Battery Mates - the Podcast

Episode 081: My British Pants Battery Mates Matthew and Toby keep the streak going because not recording on a weekly basis could displease the baseball gods. The boys go around the horn about their teams’ recent performance and other ridiculous heat waves, Boston playing under protest, Trea Turner hitting for the cycle (again), and major heel turns by the Yankees and Twins pitching staffs. This on...

Episode 080: Bring Bopper Back Battery Mates Matthew and Toby are back again for another quick chat to preview the second half for their teams, make some Bold Predictions™ for both leagues, and get a little curious about a new rule in the Atlantic League that allows batters to steal first.

Episode 079: Mocking Dulcet Tones Battery Mates Matthew and Toby get together for a brief discussion of the All Star Game and related festivities, and preview the second half of the season for the suddenly maybe-good Nats and Clevelands.

Episode 078: Sans the Hat Battery Mates Matthew and Toby talk baseball for the second time in a week and go around the horn about Toby’s decision to switch hats, Matthew’s trips to D.C. for live baseball during the Nats’ recent turnaround, the latest bonkers thing Max Scherzer did, the New York Times coverage of Trevor Bauer and his new marketing company, and the ridiculous proposal being floated...

Episode 077: Called Home Schooling Not Clubhouse Schooling Battery Mates Matthew and Toby are live from Boston’s Fenway Park—well, at least to start the episode. Audio issues forced a scrapping of the bulk of the recording. (Imagine a conference call with people in a wind storm. It’s like that, except instead of wind, it’s Boston fans yelling and two people who don’t really know how to use their t...

Episode 076: A T-Ball Team from Westchester Battery Mates Matthew and Toby go around the horn for the first time since the season started. After checking in on the Nats and Clevelands, Matthew fills Battery Mates Nation in on why he’s getting emotional about sports these days. The boys chit-chat about the new rules MLB announced for this season before a Half-Hearted Attempt at Empathy with Rob Fla...

Episode 075: Everything Is Going to Be OK Battery Mates Matthew and Toby kick off the fourth regular season of Battery Mates in style and with the help from dozens (DOZENS!) of listeners who sent submissions to the Preseason Predictions Contest. (Thanks again to everyone who partook.)  Today’s a national holiday, or at least it should be. So treat it like one.

PSA: How to enter the 2019 Preseason Predictions Contest Battery Mates It’s a week out from Opening Day 2019, which means it’s also time for our annual Battery Mates Nation Preseason Predictions Contest. It's almost too easy to enter—all you need to do is use your "Voice Memo” (or other sound recording device) to answer these six questions: 1. Who are you? 2. Who's your team? 3. How many games wil...

Episode 074: Breaking News Battery Mates Matthew will burn his daughter’s jersey.

Episode 073: Bonkers Baseball Battery Mates Matthew and Toby decide it’s time to record an episode, now that players who actually have contracts have shown up for spring training. The boys go around the horn on: the sudden Britton name change; the Cubs' TV deal with the devil/Sinclair Broadcast Group; ex-bae Trevor having a lot to say about his most recent arbitration hearing; and a whole host of...

Episode 072: The Ooffseason Battery Mates Matthew and Toby return for the first episode since the World Series to discuss what’s transpired, announce who won the 2018 preseason predictions contest, and debate whether this is indeed the fourth season of the show. Justin Barasky, campaign manager for Sen. Sherrod Brown’s successful 2018 campaign and soon-to-be new father, joins for a Half-Hearted At...

Episode 071: Why Would Anyone Listen to This? Battery Mates Matthew and Toby reluctantly record a show about a postseason that has passed them by. A few highlights from the various series make the show barely palatable, and a mixed, Very Half-Hearted Attempt at Empathy invites a few Dodgers fans to comment on the state of the World Series. And Toby updates Battery Mates Nation on a lot of things t...

