As we entered the Memorial Day weekend of 2013 and remembered the sacrifices that so many have made, we also remembered what makes America, America. One of those things is most certainly the sport of baseball, the great American pastime. We talked with Eldon Ham, then author of the new book All the Babe’s Men: Baseball’s Greatest Home Run Seasons and How They Changed America.

We talked with Eldon about the early home run sluggers, how America shaped baseball and baseball shaped America, and how the game has changed through the steroid era.