The Past Blast was a brief segment that highlighted events in baseball history from the year that matched the episode number. It ran from Episode 1856 to Episode 2023, after which the segment was replaced with the Future Blast.
The name is a pun on the long-running Stat Blast segment.
The Past Blast segment did not have a name when it began in Episode 1856. Listeners offered a number of suggestions, and Ben chose the name "Past Blast", introducing it in Episode 1861.
Nineteenth century[]
Past Blast information through the year 1901 was provided by baseball historian Richard Hershberger, author of Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball.
| Ep | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1856 | First recorded stolen base attempt |
| 1857 | Ungentlemanly shenanigans from fans |
| 1858 | Baseball as a public nuisance |
| 1859 | First recorded hidden ball trick |
| 1860 | Is the force removed when a trailing runner is put out? |
| 1861 | The definition of a home run |
| 1862 | Exploiting the rule over when a ball becomes live |
| 1863 | Runners must touch bases in order to "make" them |
| 1864 | Intentionally dropping an infield fly (legal) |
| 1865 | Objection to the growing popularity of sliding |
| 1866 | Refusing the newly-introduced "base on balls" |
| 1867 | Proposal to exclude black teams from the league |
| 1868 | Baseball is dying |
| Definition of a "hit" | |
| 1868* | Philadelphia fans boo the Athletics upon return from a 18-1 road trip |
| 1869 | Female fans behaving scandalously |
| 1870 | Catcher foul tip to the face (leading to masks) |
| 1871 | National Association becomes a professional-only league |
| 1872 | Intentionally dropping an infield fly (becomes illegal) |
| 1873 | Cliché-filled baseball player interview |
| 1874 | "Home run" from fair-foul hit |
| 1875 | Including number of at-bats in official statistics |
| 1876 | Praise for defensive shifting |
| 1877 | Proving that curve balls curve |
| 1878 | Confusion over whether a triple play was unassisted |
| 1879 | Establishing batting order and who starts each half-inning |
| 1880 | First perfect game |
| 1881 | Cutting past third base when the umpire isn't looking |
| 1882 | Shipwrecked sailors reportedly playing baseball |
| 1883 | A paean to boys watching baseball |
| 1884 | Invention of the left-hand catcher's glove |
| 1885 | Obstacles to getting a lefty pitcher for platoon advantage |
| 1886 | Proposal to remove "errors" as a stat (proto-"range factor") |
| 1887 | First lawsuit filed by fan for injury from foul ball |
| 1888 | Watering the field to make it unplayable |
| Proposal to skip pitchers in batting order | |
| 1889 | Runner fails to touch first base on walk-off hit (proto-Merkel's Boner) |
| 1890 | Teams cutting expenses |
| 1891 | Manager obsession with stealing opponent's signs |
| Suggestion to put player names on jerseys | |
| 1892 | First known government subsidy to attract a baseball team |
| The profitability of running the concessions stand | |
| 1893 | Pitchers doctoring the ball |
| 1894 | A condemnation of bunting to advance the runner |
| 1895 | The last player to decline to wear a glove |
| 1896 | Attempt to adapt baseball for indoor play |
| Letters about the great "Doctor" Pond | |
| 1897 | First recorded knuckleball |
| Player doesn't have time to don uniform, plays outfield in bathrobe | |
| 1898 | Players revolting over poor food at training camp |
| 1899 | British journalist praises booing the umpire as free speech |
| 1900 | Semi-pro team hires future Hall of Fame pitcher as ringer, dominates hitters |
| 1901 | New "American League" baseball league |
* Past Blast provided in non-matching episode.
Early twentieth century[]
Past Blast information for the years 1902 to 1960 was provided by Jacob Pomrenke, baseball historian and SABR Director of Editorial Content.
