Rising Apple Report, Ep. 15 – Small Sample Sizes & Jay from Bergino Clubhouse

One of the most insightful episodes we’ve had so far, I was happy to host the 15th of the year with Staff Writer Rich Sparago calling in from Chicago and Jay Goldberg from the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse joining us for the latest “half-hour” of NY Mets talk. I put it in quotes because we decided to test the Blog Talk limit and found ourselves so enthralled with our discussion that we talked we to 45 minutes.

First off, Jay Goldberg is a fascinating individual who owns a specialty baseball shop that also sells baseball art and memorabilia. The “bergino” name is a made-up name from when he first started making baseballs in 2001.  Jay wanted an “image” name and came up with that one.

(Jay also used to be a Sports Agent, a topic we discuss at length on the podcast.)

The Clubhouse also holds events profiling authors and artists who hold baseball dear to their hearts. Being in the heart of downtown Manhattan at 11th off of Broadway, many NY baseball-related events are held. I’ve documented one on video here, here and here, with the conclusion to the event being posted later today on Rising Apple (which includes a story Ira Berkow tells of how he rode in the Ron Darling’s car with him on his way to pitch Game 7 of the ’86 series.)

Tonight’s event in the clubhouse is right in our wheelhouse. Matthew Silverman (whose Mets site Met Silverman can be found here) has written Swingin’ ’73, a book not only about “Ya Gotta Believe” but the 1973 baseball season as a whole. As I said, however, Matt is a huge Mets fan, and Jay states on the podcast that the responses have been overwhelmingly Mets-related.

So, find yourself in the neighborhood of 11th and Broadway today at 7pm for a look 40 years into the past.

Enjoy today’s ballgame, everyone.

Until then, here’s The Rising Apple Report.

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