All right. Welcome back to the Dan Time podcast.
I am your host, Dan McArdle, at Dan Time Pod
across the socials, dantimepod at gmail .com.
You're definitely in the right place today. Another
exciting baseball guest for you. His voice makes
you want to grab some popcorn, maybe a hot dog
or two or three, an ice cold beverage of your
choice. Maybe even put on the old glove. and
pop it a few times and sit back and listen to
the action. It is Kurt Bloom time today. My interview
with Kurt highlights his illustrious run as the
longtime voice of the Birmingham Barons, AA affiliate
of the Chicago White Sox. We talk about our brief
run in many years ago, how he got started in
broadcasting, the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium,
Regents Field, the unforgettable 1994 season.
which featured Michael Jordan and Barron's pinstripes
and Kurt's special place in history. And you'll
hear him describe what it was like to join Lynn
Casper in the booth for the Guardians White Sox
game in July 2022. However, and maybe we needed
one more hour, Kurt's broadcasting experience
doesn't stop with the Barron's. It only begins
there. Kurt has covered spring games for the
Chicago White Sox. college football for ESPN,
Samford University, and UAB football and basketball
games. Kurt has also sat down and interviewed
legends of the game. You can find these videos
on his website, curtbloom .com. Raleigh Fingers,
Chipper Jones, Doc Gooden, Daryl Strawberry,
Lou Pennella, and Justin Morneau. In Birmingham,
Kurt's presence looms large in the community
and has for over three decades. CB, as they call
him. He's not just behind the mic, but he's also
impacting the lives of children and others in
need. In 2013, Kurt was honored with an induction
into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame, joining
such larger -than -life icons as Willie Mays,
Reggie Jackson, Satchel Page, and media members
Doug Seagrest, Mike Rada, Alf Van Hoos, and the
1950s voice of the Barons, Gabby Bell. Kurt has
also taught broadcast communication courses at
Myles College and most recently at Birmingham
Southern. He was included in ESPN's 30 for 30
documentary, Jordan Rides the Bus. Be sure to
check out his website to find his one -on -one
interview with Michael Jordan from that season,
plus many other memorable calls. Head over to
the Dantime YouTube channel for the uncut video
version of this call. Okay, let's get to the
conversation. I said it once before, but let's
play to it is Kurt Bloom time. If you call yourself
a sports fan, especially if you call yourself
a baseball fan and my gosh, if you live in the
Southeast or in Birmingham, Alabama, I think
the hairs on the back of your neck are going
to be standing up today. My guest this afternoon
and the guest for this week is not just a fixture
in baseball. in the Southern League, in the White
Sox organization, but a fixture in the city of
Birmingham. This is Birmingham Barron's Hall
of Fame broadcaster, Kurt Bloom. Kurt, I'm probably
gonna stop my rambling, introduce you, say hey,
and then go back to a little more ramble, but
man, thank you for making time to be here on
this podcast today. How are you doing? I'm doing
great. I enjoy somebody else rambling instead
of me. So as the song says, ramble on. Well,
you and I met a long time ago and I've really
been looking forward to say in this part to you
today because I think it's so true in life that
a lot of people come across our paths. You talk
to somebody at Walgreens for a minute. You talk
to somebody at the airport for a minute and you
go about your day and you share a laugh with
them. You don't really think about That might
be a lasting memory for them. But with you, Kurt,
and for me, in 2008, I was working at the Birmingham
News for a couple of years there, 06 to 08, and
had the privilege of filling in for Doug Seagrest
on a handful of games that season at the old
Hoover Met. I don't remember which game it was.
I think it was one of those daytime games where
you got all the school kids there. And you don't
have to pipe in any crowd noise for those afternoons.
And I just will never forget the way that you
stopped what you were doing. You were so excited.
I remember to just be there at the ballpark in
the press box. And you talked to me. You had
a meaningful conversation with me. And I always
have carried that with me. I remember leaving
that day thinking, man, not only is Kurt a great
broadcaster, but what a cool guy. Seems like
he's having he's actually having fun doing this
You've talked about i've listened to a few podcasts
and you talk about being nine years old and having
this dream and He still had that that little
kid mindset. I remember that day and um speak
to that a little bit as a train is going by where
i'm Well, dan all that's a blessing. Um, you
know, there's a combination of a blessing and
and good mentors the blessing is that when I
was nine years old, I knew what I wanted to do.
I was engulfed in sports in the New York area
where we had two sports teams for every sport.
We had all professionals. And then later on in
life, you get blessed because you have good mentors.
