A chat with Matt Baldoni about his career and the Australian Bee Gees

A chat with Matt Baldoni about his career and the Australian Bee Gees....Listen now:

Listen to "A 2017 chat with Matt Baldoni about his career and the Australian Bee Gees" on Spreaker.

CANTO TALK podcasts from last week

Catch our shows from last week:

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Havana spring and Jackie Robinson

 It’s spring, and a wonderful time to remember the year that the Brooklyn Dodgers trained in an economically strong pre-Castro Cuba.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/03/havana_spring_and_jackie_robinson.html

Happy # 73 Jim Rice

We say happy birthday to Jim Rice, who was born in South Carolina on this day in 1953.   

He was selected to The Hall of Fame in 2009.

Rice hit 20 homers 11 times, drove 1,171 runs over 11 seasons and was an AL All-Star 8 times.   

On top of that power, he hit .300 in seven seasons and finished in the top five in the AL MVP voting six times.     

He retired with a .298 batting average.

Also, Rice hit 39-plus homers four times, the most of anyone who played in the AL during his time period.    

Rice's most impressive season, without question, was 1978, when he hit .315 with 213 hits, 15 triples, 46 homers, 139 RBIs and 406 total bases.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

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We remember Dick Allen (1942-2020)

We remember Richard Anthony Allen who was born in March 1942 and died in December 2020. 

Allen broke the Phillies in 1964 and was voted Rookie of the Year.   He put up some great numbers and seemed like a candidate for the Hall of Fame. 

Back in 1973, Dick Allen signed a 3-year $ 750,000 contract with the Chicago White Sox or the largest sum ever in baseball history at the time.   It came after winning the 1972 AL MVP and hitting 37 HR.   

Eventually, Allen battled injuries, personal problems and retired with a .291 batting average, 351 HR and 1,191 RBI.  

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Tersi Agra Bendiburg: A “Cubana” from Dixie who tells stories!

The Cuban American story is diverse.

 

Speaking of that, we chatted this week in 2013 with Tersi Agra Bendiburg, a "Cubana" who grew up in Georgia.   

 

Her family story is similar to mine, and perhaps yours:

"Tersi had vivid memories from her childhood in post-revolution Cuba.  She remembers soldiers walking through her house, taking inventory of everything her family owned.  A year later, when they were to leave the country with nothing --not even her parents' wedding rings, the soldiers returned to re-inventory all the contents of the house.  She also remembers her father hiding a young man in their home  (who had been shot by soldiers) until he could be passed along safely.
At age, ten, Tersi’s family moved to Mexico City where they stayed with a distant relative while her parents applied for political asylum in the United States.  That Christmas was the first time Carmen, age 3, had ever seen Christmas lights because religious celebrations had been halted after the revolution in Cuba.
It was a wonderland.  On the Dia de los Reyes, Three Kings Day, Tersi wrote to the kings to let them know Tersi and her family were no longer in Cuba, but were, instead, in Mexico City so they would know where to bring presents.  Her parents were so worried that Tersi had written a letter and they had no money to buy her a present.  It was then that she spoke with a relative from Decatur, Georgia who told Tersi that the kings had left presents for her and Carmen in Decatur, and that in the future she should direct her letters to Santa Claus because the kings said the coffee in America was too weak for men from the east and the icy streets were too much of a challenge for the camels.  Sure enough, when they arrived in Decatur, both girls had presents waiting for them.
In Decatur, the Agra family was sponsored by the First Baptist Church of Decatur.  They never needed welfare since they had a little furnished apartment and Mr. Agra began work almost immediately.  Tersi attended Oakhurst Elementary where she had the famous spinach incident, and many other adventures.
That first Halloween in the United States Tersi ran home with a pillowcase full of candy.  She dumped it out and said, “You just say trick-or-treat and they give you candy!”
“What a country!”  Her father exclaimed."

Yes, what a country indeed!   

 

Today, Tersi tells children the wonderful stories of Latin America and others.

 

What a wonderful lady!   Thanks to Fernando Hernandez for the introduction!     

We spoke with Tersi and learned that she was born in Florida, Camaguey or not too far from my mom's hometown of Ciego de Avila!   As my mother loves to say:  "Que mundo mas chiquito"!

Click to hear the show from 2013.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

Listen to "Tales from storyteller Tersi Agra Bendiburg" on Spreaker.

We remember Jim Bouton (1939-2019)

We remember Jim Bouton who was born in Newark, NJ, on this day in 1939.    He died in 2019.

Bouton broke with the Yankees in 1962.  He won 21 games in 1963 and 18 in 1964.    He also pitched well in the World Series.  Then his career collapsed and ended up with the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969.   Overall, he won 62 with a decent 3.57 ERA.

Bouton is best remembered for a book that shook up baseball, or "Ball Four".    I didn't like the book but many people loved it.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Book of James (Talarico)

 It’s official James Talarico will represent the Democrats in November; perhaps it’s a good time to reflect on how nuts he really is.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/03/book_of_james_talarico.html

Happy # 75 Jeff Burroughs

We say happy birthday to Jeff Burroughs, the first Texas Rangers superstar.    

He was born in California on this day in 1951 and drafted by the old Washington Senators who moved to Texas in 1972. 

In Texas, he became an instant sensation:  30 HR & 85 RBI in 1973.

A year later, Jeff hit .301 with 25 HR & 119 RBI and was named the 1974 AL MVP beating out Reggie Jackson and Rod Carew.

In 1975, Jeff hit 29 HR & 94 RBI but his strikeouts jumped to 155 and batting average dropped to .226!

He was traded to Atlanta and did well, hitting 41 HR with 114 RBI in 1977.  

Overall, he retired with a .261 average, 240 HR & 831 RBI.   

My memory of Jeff is mammoth home runs!    

Last, but not least, he wrote a book for Little League coaches after retiring from baseball.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Happy # 90 Galen Cisco

Once upon a time, my brother and I collected baseball cards.   In fact, we still have most of them in a box.

Let us say happy birthday to Galen Cisco, who was born in Ohio on this day in 1936.   I remember Cisco because of his name.   After all, how many ballplayers are named Galen Cisco?

Galen broke with Boston in 1961 and joined the expansion Mets for the 1963 season.    Cisco went 18-43 in 4 seasons but he pitched better than his record would indicate.   After all, how often does a pitcher go 6-19 with a 3.62 ERA?    Cisco retired after the 1969 season.   He pitched for two expansion teams, the Mets of the NL and the Royals of the AL.

Cisco turned out to be a pretty good pitching coach for Toronto and developed young arms like Jimmy Key, Dave Stieb, Todd Stottlemyre, and David Wells.

Happy birthday Galen Cisco!

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.