this

Winning Conversations with Three Little Pigs Barbecue's, Chris Marks and Professional Softball Fastpitch Player, Elizabeth Mason   Chris Marks is a nationally recognized elite competition barbecue chef and CBBQE (Chief BBQ Expert)  of  Three Little Pig Rubs and Sauces.  Chris has won more than 50 national barbecue championships and over 600 individual awards including the Jack Daniel’s World Championship BBQ Sauce Championship and is an eight time winner of the American Royal Championship.  He has been featured on the Food Channels,  Taste of America, Travel Channels, BBQ Battle, and numerous other shows.  In addition to everything else, Chris also teaches BBQ classes.  For more information on Chris and Three Little Pigs Barbecue go to https://three-little-pigs-bbq.com/ Elizabeth Mason is a former Florida State Softball standout and 2018 national champion.  She is now part of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) softball team staff as an assistant coach.  Mason joined UTA following her first season in

Our Annual Baseball Hall of Fame Discussion with Distinguished Author, John Vampatella and Award-Winning Pitmaster, Doug Scheiding John Vampatella makes a triumphant return as we discuss the players who are on this year's Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  John knows his baseball and makes very interesting points. John's last appearance was on episode 112 to discuss his book, The Forgotten Game which details one of the greatest games in baseball history between the two most bitter rivals in the sport, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.  More information on John can be found at https://www.johnvampatella.com/about Doug Scheiding is back and once again and provides his opinions on this year's Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Doug is an embedded correspondent on The BBQ Central Show, a rocket scientist, an award winning pitmaster for the Rogue Cookers barbecue competition team, a Traeger Pellet Grills representative, and a Head Country brand ambassador.  He also loves baseball and is very knowledgeable with