And two of them include Terry Francona, Tito,
and Bill Hardicoff, who was the president of
the Barons and still in town here and still guides
me. So, yeah, they taught me a whole lot. I give
a lot of credit, my enthusiasm, my passion, and
my kindness. I got to give my mom credit for
teaching me the right way. She didn't have a
whole lot of help. It was a single child in the
70s. And then later on, when I got into pro ball,
having influences early in my career like Tito
Francona and then my boss, Bill Hardikoff, they
taught you how to do things the right way. So
I'm thrilled with your remembering in your recall
about the time that you filled in for Doug, because
I would have kicked myself if I didn't, you know,
treat you that way back then, or even if you
walked into the press box tomorrow. And again,
I've been taught by others and it's now my time
to teach and give back. Let me ask you a question
that maybe you haven't been asked before. So
you've been in the organization a long time now.
Does it feel like all these years have gone by?
Or are you still just having a ball and it's
like, oh, it's time to go to the ballpark again.
The home stand is beginning and I can't wait
to get there. Well, I've been again lucky. This
is year thirty seven thirty three with the Barons
in every day. It's I can't wait. I can't wait
to go. I can't wait to go. You know, when that
one day kicks in and it says I'm done, I'm not
excited anymore. Then we'll get we'll get a change.
And I will tell you this. The longer you're in.
the game, the quicker the years and the seasons
go by. My boss and I, Jonathan Nelson, we've
been together 30 some odd years, and it doesn't
seem that way. But every year later on, you know,
probably maybe around year eight, nine, then
it becomes 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, before you even
look up, now you're in the 20s. And a new anniversary
comes up for the Jordan year and all that. So
it comes quickly, the longer and the older that
you stay in. But the base and the fortunate part
is that I'm still very enthusiastic and loving
what I'm doing. I have a lot of special memories
from the Hoover Met and from Regents Field. I
moved to Pensacola the same year that Regents
Field opened. So I got to take in a few of those
games that season I've been back over the years
and seen a handful of games But I'll never forget
opening day in April of 13 Walking up to the
stadium and seeing that big Birmingham feature
on I don't know which directional end of the
stadium that's on I thought this is so cool.
This is something the city can be proud of and
Then I also heard Kurt Bloom's voice outside
the stadium on the pregame show and I just thought
this is perfect. This is everything. And so when
I going back to what I was saying in the beginning,
there's a famous Barron's broadcaster from, I
guess, the early part or the middle part of the
20th century, who's also in the Hall of Fame.
And I should have his name on my on the tip of
my tongue here. But when I think of the Birmingham
Barons and all the history involved, yeah, you
think of the Michael Jordan season. How can you
not? But I think of Kurt Bloom and hopefully
people listening. and huge White Sox fans that
follow the system. They're well aware of you.
And I know you're still carving out your legacy.
Your career is still, who knows what's next,
but are you proud to be kind of an institution?
I don't know if that's the right word, but are
you proud of your... I think the first broadcast
you're thinking of is Eli Gold. Eli did the Barons
at Rickwood Field in the 80s and of course has
become... I had a 30 plus year run with the Alabama
football and sports. You know, you first look
back on it and you're kind of wary of, you know,
am I an institution or just been there forever
and all of that stuff. But you really need to
take a step back and enjoy it, relish it, appreciate
that. I must be doing, I don't know what it is,
but I must be doing something right to be asked
to come back year after year. And I think it
does start with, again, the passion, the enthusiasm,
the energy. I never feel, never sound, never
want to be like, man, this is just getting in
the way. The last two years on the field were
tough. They were difficult. But I try to look
at it this way. It's seven o 'clock. We got a
new game. Let's go. Let's go. We're 0 and 0 until
until the first pitch is delivered. That's a
great way to look at it. I got to mention here
really, really quick. I learned that you grew
up in Westchester County, New York. A few weeks
ago, I had a singer songwriter from Westchester
County. He's actually go to his website, Dan
Zlotnik. He's The Americana voice of Westchester
County really cool guy and I when I saw that
I was wondering well Kurt may not be aware of
him He's been out of that area for a long time,
but I thought that was a cool connection We've
had we now have our second guest from that area
Westchester is the first suburb suburb north
of New York City if you're in Manhattan Just
go north and for us we take the train And then
there's the lower part where White Plains is
and Yonkers and Scarsdale, Eastchester, and then
the upper Westchester where I grew up. It's North
Salem and there's South Salem, Pleasantville,
Golden's Bridge, all these beautiful, beautiful
little communities, bedroom communities that
they're called. And in fact, what has made North
Salem where I went to high school in Westchester
famous is David Letterman has lived there probably
15, 20, 25 years. Wow. Kurt when you were a little
kid listening to the transistor radio at night
and being a Yankees fan I guess Phil Rizzuto
and those guys Those were your primary influences
that made you think I want to do this I want
to be on the radio. I want to be calling these
games. Yeah, I love playing baseball, but I think
you said maybe I'm not at that level but Were
there other did you like TV shows? Did you like
something like Johnny Carson or were there other
other types of announcers? Well, the broadcasting
part of me, like you said, it was a transistor
with an earpiece in listening to Phil Rizzuto,
Bill White and Frank Messer. especially loved
when they were on the West Coast, because I stayed
up late, even though my mom didn't know that,
but you'd have the ear in and they were playing
the Seattle Mariners. The most famous broadcaster
and the one that if you are from the tri -state
area, and if you're anywhere within 20, 25 years
of my age, Ben Moore of Albert is your item.
