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Midnight Library of Baseball — Baseball
Midnight Library of Baseball

Midnight Library of Baseball is a documentary-style baseball history podcast for listeners who want something deeper, quieter, and more reflective than the typical sports show.

Hosted by Ben Orlando, the series blends immersive storytelling with deep research to explore the game’s most iconic figures, like Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Honus Wagner, alongside forgotten players and unlikely stories that shaped baseball in surprising ways. Told without loud music or jarring production, each episode unfolds with a calm, narrative style that lets the history breathe.

Season 1 explores foundational questions about the game, from how players were paid across eras to the evolution of equipment, and even the stories of famous figures who nearly chose baseball, including Kurt Russell, Billy Crystal, and John Dillinger.

Season 2 is a deep, narrative journey into the making of Field of Dreams, from its origins as a short story to the creation of one of the most beloved films in baseball history.

Season 3 features long-form series on the Black Sox Scandal and the enduring fascination with baseball’s consecutive games played streak, examining legends like Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken Jr.

Season 4 explores the intertwined evolution of baseball, radio, and television, and how each helped shape the way fans experience the game.

If you love baseball history, storytelling, and the quiet details that bring the past to life, this is a show designed to be listened to, not just heard.

Copyright: © Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.

Latest Episodes:

Bonus Episode: Robert Elias Stops By the Library Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

I had the pleasure recently of sitting down with prolific baseball author Robert Elias. We talk about the amazing and overlooked life of ballplayer Danny Gardella, the man of a thousand nicknames who receives little credit for how significantly he changed the game. You can find Elias’s book on Amazon, but send a message to midnightlibraryofbaseball@gmail.com for a discount code.

Ep. 18: Legacy in Only 2,131 Steps Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, I explore several key factors that would have helped or hurt Gehrig and Ripken Jr in their pursuit of the consecutive game streak. This comparison will also shed light on each player’s baseball legacy. Who had it harder, considering the times. The answer might not be what you think.

Ep. 17: The Man Behind The Streak Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

Most people know Lou Gehrig as the Iron Horse, as the man who played more games than any other player, until Cal Ripken Jr. They know him as one of the best players in baseball history, period, and the man who had a disease named after him. In this episode, I shed light on lesser-known stories about the man, and how some hidden traits and tendencies point to the real motivations behind his wish to play indefinitely without taking a break.

Ep. 16: The Third Man Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

Cal Ripken Jr and Lou Gehrig are well known for their consecutive game streaks. But what about the third man on the all-time list? Had circumstances been slightly different, his name would be the name we all know, we all talk about. And yet, most of us have never heard of him. Tonight, I move his fascinating story from the dark corners of history, into the light.

Ep. 15: From Obscurity to Immortality Jun 29, 2025

Show notes

n the early 1900s, there was no such thing as a consecutive games streak, because nobody followed it. Until a man named Al Munro Elias brought the statistic into the public consciousness. Even then, few players actively chose to pursue the streak. So of all the people to attempt this feat, of all the people to do what no one else had come close to doing after Lou Gehrig, why Cal Ripken Jr? In this episode, I try to get to the bottom of this question.

Ep 14: The Streak Jun 20, 2025

Show notes

The consecutive game streak is not just something that happened with Cal Ripken Jr. The whole, fascinating story involves Lou Gehrig, dozens of aspiring ballplayers, statistical pioneers, and a rollercoaster of emotions, perceptions, and changed minds regarding a record people ignored, ridiculed, and finally, revered.

Ep 13: Why Didn't He Just Try? Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is known in baseball history as the man who saved baseball, the man who took charge, and acted. But he is also known as the man who did nothing in some of the biggest issues to ever occur in the major leagues? Was he a man who intentionally stood in the way of human rights and progress, or was he simply a man of his time?

Ep 12: Here Comes The Judge Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

In the second part of this 3-part series, I dive into Kenesaw Mountain Landis’ transition from federal judge to first baseball commissioner, and what happens when the judge gets down to business. Lives will be destroyed. More conspiracies uncovered. But while he’s cleaning up baseball, Landis is also willfully preventing millions of Americans from enjoying the game. The man seen as a saint, as a tough-as-nails hero, is not quite as shiny and pure as advertised.

Ep 11: The Commissioner Who Would be King May 24, 2025

Show notes

For all the known controversies and unbelievable stories surrounding Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, there are just as many mysteries. In this episode, I dig into the origin story of the man who shaped baseball like no other commissioner in the history of the game.

Bonus Episode: Author and journalist Scott Miller stops by the library May 15, 2025

Show notes

I sit down with Scott Miller to discuss his new book about the relevance of managers, fifty years ago, and today. I love the overlooked and misunderstood parts of the game, and during our conversation, Scott Miller does not disappoint.

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