| Ep | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1902 | The only time two deaf players faced each other in a major league game |
| 1903 | Police unable to contain overflow crowds at the 1903 World Series |
| *Player who died at third base and was carried home to score (debunked) | |
| 1904 | The Colored Base Ball Championship |
| 1905 | Ball hits glove left on field by batting team |
| 1906 | Pitcher demands more pay for being used as a position player on his off days |
| 1907 | Chicago Cubs play an exhibition game after their grandstand burns |
| *"Unglaub Arc" proposal to restrict outfielder positioning | |
| 1908 | Requiring managers to submit lineups ahead of game time |
| 1909 | Teams hiring a scout to travel the country looking for talent |
| 1910 | Proposal to eliminate the mound and impose pitcher roster limits |
| 1911 | Spitballer Ed Walsh delights fans |
| 1912 | Stress of being player-manager and part owner |
| 1913 | Boardwalk Brown walks 15 batters and still gets the win |
| 1914 | Player served with legal papers during a game to prevent him from playing |
| 1915 | Proposal that players fund pensions for retired players |
| 1916 | Manager accuses players of throwing games |
| 1917 | Predicting modern pitch design |
| 1918 | Babe Ruth walk-off homer counted as triple because winning run was on first |
| 1919 | Black Sox scandal |
| 1920 | How baseball scandals break only when someone on the inside confesses |
| 1921 | The last 9-game World Series |
| 1922 | Owners attack attempt to create players union |
| 1923 | Baseball writers upset at live radio broadcasts |
| 1924 | Phillies fans reputations for ungentlemanly heckling and booing |
| 1925 | AL president asks for baseball to be put under government control |
| *President pulls boner: Coolidge stands in wrong half of seventh inning | |
| 1926 | The first World Series no-hitter, in the Negro Leagues |
| 1927 | Proposals to keep standings and game opponents secret |
| 1928 | Mockery of NL president proposal for what we today call the DH |
| 1929 | Sharp decline in stolen bases attributed to increased presence of umpires |
| 1930 | "Ladies' Days" free ticket promotion is too successful |
| *Former player shows of eating half a steak in a single bite and chokes to death | |
| 1931 | One skeptic's thoughts on night baseball |
| 1932 | Owners strip Commissioner Landis of powers to block player movement |
| 1933 | Rumors that the St. Louis Browns or Cardinals may move to Montreal |
| 1934 | Early baseball analysis quantifying the benefit of scoring first |
| 1935 | *On-deck batter hits live ball in play for a home run |
| *Dizzy Dean pitches for both sides in an exhibition game and earns both W and L | |
| Giants fans threaten to boycott until a better team is rostered | |
| *Umpire fined for ejecting three Cubs players from a World Series game | |
| 1936 | The introduction of a postseason in the minor leagues |
| 1937 | Branch Rickey considers using try-out camps to replace scouting |
| 1938 | Winter Meeting player-trading games |
| 1939 | Writer argues that the Hall of Fame should include oddities, like Fred Merkle |
| 1940 | Pining for more creative ballpark advertisement signs |
| 1941 | Fears that Lefty Grove may be the last 300-win pitcher |
| 1942 | Fans booing a batter who took advantage of a pitcher's injured leg |
| *FDR says it is in the country's interest to keep playing baseball despite the war | |
| 1943 | Horrifically bad umpire in the All-American Girls Softball League |
| 1944 | Phillies briefly adopt "Blue Jays" nickname |
| 1945 | Negro Leagues object to their best players being poached |
| 1946 | Player opinions on the easiest defensive position |
| 1947 | Larry Doby becomes the first black player in the AL |
| 1948 | Braves consider adding a railroad station to boost attendance |
| 1949 | Dodgers' innovative gadgets in training camp |
| 1950 | St. Louis Browns hire a psychologist/hypnotist to improve players |
| 1951 | The only three-team doubleheader in the 20th century |
| 1952 | Bill Veeck's attempt to break high-revenue teams' stranglehold on minor leaguers |
| 1953 | Commissioner issues futile warning against players gambling |
| 1954 | Cubs owner says the sport should try to expand its appeal to the suburbs and seniors |
| 1955 | NL requires batting helmets, and fears that pitchers will throw more aggressively |
| 1956 | Jackie Robinson almost traded to Giants, Willie Mays excited at opportunity |
| 1957 | Dodgers hire clown mascot in unsuccessful bid to boost attendance |
| 1958 | Reds threaten to move to New York to extract concessions from government |
| 1959 | Broadcasters introduce then remove center field camera over sign-stealing concerns |
| 1960 | NL announces expansion in 1962, AL counters by deciding to expand in 1961 |
* These Past Blasts were provided by people other than Jacob Pomrenke.
