Baseball Journeys

John Werhas' baseball journey took him from cleaning the bleachers as a kid in Detrot to the sandlots of San Pedro, CA , to a national championship at USC and the opening day third-baseman of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1964. He would play 14 years of professional baseball...most of it in Triple A Spokane and Hawaii, with a brief stop in Japan. Trouble with the slider limited his success at the major league level, but these travels opened a door for a much higher calling as a pioneering sports Chaplain for several Southern California teams including the Dodgers, Angels, Rams and Lakers. John shares the ups and downs of chasing an elusive dream, only to find it once he gave it all up on a beach at Waikiki.

Enjoy Part 2 of the interview and reunion of high school teammates Lance Parrish and Dave Berry. Lance recounts the historic 1984 World Championship season in Detroit and his encounter with the brutal business side of baseball during the days of colusion against free agency. He and Dave also share about their common faith and family values. A bonus segment with Dave describes an incredible teenage experience with the Amazing Mets that made him a fan for life involving no fewer than three future Hall of Famers.

Mike reunites high school friends over 50 years after they played baseball together in the Southern Califorina of Walnut . Dave Berry went on to a successful career in the fire service. Lance Parrish was a number one draft pick of the Detroit Tigers and parlayed that into a 19-year Major League career that included eight all-star appearances, six SIlver Sluggers and a World Series Championship in 1984. These guys pick up where they left off, and catch up on the incredible baseball journey of one of the game's best.

One of the oldest living major leaguers chronicles his life in baseball in this episode. Don Ferrarese, a little left-hander with a huge heart and a wild and wicked curve carved out an impressive and inspiring career from his highschool all-star days in post-war Northern California to a ninth-inning show down with Mickey Mantle at Yankee Stadium in 1956. The 94-year old Ferrarese recalls a life in the game that connects Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Stan Musial with the dusty sand lots of Southern California's high desert. This is an amazing journey told by a special man who knows how fortunate he was to play the game and who spent a lifetime giving back to generations of aspiring ballplayers that came after him, including the Bell Boys.

The Bells Boys reconvene to settle a World Series whopper wager and discuss the Dodgers decision to deliver a DH in the diamond deal of the decade. A short session on Shohei to be sure.

The Bell Boys reunite for a "real-time" discussion of the post season and a recap of the 2023 regular season. Analysis, predictions and minor pontificating highlight this unique episode of Baseball Journeys as the brothers and Brad all come together for the first time this year to talk baseball. Find how who will win the high stakes World Series "Whoppers" wager and where the Boys believe Shohei Ohtani is headed for the 2024 season. The chat runs the gamut from Hall of Fame Minor League Mascot Tremor, the Savannah Bananas, Joey Votto's final Reds at bat (maybe) and foul ball failures. A long overdue, fast paced and fun session with the full cast from Baseball Journeys!

Baseball Journeys returns from a brief hiatus as Uncle Mike interviews longtime family friend Ryan Marks, a 28-year old baseball protege whose love of the game has been developed from a close family of lifetime Yankee fans, to an Ivy League career on the hallowed grounds of Lou Gehrig's alma mater to the offices of the Southern California corporate baseball world. This is a young man with an old baseball soul coupled with analytic acumen that helps ensure the game is in good hands for future generations of fans.

Mike and Scott conclude their conversation with the Reed family, brothers Jeremy and Mark and their dad Dennie. The Reeds make the transition from professional baseball players to Major and Minor League coaches. Along the way they find a passion for investing in others and work along side some of the greatest players managers and coaches in the game while never losing their strong family values and appreciation for the relationships their involvement in the game has brought their way.

Meet the Reed Family. The Bell Boys finally catch up with their life-long friends who share their baseball journey in the first of a two-part series. Jeremy and Mark Reed have made a career of professional baseball as players and coaches in the minor and major leagues. Their bond with their older brother and parents runs far deeper than the brickdust of a ballfield. Throughout the roller coaster ride of a baseball life their strength comes from their faith and their deep love for one another.

Rejoin the Bell Boys as they complete a two part interview with Andy Strasberg who realized a lifelong dream of working in Major League Baseball. Andy continues his special relationship with Roger Maris and his family and embarks on a long career in baseball that left a lasting impact on how we all experience the game.

Meet Andy Strasberg, a Bronx-born baseball fan who, in the early 1960's bucked the Mickey Mantle band wagon for his lesser known teammate Roger Maris which led to a lifelong friendship with the quiet home-run hitter and his family. Andy has told this and many other great stories from his life in baseball at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and many other venues across the country.

Author Brad Balukjian joins the Bell Boys to discuss his baseball journey tracking down the players he found in a single pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, including his all-time favorite, Phillies left-hander Don Carman. A college professor by trade, Brad ventured out in the summer of 2015 finding and speaking with most of the players in his pack of cards. He chronicled the adventure in the book, Wax Pack, a great baseball read which reminds us all that ballplayers are human like the rest of us, especially once the lights go out on the game of summer.

Join Baseball Journeys for Part two of Chad Zerbe's amazing career as he ascends the minor league ranks for the San Francisco Giants just time to be part of the 2002 World Series team where he not only gets into three games but comes away with a Game 5 victory. A very special guest joins Chad as he recounts his time with Dusty Baker's Giants.

Relive the emotional baseball journey of Chad Zerbe, a crafty left-handed pitcher from Florida who endured a nine-year minor league odyssey before realizing his dream of pitching in the big leagues for Dusty Baker's San Francisco Giants.

The Bell Boys, along with some special guests pay tribute to the legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully. Growing up in Southern California gave the boys an opportunity to listen to Vin night after night, forging deep and meaningful memories that have lasted a lifetime. So pull up a chair and recall your own Vinny memories with the Bell Boys.

Join the Stevens family; Dad, Nolan and Luke, as they describe an epic summer road trip that took them and their entire baseball team across the country to play in Iowa at the Field of Dreams and New York at the Cooperstown Dream Fields...a 27-day, 8000 mile journey they'll never forget.

For Dan Henley the game was literally in his DNA. His dad Gail was a baseball lifer as a player, scout and minor league manager. In a career that spanned 40 years, Dan etched his own legacy, playing with and for some legends of the game before leaving his imprint on generations of Southern California students and athletes in the classroom and on the field.

Take a trip back in time to post-war Cleveland, where a 13-year old farm girl sees the heroes she had only heard before, who, while on their way to the last World Series Championship the city has ever seen forged a story that left an indelible mark on the game and the country.

in Part 2, Connie has an epic encounter with the Boys of Summer at Vero Beach, a life changing detour courtesy of Uncle Sam, a great comeback in '61, then makes a decision that sets the course for realizing his true passion....along the way, he befriends hall-of-famers and bus-driving minor league managers, with a final defining moment on a ball field in Mexico City. You will never forget Connie Muñatones, the power-hitting prospect from East L.A.

Meet Conrad "Connie" Muñatones. Born in 1930's Aliso Village in East. L.A., he played ball at fabled Evergreen Park, Roosevelt High School and UCLA before becoming the first local Latino to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers after their move from Brooklyn in 1958. In Part 1 Connie recalls the impact of a coach and a community that shaped his early baseball journey and prepared him for many big moments on the diamond and in life.