That's the icon. He's my guy. Up until, I believe
it was last year, maybe the year before, he finally
shut it down with TNT doing basketball. Some
have called him the greatest basketball announcer
ever. And the funny thing is, as much as I love
baseball, that's the only sport Marv really didn't
call play -by -play. He was known for his hockey
and his basketball with the Rangers and the Knicks.
And he would do the Jets at times. He was also
the NBC sportscaster. And that was a guy everybody
wanted to be. You wanted to be Marv. And now,
if you're a little bit younger, you could be
his son, Kenny. You could be Kenny Allen. I remember
growing up with Marv Albert, the NBA announcer,
and some of those just really exciting basketball,
the late 80s, early 90s. And he was synonymous
with that sport in the NBA. I've got a question
here. Like I said, I've done a little bit of
research. So I want to kind of come at it from
maybe a question you haven't been asked before.
So your career as a broadcaster started with
the, in Bakersfield, California, 1988, a couple
years at Prince William. And then a year with
the stars. Going back to like 80, what are you
doing in say 86, 87? How does it lead up to that
first break in Bakersfield? That is, and in 37
years, that's probably the first time I've actually
been asked that question and put it all together.
Graduated UNC Greensboro in 85 and immediately
went back home to New York and tried to get back
into baseball. And like I had a summer fling
when I was a freshman with the Greensboro Hornets
and our college radio station actually took over
the second half of the year, but a little blip
more than anything else. So now I spent two years
trying to find out, how do I get back in? And
in order to do that and get a job, I was an adult
contemporary radio station DJ. I had the 10 to
2 shift. And I knew that it was important to
use the voice. If someone calls and asks, what
are you currently doing? it's a lot better to
say I've got a radio show versus I'm a mechanic
at the local Exxon and I just you know I love
listening or you know I just think I can do this
thing so I had about it was about a year and
a half two years where I was an adult contemporary
radio DJ probably from 22 to 24 years old and
then I think the Bakersfield job came when I
was about 25. And then the circumstances that
brought you to Birmingham, I remember you said,
you know, sometimes jobs just seek you. It wasn't
like you were saying, wow, Birmingham, Alabama,
that's the spot. That's where I want to be. It's
just, at the time, they were looking for a guy
with some sales experience. I guess that was
important for that job description. Well, all
four jobs I've had, Bakersfield, Woodbridge,
Virginia, Prince William Cadets, and Huntsville,
I didn't wake up and throw a dart and go, that's
where I want to be. Those were the teams that
gave me a chance. Now, when I got to Huntsville,
we would drive that long three mile journey at
the beginning of the parking lot to the Hoover
Met. I'm like, wow, this is a ballpark. And fortunately,
after one year in Huntsville, the broadcaster
with the Barons left. And fortunately for me,
I had sales experience. So I told the new because
they just brought in new people. I said, first
of all, instead of me sending you a tape, why
don't I just come down? We'll have a meeting.
You're an hour and a half from me. And I remember
Bill Hardicoff said, do you sell? Yes. And he
goes, look, that's what we need more than anything
else. We're turning this into a full time position
and you're going to be here. selling fence signs,
billboards, program ads, tickets, and all that
kind of stuff. So that was a major part. If I
had said, no, I don't sell, I might not have
ever gotten to where I've been. And that was
a major part of what I did for the Barons up
until approximately seven years ago when they
turned me into what we call seasonal. So I'm
no longer full -time. I had 25 years in the office
for 12 months, and now it's seasonal. Pick and
choose and then when the game start you're you
know, you're broadcasting I like how you mentioned
that because there may be people that were listening
to you in the mid 90s the early 2000s and they
think that I hear kurt bloom On the radio during
the game and that's probably the extent of what's
what he's doing there Is a lot more going on
Well, my value to the barons in the front office
was the opposite was the was the offseason September
through march and to maintain and keep your job,
you had to be a good salesman and you had to
bring in income, okay? The radio guys are dying
a dozen. So for, like I said, 25 years, I was
bringing in approximately, let's just conservatively
say $100 ,000 a year in advertising. So that
kept me, you know, that even if I didn't sound
good, Or if I wasn't a good guy, hey, wait a
minute, this guy's bringing in fence signs and
program ads. And I knew what it meant. I knew
the importance and the significance, especially
in that time period. Times have changed again.
Most teams, not all, but most probably want just
a seasonal guide. You don't have to pay in benefits.
