All About Baseball with Byron Copley

Now that this podcast is approaching 100 episodes, with no intention of slowing down, I’m going to start working in past episodes from time to time. This one is one of my favorites to date, and bears a second listen — or a first if you have never heard it. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

This rather clumsy podcast title was born out of the emergence of Jen Powol, the first woman to ever umpire a Major League baseball game in the regular season. The historical significance of this event would be better served if everyone dismissed her gender and acknowledged that measuring her performance at the same standards of her male peers, without bias in either direction, is what really matt...

The current size of the Little League World Series Baseball field, which features a 46-foot pitching distance from home plate, 60-foot bases, and 225-foot fences, is limiting the development of the 12-year-olds who compete every summer for the LLWS Championship as well as many plays that baseball at the Little League level would offer on a larger field. This podcast identifies specific plays and s...

Are the scandals involving Cleveland Guardians’ pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, who suspiciously threw several pitches well out of the strike zone with the identical count of 0-0 on the leadoff hitter in the inning the result of satisfying bets for their own benefit? This podcast does not answer that question. Instead, it offers a simple solution for rendering these incidents as moot...

Baseball testimonials and endorsements are as old as the game itself. What used to make the good ones valuable and relevant to me was that the ballplayers featured didn’t have to act: they could just be themselves. In this podcast, I offer several examples of what I consider as authentic commercials that featured Detroit Tigers Jim Northrup, Al Kaline and Willie Horton, Los Angeles Dodger Do...

Our precious son, Stuart, died on June 27, 2025. I thought it fitting to share this tragic event with this audience to offer tribute to Stuart and relate a few memorable experiences he had as a ballplayer during his youth, and to also share a few lessons learned because of this tragedy. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin https://www.d...

Ball Four, a diary-book by Jim Bouton, a major-league pitcher from 1962 to 1970, (and five pitching appearances in 1978) revealed the “secrets and scandals” of major-league baseball during the 1969 season. The book was heralded as “funny,” honest,” and “groundbreaking.” I think, now, 55 years after I first read the book, that Ball Four did more harm than g...

In my fall back topic — umpiring — I offer the unseen communication that umpires conduct without uttering a word. The next time you witness a baseball game in person, look for these signs of a good umpire. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

I had always intended to conduct interviews on All About Baseball, and I didn’t have to look very far for my first subjects. Neighbors Kyle and Holly, husband and wife, who played D1 baseball and softball at North Carolina and Penn State respectively, join me to tell their unique stories about the ups and downs of being a D1 college athlete. byroncopley@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music: &...

With all the sudden and substantial rule changes that have been enacted in Major League Baseball the past few years, this podcast episode proposes three specific changes to rule 6.02 “Pitcher Illegal Action” that would make enforcing balks more consistent, more just, and less arbitrary. byroncopley@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of All About Baseball, I remind myself and you, the listeners, the reason why I am doing this, suggest a few past episodes to listen to that best exemplify the purpose of this podcast, talk about how I would coach youth baseball today if I ever again took on the responsibility to mentor, and offer a measure of gratitude for your interest and loyalty. Thank y...

On June 4, 1974, an actual riot took place on the field of Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, where more than 1,000 drunk and disorderly fans, intoxicated by drinking beers that cost a mere 10 cents, lost all inhibition and stormed the field DURING the 9th inning of a 5-5 game between the Indians and the Texas Rangers. This podcast focuses on the events of the week prior, amplified by the media...

You’d think that this was already the case, but it isn’t, and it should be. With bloated rosters, defections, replacements at the last minute, mandatory representation of every team, starting pitchers opting out because of insufficient rest, and fan bias — it’s no wonder that interest and viewership has dwindled over the last 40-plus years. This podcast offers some needed r...

Sign stealing is an ancient discipline and it perfectly legal when people directly involved in the game observe base coaches with the naked eye. At all levels, signs are a visual code that communicates plays like bunt, hit-and-run, steal, squeeze play — and more. I learned a foolproof way to protect our signs from the third-base coach that the opposition never deciphered, and that our own pl...

A curious assertion, given that the majority of MLB ballplayers wear their uniforms in one of two ways: with the pants at knee-level (or above) or as full-length pants that drape over the shoes. Unimaginative is lending credit to today’s current “style”. The point is that the art and ritual of donning a baseball uniform in the Major Leagues has given way to a more bland, utilitar...

Ninety years ago today, May 25, 1935, Babe Ruth, now with the last-place Boston Braves, capped his 22-season career with a banner day against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. This podcast expresses the significance of that day, excoriates Braves’ owner Emil Fuchs, and identifies perhaps the actual day, June 13, 1948, when Babe Ruth retired from the game. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com ww...

What is up with Javier Baez? I looked at the numbers in detail to find out HOW Javier Baez has improved so dramatically in 2025 compared to 2024, because they can’t lie. Many of Baez’s stats are drastically different in 2025 compared to 2024. However, many others are surprisingly the same, or worse, in 2025 compared to 2024. What did I discover? More affirmation that baseball is a rand...

Not much more to say about the content of this podcast, except for that it references, obviously, the movies American Grafitti, Casablanca, and Animal House. More to the point, it’s somewhat ironic to me that MLB Commissioner Manfred waited until Rose died before removing him from the “permanently ineligible” list. This entire situation reeks of irony and contradiction. And conve...

“The Midnight Library of Baseball,” by Ben Orlando, is the podcast that inspired me to create “All About Baseball,” and my podcast is loosely modeled after Orlando’s. I want to share Orlando’s podcast with you because it is worth listening to. I just finished his three-part series on the 1919 World Series, and if you think that there’s nothing more to say...

In a recent game between the Reds and the Braves, where Braves’ first basemen Matt Olsen was awarded an inside-the-park home run, I think that the umpires missed the opportunity to apply Rule 5:12 (b) (3). In my opinion, Olsen should have been awarded two bases and no runs allowed, in the spirit of the game and in the name of player safety, which should be the #1 priority of the game at all...

The numbers seem to indicate that the players who regularly use the Torpedo Bat are not, in most cases, hitting the target in regards to improved offense when compared to March/April 2024. Only a few of the 19 MLB players reviewed in this podcast (and by all accounts, who are the only players who use the Torpedo Bat ) have experienced improved performance in the key metrics of Batting Average, On-...

The sounds of baseball that emanated from the high school behind my back yard on a warm Sunday prompted me to walk over there and investigate. What I discovered was a softball team of young women at practice who obviously love the game and a coach who instills confidence and courage in his players. byroncopley@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music: “FIeld Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Brad Havens is one of the 23,431 men, as of this podcast release, to have ever played Major League Baseball in the history of civilization. He is also the only player from my high school, Royal Oak Kimball, to have made the major leagues. This podcast briefly accounts his story, based on limited personal experience and limited press coverage. Why spend time on a largely anonymous MLB player? Becau...

Baseball, unlike other sports, offers unique and subtle ways to express courtesies to teammates, opponents, and even umpires. In this podcast, I cover a few examples that should be taught from the very beginnings of a player’s experience as a ballplayer. These courtesies are as much a part of the game as are the fundamentals of pitching, fielding, throwing, baserunning, and hitting. bcpodcas...

Just recently, the Pittsburgh Pirates removed a logo honoring Pirates’ legend Roberto Clemente that was placed in the right-field corner of PNC Park and replaced it with…an alcohol ad. Thankfully the blow back from baseball fans prompted the Pirates to undo their mistake, but how this idea ever was even mentioned remains a mystery. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music:...