My First Ballgame with Bryan Hoch

Episode 5: Pete Caldera

April 25, 2022 Bryan Hoch Season 1 Episode 5
My First Ballgame with Bryan Hoch
Episode 5: Pete Caldera
Show Notes

We are joined by Pete Caldera, who leads dual lives as the New York Yankees beat reporter for The Record of New Jersey and an evening performer, singing swingin' Frank Sinatra standards at a variety of New York City cigar bars and nightclubs. Pete brings us to Shea Stadium on August 9, 1974 for the Mets' 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, a game played just hours after Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency. We'll discuss being a Mets fan in the 1970s, the heartbreak of the Tom Seaver trade, getting an autograph from the famous "Shea Stadium Sign Man," seeing Pete Rose and the Big Red Machine in person, and of course, we invite Pete to give the starting lineup with the world's greatest Bob Murphy impression.  Pete also discusses the joy of covering a 12-year-old Bryan Hoch in a 1994 Little League game for the Rockland Journal-News.