The Baseball Bucket List Podcast

Solario is a life-long Giants fan originally from the San Francisco area, who now calls Honolulu, Hawaii home. He shares stories of growing up attending games at Candlestick Park, where freezing summer winds couldn’t keep him away from his beloved Giants. Now, a professional illustrator, Solario talks about how his love for baseball logos and uniforms played a big part in shaping his passion for design.

We also dive into his experiences with international baseball. He's never missed a World Baseball Classic and is a huge fan of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), having visited almost every st...

Crystal McKenzie is a life-long Cardinals fan from St. Louis. Even though she grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, she remained loyal to St. Louis thanks to her family’s roots. Crystal shares how watching Nolan Ryan pitch in person ignited her passion for baseball and how the 1998 home run chase pulled her deeper into the game.

Now, as a mom, Crystal is on a mission to visit all 30 MLB ballparks with her family, sharing the magic of the game and teaching her daughters to love it just as much as she does. We dive into he...

George Falkowski is a Yankee fan from New Jersey who spent a big part of his life in sports broadcasting, including ten years with NESN covering Boston sports. Despite growing up in a household that didn’t root for the Yankees, George found his way to baseball and never looked back.

In this episode, we discuss what George calls “Ballpark Therapy” and why going to a ballpark feels like a much-needed escape from the stresses of life. We also dive into his most powerful baseball memory—the night after Thurman Munson’s tragic death—and how that moment still...

Spencer Schwartz joins the show for his third appearance. Spencer, who has been a life-long Yankees fan and season ticket holder, shares his recent battle with a rare autoimmune disorder that led to the sudden loss of his eyesight.

In this episode, Spencer recounts his journey and shares how his life and love for baseball have been profoundly affected. From the initial diagnosis to the overwhelming support from the Twitter baseball community, he shares how his enduring passion for the game has helped him through this tough time.

We also discuss some touching experiences that...

Terry McCutchen recently found his love of lower-level baseball reignited by the newly minted Abilene Flying Bison. Anna and Terry chat about growing up in a baseball focused Texas town, the best parts of having a collegiate wood bat team in your backyard, and his favorite baseball memories. 

Terry also recently started his own #catch365 journey and touches on his favorite experiences and biggest lessons learned so far. 

Find the full transcript and show notes here: https://baseballbucketlist.com/podcast/episode-164-terry-mccutchen/

Find Terry Online:
Twitter: @TBMccutchen
Instagram:  ...

Eytan Saenger is a Red Sox fan currently living in the Bronx, NY. Originally from Boston, his family moved to Yankee country when he was 10 years old. Anna and Eytan discuss what it's like to be a Sox fan in the middle of Yankeeville, the Jewish connection to baseball, and how the younger generation feels about the game. They also chat about the role of music and ambient sound at the ballpark, and share some ideas for bringing even more of a community aspect to baseball.

Eytan is a passionate musician whose original music can be heard...

Stan Cole is a life-long baseball fan from Buies Creek, NC who fell in love with the game as a kid thanks to AM radio broadcasts and NBC’s Game of The Week.  He’s also the associate athletic director for community and alumni engagement at Anna’s school, Campbell University. 

Stan and Anna discuss the history of baseball at Campbell, including the surprising number of major leaguers who have come through "The Creek". They also touch on a recent trip Stan took to Cooperstown to celebrate his 60th birthday, the rich history of baseball, and the art of b...

Rohn Brown is a Washington Nationals fan from Mechanicsville, VA, whose love of baseball got started in the 1970s thanks to the Valley League. In the mid 80s he interned for the Richmond Braves, a team that featured a few names you may have heard of, including Tom Glavine.

Rohn and Anna chat about the charming differences between collegiate wood bat leagues and minors leagues as compared to the pomp and circumstance of MLB, and how interesting it is to watch prospects at the lower levels, knowing it may be several years before they make an impact...

Join Anna on the concourse of Globe Life Field for the 2024 MLB All-Star Week in Arlington, Texas. In this special episode Anna interviews passionate fans from all over the country, capturing their unforgettable stories and experiences at the midsummer classic. You'll also hear from ballpark personnel about what makes the Rangers' home park unique, and hear the most famous words in Texas baseball from legendary public address announcer Chuck Morgan.

Interviews in order of appearance:
• Annie live from the Karbach Sky Porch
• Randy Wheeler live from the Balcones Speakeasy | @randy_wheelertxr
• Tiger Borom...

