In 2022, I read, enjoyed, and reviewed Michael J. Travis's first book, Celebrating Kansas Breweries.

In fact Michael was our very first guest here on the Expanded Edition of Inside the Cover.

It therefore goes without saying that I was extremely excited when Michael called to advise me of the publication of his second book, Kansas Baseball, and I am happy to report that he has hit a home run.

Kansas Baseball begins and ends in Wichita with a discussion of League 42, providing its history, goals, accomplishments, and struggles, including the heinous criminal desecration and theft of the Jackie Robinson statue, which unfortunately became an international news item.

As Travis writes, ‘League 42 and all it represents and honor is where the story must begin.

In honor of Jackie, his nine values, integrity, courage, excellence, commitment, citizenship, justice, persistence, determination, and teamwork are central to this book.

In between those first and last chapters, Travis shares information that illustrates and illuminates the significant connections between the game of baseball and the state of Kansas, based on his personal research and multiple interviews.

He has unearthed wonderful and impactful stories that come to life with his writing.

The baseball scoutin report on Michael is: ‘No speed.

Weak arm, good glove, strong with the stick.

The writing scouting report on Michael is as follows: Michael Travis writes with an infectious charm, sincerity and enthusiasm, and with a demonstrable appreciation and excitement for the opportunity to research and write about Kansas and baseball.

His longtime appreciation and love for the game of baseball shine through every page of the book.

Now living in Lawrence, this native New Englander came to Kansas in 1993, and he has clearly falle in love with his adopted state.

And his feelings of joy and pride for Kansas also resonate throughout his writing.

Tonight's book is Kansas Baseball by Michael J. Travis.

It is now time to go inside the cover.

Welcome back.

Michael.

It is so nice to have you with us again.

Thank you.

Ted.

I'm thrilled to be here.

Let's talk baseball.

Let's talk some baseball.

And that's a great way to start.

Why baseball and Kansas?

Well, you know, baseball because, my earliest childhood memories connect me with the game.

As you, saw as you turn the first few pages of the book, I talk about and reminisce about, you know, the ball field that was centered on our driveway which was our wiffle ball park.

So really, the story unfolds for me, as a youngster, just loving the game.

I had a Boston Red Sox team to follow, that was not very good, but I loved every ballplayer on the team.

In fact, I mimicked a lot of their batting stances when I played wiffle ball.

But to me, baseball was the connection with my dad, my brothers, my mom and my sister.

But it just, you know, it it hits the heart.

It's in the blood.

And it has been since day one when I first picked up, you know, a baseball in my glove and tried out for a little league team.

Well, and that's to me, Michael is one of the great, wonderful things about baseball is those family connections that many of us have.

And like you, for me it was my dad and I had a number of uncles who were baseball fans, baseball players, and pretty much the consensus in my family was the St. Louis Cardinals.

So, certainly I can identify with that backgroun love that generated this book.

But did you have any idea about Kansas baseball?

I did, but the lines became blurred pretty quickly.

You know, I had a sense, you know, as far as an outline of where I thought I wanted to go, the stories that I knew about tha I was kind of reconnecting with.

But I thin the beauty of this book journey, has been that I've met great people along the way that have been, doorkeepers.

So to speak and have opened doors to stories that I did not know about, did not anticipate.

And as I, you know, unearthed the story, whether it was about someone that's no longer with us or a story about someone who's present, it was, you know, another ‘oh, my God moment.

‘I need to share the story.

So I think you know wha I have found on the early part of this book, journey with events, is tha there are so many more stories that could be told, you know?

And I think that's the beauty of, of, you know, writing the story, but also knowing that people are coming to m and sharing stories they have.

Well, and once again, our dialogue, it really seems to flow, Michael, because as you know, I recently finished this book about the Chicago Cubs, by Rich Cohen and in reading it-- and of course, every baseball fan knows the double play combination of Tinker to Evers to Chance.

Heard about it and knew about it pretty much forever.

I did not know that Mr. Tinker was from Muscotah, Kansas.

Correct.

And we've also talke about Elden Auker among others.

When we talked about Tinker, you said, ‘yes, I was aware, but wasn't able to work him in.

How did you make those decisions about who you talk about and who you don't?

You know, I think, you know, for me, what I identified with and connected the most with, you know, just, emotionally, were, the defining moments of wher I was going to go with the book.

Joe Tinker was on the radar.

In fact, he was in my initial outline.

A chapter, and I have a book that I bough about Joe that I did not crack because I had as I said earlier, door keepers that open doors to stories that I did not anticipate.

So I think that's the beauty of it, too.

