OM DENNE EPISODE
On this episode of Straight Lines Eastern Pennsylvania, presented by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, host Tim Neiman sits down with veteran sports journalist Tom Housenick, senior writer for The Morning Call covering the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Phillies prospects, and regional high school sports for nearly two decades. Tom traces his own anything-but-straight path — a false start as a pre-pharmacy major, a switch to communications, and a career built almost entirely on being in the right place at the right time rather than chasing opportunities. He shares a formative childhood memory of inventing homemade dice-and-cards baseball games with a neighbor, a chance meeting as a teenager with a Lakers beat writer that shaped his approach to journalism, and the hard lesson of finding his own voice instead of imitating other writers' styles.
Tom opens up about his unlikely rise to sports editor, how his wife Mandy finally pushed him to speak up for himself at The Morning Call — leading to his current beat covering IronPigs and Phillies prospects — and shares behind-the-scenes stories of watching young players like Mark Appel and Andrew Painter navigate the mental grind of professional baseball with maturity and professionalism, win or lose.
A must-listen for aspiring journalists learning to find their authentic voice, baseball fans curious what really goes on behind the scenes with prospects, and anyone who's ever needed a reminder that the best opportunities rarely arrive on a straight path.
