266 - Benny Kauff: "An Apparent Injustice Has Been Done"

266 - Benny Kauff: "An Apparent Injustice Has Been Done"

Author: A podcast about baseball, music and culture. October 12, 2025 Duration: 50:39
Ohio native Benny Kauff made his Major League debut in 1912. He jumped to the Federal League in 1914 where he emerged to stand among that circuit's best hitters. After the Federal League folded, Kauff signed with John McGraw's New York Giants and claimed the team's center field position. Kauff held that spot until a New York grand jury indicted him for grand larceny (car theft) after the 1919 season. Kauff, also burdened with gambling accusations, played just 55 games for New York...

You might find yourself wondering how a perfect double play and a classic guitar riff are connected, or what a stadium anthem says about the year it topped the charts. That’s the kind of territory explored on Hooks & Runs. This isn't just a series of interviews, though you’ll hear conversations with fascinating figures from the sports and music industries. It’s also a place for thoughtful commentary, where the co-hosts draw lines between the crack of a bat and a cultural moment, between a legendary concert and a legendary season. They dig into both current headlines and forgotten history, finding the stories where pop culture and the national pastime intersect. Each episode feels like a relaxed, insightful conversation that could start with a baseball statistic and end with a music theory debate. New installments of this podcast arrive roughly every Thursday, offering a consistent dose of their unique blend. If you’ve ever felt that the narratives of baseball and the rhythms of music speak a similar language, this podcast provides the commentary to translate.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Hooks & Runs
Podcast Episodes
234 - The Miracle Braves of 1914, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:19
This week concludes our two-part series about the Miracle Braves of 1914 and concludes with Rex and Craig discussing Billy Wagner and the recent Hall of Fame balloting results. Episodes mentioned: 157 - R.E.M.'s Murmur a…
233 - The Miracle Braves of 1914, Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:11
This week Craig and Rex begin a two-part series on the Miracle Braves of 1914. The early 20th Century was not kind to the Boston Braves (previously, the Beaneaters, the Doves and the Rustlers). Mired in the second divisi…
106 - Baseball Rebels w/ Professor Peter Dreier (From the Vault) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:47
Rex and I are taking two weeks to recover from the holidays and holiday travel and will be back January 16 with the first episode of Season Six. Here are the show notes from our Episode 106: -----------------------------…
231 - The 2024 Hooks & Runs Year End Music Review [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:58
Craig & Rex review their favorite albums of 2024 while Craig mourns Kyle Tucker being traded by Houston to the Cubs. Errata: The MJ Lenderman lyric on "Wristwatch" is " a wristwatch that tells me I'm on my own," not "I'm…
230 - Lou Gehrig Goes to Hollywood [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:35
This week Craig and Rex look at Lou Gehrig's lone Hollywood film, "Rawhide" (1938), filmed in January 1938. The film stars Gehrig (playing himself) and Texas native Smith Ballew (Palestine), Hollywood's first singing cow…
228 - Close But No Cigar III: Sam Rice, 2,987 career hits. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:47
Outfielder Sam Rice played 20 seasons in the Major Leagues - all but one with the Washington Nationals (later, the Senators). Rice retired from the game with 2,987 hits, 13 shy of the coveted mark of 3,000, making him th…
227 - Gavy Cravath: The Deadball Era's Home Run King w/ Rick Reiff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:49
Rick Reiff is our guest this week to discuss his essay in the Fall 2024 Baseball Research Journal, "Gavy Cravath's Hall-Worthy 200 Home Runs." Cravath, a late arrival, played 11 seasons in the Major Leagues and led the N…