Three players in big league history have more than one career home run but no other hits. Two were players that got only a cup of coffee or two in the big leagues; the third, believe it or not, was a pitcher. We have their stories. Plus - the Rafael Devers trade, reflecting on Sly Stone and Brian Wilson, and some 1989 baseball cards.

Errata: Nolan Fontana was claimed off waivers by the Angels, not the Dodgers. Andy van Slyke won 5 Gold Glove Awards, not 3. Houston replaced Bill Virdon with Bob Lillis in 1982, not Hal Lanier. On June 28, 1997, David Wells wore Babe Ruth's cap, valued then at $35,000, for one inning during a pitching performance - the Yankees fined Wells $2,500. In September 1988, Dave Dravecky was diagnosed with a desmoid tumor in his left arm. He attempted a return in 1989. In his second appearance during a pitch in the fifth inning his humerus bone snapped. Doctors amputated his left arm in 1991 after discovering the tumor had returned.

Episodes mentioned:
Ep. 72 - Seeing the World Through Baseball w/ Cousin Wolf (Matt Halvorson). Wolf's album, "Nine Innings," is available here (https://cousinwolf.bandcamp.com/album/nine-innings).

You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including books featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link.
https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
Eric on Facebook
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

In April 1950, Jim Martin, a catcher for the West Texas New Mexico League’s Pampa Oilers, was violently struck by lightning during a game in Abilene, Texas. He not only survived the strike but he played the next game, going two for five. This week, Martin's daughter, Beverly Winter-Donaho, joins us to discuss Martin and his time in the minors during the 40s and 50s. In part two, Craig visits PNC Park and what's left of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including books featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link.
https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
Eric on Facebook
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

In this episode, we talk with Doug Wilson, author of Let's Play Two: The Legend of Mr. Cub, the Life of Ernie Banks (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), to explore the life and legacy of one of baseball’s most beloved figures. Doug shares insights into his research process, the hidden layers of Ernie Banks’ personality, and what makes this Hall of Famer’s story still resonate today.

From growing up in segregated Dallas, Texas, to becoming a two-time MVP and a beacon of positivity on and off the field, Ernie Banks’ journey is not only a baseball story—it's a human story. Doug discusses the complexities behind the cheerful "Let’s play two!" slogan and the cultural and personal weight Banks carried with grace.

In Part Two of this episode, we dive into two very different but equally fascinating conversations. First, in a decision that warms Rex's heart, the league has finally removed several long-deceased (and one not so long deceased) players from its permanently ineligible list. Second, Craig shares his experience seeing Deafheaven, one of his favorite artists, at a recent Austin concert.

You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including books featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link.
https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
Eric on Facebook
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

Craig and Rex are taking a break in May giving them a change to feature some favorite episodes from the archives and you an chance to catch up on other episodes you may have missed or wish to revisit.

This episode from the vault features our interview with Tamara Saviano, author, journalist, publicist and Grammy-nominated record producer, and writer and co-director of the documentary "Without Getting Killed or Caught." The documentary tells the story about the life and career of Guy and Susanna Clark, the larger-than-life Texas songwriters who were so deeply influenced Texas music from the 1970s to today.

Also in the episode, the co-hosts talk about the then recent passing of Henry Aaron and reflect on his chase for the career home run mark in 1973 and 1974.

The show note for Episode 47 are here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/875794/episodes/7495681

Hooks & Runs will return with a new episode on June 5.

You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including books featured in this or past episodes through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link.
https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
Eric on Facebook
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2021, 2025.

Craig and Rex are taking a break in May giving them a change to feature some favorite episodes from the archives and you an chance to catch up on other episodes you may have missed or wish to revisit.

This episode from early 2023 is our interview with Roger Metzger, the Houston Astros' Gold Glove winning shortstop in the 1970s.

Hooks & Runs will resume with new episodes on June 5.

The show notes for Episode 133 are here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/875794/episodes/11991967

Hooks & Runs will return with its next episode on June 5.

You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including books featured in this or past episodes through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link.
https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
Eric on Facebook
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

Rogers Hornsby won seven batting titles, hit .358 in his 23-year Major League career and remains the all-time batting average leader both among right handed hitters and in the National League. He managed the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals to franchise's first World Series title only to be traded two months later in a salary dispute. Hornsby's career and personal life were marked by conflict, antagonism, lawsuits, acrimony and bitterness. But the man could hit. This week we return to our series, Texans in the Hall to discuss the life and time of the enigmatic Rogers Hornsby.

Also this week, our favorite albums from the first quarter 2025.
Craig - Lonely People With Power, by Deafheaven (Roadrunner)
Rex - Year of the Four Emperors by Ex Deo (Reigning Phoenix Music)

Episodes referenced this week: No. 172, "They Were Two People Desperate to Stay in the Game w/ Bob LeMoine." (https://tinyurl.com/hooks172)

Errata: Two of the top 13 career batting average leaders were right handed hitters. Hornsby hit .424 in 1924, not .427. Alienation of affections is a gender-neutral offense.

Sources:
Alexander, Charles C., "Rogers Hornsby: A Biography" (Henry Holt & Co. 1995).
Fimrite, Ron, "The Raging Rajah Rogers Hornsby, One of This Century's Best Ballplayers, Was Also One of its Biggest Boors," Sports Illustrated (October 2, 1995) (accessed online April 2025).
Rogers III, C. Paul , "Rogers Hornsby," www.sabr.org, accessed March, April 2025.
"Rogers Hornsby" at www.baseball-reference.com, accessed March, April 2025.
Dozens of contemporary newspapers articles from around the country.

Hooks & Runs will return with its next episode on June 5.

You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including books featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link.
https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
Eric on Facebook
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

Ed Wheatley, president of the St. Louis Browns Historical Society, joins us this week to discuss the Browns, an American League team from 1902 to 1953. Wheatley is the co-author of "St. Louis Browns: The Story of a Beloved Team" (Reedy Press 2017), which was selected best book published on baseball in 2017 by Sports Collectors Digest and nominated for the Larry Ritter Award as the best book on baseball published in 2017 by Society for American Baseball Research.

Wheatley was also technical advisor for the award winning PBS documentary " The St. Louis Browns - The Team Baseball Forgot" (2018) and was executive producer of the award winning sequel "A Baseball Legacy - Fans Remember the St. Louis Browns" (2019).

Ed Wheatley on Facebook, at Reedy Press
https://www.facebook.com/edward.wheatley.56/
https://reedypress.com/author/wheatley/ed-wheatley/
The St. Louis Browns Historical Society webpage
https://www.thestlbrowns.com/
Stream "The St. Louis Browns - The Team Baseball Forgot"
https://tinyurl.com/baseballforgot
Stream "A Baseball Legacy - Fans Remember the St. Louis Browns"
https://tinyurl.com/fansremember

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
Eric on Facebook
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

David Krell is author of "1978: Baseball and America in the Disco Era," (University of Nebraska Press, 2025). His book explores the wild 1978 major league season with features on the American League East race that went to a 163rd game, iconic players from the era like Pete Rose and Dave Kingman and cultural flashpoints from film, TV and music. In this interview, Krell gives us a glimpse into this tumultuous, pivotal year in American history and culture.

SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains a spoiler if you have not seen "Saturday Night Fever."

David Krell's website, Twitter/X.
(https://davidkrell.com/)
(https://x.com/davidkrell)

Errata: Burt Convy was not in the Made for TV movie "Murder at the World Series." "Catfish" Hunter is credited with saying, "When you open a Reggie bar it tells you how good it is."

You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including books featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link.
https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com/
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on Tik Tok
Eric on Facebook
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.