Ball Talk

Dan Schlossberg was managing editor of Ball Talk, a pilot for a syndicated weekly radio baseball show with co-hosts Jay Johnstone and Bob Ibach. The program, all about baseball, put the listeners inside the clubhouses and front offices, up close and personal with the movers and shakers of the baseball world. The hosts not only covered the three major markets of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but also covered the baseball spectrum, appealing to the widest possible spectrum of baseball fans while blending the viewpoints of a player with 20+ years of experience, a historian, and a former front-office figure who has seen the machinations of the game from the inside:

Dan Schlossberg: Author of 40 books and more than 25,000 articles about baseball, has created and hosted sports talk radio/TV, coordinated baseball theme cruises, and written preseason magazines. A popular after-dinner speaker at corporate events and long-time writer of baseball card biographies, he has contributed articles to the official World Series and All-Star programs, team publications, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, Bill Mazeroski’s Baseball, and the Encyclopedia Americana Annual. He also served as baseball editor for Legends Sports Memorabilia and The Rookie Review.  The author of “The 300 Club” (2010), Baseball Bits (2008), and Baseball Gold (2007), Schlossberg also co-authored baseball autobiographies of Hank Aaron, Ron Blomberg (the first DH), and broadcaster Milo Hamilton in 2006.

Bob Ibach:  A one-time executive with the Chicago Cubs, has had a hand in baseball since his days as a sportswriter for the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and Philadelphia Journal.  He had more than three decades of comprehensive experience in sports journalism, public and media relations, sports marketing, promotions, and publications management.  The four-time author also hosted a Baltimore radio show with Nick Charles.

Jay Johnstone:  For 20 years in the big leagues, he kept teammates entertained with uninhibited clubhouse antics.  But he was also a fine left-handed hitter who played for eight different teams, including the Yankees and Cubs.  An outfielder who first came up
with the Angels, Johnstone later homered in the World Series for the Dodgers.  After hanging up his spikes, “Crazy Jay” became a baseball broadcaster and parlayed his memoirs into four books, including Over the Edge, Temporary Insanity, and Some of My Best Friends Are Crazy.

What made these hosts different?   Unlike most of his press-box colleagues, Dan Schlossberg has no interest in any sport beyond baseball and had never even seen a Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, Indy 500, or NBA Playoff.  As a result, his concentration on and knowledge of baseball is total, undivided, and unchallenged.  Jay Johnstone definitely moves to the beat of a different drummer, admitting to a myriad of stunts and practical jokes in his three hysterical books (he once waited in the Dodger Stadium hot dog line in full uniform).  And Bob Ibach has sampled sports for many unique vantage points, as journalist, author, broadcast commentator, publications chief, and media relations director.