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Show Notes for Episode 4: A Mother’s Day Gone By

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Matthew Taylor

[Editor’s note: The original podcast file for this episode had an editing error that caused the audio to restart shortly before the 4-minute mark. It has since been corrected.]

Pete Kerzel was there on May 8, 1966, when Frank Robinson hit the only home run to leave Memorial Stadium. Pete got to share that story with a number of baseball legends over time including Robinson himself.

Pete has endless baseball knowledge that he delivers in entertaining stories that he cultivated through a lifelong love of the sport and his work a writer for outlets including the Associated Press and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).

Here’s the SABR story about Robinson’s home run – and the kids who tracked the ball down in the Memorial Stadium parking lot – that comes up around the 13-minute mark of the episode.

May 8, 1966: Frank Robinson smashes home run completely out of Memorial Stadium (SABR, Mark Millikin)

Pete and I discuss Mo Vaughn multiple times in this episode (starting around the 48-minute mark). Vaughn nearly duplicated Robinson’s feat – albeit to right field – when he hit his first career home run on June 30, 1991. Had Vaughn’s ball actually left Memorial Stadium, Pete could say he was there both times it happened. He saw the Vaughn home run in person as part of his Sunday season ticket plan.

Check out this brief video about Robinson’s historic home run from the Babe Ruth Museum’s “How ‘Bout That” series. The segment includes a photo of The Judge with the boys who tracked the ball down and images of the HERE flag that flew at Memorial Stadium. Pete discusses the mystery of where that flag ended up at the 51:28 mark of the episode.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Baltimore Orioles, baseball, Frank Robinson, Memorial Stadium, mlb, mo-vaughn, pete-kerzel, sabr | Leave a comment

Show Notes for Episode 3, Part 2: “A Single Tear”

Posted on November 8, 2025 by Matthew Taylor

Sam Dingman, co-host of The Rumor podcast, visits “I Was There” to explore a different Cal Ripken Jr. narrative on Episode 3, Part 2: “A Single Tear.”

A discussion that begins with 2131 turns into an exploration of weightier topics as two lifelong Orioles fans chat about the power of collective experience, sports as a means of emotional expression for men, and the merits of cheering for a losing team. We also share embarrassing stories about our out-of-character public outbursts while watching live sports.

Sam discusses on the show how he sobbed in the stands during the final game at Memorial Stadium (1:52). If you watch the video below, you can understand why.

Manny Alexander caught a pop fly to make the 2131 game official. As we discuss on the podcast (10:02), another of Alexander’s Oriole notables is that he pitched two-thirds of an inning in a 26-7 loss to the Texas Rangers on April 19, 1996. His five runs allowed left the infielder with a 67.50 career ERA.

Sam shares a humorous anecdote about his public outburst in a New York bar when the Orioles defeated the Yankees 5-4 on Sept. 8, 2012 (32:50). A controversial game-ending double play featured Mark Teixeira being called out after diving into first base. Yankees manager Joe Girardi declared afterward: “He was safe. He was clearly safe.” Judge for yourself.

I followed that up with my own embarrassing public moment following the dramatic finish to Game 2 of the 1996 ALDS between the Yankees and the Texas Rangers on Oct. 2, 1996. See how that game ended below.

Sam shares some of his top Orioles moments at the ballpark to wrap up Episode 3, Part 2 (49:14). In addition to 2131 and the last game at Memorial Stadium, the 2012 ALDS ranks high on his list. See Jim Johnson strike out Alex Rodriguez to end Game 2 – a moment Sam describes as producing one of the loudest crowd roars he’s heard at Camden Yards – below.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1992 ALDS, 2131, Cal Ripken Jr., I Was There, Jim Johnson, Manny Alexander, Mark Teixeira, Memorial Stadium, Sam Dingman | Leave a comment

Show Notes for “I Was There” Episode 3: “Just Keep Clapping”

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Matthew Taylor

Scott Magnus of the Birds Eye View podcast joined the “I Was There” podcast to discuss his 2131 experience at Camden Yards on Episode 3 (Part 1).

Scott’s dad called it! Here is Cal’s home run from the 2131 game. You can hear President Clinton’s conversation with legendary Orioles broadcaster Jon Miller from the broadcast. You can also check out the 2131 box score on Baseball Reference.

Here are highlights from the 2012 Cal Ripken Jr. “statue game” including the Adam Jones home run that Scott mentioned on the pod. You can also read the ESPN game story.