You don't have to pay insurance. You just go
in, you get paid per game, per month, do the
games, and then you're out of there in September.
Well, I want to I want to jump around a little
bit some of these questions are going over the
timeline might bounce around but I'm kind of
excited to talk about this one because I was
rooting for you from afar or a few hours south
in Pensacola July 24th 2022 It was just one of
those days. I was grinning ear to ear when I
saw the news I don't know where I heard about
it, but you got to call up to the show to join
Lynn Casper in the booth for the Chicago White
Sox. And I recall you hearing that you treated
it like you were doing a Barron's Biscuits game,
but I'm sure the actual phone call, I'll let
you tell it because it's just such a big moment
and I was so happy to hear that you were getting
that moment in the sun and how was that experience
like? Well, I appreciate you recognizing that.
And the funny thing that came out of that is
so many people thought it was permanent. My wife's
boss and all the people that know my wife, they
said, well, when are you leaving? How come you
didn't tell us? That was probably the fun thing.
The White Sox kind of pranked me. And it has
to be told that every year for 20 plus years,
I asked them before spring training and then
middle of the season, to come up and do an inning.
And earlier, about a month earlier, they set
up what I thought was a Zoom conference with
all the other affiliates. And instantly, I recognized
either I'm first or the other guys are not showing
up, Charlotte, Winston -Salem, and Kannapolis.
And I knew something was a little different.
And he went on to interview me and talk to me
and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and then said,
what are you doing on July 24th? And I said,
well, whatever I was doing, I got a feeling I'll
be changing plans. So he, Chris Kintana, his
name is, you know, rocked my world, changed the
world. And I tell you that the people who benefited
the most were at MLB baseball with the subscriptions
for the MLB app because they went, you know,
they probably sold a hundred that day. And then
two days later, when everyone canceled, they
were like, hey, what happened? You know, I definitely
took it as, hey, this is where I belong. This
is Barron's biscuits, Barron's smokies. The moment
was not too big. This is where I want to be.
And still after, as another Paul Simon song,
after all these years, we still want to make
it happen. And even today, even prior to this,
Recording I was you know working the back door
of a couple of situations and couple of opportunities
Well, just like just like the players themselves
Yeah, there's a lot of guys that I would say
don't snooze on them Don't don't think that there's
not gonna be some movement in the next few months
the next year or two years from now I mean we
have loved listening to Kurt Bloom call the Barron's
games, but you just you never know Enjoy it while
it lasts, Birmingham, because you've probably
gotten used to Kurt always being the voice of
the Barons, but I'm rooting for you, Kurt, to
reach the big show and stay there. I think that
you deserve to be there, and hope that day comes
sooner rather than later. Thanks, Dan. I appreciate
that. It's very kind of you and warm to say that,
and I want to recognize that. And I don't just
take that for granted. It's an honor. And ultimately,
I've learned it's not on my clock anymore. It's
on the man upstairs, God's clock. And when he's
ready, he'll let me know where and when and what
opportunity, and we'll make it happen. Well,
speaking of, I want to just talk about Regents
Field for a minute because I was a little conflicted
when, not for very long, but I will say that
the nostalgia for the Hoover Met, if you attended
games as a an eight -year -old, a 12 -year -old,
14, or even 25. You had some great times at that
ballpark. Saw a lot of great games, and my gosh,
the players that came through there. But Regions
Field, going back to that opening day, 2013,
I thought, wow, this has got, this has got an
MLB feel to it. I feel like I'm walking into
a Major League Baseball stadium. They really
achieved that aesthetic. This is a fun night.
for families to have an experience on that level?
Well, we've had two incredible ballparks to work
with and technically three, which is Rickoid.
But for my broadcasting career, I had 21 years
at Hoover Met and I grew up there. That's where
we had my children. And that's where, you know,
every day for 21 years, get a car to go to the
Hoover Met and come back after a game. So I'll
never have anything bad to say. Only fond, fond
memories. a great big ballpark that's where I
really sharpen my skills. And then 2013, we wind
up with this $64 million state of the art facility.
And when you're looking right now at the Chattanoogas
and the Knoxvilles of the world, Columbus, and
these cities are fighting every day to get their
ballparks, fighting with government, fighting
with politicians. And ours was done. I remember
Jonathan coming back to our office in 2012 and
saying, hey, we're moving next year. Like, huh,
what? And it was just like that. So we had one
dead year at the Hoover Met. And then 2013, we
opened up. And I'll tell you what, the first
three or four years, the magic there was incredible.
You just look at our attendance. We led the league
in attendance. that opening night you talked
about, we had 80, it was more than 8 ,500 because
85 is what we hold. But there wasn't a Thursday
or Friday night that didn't have 8 ,000 plus.
