Episode 27 -- Tim Hagerty, 3.0

Tim Hagerty returns for a record third appearance on the “Life Around the Seams” podcast and the very loose theme for this episode is irregularities in the length of baseball due to unforeseen factors.

Hagerty tells us about the two minor leagues that played a 19-game championship series, the pitcher struck by lightning, the kid-turned-adult who insisted on knowing why two minor league teams accidentally played one extra game, the town that built a grandstand in eight days to ensure an exhibition game against the Yankees was played, and the man listed in the official records of Major League players despite never actually playing in a game.

I told stories about lost opportunities and the split-season format from 1981, how the 1994-95 work stoppage nearly ended Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played streak, Ernie Banks’ track record in double headers, how the femme fatale from The Natural was based on a true story, and how baseball reacted to World War I in 1918.

Please pardon the audio that’s not up to our usual standards. When you’re recording over an internet, sometimes the connection buffers a little mid-sentence. But as we stay #SafeAtHome waiting for baseball to return, enjoy these colorful stories from baseball’s past.