Starting pitching made a comeback in the World Series. Did it ever really go away? Not really. But there has certainly been an evolution of pitching and the use of technology and data to maximize performance. You could say it started as part of "Moneyball," but now it's a lot more than that. Rick Peterson, longtime major league pitching coach with the Oakland A's "Moneyball" teams of the early 2000s and later with the New York Mets, is as educated on this side of pitching as anyone who has been ...
Nov 13, 2019•45 min
Sports and politics collide sometimes, but hardly ever in Washington, D.C. And then the Washington Nationals won the World Series. Chelsea Janes spent four years covering the Washington Nationals for the Washington Post sports pages before switching to the paper’s coverage of the 2020 Presidential campaign. In October, she jumped back into the sports world for a short time, helping the Post’s coverage of the World Series. In this latest episode of “30 With Murti,” Chelsea Janes gives her unique ...
Nov 05, 2019•31 min
Thirty years ago today — Oct. 17, 1989 — the World Series was interrupted by an earthquake. It measured 6.8 on the Richter scale and rocked the Bay Area just as the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants were minutes away from starting Game 3 of the Fall Classic at Candlestick Park. The quake shook the stadium, but did far more damage in the surrounding areas. Thousands were injured, and 63 people died. The World Series didn’t resume until 10 days later. WFAN’s Suzyn Waldman was there reporting on...
Oct 17, 2019•28 min
There is probably no popular song more widely associated with one team in baseball history than “We Are Family” and the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. This marks the 40th anniversary of the last World Series championship celebrated in Pittsburgh. On this episode of “30 With Murti," WFAN's Sweeny Murti talks to the rubber-armed closer of that Pirates team, Kent Tekulve. He tells us about the leadership of Willie Stargell, the man known as “Pops,” and how he brought the team together. Tekulve also tells...
Oct 10, 2019•48 min
The 1969 Mets still maintain a special place in New York sports history. The Miracle Mets are one of the best stories in baseball history, too. This month marks the 50th anniversary of their stunning turnaround from laughing stock to World Series champions. In the latest episode of the “30 With Murti” podcast, outfielder Ron Swoboda recounts the Mets' rise to the top, including his highlight reel catch in the World Series against Baltimore, still one of the most iconic moments in Mets history. S...
Oct 02, 2019•39 min
Tim McCarver has seen just about everything in his 60-plus years in baseball. It’s impossible to fit all of that into one 30-minute conversation, but we did our best to hit some highlights. McCarver is our guest on the latest “30 With Murti” podcast. McCarver, a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion as a player, went on to become a Hall of Fame broadcaster. He was the winner of the Ford C. Frick Award presented at Hall of Fame Weekend in 2012. McCarver’s major league playing caree...
Sep 24, 2019•32 min
You know actor Timothy Busfield from the baseball movies "Field of Dreams" and "Little Big League." And you know him from so many other roles in "Thirtysomething," "The West Wing," "Revenge of The Nerds" and more. Now Busfield is a director for such shows as "This is Us" and "Law & Order: SVU." And he is also a huge baseball fan, which is why he is Sweeny’s guest on a brand new "30 With Murti." Busfield talks about growing up a Tigers fan and attempting to play college baseball before going ...
Sep 11, 2019•55 min
The Yankees have battled injuries throughout 2019 seemingly like they have at no other time before. Some of these injuries have had fans question players' training methods. On this new episode of “30 With Murti,” Sweeny talks about the injury crisis with Dana Cavalea, who spent 8 years as the Yankees Strength and Conditioning Coach from 2006-2013. Cavalea, who has been featured on Good Morning America for his book “Habits Of A Champion,” offers his unique insight into how baseball players train,...
Sep 05, 2019•38 min
Two of the finest sports institutions in New York that boast a great deal of history and tradition are the Yankees and the United States Military Academy at West Point, known in the world of college athletics simply as Army. Last May, Army hired Mike Buddie as its new athletic director. If that name sounds slightly familiar to Yankees fans, it’s because Buddie was a pitcher in the Yankees organization for eight years in the 1990s and made his major league debut in 1998. He went on to pitch in 24...
Aug 29, 2019•41 min
One of the great rivalries in baseball history is renewed this weekend when the Yankees meet the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Going back to the days when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn, these two franchises met in 11 Fall Classics from 1941 and 1981. The Yankees won eight of the 11 matchups. Former Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey -- a 10-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove Winner and 1974 National League MVP -- played in the last three of those World Series, losing to Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munso...
Aug 23, 2019•31 min
The successes of Gio Urshela and Mike Tauchman -- essentially as replacements for Miguel Andujar and Giancarlo Stanton -- are not ones the Yankees could have predicted. But as an organization, they are very confident in the process that brings players like that to the big-league level, from scouting them to coaching them and making them viable options to contribute to a team with high expectations. One of the coaches who has had an impact on both those players and more is Scranton/Wilkes-Barre h...
Aug 08, 2019•26 min
Forty years ago today -- Aug. 2, 1979 -- Yankees captain Thurman Munson was killed in a plane crash at age 32. He has long since remained an integral part of the Yankees culture and history. On the anniversary of his passing, this episode of "30 With Murti" presents a conversation with Munson’s teammate and friend Ron Guidry.
