(left) Pete in his high school baseball team picture as a junior in 1955 - Pete is 5th from the right on the bottom row; (right) a photo taken at the National Baseball Hall of Fame (Pete Peterson (provided)) We’re into the time of year known as March Madness as college basketball teams compete for the NCAA national championship. In this edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson has the story of how he had his own version of March Madness nearly 70 years ago. It didn’t involve basketball, but his dream of playing professional baseball. Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries b ..read more

(Pete Peterson (provided)) A large school district in the Jacksonville, Florida area recently voted to ban a children’s book about Hall of Fame baseball player and humanitarian Roberto Clemente. But just days ago, the book was reviewed after it was removed from classrooms for its references to racism and discrimination and has now been approved for use. In this latest Reading Baseball commentary, Pete Peterson takes a look at the book, which briefly was deemed inappropriate for young readers. Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, the author of Grow ..read more

The number 3 (Damar Hamlin's jersey number) became a universal way to show support for him after his injury. (Claudio Schwarz/Unsplash / https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1570521076067-eedca0fff452?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=687&q=80) Many football fans probably hadn’t heard of Damar Hamlin before the Buffalo Bills defensive back suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during a game in Cincinnati last month. Just ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, his story remains one of the most compelling of the football season. In ..read more

Pete Peterson talks about how the bleakness of January became more tolerable one year with the introduction of a televised Home Run Derby ..read more

WSIU's Pete Peterson remembers the holiday season 50 years ago that featured an exhilarating football moment and an unimaginable tragedy for a Hall of Fame baseball player ..read more

Pete Peterson looks at Jim Thorpe's lesser known baseball career ..read more

Pete Peterson looks back at the 2022 St. Louis Cardinals baseball season and how all it lacked was a storybook ending ..read more

Pete Peterson provides a commentary on how the organizers of the Pittsburgh Marathon continue to seek his participation in the event ..read more

Pete Peterson talks about how baseball umpires are among the most abused sports officials ..read more

Pete Peterson looks at the debate and tries to explain why the game’s rich history still leads him to call baseball America’s game ..read more