Bat Flips And Nerds

Darius and John are joined by Blake Finney to discuss the Nats bullpen and the state of the shocking NL East. They also look at a 'week of bullshit' in baseball discussing the Mets puzzling reaction to Yasiel 'Joyful' Puig, Jarrod Dyson's uncontroversial bunt and Joe Maddon providing ample evidence that John was right about him all along. They go deep on which teams will buy and sell at the deadli...

Legendary Channel 5 baseball broadcaster and GB catcher Josh Chetwynd joins John to discuss everything from his college career at Northwestern, his professional baseball career to his key role in developing players from 'non traditional' baseball countries - including African pioneer Gift Ngoepe. There's plenty of time to revisit his on screen relationship with Jonny Gould and to get Josh's candid...

Tom hosts, with Darius and Ben providing all the vital stats and info on the Major League Draft. Who went where, did the Twins pick right? Who has the silliest name? When will Ben be drafted. Next the guys explain their "Crap Catcher Competition", where the loser has to write about the team of the winners choice (It's got to be John who loses). Finally we learn all about Ben's new job at MLB UK, h...

Ben and Tom join John in wondering how to pronounce Scooter Gennett's surname, whether anyone saw his four homers under that came uni, and to dig deep on the roasting hot Houston Astros. As ever, fan questions lead things to take a turn for the weird - apologies to Ryan Hanigan who looks like he could kill again. Here's the Ben Lindbergh Astros piece we discussed:https://theringer.com/2017-mlb-hou...

Britain's top prospect Ben Carter isn't available tonight, so this time John leads the cause while Darius and Tom pull at his coat tails. Tonights show consisted of: Bryce Harper, Hunter Strickland, can anyone defend them? Does anyone care? What was the funniest moment of the whole shebang. Mr Met, how many fingers does he have? Can he swear? Is it really an issue? Does he has a leg to stand on in...

John talks to Great Britain player Jordan Edmonds of the Hamburg Stealers about his baseball career and life in the Bundesliga. Then Darius and Ben discuss whether Mike Trout should get the Barry Bonds treatment, if Chris Sale is on Clayton Kershaw's level, and what on earth is going on with Mike Leake and Andrew Cashner, before answering listener questions about player-themed areas at parks and b...

Tom takes over hosting duties while John is away watching Battle Bots and reading Harry Potter. The guys start the show with a very important guest, GB Baseball Head Coach, Liam Carroll. Liam tells us all about the upcoming All-Star game at Farnham Park on the 28th May. It's free so you all really should go! The boys then get serious about baseball, baseball in the UK and end with some very seriou...

John continues his hosting duties, where he offends the returning Tom, the military, anyone who has died during active service, the Rockies, Julio Urias and all the UK Garage fans that are still standing. The oracle that is Darius continues to feed us solid and serious information, except one vital point that could have stopped us offending Urias. The lads actually manage to answer some genuine li...

It's #JeterWeek in the Bronx, so it's the perfect time to hear from the man who scored his most famous run - GB Baseball's recently retired outfield stalwart, Antoan Richardson. As well as discussing that run, Antoan talks linking up with GB and the future of baseball in the Bahamas.

John and Darius stick a fork in the Mets before casting an eye over the bona fides of two phenomena - Aaron Judge and the Minnesota Twins. Ryan Schimpf and Eric Thames prove that some guys are easier to nickname than others...

With Tom 'on manoeuvres' Ben and Darius join John to find a fitting nickname for phenom Eric Thames and to discuss which pitchers they love and love to hate. Health warning for fans of John Lackey, Big Degsy Jeter and Bruce Springsteen.

Greg Coleman, GM of the Official UK MiLB Affiliate Erie SeaWolves, joins the show to introduce the team and town, and talk about how much they all love the UK!

The boys are tired, which means they swear. So please be warned, John's potty mouth does go for it. Tom hosts, John and Ben talk at different points, there is a loose structure to the pod, it soon falls apart. The title isn't some funny joke, the boys do spend some time on the pod trying to name a Twins reliever. Please forgive us.

John and Tom are joined by 'The Show Before the Show' stalwart and ballpark chaser Benjamin Hill to decide the order for the Bat Flips and Nerds 'Official MiLB Affiliate of the UK' bracket.

Some bloke called Tom Pringle joins Ben Carter to talk all about the Boston Red Sox. They talk about last season, this season and of course the collection of silly questions to finish. The wild prediction that Tom makes may surprise some of the Red Sox faithful, but his thoughts on Pablo Sandoval, will not. www.batflipsandnerds.com

Richard Churchill (@RChurchill26)joins Ben to talk all about the St. Louis Cardinals. They go deep into last season with plenty of honesty on display, then Richard continues the pessimism as they discuss the season ahead. Ben calls the team fat, Richard does little to disagree. http://www.batflipsandnerds.com

Broadcaster and British Blue Jays fan royalty Colin Murray joins John to talk getting into baseball, why you need to stick with it, how Roy Halladay and Roberto Alomar have left a mark on his life and to compare Canadian musicians to baseball ephemera.

In his first appearance as a preview host, John is guided through the ins and outs of the Cleveland Indians by Bath based Indians fan and blogger Ash Day. You can check out Ash's Indians writing over at www.englandtribe.blogspot.co.uk

The preview tables are turned on Batflips & Nerds regular Ben Carter (@ukbaseballblog), as Darius Austin (@DariusA64) grills him about the Colorado Rockies, a process that reveals lots of love for Nolan Arenado and not so much for Gerardo Parra.

In a special tie up with Extra Innings, we bring you exclusive interviews with Adrian Gonzalez, Francisco Cervelli, Drew Butera and Josh Harrison direct from the WBC. John provides appalling narration, showing ring rust by using the wrong mic for his intro... You can say thanks by following Gabriel at Extra Innings: On Twitter: www.twitter.com/extrainnings_bb At their website: https://extrainnings...

Sydney Blue Sox and Great Britain pitcher Vaughan Harris (@vaughanh34) joins Darius Austin to talk about his career, the Australian Baseball League, and the World Baseball Classic, including his very own team ratings. Vaughan's WBC team ratings: https://twitter.com/vaughanh34/status/841085668746969088 Sydney Blue Sox: http://web.theabl.com.au/index.jsp?sid=t4069 World Baseball Classic: https://www...

Southampton Mustangs and National Baseball League (NBL) commissioner, Ben Davis, joins John to talk all about the Mustangs 2016 NBL victory and the future of the team. They touch on the ever increasing Venezuelan population in Southampton thanks to the fantastic players Ben and his team manage to attract. Ben wraps up the discussion touching on the adjustments to NBL and what the future could be f...

Matt Smith (@MattBaseballGB) joins Tom to talk all about the Oakland Athletics. They cover the Sonny Gray injury, the hopes for 2017 and Matt leaves everyone with an image of an Oakland A sitting in a gutter, eating a kebab.

Mike Shipley (@99Xenon99) joins Tom to talk all about the Toronto Blue Jays. Mike stays positive, even when talking about Jarrod Saltalamacchia and his potential time at the plate. To Toms disappointment, Josh Donaldson doesn't feature in the silly questions to finish.

Jed (@TigersJUK) joins Ben to talk all about the Detroit Tigers in detail, Jed remains pessimistic throughout the pod until the wild and bold prediction. http://www.batflipsandnerds.com