Hooks & Runs

Hooks & Runs

Author: A podcast about baseball, music and culture. Language: English Episodes: 100
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.
Episodes
239 - Willie McCovey: Remembering a Forgotten Superstar w/ Chris Haft [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:36
Author Chris Haft's new book, Willie McCovey: A Giant Among Giants (University of Nebraska Press, 2025) adds to the baseball literature by examining the life and baseball times of perhaps the most forgotten member of the…
235 - Texans in the Hall: Ross Youngs w/ David King [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:45
Journalist and author David King joins us in part 1 to talk about Ross Youngs, who was born in Shiner, Texas, in 1897, and later played 10 seasons for John McGraw's New York Giants. In that time he was a key player on fo…
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…