I had, you know, my journey kind of outline, but the journey took some wonderful turns, left and right that I think made the book richer.

Well, and one of the things I think is special about you, Michael, as a person and as a writer is your rapport you develop with the people you're talking to.

And that was very clear in your craft breweries book how you made so many friendships.

So I can certainly understand, as you were going in the doors that were being open for you, how that had to have been a roadmap for where you ended up.

Absolutely.

And I know from our prior discussions that you are a road warrior.

Any idea how many miles that you put on your vehicle for this book?

Oh, I would say 20% of what I put on for the first book.

You know, I remind our audience how many miles?

5000 miles I, you know, I decided tha no story could be touched once when I was writing the beer book.

So living in Lawrence, I didn't hesitate to drive to Dodge City.

Hutchinson.

Areas like that with frequency.

But with this book, I think it was more the, number of pages turned, and the number of screen I looked at.

And I'm saying that becaus there was so much more research involved in this book than with Celebrating Kansas Breweries.

You know, and, and to me, I loved the opportunities in this book where I was able to meet people and have them basically help write the stories.

But the beauty of and the joy of researching, I tried to find those nuggets, you know, like in Walter Johnson's story with his presidential tosses, where I'd find classic, beautiful writing from sports writers back in the day that I thought really put the kind of the heartbeat behind the page.

Why did League 42 resonate with you so clearly?

You know, I'm going to flip to a page.

I think I'm just going to read something.

And this is really where the connection came.

So in my acknowledgments I have a short paragraph.

Short sentence actually.

‘To Lenny, Jim, Steve, rusty, Frankie and Tony, Andy, Paul Dave, Kevin, Joey and Charlie.

Thank yo for creating the great sandlot baseball memories of our Little League days in Andover.

So when I first-- And that' Andover, Massachusetts, by way.

Yes, not Andover, Kansas.

When I first ventured onto the fields at McAdams Park, all those guys and gals, Anne, Charlie, Tony, Frankie, they were there with me, and I could hear.

I could literally hea and almost feel us on the field through these new youngsters that were taking the field.

Wonderful, man.

You know, just the the chants were the same.

The, you know, the the calls from the dugout, from the coach, you know brought me right back into time.

So League 42 to be, you know, is is the starting point for this book because those who love baseball, that's really where it starts in your childhood.

And I thought it was important to ground us and remind us of why we love baseball as much as we do.

It's because of those childhood memories, and it's because of the opportunity.

Whether you're watching a son, a daughter, grandson, granddaughter, you know, you there's so muc joy in being, you know, leaning against a chain link fenc and watching a ballgame unfold.

Exactly.

It really, really does resonate.

And by the way, did you see that Bob Lutz has been voted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame?

Well-deserved.

You know, it's well-deserved.

I, I fell in love with the story about League 42.

I love everything that Bob and all his volunteer and his organization are doing.

It's more than a game as you know.

The way Bob views League 42.

It is more than a game.

It is a social phenomena, really.

And of course, Bob is also a Cardinals fan.

Were you familiar with Jackie Robinson value prior to getting into the book?

Not as deeply as I am today.

I have been drawn to Jacki since I became a baseball fan, but when I first walked into McAdams Park and into the pavilion where the new Jackie Robinso Stand statue now stands proudly.

I was drawn to the banners that surround Jackies statue and the banners all tied to the nine values.

And as I-- it just reinforced, I think, the importance and the beauty of what Jackie did.

You know, again, it was more than the game that he was involved in.

I mean, it was life changing.

Well, it was for our country.

It was.

And, well, it's clearly one of the most significant thing to take place in this country.

And amazingly, on a baseball diamond.

Yes.

Michael, the book has 12 chapters and there is so much information in every chapter.

Are they presented in a particular way?

I would say that's a great question, Ted.

I did not want to make the book, chronological.

So, you know, I knew as I really started connecting the common thread, you know, that braided cord through the entire book that it had to start and end with League 42.

You know, and I thought, you know, the the greatest Kansas ball player that we have was one of the first five inaugurated into Hall of Fame.

So Walter had to be early in the book.

But, you know, as I kind of played out the cadence, you know, I have a chapter, as you know, about three wonderful women that were pioneers or are pioneers in the game of baseball.

And, it's a more contemporary story, but I wanted that really in the heart, the center of the book, because to me, having two daughters their stories resonated with me.

And I'm proud to see, you know, the the trails, they're blazing.

So, I did not want to g the normal way and make it just a historical mindset chronologically.

I wanted to have a few surprises.

