My First Ballgame with Bryan Hoch

It's the first two-part episode of "My First Ballgame!" There was just too much good stuff to cover with Joba Chamberlain. This Q&A is worth the wait ... we ask Joba to settle the old Mike Francesa question once and for all -- was he a starter or a reliever? What should the Yankees have done? We also find out what it was like to share a bullpen with the great Mariano Rivera, go inside the clubhouse with the 2009 World Series champions and much more! (Stay tuned after the interview as we recount a hilarious Chan Ho Park incident!) 

We are joined by Joba Chamberlain, who spent 10 seasons pitching in the big leagues from 2007 through 2016 with the Yankees, Tigers, Royals and Indians. In the first half of a two-part interview, Joba joins us in the DeLorean to revisit his Major League debut pitching for the Yankees on August 7, 2007, called up as a 21-year-old and entering in relief to face the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. We'll discuss his meteoric rise to fame, his thoughts on the "Joba Rules," playing for manager Joe Torre in a star-studded clubhouse that included the likes of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, plus -- of course -- the unforgettable incident with a swarm of Lake Erie midges during the 2007 American League Division Series in Cleveland!

We are joined by Marc Carig, deputy managing editor for The Athletic, who has also covered Major League clubhouses as a beat reporter with the Orioles (2008), Yankees (2009-12, '18) and Mets (2012-17). Marc's work has appeared in Baseball Prospectus, the Newark Star-Ledger, Newsday, the Boston Globe and the Washington Post. Marc grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and is bringing us back to October 3, 1989 for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park -- the first MLB game that he ever attended. We'll discuss a 10-year-old's horror at sighting the urinal troughs at old Candlestick, his life rooting hard for the Oakland Athletics Bash Brothers of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, the 1989 earthquake World Series, Marc's experiences covering Joe Girardi as a manager and much, much more! 

We are joined by Jack Curry of the YES Network, a two-time New York Times bestselling author who is looking to make it three with "Swing and a Hit: Nine Innings of What Baseball Taught Me," an upcoming collaboration with Paul O'Neill. Jack sets the time circuits for April 13, 1990, when we'll revisit his first mainbar assignment covering the Yankees for The New York Times. Jack's car was towed by the NYPD hours before Pascual Perez tossed that night's first pitch against the Texas Rangers, a valuable lesson that anything can happen when you're covering the Yanks! We'll dive into early 1990s pop culture, discuss the joys and challenges of covering baseball in a world before e-mail (let alone Twitter), and Jack recounts the time his mom interrupted an interview with George Steinbrenner to announce that dinner was ready. 

We are joined by Lindsay Berra, who gives us the inside scoop about "It Ain't Over," an upcoming documentary about her grandfather, Yogi, which will be shown at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival. Lindsay brings us back to July 18, 1999, where we will accompany her to Yankee Stadium for 'Yogi Berra Day,' marking her grampa's return to the Bronx after nearly 15 years following a falling out with principal owner George M. Steinbrenner. It was a magical afternoon, with Don Larsen tossing the ceremonial first pitch to Yogi, tapping the gloves used by pitcher David Cone and catcher Joe Girardi. Cone, of course, went on to pitch the 16th perfect game in Major League history, a 6-0 blanking of the Montreal Expos. We'll share Yogi stories, discuss '90's pop culture (who knew Yogi was such a Seinfeld fan?) and much more! 

We are joined by Pete Caldera, who leads dual lives as the New York Yankees beat reporter for The Record of New Jersey and an evening performer, singing swingin' Frank Sinatra standards at a variety of New York City cigar bars and nightclubs. Pete brings us to Shea Stadium on August 9, 1974 for the Mets' 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, a game played just hours after Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency. We'll discuss being a Mets fan in the 1970s, the heartbreak of the Tom Seaver trade, getting an autograph from the famous "Shea Stadium Sign Man," seeing Pete Rose and the Big Red Machine in person, and of course, we invite Pete to give the starting lineup with the world's greatest Bob Murphy impression.  Pete also discusses the joy of covering a 12-year-old Bryan Hoch in a 1994 Little League game for the Rockland Journal-News. 

We are joined by Meredith Marakovits, who has been the YES Network's Yankees clubhouse reporter since 2012. Meredith takes us to her first day on the job -- April 6, 2012, where we'll revisit the Yankees' 7-6 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer in baseball history, but Mo didn't have it that afternoon, leaving Meredith to ask some tough questions in her debut. We'll learn how Meredith traded the Philadelphia 76ers for the Yankees, ask what people always want to know about Derek Jeter, discuss the contrasts between the Joe Girardi and Aaron Boone eras, talk about college volleyball injuries and ponder why Kelly Clarkson wound up with a better career than Justin Guarini. 

In this episode of My First Ballgame, we are joined by the great Sweeny Murti of WFAN and SportsNet New York, who has expertly covered the New York Yankees for more than two decades. Sweeny takes us to June 8, 1975, where we'll trot onto the steaming Astroturf of Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium for the Phillies' 4-2 victory over the Dodgers. We'll discuss Sweeny's affection for Greg "The Bull" Luzinski, swap behind-the-scenes stories with Aaron Boone, meet Tim McCarver and Tug McGraw at a Harrisburg, Pa. mall, get to know the legendary Harry Kalas, see the 1986 Mets in person, and reveal how a one-time Phillies diehard was able to remain impartial in the press box for the 2009 World Series against the Yankees. 

In this episode of My First Ballgame, we are joined by my good buddy Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, who co-authored one of the greatest baseball books ever written: "Mission 27," with the 2009 New York Yankees. We revisit Mark's first trip to Yankee Stadium on May 5, 1979, a 5-4 walk-off Yankees win over the Athletics. We'll touch upon what it was like to be in a Yankees clubhouse with Reggie Jackson, marvel at Tommy John "working on an 11-hitter," talk about riding the New York City subway in the 1980s, being in the stands for the Jeffrey Maier game, covering the Aaron Boone game, and learn about Mark's fateful interview in George Steinbrenner's office.

In the first episode of 'My First Ballgame,' co-hosts Bryan Hoch and Connie Schwab Hoch set the time circuits for June 23, 1990. We'll hear the details of Bryan's first trip to a Major League stadium -- New York's Shea Stadium, where Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden and the Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 -- and how that one summer evening sparked Bryan's decades-long love for baseball. Stay for the 1990s pop culture references, details on Bryan's current life as the Yankees beat reporter for MLB.com and way too many laughs!