And that was a lot of fun. And it's funny now
because when you look at that actual area, but
first of all, there's a Buffalo Wild Wings in
right field. But the luxury apartment complex
is that now drape completely around the ballpark
and then behind us as well. So there's just been
a lot of building and a lot of migration and
a lot of investments that I think the barons
and the mayor and the city, they set the pace
and we took it and ran with it. And Kurt, do
they still have the seventh inning tradition
with I know the Children's Hospital overlooks?
Regions field and all the fans wave Mm -hmm.
Yeah, they'll never go away. Um, that's fireworks
Friday and We actually videoed the kids now they
count it down for us So we go over to Children's
Hospital with our camera. They count it down
We had the big wave and it's really a sentimental
journey and a wonderful reminder every day How
lucky how honored you are? I mean, that's in
right center field for me every single game.
And then on those Friday nights, the illumination
of the elevators, you know, that's where it is,
is their waiting room and the elevators light
up. And I know a few parents who have had their
children there and they told me how much it means
to them. So win win for everybody. Yeah, I think
there's I talk about this on the show sometimes.
I think there's fewer things. that are more rewarding
in life than making a child smile, be happy,
feel included, be recognized. So that's just
what I read about that. I thought that is something
the barons would do. I know you can't see this
here. I've got a scrapbook out. Ticket stubs
were more common to hang onto, but this is just
one of them. This is a 2001... Ticket stub 15
cent wing night Yeah, a long time removed since
those days. I don't know if they still do the
25 cent hot dogs. There was the belly We have
two dollar hot dogs and we have two dollar adult
beverages The dogs are two dollars on Tuesday
and the beverages on thirsty Thursday So price
has gone up inflation will hit us a little bit,
but it's still a heck of a bargain and now Tuesday
nights I mean even our even my front office staff
my press box people we get hungry and here's
two dollars and you know we're winding up with
uh you know a couple of dogs so um we take advantage
of that as well okay just a little out of bounds
question here so i'm sure people wonder do you
ever get tired of the the spread or do you sometimes
just say look i gotta start bringing some pb
and j's uh here i gotta bring a salad i gotta
uh do you Get tired of the the hot dogs or just
the cold cuts I would let me just in 37 years
of broadcasting and a World win of events that
is clearly the first time I have been asked that
question and I will say Emphatically. Yes. Yes.
Yes again It would be cruel to talk about who
supplies on what night, but let me just tell
you, if you followed me around in the off season,
you would not find me at any of the places that
we kill during the season, okay? So now look,
we have one of the best spreads in the league.
it's just that I can only have so much of that
same product, you know, whether it is pizza,
chicken, wings, whatever it is. And then, you
know, the season ends and your children go, oh,
let's go to fill in the blank. I'm like, you
got to be so. And I will tell you, undoubtedly,
when I was younger, I would I can burn calories
with the best of them. And as I got older, you
realize you do have to keep an eye on what you're
eating and doing. And so you will find yourself
either grabbing a Chick -fil -A sandwich instead
of whatever is going to be at the ballpark or
bring in something that you know that you prepared
ahead of time. That will come not often, but
enough to go, hey, I'm glad I brought this in
versus that. OK, here's another ticket stub.
Thank God I hung onto this thing. July 29th 1994,
but trying to try a different lead into this
season Obviously, that's the Jordan here and
I believe that's the day before his home run
is the over on July 30th and You probably don't
realize this I'm looking at my I've got a copy
of it somewhere You probably don't realize that
but that's pretty good collectors item I'm looking
they've been going Anything from the joint year
ticket stubs have really you can turn that into
paying for a month of podcasts Yeah, I'm just
looking and you know, these must have been printed
well before they knew that that season was gonna
of course I have magic and yeah five dollars
and fifty cents reserve ticket Yep, five fifty
a Friday night game at the Hoover met They don't
know Jordan's gonna be there. So that's that's
my lead -in. I cannot believe 30 years ago Wow,
I know you you've told the story you've retold
it and I don't want to retread anything that's
it's gonna be you know mundane for you, but How
special is that looking back and just to be a
part of something like that? Michael Jordan in
Birmingham, Alabama. I'm in high school at the
time. It was a huge deal There's no really no
internet. Definitely no Twitter or social media
When you think back to that season, is it still
something you think about all the time? Daily.
It's hard not to. And every anniversary, it expedites
even more. So this is the 30th. A lot of our
staff members have been interviewed or talked
about. You see, there's about five or six of
us left. I mean, interestingly enough, we have
gotten together once. We did that last year,
a group of us, and we went to Regions Field,
we had lunch, catered in, and all we did was
swap Jordan's stories. That's it, every one of
us. The first time we've done it, I know one
or two guys have talked about Tinkerd with a
book. I mean, I know I should put my thoughts
down in writing before it's too late. But no
one, the poor group didn't because we didn't.