The story, Ted, that initially kind of drew me into thinking about the Kansa baseball story is about someone Bubba Starling, Derek Starling, who you know, I think, you know, is, if not the best high school athlete we've ever seen in the state of Kansas, one of the tops.

And what I his story was, I was just drawn to it because with Bubba, he came out of high school, you know, signed one of the largest contracts ever and had eight years of toil, and pain and, you know, it wasn't, a glorious eight years for him.

Bubb accomplished so much in my mind.

You know, an and just in the journey itself.

I mean, he refused to quit, although there were several times wher he seriously thought about it.

But he kept at it.

It was a grind.

And he finally had his you know, his moment at the K. Well, and again determination, persistence.

Yes.

You know, there's so much to talk about, Michael and time goes so quickly.

But I wanted to follow u a little bit on Jackie Robinson.

Because you have a chapter about African-America baseball players, from Kansas.

And why was that important?

Because, you know, these athletes, their story is integral to the story of baseball.

You know, and this is where I found a couple stories that I did not anticipate.

Actually, that entire chapter I would tell you was, you know, a discovery through connections.

In that chapter, you know, I start with the Wichita Monrovians, you know, who were a barnstorming black team back in the 1920s who actually played a ball game at Ackerman Park.

No longer here, but, you know, a great part of history in baseball in this in the city of Wichita.

They played a Klan team, you know and they resoundingly beat them, which I was very pleased to unearth as I did my research.

George Sweatt you know, a kid from Humboldt.

I was thinking he was also from Humboldt.

Yes.

Six years.

Walter Johnson's junior.

But they shared the same town.

And George has a great story, you know, and did some amazing things and kind of first stops for the Kansas City Monarchs and then finally landing with Bobby Boyd, who is one of my favorite stories in the book, Bobby was, you know, he wa a pioneer trailblazer as well.

He was the first black to b signed by the Chicago White Sox.

Five years.

From Kansas.

Yes.

Well, originall from Mississippi, but his roots, came back to Wichita, where he played and wo three championships in the NBC.

You know, and his family proudly, proudly lives here, and celebrates what Bobby did.

You know, day in and day out.

And I was very proud to be able to tell his story.

Well, it comes through in the book.

You really connected with his family.

Daughter, granddaughter, I think And that.

That was really special.

Yes.

Now, I'd be remiss here that you have a chapter on Wichita State baseball.

And, of course, when you think Wichita State baseball, you think of Gene Stephenson.

Tell us, how that chapter developed.

You know again, doors opened for me.

Ted.

I had, I had a breakfast with, a coach that, was a pitching coach under Gene for years.

Gene recruite him, to become a pitching coach when Brent Kemnitz was, I think, 21.

And over breakfast and having an opportunity to meet Brent.

A very colorful coach.

He opened the doors to Gene by simply taking a selfie in the parking lot and sending it to Gene, saying, ‘This guy's the real deal.

Give him some time.

So I was really fortunate to be invited down to Gene's home and was greeted by Gene and Jana.

You know, it was a little.

Who is also baseball royalty because she's the daughter Dick Howser of the Kansas City Royals.

So I was intimidated walking into their household.

But after five hours of being immersed in conversation with Gene-- with Coach-- in his, celebration of all things Wichita State University shockers, I walked away, you know, and I would tell you, quite frankly, probably with the favorite story that I was able to put together, because what I saw in Coach Stephenson was a range of emotions, which I think are so indicative, to the journey in baseball.

You know, very few people that play the game are so blessed that they jump from high school or, you know, college straight into the bigs.

And, you know, I think seeing what Coach Stephenson went through from building, you know a team, that is historical today.

From ground zero where he had nothing.

Was pretty remarkable.

It is.

It's a great story.

And, I'm so glad to learn that Gene has reconnected bac with the university and is back supporting the Shockers as-- because the Shockers, I'd say the Shockers and baseball are in Gene's heart.

And so it's goo to make that connection again.

You have a chapter on women in baseball and Alex Hugo, a woman who, starting in high school to college to and professional, has such a great connection with baseball.

But there's a I just love the photograph of her on page 81 of your book where she's a Georgia Bulldog.

If I could interject real quick, I just want to do a quick aside on Alex.

I know we're not going to delve too deeply into her, but for the listeners, Alex Hugo, who, you know, played softball at an All-American level and then became the captain of the USA Women's National baseball team and is a roving instructor for the Sacramento A's, she just announced And that's part of this chapter about the women who are blazing the trails, there will be a professional women's baseball league in 2026.

Wow.

Six teams, northeast centered.

But Alex is hosting al the tryouts around the country.

Wow.

