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Mike and Carlos Figueroa talk on Father’s Day from their “park bench” perspective, reflecting on Carlos’s late father and how youth baseball has changed from inexpensive local leagues to costly, professionalized travel ball. They reminisce about St. Louis Park Little League memories, including injuries from hit batters, a city championship run, pitching limits, and the importance of catchers and infield communication. Their conversation explores baseball’s sounds and language (including the origin of “can of corn”), dugout and field chatter, taunting rules, and how pitchers and catchers call games, contrasting past intuition with modern analytics. They discuss parent behavior as a major problem in youth sports, and relate perseverance to being “on the one-yard line.” They plan to record at the old ballpark, revisit St. Louis Park in 2026, and launch a baseball-focused spinoff podcast, “Square Box Baseball,” based on a Latin American saying about baseball’s unpredictability.

00:00 Park Bench Intro
00:36 Fathers Day Talk
01:42 Remembering Dads
01:55 Kids Sports Then Now
02:49 Little Gophers Memories
03:42 Baseball Sounds Origins
04:56 Chants Taunts Rules
05:58 Voices From The Stands
06:48 Scary Hit By Pitch
08:19 City Champs Glory Days
10:33 Pitch Counts Big Games
14:21 Cinderella Man Lesson
16:52 New Baseball Spinoff
17:56 Square Box Baseball
19:21 Can Of Corn Explained
20:49 Dugout Chatter Deep Dive
21:39 Dugout Chatter Jokes
22:50 Calling Pitches Debate
23:56 Catcher Trust And Gameplan
24:49 Reading Hitters Then Now
27:00 Hitting And Guessing
30:02 Look Alive Field Talk
32:48 Taunting And First Base Stories
34:29 Parents Ruin Youth Ball
39:01 Town Ball Home Run Tale
41:04 Wrap Up And Podcast Plans

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Park Bench Perspectives - Episode 16: Beek's Pizza, Babe Ruth Baseball, and The White Shadow

Episode Summary: In this episode of Park Bench Perspectives, hosts Carlos Figueroa and Mike Hammer welcome a very special guest to the bench: their lifelong friend from St. Louis Park, Joe Riley. Take a trip down memory lane as the trio swaps hilarious and heartwarming stories about growing up in the 1970s and 80s, the drama of youth sports, and the enduring camaraderie of childhood friendships.

Key Topics Discussed:

The St. Louis Park Bubble: Joe shares his memories of shifting between grade schools (Park Knoll to Aquilla) and his eventual, reluctant transfer to Benilde High School, which ultimately opened his eyes to a wider world beyond their hometown.

Growing Pains & Pizza: The guys laugh about their early days as "giant" kids bonding over all-you-can-eat 99-cent deals at Beek's Pizza, and the hilarious revelation that both Carlos and Hammer dated the same girl several years apart.

Babe Ruth Baseball Drama: A deep dive into the highs and lows of their youth baseball all-star team. They recall the coaching tension between Brian Hartman and Hammer's dad, the agony of a championship loss to Edina where Joe made the final out at third base, and the lasting connections born in the dugout.

Life Lessons on the Diamond: Hammer shares the funny, unconventional advice his dad gave him to calm his nerves during high-pressure games: "Remember Lee Trevino".

Pop Culture Nostalgia: The guys discuss which TV shows and movies best capture their youth, drawing comparisons to Dazed and Confused, That '70s Show, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Stranger Things. They also shout out Steve Rushin's nostalgic book about 1970s Bloomington, Stingray Afternoons.

Be sure to stick around to the end to hear a teaser for Joe and Carlos's other podcast, Forgotten Television, where Hammer might just make a future guest appearance as his childhood moniker, "The White Shadow"!

00:00 Podcast Introduction
01:02 Meeting Joe Reilly
01:51 Growing Up in St Louis Park
02:40 School Transitions and Friendships
04:14 The Pizza Eating Contest
05:27 First Party Memories
06:31 The Shelly R Story
07:48 Coach Mikey Gavron
08:39 Going to Benilde
09:28 Eighth Grade Geography Class
10:46 The Benilde Decision
11:58 Babe Ruth Baseball Finals
13:09 Home Run Memories
15:10 Brian Hartman's Hockey Story
15:42 Coaching Dynamics and Dad Managers
16:38 Mike's Coaching Experience
17:38 NBA Playoffs Discussion
17:57 Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Talk
19:25 NBA Salaries and Contracts
19:56 Babe Ruth Baseball Memories
20:37 Sports Building Character
21:20 Dad's Coaching Philosophy
21:49 Lee Trevino Pep Talk
22:33 Lasting Friendships from Sports
24:19 Random Airport Encounter
26:08 Benilde School Experience
27:39 Embarrassing Basketball Game
28:29 Steve Rushin's Books
29:29 Movies That Captured Youth
31:38 Wrapping Up the Bench

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In this episode of Park Bench Perspectives, hosts Mike and Carlos welcome a special guest to the bench: Mike’s older sister, Michelle. Bringing her "older sister female perspective" to the show, Michelle joins the conversation while recovering from a broken tibia after slipping in the shower, an injury that currently has her miserably confined to a straight-leg boot for six weeks.

The trio swaps hilarious and intense stories about dealing with unruly crowds at live events. Michelle shares a memorable post-divorce anecdote where she pinned a harassing "troll" against a column at a Tom Petty concert at the Target Center and threatened to have her brother put a hit on him. Not to be outdone, Mike recounts his own near-brawls with shushing audience members at a Simon & Garfunkel concert and a performance of The Lion King. They also discuss the varying intensity of sports fans across different NFL stadiums.

The conversation then takes a nostalgic turn into Minnesota Twins baseball. Michelle shares her deep love for the game, describing baseball as a "romantic sport" defined by the smell of the grass and the crack of the bat. She also expresses her lingering frustration that her father made her pitch in softball instead of letting her play Little League because she was a girl. The group reminisces about the magical 1987 and 1991 World Series championships and the shared pain of being a Minnesota sports fan.

Finally, they revisit their high school years in St. Louis Park, discussing the awkwardness of prom dates, Sadie Hawkins dances, and the stark differences between how teenage boys and girls communicate and process relationships due to their developing frontal lobes.

The episode concludes with an exciting tease for next week: the hosts plan to take the show on the road and record from a physical park bench somewhere in St. Louis Park.

00:00 Welcome to the Bench
01:22 Special Guest Michelle Hammer
01:48 The Shower Incident
02:45 Setting the Record Straight
05:12 Tom Petty Concert Confrontation
08:46 Simon and Garfunkel Rumble
09:54 Lion King Theater Drama
12:00 Sports Fan Encounters
15:04 Growing Up Baseball
17:27 Women in Baseball
18:09 The Romance of Baseball
20:23 Minnesota Sports Heartbreak
21:47 Building Championship Teams
22:56 High School Prom Memories
25:58 School Dance Traditions
27:08 Gender Differences Growing Up
29:18 Summer Recovery Plans
33:13 Future Show Plans

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