Baseball

NY Times baseball writer Tyler Kepner spoke to 22 hall-of-fame pitchers about what they throw, and how they get a mental edge over hitters. His new book is K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches.

The former first baseman played on World Series-winning teams with the Cardinals and Mets, and made a memorable appearance on Seinfeld. His new memoir is I'm Keith Hernandez.

Baseball's Mike Matheny speaks with Fresh Air's Dave Davies about his playing career, managing in the big leagues and the pressures of youth sports. Matheny is the author of The Matheny Manifesto.

Baseball's official historian, John Thorn, sets the record straight on the game's earliest days ...in the 1700s. Yes, that's right, baseball started decades before Abner Doubleday supposedly created the game at Cooperstown -- and it only became popular when professional gamblers took an interest.

Is it ever acceptable for a pitcher to bean a batter intentionally? Baseball expert and obsessive fan Zack Hample gives the answer.

Zack Hample, an obsessive baseball fan, has by his own count snagged 3,123 baseballs at 42 different major league stadiums. And he's turned his obsession with the game into a career, giving tours of stadiums, appearing on TV and radio and writing books — including Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-Experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks.

3000.' Film critic David Edelstein reviews two new films, Wimbledon and Mr. 3000.

Called by some baseball purists the finest first baseman in the game, Keith Hernandez played with the St. Louis Cardinals, the New York Mets, and the Cleveland Indians. He is the winner of 11 consecutive Golden Glove Awards for fielding, and played in two World Championships. Hernandez is the author of the book Pure Baseball: Pitch by Pitch for the Advanced Fan. His newest book First Base Hero (Golden Books) is a childrens book about a boy who wants to grow up to play major league baseball. This interview first aired on February 24, 1994.

Emmy-award winning sportscaster Bob Costas. Since 1980 hes been afilliated with the NBC network covering Major League Baseball, the NFL, and the NBA. He was the prime-time host for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the 1996 Summer Olympics, and the 2000 Sydney Games. Hes won numerous Emmys including one for his now defunct late-night TV interview program Later with Bob Costas. He is currently anchor of MSNBCs InterNight. Costas is also the author of Fair Ball: A Fans Case for Baseball.

Historian Jules Tygiel. He gained recognition and critical acclaim for his first book on baseball history “Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy”. Now in his newly released sequel “Past Time: Baseball as History” (Oxford University Press), he examines the relationship between baseball and American society over the past 150 years. He gives his thoughts on baseball history and this year’s World Series. He is a Professor of History at San Francisco State University.