Bat Flips And Nerds

Journalist, author and storyteller joins John to discuss his arc wit the Houston Astros - from Sports Illustrated Nostradamus of their World Series triumph, to chronicler of the secret of their success in his bestselling book 'Astroball' through their own personal Philip Marlowe via his extraordinary, groundbreaking podcast series - 'The Edge: Houston Astros'. This is a fascinating conversation ab...

In the second of our 2021 prediction podcasts, the 'Founding Fathers' hand over to the 'B-Team' to offer a different perspective - and they do not disappoint. Rob and Russell are joined by site editor, and fantasy baseball sage, Gav for a completely different look at who'll be 'in' first come Autumn. Which crew will end as the superior?!

Our mystery guest is unmasked! ESPN National baseball writer Jeff Passan returns to the podcast to chat about his two game-changing off-season stories on Drew Robinson and Jared Porter, to talk about what league led 'ball tampering' says about the state of baseball and to make some predictions on the players to watch in 2021. He also gives insight into his own fantasy baseball team, and a forthcom...

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Ben, John, Tom and Darius run the rule over all 30 teams in the annual predictions pod, assigning win totals through iffy reasoning and impassioned debate. Check out our Twitter feed for the final predicted standings and of course feel free to weigh in with your thoughts and comments!

In the last of our 2021 Season Previews we head to the Midwest, to hear all about the AL Central from another stellar cast of club experts: - Southside Sox's Janice Scurio on the White Sox - MLB.com's Mandy bell on Cleveland baseball team - Bless You Boys' Brandon Day on the Detroit Tigers - MLB.com's Anne Rogers on the Kansas City Royals - Acces Twins' Brandon Warne on the Minnesota Twins

In our penultimate season preview we're over in the AL West, and again joined by an amazing group of experts to keep us on the straight and narrow. - Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle on The Astros - Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic on The Angels - Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle on The A's - Jordan Shusterman of Cespedes Family BBQ on The Mariners - Levi Weaver of The Athletic on t...

In the fourth of our 2021 Season Previews, we take to the American League, starting down the East Coast. Our guests this time up: - MASN Orioles PxP Melanie Newman on the Orioles - The Athletic Boston's Jen McCaffrey on the Red Sox - Jomboy Media's Keith McPherson on the Yankees - The Athletic Toronto's Kaitlyn McGrath on the Blue Jays - Locked on Rays' Kevin Weiss on the Rays

In the third instalment of our 2021 round-up we turn to baseball's least predictable division - the NL Central. Once again we have an expert cast to guide the way, including: - Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun Times on the Cubs - C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic on the Reds - Will Sammon of The Athletic on the Brewers - Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the Pirates - Derrick Goo...

In the second of our 2021 previews we turn to the NL West. Again, the guys are joined by clutch of experts to keep us on the straight and narrow, including: - The Athletic's Zach Buchanan on the Diamondbacks - MLB.com's Thomas Harding on the Rockies - The Athletic's Molly Knight on the Dodgers - MLB.com's AJ Cassavell on the Padres - The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser on the Giants

The team are joined by a cast of experts to preview the 2021 NL East: - AJC's Gabe Burns on the Braves - MLB.com's Anthony DiComo on the Mets - The Miami Herald's Jordan McPherson on the Marlins - Actor and fantasy baseball expert Ellen Adair on the Phillies - The Athletic's Maria Torres on the Nationals

Russell is joined by Jason Derr aka Bubba on Baseball, and Graeme Nelson of Shutout Cards to discuss their path into the wonderful world of baseball card collecting, the evolution of the card trading landscape and their new podcast 'Tea & Topps'.

In this joint-episode, John is joined by our great friend Matt Mutton of the British Baseball Podcast as they both chat to former New York Yankee, and Manager of the Knights of Britain franchise in the new European Super League of Professional Baseball. Kevin reveals a few more details about the league, shares his genuine and infectious excitement with the project and talks a little about how his...