So, you know, I think-- You've heard it here on Inside the Cover.

Yes.

So keep that in mind as you rea the stories about these women.

Thats exciting.

That Alex's journey and trajectory trajectory continue to just go towards the moon.

In your book, you mentioned two of my favorite authors, David Von Drehle, who we've done his book here on our show, and Joe Posnanski who's a great baseball writer.

How di they become involved with you?

You know, it's a great story because that is one chapter that we I landed with that I did not have on the radar.

And shame on me.

So, I come from the book industry.

I've been in the book industry the last couple of years, as you know, and had opportunitie both to meet David Von Drehle, who is a neighbor of Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kansas.

Okay.

And also had the opportunity to host Joe Posnanski two times for book events in Kansas City.

And knowing, like you said, you know, their their pedigree and their standing, they opened the doors or gave me a chance to kind of reach out and say, ‘hey, take a look at my baseball outline.

This is a book I' going to go on my journey with.

Any comments?

And they both came back in rather emotional fashion in a shared email and said, ‘oh my God, you cannot write this book without a chapter about Bill James.

And I was rather embarrassed because Bill James has been someone that has kind of shaped and influenced, you know, my thinking and m reading, since the, early 80s.

Well, and that gives me the opportunity because this book by, Mr. Cohen that I referenced earlier, this is a quote, he mentions Bill James, ‘the baseball historian, the man who invented the new stats that yielded the new understanding of the game.

Now, to me that not only is true, but very powerful.

And I, I think I recall, Michael, you did not have the chance to interview James.

I did not.

And you know what's striking, just had a recent even where I was meeting folks and, you know, again, having some great baseball conversations and this, you know, young man, big baseball fan came up and bought a book and he said, ‘you know, you wrote about Bill James.

We just had we just went to a KU baseball game with him.

And part of me internally was like, ‘oh my goodness, I would love to be able to, you know, have a chance to get in front of him.

So no, I didn't, but I felt like I got to know him.

There's a great biography about Bill that I just thoroughly enjoyed reading.

And when you read Bill James writing, it's like he's talking directly to you.

You know, I'm a baseball nerd.

I think you are as well.

And, you know, there's a classic I want to share something with you, Ted, that to me, thi really kind of epitomizes Bill.

You know, this is in his 1983 Baseball Abstract, whic I've had since, my college days.

‘Hi.

My name is Bill James, and I'm an eccentric.

If you don't believe I'm an eccentric, just go to the library and look me up.

The reason that I'm an eccentric is I spend all of my time analyzing baseball games.

Well, not all of my time.

I have a wife to neglect, but most of all my time, I count all kinds of stuff that lots of people are sort of interested in, but nobody in his right mind would actually bother to count.

I devise theories to explain how things in baseball are connected to one another.

Once a year, I gather all my notebooks together, translate the work that I've done into English.

God knows what language was in, ‘lash it into some semblance of an organized pattern, I require the help o two editors to accomplish this and give it to my wife.

She types it up or something and sends it off to my publisher.

This is called the Baseball Abstract.

Interesting.

So that really kind of captures his energy.

You know, he's he's captivating.

You know, when-- He lives in Lawrence, right?

He lives outside of Lawrence, but he went to KU, you know, and got three degrees.

Well, and we really cannot minimize the impact that this man had on baseball.

Certainly major League baseball.

You know, you look at Bill Beane, I think of the Athletics.

There are certainly others.

You mentioned some of the people who use his statistics, as a part of their management of baseball and it's, really quite impressive.

Now, Ted, you've you've kind of called out the Cardinals twice, and I haven't had a chance to kind of throw back the Red Sox at you.

But I do want to share kind of tied to that.

So Bill James was hired by John Henry in 2003 to be an advisor to the Boston Red Sox.

They won their first World Series.

Don't go there.

One year later, and Bill had influence o some of the baseball decisions that impacted, you know, the team.

So, you know, he he he changed the way a lot of people think about the game.

And he, you know, and he proved that a lot of his ways of looking at the game, could impact, you know, smart, baseball decisions, i.e.

what happened with the Boston Red Sox.

Michael, time is out.

Been a great conversation.

I hope you know how much I enjoy talking to you about your books.

And certainly reading your books.

So thanks again for being back on Expanded Inside the Cover.

I'm honored to be here.

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen that's another, show, expanded edition of Inside the Cover tonight, we've had the pleasure of meeting with Michael J. Travis to talk about his newest book, Kansas Baseball.

I recommend it to you highly.

And we look forward to our next opportunity to be with you again here on an expanded edition of Inside the Cover.

Good night.