All-Star Doubleheader

 

Babe Ruth, Al Simmons, Earl Averill
at the 1933 All-Star Game
Comiskey Park, Chicago

The All-Star Game is tonight.

Due to my commitment to the Babe Ruth 14U state tournament, I will miss the fun.

I'm happy Gerrit Cole is starting on the mound for the American League but I'm long past the days of caring much otherwise if players are on the squad. 

If you're that angry over 1) Francisco Lindor not being named and, 2) Pete Alonso not winning the Home Run Derby I am here to remind you that there are bigger things to worry about.

Life.

Loved ones.

Career.

Weather (with a shout-out to everyone in the Hudson Valley dealing with flooding, especially those in and around Highland Falls)

And, from a sports perspective, righting the season and making a playoff run. But, sure, obsess over the All-Star Game.

Sad.

Still from "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery"
Looney Tunes Cartoon

This is simply a long-winded walkup to "Doubleheader" today. Assuming I can connect and go from Trumbull, it will be a seventh-anniversary show.

It was on this day in 2016 that Paul Silverfarb and I co-hosted our first show along with Andrew Mitchell and Andrew Frattaroli. 

Now, it's just me.

Sean (whose every step in life I do not document) came up with the name since he figured "Doubleheader" recognized that there were two people hosting the show. Paul and I had fun and he is always welcomed to return, just as Andrew, Frat, and anyone else who has been on the show are.

My radio shows have always been community-based, whether it's the overall community we're in, or the people that I'm surrounded by that come on the air.

"Doubleheader" is not the show everyone wants it to be and I get that. I'm a one-man band doing a show on WGCH for no money. There's no producer or co-host helping out. That doesn't mean I don't put time and effort into every day (just in case the prep snob overlords and reading).

I think about it and try to adjust on the fly. That's how talk radio has to work. It can't be scripted, which was a big argument I had to wage years ago elsewhere. Scripted radio is fine in many cases. In my case, it's reactionary and fluid. It adjusts to the stories of the moment.

It's not an interview-heavy show because scheduling them can be a beast, especially since I have to change course and cancel the show many days.

There are also days where, at the last minute, we decide to do the show. Again, not conducive to getting a guest.

Also, consider that interviewing high school athletes and coaches involves their schedule as well. Most of them are busy at 4 p.m. and are at school before that.

Again, this is a dance so we do our best as is.

I'd rather celebrate the fact that we are still doing this seven years later. It would have been incredibly easy to cancel it numerous times, including when the first version of the show was shut down (and, thus, payment went away).

So, yeah, I'm fairly pleased that I can crank out 100-plus shows every year given the various circumstances.

I'm also pleased that we're approaching 1,000 shows total. I haven't decided if or how we will acknowledge that. I thought it might be nice to do a show remotely but it just might not happen.

It's summer and there are a lot of moving parts, such as my needing to get to Trumbull to do today's show before baseball at 5:30.

"Doubleheader" airs on WGCH Radio and on Robcasting.

The Babe Ruth tournament airs on Robcasting.

Adjust your dials accordingly.

And enjoy the All-Star Game tonight.