Reading Baseball
191 episodes - English - Latest episode: 19 days ago -Reading Baseball is a WSIU Radio original series of baseball essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, editor of the St. Louis Baseball Reader and author of Growing Up With Clemente and the upcoming Pops: The Willie Stargell Story.
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Episodes
Reading Baseball: An eclipse and baseball
April 04, 2024 23:03 - 4 minutes - 6.7 MBPete Peterson, thanks to Mark Twain, finds a connection between baseball and eclipses.
Reading Baseball: Paul Giamatti's Father, Bart Giamatti
March 22, 2024 00:29 - 4 minutes - 6.83 MBPete Peterson recently learned Paul Giamatti’s father is the former commissioner of baseball who banished Pete Rose from the game.
Reading Baseball: Jim Leyland in, Barry Bonds out
March 08, 2024 01:32 - 4 minutes - 6.77 MBThe newest inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame include longtime manager Jim Leyland.
Reading Baseball: The American League's Jackie Robinson
February 16, 2024 01:16 - 5 minutes - 6.98 MBWSIU contributor Pete Peterson brings us his annual piece in honor of Black History Month.
Commentary: Basketball at 80
January 26, 2024 02:03 - 5 minutes - 6.97 MBPete Peterson tells us how a recent article reminded him of those days of going at it on the hardwood at the SIU Arena.
Reading Baseball: Meeting Anita
December 15, 2023 02:12 - 4 minutes - 6.73 MBPete Peterson remembers an chain of events more than 60 years ago that changed his life forever.
Reading Baseball: Why We Love Baseball
November 17, 2023 03:22 - 4 minutes - 6.82 MBPete Peterson talks about a new baseball book that highlights the magical moments in the game's history.
Reading Baseball: Remembering Dick Groat
November 03, 2023 00:38 - 4 minutes - 6.75 MBPete Peterson remembers Dick Groat, a two-sport athlete who passed away earlier this year.
Reading Baseball: A letter to Cardinal fans
October 20, 2023 01:56 - 5 minutes - 6.94 MBPete Peterson explains how laughter is the best medicine to deal with your team's woes.
Reading Baseball: My baseball second childhood
October 06, 2023 02:43 - 5 minutes - 6.97 MBPete Peterson remembers how the Pirates and the Cubs often battled for last place during his childhood in the 1950's.
Reading Baseball: Back to Busch Stadium
September 22, 2023 01:21 - 4 minutes - 6.67 MBPete looks back on the rough seasons for the Pirates and the Cardinals.
Reading Baseball: Mark McGwire's statue
September 08, 2023 01:29 - 4 minutes - 6.63 MBThe St. Louis Cardinals have a statue of Mark McGwire ready if he ever gets elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Reading Baseball: The worst sports fans
August 25, 2023 00:55 - 4 minutes - 6.84 MBPete Peterson describes an intense atmosphere as his family attended a Pittsburgh Pirates game recently.
Commentary: Retired educator Pete Peterson on the teacher shortage
August 10, 2023 23:28 - 4 minutes - 6.86 MBCommentator Pete Peterson and his wife, Anita, are both retired teachers.
Commentary: A tale from the gas station
July 20, 2023 23:10 - 5 minutes - 6.93 MBWSIU commentator Pete Peterson remembers his days pumping as as just two states still mandate full-service gas stations.
Reading Baseball: All those home runs -- it's climate change
July 06, 2023 22:16 - 4 minutes - 3.41 MBPete Peterson's commentary focuses on how a study has determined climate change is helping produce more home runs in Major League Baseball.
Reading Baseball: The superstitious baseball fan
June 22, 2023 22:49 - 5 minutes - 6.92 MBPete Peterson explains how superstitious baseball fans are, especially his own wife.
Reading Baseball: The pitch clock and beer sales
June 08, 2023 22:58 - 5 minutes - 7.59 MBIn his latest commentary, Pete Peterson looks at how quicker games are creating an unexpected problem involving beer sales.
Commentary: Out of Left Field
May 25, 2023 23:33 - 5 minutes - 7.61 MBReading Baseball commentator Pete Peterson talks about the book Straight Man, which was developed into the TV series Lucky Hank.
Reading Baseball: A Baseball Fairy Tale
May 11, 2023 23:05 - 5 minutes - 7.41 MBPete Peterson's latest edition of Reading Baseball takes a look at the remarkable story of Drew Maggi.
Reading Baseball: Take me out to a Cardinals game
April 27, 2023 23:02 - 5 minutes - 7.56 MBPete Peterson tells us about his recent trip to a Pittsburgh Pirates-St. Louis Cardinals game in St. Louis.
Reading Baseball: Baseball on the clock
April 14, 2023 01:26 - 5 minutes - 7.59 MBPete Peterson explains his view on the new pitch clock in Major League Baseball.
Reading Baseball: Take me out to opening day
March 30, 2023 23:23 - 5 minutes - 7.55 MBPete Peterson's latest commentary highlights his childhood memories of opening day and the traditions born out of this special day across MLB.
Reading Baseball: My Baseball March Madness
March 17, 2023 02:44 - 5 minutes - 7.48 MBPete Peterson talks about his dream of playing professional baseball.
Banning Roberto Clemente
March 03, 2023 02:00 - 5 minutes - 7.28 MBReading Baseball commentator Pete Peterson takes exception to a Florida school district temporarily banning a children's book about Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.