That's the easiest way to put it. And again,
there was no internet and no social. So it was
a lot easier to pull off. But when you talk to
Bill Hardikoff, Jonathan Nelson, Chris Pika,
Ken Dunlop, and Corey Siffer, those names might
not mean anything. Then you can go to Tito Francona
and Mike Barnett and Kirk Champion. There's a
bond and there is a certain when you glance at
somebody in the eye, you got that, hey, he was
there, I was there, we pulled this thing off.
It's kind of like a secret handshake. So when
we got together last year, no one outside that
room had any clue what we were talking about
or could share the stories. And I'll just quickly
jump back to when I did the game in Chicago.
I don't know if they planned it or not, but it
was against the Guardians. It was against Cleveland,
and Tito was managing. And so we retold those
stories for a few minutes in the Cleveland Guardians
locker room. And George Kohler, who was Michael's
right -hand man for 30 -plus years, George made
the trip up. And it was just... we should have
frozen time right there and then, and all the
stories were rehashed. Again, it's hard to explain
to somebody who wasn't there, but if you were
there, you know exactly what we went through,
and it will always, always, always, always, every
single day, you will be reminded about that year.
For me, my daughter Chloe was born in August.
So how can I forget? If I don't remember how
many years it is, I'll just ask what year was
Jordan played here in 94, Chloe was born in 94.
I mean, simple as that. And you guys really had
a special responsibility, I would call it, to
not just jump all over this guy and be all struck.
You know, you got to, which I'm sure you had
no problem with, just remember I'm a professional.
This is my role with the organization. I don't
need to hound him for an interview. I don't need
to step out of bounds here. He wants to be treated
like the guy that just got called up from Kannapolis.
He's taking those bus trips with the guys. Is
that right? He's riding the bus. He's not getting
his own... I really don't remember. No, no. He
rode the bus. There were maybe two or three obligations
that he had where he didn't, but 90 % of the
time he was on the bus. And again, you said it,
he just wanted to be like them. He played ping
pong with them, played cards with them, played
Yahtzee up front with Tito and Barney. And it
was amazing how he tried to just blend in. When
the time was right and you had really gained
his trust, he did sit down with you for an interview.
When that time came, because I got to admit,
Kurt, I was a little nervous before our interview,
but I can't imagine. When you know, okay, I'm
actually going to be talking to MJ today. Did
you have to do some breathing exercises or? Yeah,
it was. It was one of the few times I don't think
I've written down an interview. I have notes
every interview that I do, but that was one that
I had questions, not notes, but questions. I
couldn't screw it up. You're going to have one
choice. And I knew I mean, my hands were sweating.
And it's like M &M, you know, you got one shot
and make it work. Otherwise you will see mom's
spaghetti. It was in the training room and he
called me down. He got on the walkie talkie system
that we used and said, come on down. And then
we did 15 minutes and that interview. I'm so
pleased and proud and somehow through audio,
but it's on my website. The whole interview is
on the website. The first hit, the first home
run. You know, shameless, shameless plug, KurtBloom
.com, C -U -R -T. It's all there. And, you know,
yeah, there's no doubt I was under an immense
amount of pressure. The pressure was making sure
the tape recorder were, that I didn't stumble.
that I had enough batteries in the tape recorder,
everything you could possibly think of. That
was my biggest concern. Looking at my hands sweating
and dripping. So he, you know, he was asking
questions and I was going like this, just making
sure I got the next one out. But I think all
in all, it came out pretty well for a, what was
I, 28, something like that. 28 year old, something
along those lines. Just the experience of a lifetime.
And, you know, Michael's playing Pretty good
ball back then. I mean, if you just focus on
the batting average, you're going to get lost
in it. I mean, he was a good fielder. He made
some good plays in the field. Pretty good base
runner, I would say. Very good base runner. 30
stolen bits. And if not for the, it's the same
year as the labor dispute. Yes. You take that,
take that away. He's probably, I think I heard
you say, or somebody else say he's, he's in Charlotte
in 95, most likely, or? It was Nashville. We
didn't have a Charlotte back then. Yeah, I'm
pretty sure and talking with Tito and Barney.
We all think that the progression would have
been start the year 95 in Nashville AAA at the
time and then at some point during that summer
get called up to the big leagues. That's probably
what would have happened. But by all accounts,
he enjoyed his time in Birmingham. He had was
having fun playing baseball with George Kohler.
I mentioned George George was his personal assistant
for with. three decades. And when I saw George
again in Cleveland, he said it was by far the
most fun they've ever had during the summer.
And that was nice to hear. It was quite an endorsement.
Well, Kurt, you got a special place in history
there. You'll never forget it. And baseball fans
will never forget it as well. Real quick, we
may bounce back to something serious here, but
since it is the Dan Time podcast and man, you've
seen so many players through the Barron's and
the White Sox organization. I'm sure you've had
the perspective of see guys come up from high
A play in Birmingham, maybe go back down. Maybe
you never see him again. You see situations where
it doesn't work out for guys. Maybe even guys
that you've gotten to know a little bit and they're
out of the game. But but other guys who have
gone off to big careers in the major leagues.
