Citing a desire to stay busy during the pandemic, Art Shamsky is hosting a podcast.
The Miracle Met wants to keep the show, focusing on sports and politics, light.
“I don’t want to be political,” Shamsky said. “I don’t want to be controversial. I just want to entertain.”
Shamsky is best remembered for his playing career and being an offensive hero in the 1969 NLCS but he’s no stranger to broadcasting, having worked for ESPN, WNEW and as an announcer for Mets games.
His first guest was former teammate Ed Kranepool, a show done near the anniversary of Kranepool’s kidney transplant.
Another New York sports hero of 1969 appeared on Shamsky’s show: Joe Namath. But rather than just dwell on Super Bowl III, Shamsky and Namath spoke in-depth about Broadway Joe’s potential baseball career. Namath was a multi-sport star at Beaver Falls High School in Pennsylvania but rather than sign with a baseball team, Namath went to Alabama to play football. This was in part because his mother wanted him to go to college.
“I want people to get insight they didn’t get before,” Shamsky said, adding, “I wanted people to know there was another side to Joe Namath.”
On the entertainment side, “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator Philip Rosenthal appeared on the show. It’s appropriate given that a dog on the show was named Shamsky and the former ballplayer once made a guest appearance.
New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro was the most recent guest. Shamsky praised Vaccaro, saying that he often uses the space for a look at some historical events.
“We have a tendency in life, sports in particular, to forget about he past,” Shamsky said.
Upcoming guests include Bob Costas and Al Roker. Shamsky is also looking to set up an interview with former teammate Pete Rose.
Fans can follow the former Met on Twitter @ArtShamsky or visit ArtShamsky.com.
The Art Shamsky podcast can be heard on Spotify, Apple and iheartradio.