Richard Sullivan is a Braves fan living in Louisville, Kentucky. From a young age, he had two loves in life: art and baseball. Throughout his life, he found ways to combine the two, culminating in a baseball career at one of the preeminent art schools in the country, Savannah College of Art and Design. 

Richard was drafted by the Atlanta Braves while at SCAD and would go on to spend five years in the organization before eventually being released. As his baseball career was winding down, Richard was able to devote more time to his art, and i...

Mike Ritz is a Pirates fan living in New York City. Though he was born and raised on Long Island, he became a fan of the Pirates thanks to seeing Roberto Clemente play in a game at Shea Stadium back when Mike was a kid. We chat about how a marketing job once forced him to visit each ballpark several times over, what the adult softball scene is like in New York City, and which baseball adventure Mike is looking forward to next. We also hear some funs stories about Willie Mays, Carl Yastrimeyski, Steve Lyons, and Mike’s ow...

Eugene McMahon is a Milwaukee Brewers fan from London, England. He found his love for baseball a little differently than many fans do, through a love of literature, thanks to a particularly captivating description of Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard Round the World” in a novel he was reading. As he continued to delve deeper into baseball journalism and non-fiction, he wanted to understand the game he enjoyed reading about so much. 

We chat about how a 2018 baseball trip to the U.S. resulted in him claiming the Brewers as his team, what he finds so fascinating about b...

Andrew Iden is an Orioles fan living in Atlanta, GA. Originally from the Washington, DC area, Andrew became an O’s fan at a young age, and has stayed a fan of the team even after moving out of the area. We discuss the shifting of the local fandom that took place when the Nationals came to town, Andrew’s ballpark travel, and what he finds appealing about the minor leagues. We also touch on why experiencing the lean years with your team makes the highs even more enjoyable.

Find the full show notes and episode transcript here...

In this episode of Extra Innings, we welcome back father-son duo Matt and Tom Burns. We primarily discuss their 2023 summer baseball trip through the Mid Atlantic, where they saw 20 games in 21 days. You’ll hear from Matt and Tom how the pair makes sure to hit the cultural hot spots and local institutions of every town they pass through. They also share their advice for how to make your own baseball trip a success!

Follow along on Matt's Twitter as the pair embarks on their next adventure this weekend. They're traveling through the Eastern Midwest, hitting 23 ballparks in...

Gio Fraraccio is a Rays fan from the Tampa Bay area. He got started with baseball as a kid, thanks to the 1980s Cardinal broadcast team of Jack Buck and Mike Shannon. After moving to Florida in the early 2000s, Gio became a Rays fan thanks to his kids falling in love with the local team.

Gio recently completed his journey to 30 ballparks, wrapping things up at Coors Field earlier this year. We chat about his ballpark journey, an infamous 2016 World Series prediction he made, and how some advice he received as a kid from his Uncle...

Katie Woods is a life-long Dodgers fan currently living in Wichita, Kansas. She has worked in baseball her entire career and is currently the tournament director of the National Baseball Congress World Series. The NBC World Series is a national amateur baseball tournament for summer collegiate baseball, where champions of their respective leagues duke it out for a national title. 

The 2024 NBC World Series runs from July 25 – August 3. 

Katie and Anna discuss the rich history behind the NBC World Series, the lore of Baseball 'Round the Clock, and an awesome collaboration with Old Fort Baseball Co...

Ken Smoller is a Chicago White Sox fan who now lives in the Boston area. His love for baseball started as a kid thanks to fond memories at Comiskey Park, like attending the team’s photo day with his Kodak camera. Ken has now photographed over 2,300 stadiums and ballparks and shares his photos and sports travel experiences on his website, Stadium Vagabond. 

He also recently released Last Comiskey, which is a book highlighting the park’s surprising last season. Based on the popular “Last Comiskey” documentary, the book contains over 400 full color photos Ken snapped of the “The Basebal...

Scott Yelle is a life-long Red Sox fan living in Cape Cod, MA who discovered his love for baseball early thanks to Little League. Scott is also the Secretary and Treasurer of the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation, which is a non-profit foundation started to honor the legacy of his son Jackson, who was tragically killed by a hit-and-run driver while in Myrtle Beach with his club baseball team.

Jackson was known for his fun-loving nature and zest for life, and the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation is focused on continuing his legacy of bringing good into the world...