Aug 02, 2019•38 min
To put a cap on last weekend's glorious Hall of Fame festivities, we talk to the outgoing Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson on a new "30 With Murti" podcast. Idelson has spent the last 25 years in service at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, finishing with a 12-year run as the Hall's president. He is one of the most visible people behind the museum and its connection to the game's part in celebrating its past. He leaves Cooperstown to start his new venture...
Jul 26, 2019•28 min
It was another magical weekend in Cooperstown. The 2019 Hall of Fame class has officially been inducted, including former Yankees Mariano Rivera and Mike Mussina. Listen to a recap from the weekend in Cooperstown in this episode of "30 With Murti."
Jul 22, 2019•37 min
Hall of Famer Greg Maddux on the traits all Hall of Fame pitchers have in common.
Jul 20, 2019•23 sec
Hall of Famer John Smoltz on Mariano Rivera’s elite status as the best closer ever.
Jul 20, 2019•3 min
Hall of Famer Tim “Rock” Raines on the impact young Mariano Rivera had on the great Yankees teams of the late 90’s.
Jul 20, 2019•4 min
Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman on Mariano Rivera’s election to Cooperstown and the impact of closers being appreciated more.
Jul 20, 2019•1 min
Mariano Rivera chats with Mike Mussina from Cooperstown, two days before the Yankees great's Hall of Fame induction.
Jul 19, 2019•8 min
Mariano Rivera chats with Sweeny Murti from Cooperstown, two days before the Yankees legend's Hall of Fame induction.
Jul 19, 2019•4 min
Mariano Rivera received 100% of the votes in January in being elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He will be inducted this weekend in Cooperstown, New York. But even Mariano wasn’t successful 100% of the time. Ever wonder what it was like to face him, and even beat the greatest closer of all-time? This special edition of “30 With Murti” features Sandy Alomar Jr., Luis Gonzalez, David Wright and others, including the only man to ever hit a walk-off grand sl...
Jul 17, 2019•58 min
He is simply the greatest closer of all-time. Yankees legend Mariano Rivera will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend. Rivera sat down with our Sweeny Murti for a look back at his life and career in this special edition of the "30 With Murti" podcast.
Jul 15, 2019•36 min
Mike Mussina was always one of the most forward thinking players in the game, but some of his thoughts on today’s game might surprise you. For more on his Hall of Fame career and the game today, here is part two of “30 With Murti” featuring Mike Mussina.
Jul 10, 2019•42 min
Former Yankees and Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina enters the Baseball Hall of Fame next weekend. This week Sweeny sits down with Mussina in a special two-part look at his career and outlook on the game. Here is part one of “30 With Murti” with Mike Mussina.
Jul 08, 2019•41 min
Derek Jeter will highlight the Hall of Fame Class of 2020, but he has obvious deep ties to members of this years class as well. In this episode of “30 With Murti,” WFAN's Sweeny Murti talks to the former Yankees captain about his long career playing with Mariano Rivera, the ups and downs of the early part of their journey and their rise to the championship years. Jeter, now the CEO of the Miami Marlins, also talks about other members of this year’s Hall of Fame class. On Mike Mussina: "Moose was...
Jul 02, 2019•30 min
In 2009 the Yankees felt the weight of going almost a decade since their last World Series Championship. After missing the playoffs the year before, the Yankees branded their annual goal very specifically. “Mission 27” they called it, the drive for the franchise’s 27th World Series championship. That is also the title of the new book from veteran beat writers Mark Feinsand and Bryan Hoch, “Mission 27: A New Boss, A New Ballpark, and One Last Ring for the Yankees Core Four,” available now from Tr...
Jun 24, 2019•39 min
Next month marks the 80th anniversary of one of the most famous speeches in American history—Lou Gehrig’s “luckies man on the face of the earth” speech, delivered at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939. In this episode of “30 With Murt” Sweeny discusses the speech and its impact with two people who have had a great part of their lives impacted by Gehrig in different ways. Jonathan Eig is the author of “Luckiest Man: The Life And Death of Lou Gehrig,” the definitive biography of The Iron Horse. Matt D...
Jun 13, 2019•39 min
David Cone’s life and career have had plenty of highlights. There have been some lowlights, too, and Cone shares both with great detail and insight in the book “Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher,” co-written with Jack Curry. In this episode of “30 With Murti,” Sweeny Murti chats with both Cone and Curry about the book, available now from Grand Central Publishing.
Jun 03, 2019•44 min
Dave Twardzik spent his life in professional basketball, an eight-year career in the ABA and NBA highlighted as the point guard on the 1977 world champion Portland Trail Blazers. But before he teamed up with Hall of Famer Bill Walton, he wore the blue and gold of the Middletown Blue Raiders from Middletown, Pennsylvania, which also happens to be the hometown of our very own Sweeny Murti. In this edition of "30 With Murti," Sweeny takes a stroll down memory lane with Twardzik about Middletown’s r...
May 29, 2019•49 min
Pat Williams knew the luck of the lottery back in 1992 when his Orlando Magic found the pingpong ball that landed them Shaquille O’Neal. Williams, the 79-year-old co-founder and senior vice president of the Magic these days announced his retirement last month. But that’s just an excuse for Pat to be out on the circuit telling more stories about his entertaining life in sports, which began with a love of baseball and a brief career as a minor league catcher in the early 1960s. In this episode of ...
May 16, 2019•40 min