How about for the sake of the Dan Time podcast?
I know you mentioned a couple of Dan's and Danny's.
that you enjoyed watching. Dan Black played with
Birmingham 2013 and 14 seasons and Danny Mendick,
a lot of others I had listed too, but what are
some memories from those Dan's? Dan Black was
nicknamed the Bear and he was the Barron's version,
the modern day version of Babe Ruth. Dan was
not the most in -shape guy in the world, but
he was the most fun -loving guy to be around.
He enjoyed being Dan. And he was a Dan good ball
player as well. He was caught in the system where
we had first baseman at every level. He was also
very, very smart. Very intelligent. So he would
go on and I believe an engineer and a firm and
a really good businessman, but everybody, the
front office loved him. He came up to the front
office. He was the go -to interview guy. He got
it. He just got it. He was just one of those
guys that just got it all, loved it all, took
it all in. And probably in the back of his mindset,
I'm not going to make it to the big list, but
I'm going to have a lot of damn fun going up
there. And then Danny Mendick, with Mendick,
I always, first time I get a roster, I look for
guys from New York where I'm from. And Danny
played up in Rochester, and I knew the area a
little bit. And he was a ball player you could
fall in love with because he was not a prospect,
but played the game hard. And he started putting
up big numbers at shortstop. Our elite shortstop
was Tim Anderson. But Danny broke a lot of his
records, hit more home runs. And I don't know
the batting average, but he did almost toe for
toe Danny Mendick with Tim Anderson. And Danny
came with a lot less publicity about him. And
he was never really a prospect. So we were thrilled
he got to the big leagues last year with the
Mets and then re -signed with the White Sox where
he's playing every day in Charlotte this year.
That's great to hear. Do you make friends with
these guys? Are there times where you bond with
them a little bit? Are you kind of doing your
thing and they're doing theirs? It was easier
when I traveled because you're on a bus with
them and you are eating at the same Waffle House
at 1 .30 in the morning. You know, and easily,
the harder you work, the harder they see that,
and then you get accepted. Now, since the pandemic,
I should say, I have not traveled. So it's a
little harder. And you just rely on who you are
to make that connection. And you'd better be
passionate, you'd better get downstairs, show
your face, work a little harder. Because the
pandemic really changed everything and took away
my my one -on -one friendships. And now it's
you go through a whole season and maybe recognize
five of your 25 guys, you know, so a little bit.
The word would be challenging, definitely a little
bit more challenging. Well, Kurt, just a couple
more questions. I don't want to keep you all
day, although in a perfect world, I'd love to.
How about some of the standout games like? The
first Barron's no hitter, I guess, since maybe
the 60s is Luis Andujar, August 8th, 1995. And
one of my favorites. Yeah, it was a hot summer
night up in Memphis. The Barons were neck and
neck in a pennant race with Chattanooga. And
it was a one -nothing game where Andujar struck
out the side in order in the ninth inning. And
the last guy he faced would go on to have a decent
big league career in Homer Bush. And I get asked,
and it's the most single exciting game that I've
called. You've got your championships and you
got your Jordan here, but for single game enthusiasm
and what was on the line, that was an amazing
game to call and be a part of. And then Frankie
Montaz, a seven -inning no -hitter. Yeah, and
unfortunately, we still had another game. That
was the front end of a double header. I did run
down with my camera. I did take a couple of pictures.
Frankie's a really, really good guy. Happy to
see him resurrecting his career with the Reds.
But it just didn't have the same style points
as Andohar because, heck, we had another game
to play that night. I don't remember if we won
it or not, but he throws the no -hitter, and
I did whatever I could. And typically, like,
and then in the back of my mind, besides that,
we had another game. And in the back of my mind
is that he was six out short of nine. And that's
what I grew up with with nine, you know, so,
um, still really cool, complete game. Didn't
need any help. I've done a bunch of combined,
uh, no hitters. And I'll tell you the truth.
You got a fake enthusiasm. I know I did a couple
other unique games. This one, not so long ago,
August, 2018. The Barons, you don't hear about
this in the major leagues for y 'all anywhere
in baseball. They hit two grand slams in the
ninth inning against the Montgomery Biscuits.
They went 18 to two. Yeah. Yeah. In Montgomery
said, uh, believe I know we did. We set a franchise
record, seven home runs in that game. Uh, two
grand slams. Uh, it was just, it was batting
practice that day. And it was, you know, one
of those Freak games over 140 that you'll have
something like that where just everything clicks
Hot hot night down in down in Montgomery ball
was traveling and then how about some of the
games finally with It's going on 16 innings 17
innings. This is a yeah a Tuesday night or it's
a getaway night and you're like we're heading
to Jacksonville For a game tomorrow or what however
it plays out. How are you handling those late
nights? Can somebody scratch across a run, please?
