We are pleased to host one of the best relief pitchers in MLB history. Jim Kern joins us this week. He won the American League Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1979 and was one of the best relief pitchers in the history of the game until he suffered an arm injury. He was not highly touted out of high school but signed with Cleveland in 1968. He entered the Marine Corps in 1969, and we would like to thank him for his service. Jim progressed as a hard throwing reliever which culminated in his best season in 1979 with the Texas Rangers. His nickname was "Emu" and he appeared in 3 consecutive All-Star games from 1977-1979. Jim's stats in a 4-year span rank him as one of the best in MLB history. We hope you enjoy this interview with Jim Kern as we go Back When There Was Baseball.

Two members of the PennSports.live family had fathers who played in the Minor Leagues and this episode will honor those fathers. My co-host, Steve Schaaf's father, Charles Dean Schaaf, played from 1955-1957 in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Tim Clark, host of Musings of a Sports Fanatic and Wall 2 Wall Football, had a father who played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1949-1952. Steve and Tim share insights about their father's careers in baseball as we honor them this Father's Day.

Our guest this week is Tom Carroll who played most of his career in the Cincinnati Reds system. Tom was a 6th round draft choice in 1970 out of North Allegheny High School in Wexford, PA. He worked his way up the ladder as a pitcher and finally got his call up to the majors in 1974 at the age of 21. When Don Gullett fractured his thumb in 1975, Tom was called up and was a major part in the Reds 1975 World Series winning team. Unfortunately for Tom, injuries curtailed his career. Join us Back When There Was Baseball as Tom talks about those great years playing for the Reds.