John Southard is a life-long Rangers fan living in Fort Worth, Texas. He works as a Brand Historian for an archival company called Heritage Werks, and works closely with the Rangers to curate exhibits and displays that highlight the team’s history. We chat about how he found what many people would consider to be a dream job, what the process of working with a new team is like, and some favorite artifacts he’s encountered. 

We also discuss how his love for the game developed at a young age, partly in thanks to his dad studying pitch...

Eric Vickrey is a Cardinals fan living in Seattle who has also developed a soft spot for the Mariners. He fell in love with the game thanks to growing up in the St. Louis area and developing a penchant for collecting baseball cards as a kid. Eric is also the author of two baseball books, including his latest about post World War II baseball and the tragic 1946 Spokane Indians bus crash. 

Eric chats with Anna about how the pandemic provided an opportunity to channel passion into publishing, the fateful ’46 crash, and about witnessing the Cards game six her...

David Tinnes is a Mets fan from Rochester, New York who found the game in 2017 after he was asked to chaperone a school field trip to Citi Field. Since that trip, David has jumped in head-first with baseball, including taking on his own year of playing catch every single day.  

Anna and David discuss what hooked him on the Mets, some of the lessons he’s learned through his catch playing journey, how to be a tourist in your own city, and how baseball truly does bring people together.

Find the complete transcript and show not...

Since we last chatted with Matt Graifer, affectionately known as The Young Professor,  he's embarked on an extraordinary journey from the classroom to the ballpark as the in-game host for none other than The Savannah Bananas.

Just two summers ago, Matt juggled multiple roles as a full-time teacher, the on-field host for the Daytona Tortugas, and the Banananouncer. However, the Bananas' meteoric rise to fame has helped propel Matt into the world of entertainment on a full-time basis.

Anna and Matt dive into the whirlwind of the past few years and discuss what it's l...

David Ostrowsky is a Red Sox fan and author from the Boston area. In this episode, Anna and David explore the nostalgic charm of Fenway Park and the early 2000 Red Sox, as well as David’s latest biography on Roberto Alomar. Alomar, a once celebrated Hall of Famer known for his remarkable career as a second baseman, has recently faced a downfall due to serious allegations, leading to a ban from baseball and erasure from its history. 

Anna and David delve into the challenging aspects of idolizing athletes and the struggle fans face in separating athlete’s profe...

Scott Bolohan grew up outside of Detroit and is a long-time Tigers fan, who also has a soft spot for the Yankees, thanks to his job as a Yankee Stadium Tour Guide. 

Scott played baseball his whole life, even after suffering a UCL tear in high school, and still travels to Italy each year to play a tournament with his grad school team the Oxford Kings of the British Baseball Federation. 

Scott and Anna discuss the importance of the fundamentals, arm health, and the current state of youth baseball in America. They also chat about Th...

Josh Rawitch is the President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY. A long-time baseball executive, he’s spent nearly three decades in the game, primarily with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks before being tapped to run the HOF in 2021.  

Josh and Anna disucss how he got started in the baseball world, how his love for the game has changed over the years, and what it’s like to go to work at your dream job everyday. They also discuss how the Hall of Fame plays a huge role in co...

Sandro Prosperino is a New York Yankees fan who rediscovered his love for the game through a unique journey with his son, Kori. Sandro shares how their father-son tradition of attending baseball games across the country, particularly centered around All-Star Games, became a priceless vehicle for bonding. Visit the show notes page to read Kori’s essay about how he came to realize these trips were about way more than baseball.

Anna and Sandro also discuss how the All-Star tradition came to be, the absurd amount of walk-off wins Sandro has witnessed, what’s next for the duo...

Michael Ortman is a Washington Nationals fan now living in Florida. He grew up a Senators fan and attended his first Opening Day in 1970. For the next 50 years, Michael was at every Opening Day. Even after his beloved Senators were relocated to Texas, he found a way to keep the streak alive – spanning three cities, six ballparks, and five different home teams. His half-century streak is chronicled in his book Opening Day: 50-for-50. 

Michael and Anna discuss how the streak came to be, what it was like to lose and gain a team 33 years apart, and how the...

Ethan Bryan is the author of “A Year of Playing Catch” which chronicles his project of playing catch for 365 days straight. He originally appeared in Episode 40 where he shared his entire baseball story. 

In this episode we discuss some new research which highlights the importance of play, and how the perfect storm of Covid and an increase in screen time have led to a new epidemic of isolation and loneliness, and how a simple game of catch can combat those effects.  

We also touch on some exciting things Ethan has planned for the year, including a visi...