Commentary: McKees Rocks' Damar Hamlin
February 10, 2023 03:59 - 5 minutes - 7.63 MBWSIU Radio commentator Pete Peterson talks about Damar Hamlin's hometown, which is near where Pete grew up.
Reading Baseball: Home Runs in January
January 19, 2023 23:43 - 5 minutes - 7.36 MBPete Peterson talks about how the bleakness of January became more tolerable one year with the introduction of a televised Home Run Derby.
50 years ago: A sports triumph and a tragedy
December 16, 2022 13:47 - 5 minutes - 7.73 MBWSIU's Pete Peterson remembers the holiday season 50 years ago that featured an exhilarating football moment and an unimaginable tragedy for a Hall of Fame baseball player.
Baseball and Jim Thorpe
November 04, 2022 02:04 - 5 minutes - 7.33 MBPete Peterson looks at Jim Thorpe's lesser known baseball career.
Reading Baseball: A Great Baseball Story, Almost
October 21, 2022 02:18 - 5 minutes - 7.31 MBPete Peterson looks back at the 2022 St. Louis Cardinals baseball season and how all it lacked was a storybook ending.
To Run or Not to Run
October 07, 2022 02:10 - 5 minutes - 7.44 MBPete Peterson provides a commentary on how the organizers of the Pittsburgh Marathon continue to seek his participation in the event.
Reading Baseball: Kill the umpire?
September 23, 2022 02:53 - 5 minutes - 7.51 MBPete Peterson talks about how baseball umpires are among the most abused sports officials.
Reading Baseball: Is baseball or football America's game?
September 09, 2022 03:08 - 5 minutes - 7.41 MBPete Peterson looks at the debate and tries to explain why the game’s rich history still leads him to call baseball America’s game.
Reading Baseball: When Ron Shelton met Ron Shelton
August 26, 2022 02:21 - 5 minutes - 7.52 MBPete Peterson has the unusual story about when two men — both named Ron Shelton — ended up on the same minor league baseball team.
Reading Baseball: 100 Years Ago, St. Louis became a baseball town
August 12, 2022 02:00 - 5 minutes - 7.61 MBPete Peterson's commentary explains how baseball took over St. Louis in 1922.
Goodbye Heinz Field, Hello Acrisure Stadium
July 29, 2022 02:40 - 5 minutes - 7.86 MBIn this special commentary, Pete Peterson says the latest name change of a stadium has fans of one NFL team up in arms.
Reading Baseball: Bob Gibson's Angell
July 15, 2022 01:30 - 5 minutes - 7.44 MBPete Peterson examines how Hall of Fame writer Roger Angell got a unique glimpse into the life of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson for a renowned essay.
Reading Baseball: Love of the Game
July 01, 2022 02:22 - 5 minutes - 7.39 MBPete Peterson talks about how his days as a sore loser fueled his love for the game.
Reading Baseball: Remembering Cardinals Rookie of the Year Bill Virdon
June 17, 2022 14:05 - 5 minutes - 7.54 MBPete Peterson says Virdon inspired him to be a centerfielder as a youth.
On the road again
June 03, 2022 02:28 - 5 minutes - 7.62 MBPete Peterson and his wife Anita recently returned to their hometown of Pittsburgh for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reading Baseball: When Itchy became a cover boy
May 20, 2022 12:23 - 5 minutes - 7.2 MBPete Peterson remembers the time Jones became a cover boy when the SIU Press reprinted a critically-acclaimed baseball book.
Reading Baseball: In the wake of Jackie Robinson
May 06, 2022 14:08 - 5 minutes - 7.5 MBPete Peterson looks at the ramifications of Jackie Robinson’s breaking of baseball's color barrier on several of his teammates.
Reading Baseball: Angels in the Outfield
April 22, 2022 12:42 - 5 minutes - 7.47 MBPete Peterson talks about how a classic baseball film helped him get over the Pittsburgh Pirates' season opening loss in St. Louis.
Reading Baseball: The end of baseball's longest controversy
April 08, 2022 12:28 - 5 minutes - 7.4 MBPete Peterson looks at the origin of the designated hitter as the National League joins the American League in utilizing a hitter for the pitcher.
Reading Baseball: Pirates hire another former Saluki
March 25, 2022 12:32 - 5 minutes - 7.53 MBPete Peterson looks at how two former Saluki baseball stars will try to turn around the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
Pete Peterson remembers his ethnic heritage
March 11, 2022 13:11 - 5 minutes - 7.73 MBWSIU Radio contributor Pete Peterson remembers his eastern European ethnic heritage as the world watches Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Reading Baseball: Does Barry Bonds Belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame?
February 25, 2022 13:42 - 5 minutes - 7.44 MBPete Peterson looks at Barry Bonds' growing support for his induction into the Hall of Fame.
Reading Baseball: The Negro League's Vic Harris-Baseball's Winningest Manager
February 11, 2022 13:39 - 5 minutes - 7.59 MBIn his annual Black History Month commentary, Pete Peterson has the story of a notable Negro League player and manager who has yet to make the Hall of Fame.
Reading Baseball: A Baseball Christmas Miracle - Twice
January 28, 2022 13:33 - 5 minutes - 6.96 MBPete Peterson recalls his favorite Christmas gift as a child and his effort to track it down.
Reading Baseball: The Baseball 100 for the Holidays
December 17, 2021 14:03 - 5 minutes - 7.56 MBReading Baseball's Pete Peterson has a gift idea for the baseball fan on your Christmas shopping list.