So I can go home. My wife made dinner and what
it's the lights are off at home. Everybody's
asleep. Is that we we have a game in Chattanooga
that turned into a night game. 21 innings. And
this again before the Ghost Runner rule. And,
you know, you definitely get to a point. I know
I did. I can't speak for Larry Ward or Chattanooga.
I wanted to set a record. If we're going to go
that long, let's keep going. Let's go to the
29th, the 35th. Let's get on, you know, the Pawtucket
Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings had the most
famous game, 33 innings in the history of minor
league baseball. And that's what I was gunning
for. I was like, let's go. Let's put them in
the rear view mirror. Unfortunately, it stopped
in the 21st, which is doing a double header and
then some by yourself on the road. Let's have
a utility infielder throwing five innings of
off speed pitches. Yeah. Kurt, this has been
a blast. You know, it could go on and on here.
How about just a goofy question? I love these
questions that people never get asked because
I want this show to be fun. So when you were
traveling with the team and you guys are stopping,
you're eating in the middle of the night, I got
to ask in general, because I struggle with this,
what would you, where would you put your proficiency
level with motion activated hand or hand towel
or soap dispensers and all those little rest
stop bathrooms. I'm pretty bad at it, but how
do you do in those situations? You're trying
to just get in and out and why won't the paper
towels come out? No, two o 'clock in the morning
when we stop on these long road trips, you're
going to the bathroom first. Do we have a line
of 16 guys in the bathroom wash soap up? dry
hand, you know, and then you're just attacking
the Snickers bar, the Twizzlers, the Reese's
Pieces, guys would have pizza, they would have
sandwiches, big bags of chips, whatever it was.
And so within five minutes, you know, when when
Rick pulled that bus over five minutes, everyone
gets out, you just first to the bathroom, then
destroying the candy rack and the and all the
food and amenities, and then typically you're
going to get one or two guys trying on the cowboy
hats, trying on the vests and the belts and all
that kind of stuff too, which is fine at the
time, but you look back on it, I've seen enough
of those. Yeah, people forget that we didn't
have these Bucky stations and these luxury, it
was Stucky's, and that was a nice place. Back
then. Yeah, we were lucky. Well, Kurt, it's another
exciting season here. Barron's baseball. I'm
so happy that you're still a part of it. And
going back to the top of the episode, folks,
enjoy the Kurt Bloom experience with the Barron's
as long as you can. We've been so fortunate to
have you these many years. And I got to I got
to just reinforce that you are a part of the
fabric of baseball in Birmingham forever. a part
of the legacy and the lore of the Birmingham
Barons? Humbling. That's really very kind and
honest. Or not kind and honest, but kind and
very flattering. And I'm just lucky. I'm blessed.
I love it. And I can do it again tomorrow, same
time. Keep talking about baseball. Keep talking
about the Barons. And it's a blessing. And I
thank you. I thank the city of Birmingham for
welcoming me in. to their kitchens and living
rooms for the last 33 years. And if you want
more, if you want more, go to KurtBloom .com
and there's more Jordan stuff there, more of
my other work and my teaching at Birmingham Southern
and all that stuff. So it's all there. But I
appreciate the opportunity, Dan, and I'm just
so glad that we could get together and knock
this thing out and, you know, be a part of the
fabric. You got it, Kurt. I want to real quick
before I forget, because these guys were important
to me in my short time at the Birmingham News,
but class of 2008, Reuben Grant, Birmingham Barron's
Hall of Fame, Ben Cook, what a presence, Ben
Cook. He was on radio with me, yeah. God rest
him. Wayne Martin. Wayne Martin is still alive
in Hall of Famer. I see his son Grant often.
At games basketball games always put in a good
word for Wayne Wayne and Ruben were kind of like
my Older uncles when I first started because
they were the beat riders for years before I
even got there So they took me under their wing
and we had a great time with those guys and one
great time I missed that missed those days a
lot Well, thanks for everything you do Kurt and
remember folks Kurt Bloom. That's see you rt
bloom .com Check out all corners that website
relive some of those moments It has been such
an honor having you on the show today, Kurt.
Well, Dan, thank you very much. And I would just
end it by saying bless you and bless your audience.
And thank you. Have a great day. All right, folks.
And remember, you always have a chance. No matter
what you're doing, if you're involved in baseball
or if you work as a mechanic somewhere, you are
important. You can make somebody's day. a little
brighter and you never know they might remember
it for 15 -16 years like I did thanks to Kurt.
Best of luck to you and we'll see you next Sunday
on the Dan Time Podcast. Thank you Kurt Bloom.