All About Baseball with Byron Copley

In a word: No. It may adjust they way pitchers approach hitters who use the torpedo bat, but, ultimately, the torpedo bat will be an after thought by the All-Star Break. However, I would expect the marginal hitter, looking for any possible edge, to give it a serious tryout. bcbaseballpodcast@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

While under the influence of painkillers to blunt the discomfort of back surgery yesterday, I had a lucid dream of relating a podcast, complete with images, words, and voice. I attempt to recreate it here. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

It seems timely to share several anecdotes about the years that Kirk Gibson and I, with a select group of other great guys, played hockey together on Thursday nights at a local ice arena in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Gibson was as tenacious on the ice as he was on the diamond. Gibson recently stepped down as a television baseball analyst for the Detroit Tigers to focus on helping others battle the s...

In this podcast, I offer three reasons why a head-first slide is not recommended by me, an alternative that is far more effective and safer, and a description of an my makeshift office-studio and the book that inspired this specific podcast. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin MLB Sliding Injuries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8xV5C387...

This podcast reflects on a couple of memorable heckling experiences that I witnessed 40 years apart. The first was at Tiger Stadium in 1971 with my girlfriend. The second was at Comerica Park in 2011 with my daughter. Both were highly entertaining and perfect examples of what imaginative heckling can do to enhance the experience of attending a major league baseball game. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.co...

We learned how to execute rundown situations during neighborhood games of pickle. Having watched several random videos of major league baseball players failing to retire trapped runners on the basepaths, I was inspired to promote a solution that retires a runner caught flat-footed between bases with a single throw. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com byroncopley.com https://twitter.com/allaboutba27871 Mus...

The Automated Ball-Strike system (ABS) has intruded into Major League Baseball Spring Training games. In this podcast, I refute the wisdom and necessity of using it at this level of play, because it will not necessarily guarantee 100-percent accuracy in calling balls and strikes. And the way that selected players can challenge an umpire’s ball-strike call introduces an element in the game th...

In this podcast, I apply the numbers that, in my opinion, prove that the performance Alex Bregman is expected to produce at the plate in 2025 is not proportionate to his $40,000,000 salary, especially when compared to other third basemen in the league. Even though Bregman is projected to play second base for the Red Sox, another team that offered him a substantial contract, the Detroit Tigers, wou...

The 50th podcast of All About Baseball recalls two encounters I had when I was 14, in the summer of 1971. The first was a brief phone call with Detroit Tiger outfielder, Jim Northrup, who, out of left field, called me at home, with the assistance of my father. The second encounter was a face-to-face conversation with Tigers’ General Manager Jim Campbell in the Executive Lounge in the recesse...

That’s the question that this podcast answers. Virtually non-existent before the MLB baseball strike of 1994, the walk-up song was ubiquitous by the end of the 1990s. Yet, its origins can be traced to the woman who accepted the job as the organist for the Chicago White Sox in 1970. Listen in as we explore the evolution of the walk-up song from a happy accident to part of the design of an MLB...

I discovered this game, Immaculate Grid, a few years ago, and I consider it the best baseball trivia game I’ve ever played. In this podcast, I complete a specific grid and (attempt) to explain how the game is played, but the best way for you to learn is to go to immaculategrid.com and give it a try. You won’t regret it. Immaculate Grid encompasses the best aspect of good baseball trivi...

“Jack T. Jamison” (not his real name) is one of 4,486 Major League Baseball players who never got to make a 10th plate appearance. The story as to why is the the subject of this podcast, the details of which were related to me by two of my cousins. “Jack T. Jamison” is their great uncle, who played for a National League team somewhere between the years of 1910-1930. bcpodca...

This podcast adds to the litany of responses in reaction to the passing of Bob Uecker (1934 – 2025), but it focuses on the fact that this funny and famous man remained humble throughout his life. bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

This podcast doesn’t answer this question. It answers why the Tigers shouldn’t have, as I said more than three years ago, before Baez made his first plate appearance in a Tigers’ uniform. I delve into the numbers that should have been an alarm that signaled Baez was not a sound investment. And introduce the Tigers’ signing of Gleyber Torres as a possible one-year insurance...

What does it cost a Major League team in dollars and cents to send one of its hitters on the roster to simply stride to the plate, no matter what the outcome may be? What are Major League teams paying its hitters to complete the singular most important objective in baseball — score runs? Obviously, not all players get paid the same to make a plate appearance, or score a run. However, if I we...

Consider these minor reforms in this podcast that could make the Little League Baseball more compelling, competitive, and compressed. The one that some may consider most radical is the one that I consider most essential. Email: bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com Comments: byroncopley.com Music: “FIeld Grass” Sergei Pavkin

In the initial podcast of 2025, I turn the corner to begin my second year of sharing my passion for the game of baseball with a like-minded audience. This podcast re-establishes the reasons why I initiated it, reviews selected topics, previews future episodes, and offers gratitude to you listeners and to the people who were integral in making All About Baseball a dream that became real. bcpodcastb...

Al Kaline, first-ballot Hall of Fame right fielder for the Detroit Tigers, whose career spanned 22 seasons from 1953 to 1974, was rejected, ostracized, and ridiculed by many teammates during his rookie season — primarily because the core of veteran outfielders perhaps knew that their days as Detroit Tigers were dwindling, and this rookie phenom bonus baby was accelerating the timeline. Who w...

A listener sent me a link to a story that revealed the latest in a long line of “reforms” that Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner, has proposed to “enhance” the game of baseball and “engage” the fans more thoroughly. Having already ushered in pitcher’s and hitter’s clocks, limits in pickoff moves, a placing a runner on second base in extra-inning games, l...

The transition from Little League baseball to playing for my Junior High was abrupt, blunt, and unapologetic. Here’s just a sample of the experience, that occurred in the spring of 1970. My no-nonsense, demanding, but fair-minded coach set expectations for our conduct on and off the field that forever changed my perception of the purpose of playing baseball: it was no longer simply to win; i...

For the baseball fans in your family, I offer several Christmas-gift suggestions that should delight them. None of them are all that expensive, but I hope that they would become priceless over time. The best gift is that which is unexpected and appreciated. And I expect that few listeners have considered what I am going to propose in this podcast. byroncopley.com bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com Music:...

As we enter the Holiday Season, it’s often a time for fun-filled games as a way to laugh and bond with friends and family. In this podcast, I offer a few games that only require a simple love and knowledge of baseball and a desire to experience it with others. Oh, and a little sidetracking on the 1981 MLB baseball strike. It’s relevant to the topic. Comments: byroncopley.com (or on the...

One way or another, it’s time to end interleague play in MLB. Either merge the leagues into one and create even more balance in the scheduled games to blur the lines between the leagues completely, or revert to the days when the two leagues were separate and distinct. Comments: byroncopley.com email: bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

OOPS. Somehow the unedited version of this podcast was initially posted rather than the edited one. Apologies. So I encourage you to listen to what was intended to be heard. For decades, bunting was a staple of a Major League Baseball team’s offensive strategy. Now, it’s considered a penalizing measure in the effort to score runs. And the abandonment of the bunt in MLB has filtered dow...

On November 22, 2015, my younger brother, Christopher, passed away in his sleep. This podcast commemorates his death and expresses sadness for my not spending more time sharing my passion for baseball with him. email: bcpodcastbaseball@gmail.com Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin