Interview: Larry Shenk

"The Fightin' Phillies: 100 Years of Philadelphia Baseball from the Whiz Kids to the Misfits" is the second book from the former head of the Phils' public relations department, Larry 'the Baron' Shenk.

Following on the heels of 2014's "If These Walls Could Talk", which took Phillies and all baseball fans inside the club's locker room and behind the scenes for many pivotal moments in team history, this new effort makes the perfect companion piece.

This past week, I did a full review of "The Fightin' Phillies", and now will be presenting an interview with the author. 

I was privileged to have the opportunity to ask Mr. Shenk questions on a number of topics related to the book and his long history with the team.

This latest in my series of Phillies related interviews, and the first of 2016, covers a number of topics that should be of interest to any fan of those Fightin' Phils.

As usual, will present it in a simple "Q&A" format.

J.P. Crawford Interview

The Philadelphia Phillies top prospect based on the evaluations of every reputable baseball source, shortstop J.P. Crawford (the 'J.P.' stands for John Paul) represents the organization's lead piece in their planned "next generation", the centerpiece of their rebuilding plans.

Crawford is currently injured, having suffered an oblique strain, basically a ribcage injury, as minor league camp was first opening back at the end of March.

When Crawford returns, anticipated around early-mid May, he is expected to be assigned to begin his 2015 season with the Phillies High-A affiliates, the Clearwater Threshers.

Should Crawford progress as anticipated this season, he is very likely to see Reading, where it would not be surprising to see him spend the majority of his summer. That would make watching him this year very accessible to Phillies fans.

Angel Ibo Castillo Interview

Angel Ibo Castillo is probably not be a name familiar to all fans of the Philadelphia Phillies.

But to the approximately 200,000-strong Hispanic population in and around the city, his is a very familiar name and voice.

In the 2006-07 seasons and again since the 2012 season, Castillo has been a member of the Phillies Spanish language broadcasting team.

The Phillies broadcast their regular season and any postseason games in Spanish on radio at AM stations 1020 (Atlantic City), 1400 (Easton), 1600 (Allentown), 1680 (Lindenwold NJ/Philadelphia market) as well as 101.3 FM out of Atlantic City.

Angel is also a frequent user of social media, commenting on the team and the players (mostly in Spanish) via his Twitter feed @Angelibo0507. Give him a follow there to get his commentary all throughout spring training and the upcoming 2015 season.

I was fortunate to be able to get him to discuss his background, his work with the Phillies in particular, and some of his favorite memories with the team, as well as his opinion on the upcoming season.

Angel was concerned about his use of English, but he was excellent. The man is very gracious, and obviously a big fan of the team, which will come out in this interview. Hope you enjoy.

Mitch Williams Interview

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Williams (center) during his stint as an analyst with the MLB Network

Mitch Williams is one of the most colorful, controversial, and popular athletes in Philadelphia sports history. "The Wild Thing" who heroically shut down the Braves to clinch the 1993 National League Pennant, then became a publicly vilified goat on yielding Joe Carter's World Series-winning homerun just 10 days later.

Williams rose from the ashes of that emotional '93 devastation to eventually be forgiven and embraced again by Phillies fans, and ultimately beloved by them. He did it by never shirking responsibility, and by always displaying openness and candor in handling the situation.

I was fortunate enough to be able to interview the former Phillies closer this week. In our conversation, Mitch showed that he is as feisty, frank, and competitive as ever.

We covered a wide range of topics, from his current internet talk show "Unleashed with Mitch Williams", to last year's incident that resulted in his being fired by the MLB Network, to his opinion on the current Phillies bullpen of Jonathan Papelbon, Ken Giles, Jake Diekman, and Justin De Fratus.

Along the way there were detours to Curt Schilling's Hall of Fame worthiness, his relationship with Lenny Dykstra, and even a more recent run-in with former Phils pitching coach Rich Dubee involving both Diekman and Phillies pitching great Roy Halladay.