Late twentieth century[]
Past Blast information for the years 1961 to 2023 was provided by David Lewis, architectural historian and baseball researcher.
| Ep | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1961 | Proposal to re-legalize the spitball to dampen offense |
| 1962 | The last Negro Leagues All-Star game |
| 1963 | MLB invests in six-week college baseball season |
| 1964 | Owners restore the commissioner's absolute power over baseball |
| 1965 | Bill Veeck's second book The Hustler's Handbook well-received |
| 1966 | Oakland has a stadium, hoping to lure a team |
| 1967 | Experimental AL rule to allow a pitch hitter to appear twice in a game |
| 1968 | Proposal to relax penalty for caught stealing |
| 1969 | Baseball is dying (again) |
| 1970 | Charlie Finley proposes gold-painted bases to incentivize baserunners |
| 1971 | Charlie Finley's experiment to lower a walk to three strikes to speed up the game |
| 1972 | The Boys of Summer published |
| 1973 | A Florida State League tries three-team doubleheaders |
| 1974 | Writer argues that a computer manage the Dodgers better than Walter Alston |
| 1975 | Indiana high schools introduce their version of the designated hitter |
| 1976 | White Sox wearing uniforms with shorts |
| 1977 | Roger Angell's book Five Seasons |
| 1978 | Teachers invent "math baseball" to get kids interested in math |
| 1979 | Willie Mays banned from baseball for being employed by a casino |
| 1980 | Sports writer suggestion for an annual "gimmick game" |
| 1981 | Government-owned baseball teams |
| 1982 | Writer decries experimental technologies such as pitcher/catcher communications |
| 1983 | Umpires demand that stadium scoreboard not show replays of controversial calls |
| 1984 | Writer argues for baseball history to be added to school curricula |
| 1985 | George Plimpton's April Fool hoax profile of Mets pitching phenom "Sidd Finch" |
| 1986 | Pirates go high-tech, hiring a doctor to train players in visualizing success |
| 1987 | Cricketer given a spring training tryout by the Phillies |
| 1988 | Experimental interleague play in AAA, which lasted four years |
| 1989 | Economics professor quantifies how statistics affect player salaries |
| 1990 | White Sox "Turn Back the Clock" promotion |
| 1991 | Breakaway bases as a safety measure |
| 1992 | Fans surveyed about expanded postseason and other changes |
| 1993 | Japanese experimental "attack points" system for games tied after 10 innings |
| 1994 | Owners reduce commissioner's powers (previously restored in 1964) |
| 1995 | Former NL and Negro League player Sam Jethroe sues MLB for pension payments |
| 1996 | MLB officially changes the size of the strike zone, but nobody listens |
| 1996* | Oakland A's play MLB games in Las Vegas (belatedly reported in episode 1997) |
| 1997* | Radical realignment proposal to split the leagues east/west by geography |
| 1998 | Kids write about why baseball is the national pastime |
| 1999 | Musician Garth Brooks joins the Padres for spring training and even starts a game |
| 2000 | Studying whether the increase in home runs is due to changes to the ball |
| 2001 | Owners vote to contract by two teams |
| 2002 | Writer wonders whether using steroids is cheating |
| 2003 | MLB considers expanding to Puerto Rico, Expos unhappy to play home games there |
| 2004 | MLB reconsiders putting advertisements on bases |
| 2005 | Batters must keep one foot in the batter's box, to speed up games |
| 2006 | Rockies using video iPods to let players review footage |
| 2007 | Fans jockeying to catch Barry Bonds's record-setting homer |
| 2008 | Initial version of replay review for boundary calls (home run, fair/foul) |
| 2009 | Video iPods used at lower levels for instructional purposes |
| 2010 | Winter Meetings trade show filled with all sorts of gadgets |
| 2011 | NCAA deadens bats to combat the rise in offense |
| 2012 | High-tech cooling vests for umpires on hot days |
| 2013 | Home plate collision rule |
| 2014 | Many new rules being tested in the Arizona Fall League to reduce game times |
| 2015 | Ben and Sam run a baseball team according to Sabermetric principles |
| 2016 | Commissioner Rob Manfred says rise in home runs is not due to PEDs or the ball |
| 2017 | Rules to speed up replay review |
| 2018 | Sarcastic response to analytics: Just do away with games and simulate them |
| 2019 | Robot umps deployed in the Atlantic League |
| 2020 | Minor league team has "dining on the diamond" during pandemic |
| 2021 | Atlantic League tries moving the mound back |
| 2022 | Experimental "sudden death" alternative to extra innings |
| 2023 | Pitch clock finally succeeds in shortening games |