Cody Decker, the self described 'real life Crash Davis' joins the show to chat about his love of the game of baseball, but hatred of the business as well as his massive love of the UK! In a wide ranging chat we hit on: - Being a Jewish ballplayer, and his time with the Israel baseball team - Why the Colorado Rockies suck - Jonny Gomes cameo in Cody's legendary career ending walk-off - The best Doc...

Tom is joined by Darius and Ben to talk all about the Tatis extension, the Kevin Mather debacle, their MVP/Cy Young bets (Not who they think will win), Brett Gardner and the misery that is the Colorado Rockies. Stick with the pod to the end for a special (late) guest.

John leads Darius, Russell and Tom on a quick canter through the off-season. Covering all things surrounding the mess of the Mets, the Rockies and on a more positive note, the Padres, Dodgers and who might surprise us this season. Do we finally have a division to take the crown off the "AL Central is Sh*t"? Spoiler alert, we do. John ends the podcast with a rather humiliating game for Tom and a wo...

Jarrett Seidler and Jeffrey Paternostro of Baseball Prospectus are back to break down BP's Top 101 prospects. Topics include: -How the list comes together -Balancing stats and scouting -Their biggest disagreements -Mackenzie Gore, Spencer Torkelson, Alex Kirilloff, Jose Garcia, Noelvi Marte, Triston Casas and many, many, more! Top 101 link: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/article/6406...

The whole gang - except Tom - convene to pick out their favourite moments from 2020, before discussing what they're most looking forward to in 2021. It's not just about Outlander, honest.

Former Rangers, Cubs and Yakult Swallows pitcher Tony Barnette joins John for a wide ranging chat covering his career in pro baseball including the process to signing in Japan, transitioning to the bullpen, playing with Darvish, Hamels, Fielder and Beltre and his own special role in Rougie Odor and Jose Bautista's infamous face off.

Baseball Prospectus's prospect team Jeffrey Paternostro and Jarrett Seidler join John to discuss the most fundamental redrawing of the baseball map in a generation, including: - the motivations behind Minor League contraction - the fate of those clubs and cities left without an affiliated club - whether MLB is squeezing out all other forms of organised baseball - aligning Indy Ball to the MLB - wh...

In the second part of our LIDOM odyssey, John and Rachel are joined by Dominican baseball journalist Arlenis Peña and former Royals pitcher turned Toros del Este social media guru Antonio Puesán. The pair talk our two through baseball culture in the DR, the struggles of young players to adapt to life in the States and give some tips on the players to watch in LIDOM - both rising stars and local le...

One half of the awesome Cespedes Family BBQ, and host of The Ringer's Baseball BBQ, Jake Mintz joins John and Rachel to provide an intro into the Dominican Winter League, LIDOM. Jake details his two month stay in the Dominican for their 2019/20 season, explains which team you should root for and drops the mic when it comes to his favourite LIDOM moment. Do not miss this one. Jake and his partner i...

John and Rachel discuss the impact of Kim Ng's elevation to GM of the Miami Marlins with two of British baseball's own female trailblazers - Kelly Wright, the General Manager of the Sheffield Bruins and Doris Hocking, the brains behind the brand new GB Women's national team. They talk about the importance of female role models in baseball, its openness to cross gender boundaries and name their own...

It's a bumper offseason pod as John, Rachel, Rob, Russell and Darius recap the Dodgers' World Series victory and Justin Turner's COVID protocol violations, before turning to the latest managerial hires, Steve Cohen's rapid action at the Mets, and a look ahead to free agency.

It's our 200th episode, and the start of the 2020 World Series! Rob, Russell, Ben and Darius celebrate this momentous occasion by discussing how everyone will treat the Astros going forwards, before debating whether the Rays are really underdogs, if Dave Roberts and Kevin Cash deserve their reputations, and pick their candidates for the Steve Pearce Random World Series MVP Award.

Comedian and documentary maker Reginald D Hunter joins Rachel to discuss his passion for the Atlanta Braves, following baseball from his home in the UK and how Greg Maddux influenced his career in stand up.