Saturday March 31st, 2012
Paul Lanning (Guest Writer): I first learned about a pitcher named Johnny Lanning back in the early 1990s when I started “managing” a fantasy team of old-time baseball players in something called “Bill James Classic Baseball” as a hobby my buddy Steve got me into when we were both working in the front office of the Albuquerque Dukes, then the Triple A affiliate to the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was before the internet, and long before social media. Like with current fantasy baseball leagues, we had a salary cap and we drafted a full roster of players. The difference was that these players were all old-timers…players dating back to the very start of Major League Baseball in the 1800s. The games were played by some computer in Illinois, and we anxiously awaited printouts in the mail each week of the prior week’s box scores and stats.
“Tobacco Chewin’ Johnny” was a journeyman hurler with the Boston Bees and Pittsburgh Pirates before heading off to WWII. He’s pictured here after returning to the majors with the Boston Braves. (more…)
For those of you that followed the program, Erika actually quit the show. Today, we find out why. Erika though hasn’t given up on television…far from it. As Matt expressed to me during our interview: Erika is full of life and has a charismatic personality that is perfectly suited for entertainment. She is smart, funny, hard-working and extremely motivated. As she prepares for her next projects (Erika currently has a cooking show in the works), there is no doubt that the sky is the limit for Erika Monroe Williams! She is just getting started. 