Episode 070: Send Big Papi Out on a High Note Battery Mates Matthew and Toby catch up after a September hiatus to recap the end of the regular season and preview a drama-filled Monday in the National League. The boys go Three Up, Three Down on Toby catching a foul ball (!), the Red Sox Division Champions banner literally falling off a truck, whether it’s “fair” that the Yankees could win 100 games...

Episode 069: It Works on Americans Battery Mates Matthew and Toby meet up in person  for a very special live episode in which they mostly hug and take questions from Battery Mates Nation. 

Episode 068: Bad Words Bears Battery Mates Matthew and Toby dive into a rousing Three Up, Three Down on what the Nats and Clevelands did at the trade deadline, a rash of players' old, awful tweets coming to light, advice for taking a 4-month old to the ballgame, the Astros’ meaningless “zero tolerance” policy, and the odd exhausting experience of watching a game exclusively available on Facebook....

Episode 067: A Baseball Lord of the Flies Battery Mates With just about a week to go before the trade deadline, Matthew and Toby catch up on what’s been going on—and throw the ball around the horn on Bryce Harper in the home run *darby*, the Clevelands having one of the best left sides of an infield in baseball history, Supreme Court nominee’s Brett Kavanaugh’s suspicious Nats tickets debt, and La...

Episode 066: Donald Trump's Origin Story Battery Mates Matthew and Toby go around the horn on the NL getting closer to adding the DH, Cleveland getting a Bieber, Bryce Harper putting up a historically selfish season, Staten Island's temporary rebrand, and the two teams in baseball who have never held a Pride Night. Kate Stayman-London leads a sure-to-be-unpopular discussion of The Sandlot for the...

Episode 065: There Was No Candy Crush Battery Mates Matthew and Toby marvel over Bartolo Colon on his 45th birthday and go around the horn about Roy Gleason, the only MLB player to be wounded while serving in Vietnam; juiced balls vs. juiced players; Rizzo’s dirty slide in Pittsburgh; and the Sergio Romo experiment in Tampa.  Kate Stayman-London joins for another edition of Battery Mates at t...

Episode 064: Reaganism, Baseball Ghosts, and Dad Stuff Battery Mates Matthew and Toby go around the horn on their middling teams, Toby's daughter's effect on Corey Kluber, Bryce Harper's selfishness, two stories about baseball weaving its way into ugly all-American controversy, and of course the most recent hubbub involving our ex, Trevor. Kate Stayman-London joins for the latest installment of Ba...

Episode 063: It's Early Battery Mates Matthew and Toby catch up on all that’s transpired since the last recording: a new baby, 3+ weeks of baseball, and plenty of self-reassurances that it’s too early to panic. A solid Three Up, Three Down includes discussion of the difficulties of watching baseball from Britain, the incredible CLE-MIN series in Puerto Rico, the merits of small ball, an impending...

OMG OMG OMG... Baseball season is back, and so are preseason predictions from Battery Mates Nation. Matthew and Toby waste little time on chit-chat and jump right into listener submissions to find out what will happen in baseball this year—division by division. So grab some peanuts, say a few prayers to the baseball gods, and let's kick this season off right.  Episode 062: If They Can Stay He...

Episode 061: MLB Dot MLB Dot Com Slash MLB Slash Pace-of-Play Battery Mates Matthew and Toby get a little practice in by covering a whole bunch of spring-training topics, including: how Major League Baseball fought segregation by threatening to pull spring training out of Florida, Mike Moustakas’ lol of an offseason and suspicion of *collusion* in free agency, MLB’s response to the Parkland shooti...

Episode 060: His Tweets Are Always Very High Quality Battery Mates Matthew and Toby talk a little shit about Mitt Romney’s return to politics and Tim Tebow’s return to the diamond… and then go around the horn (from across the pond!) on Sean Doolittle’s tweets, MLB’s official rule changes, the Tigers’ lip service to taking domestic violence seriously, and Chief Wahoo’s scheduled departure.  Ro...

Episode 059: No Gift Basket for Us Battery Mates Matthew and Toby return for a brand-new episode to catch up on the offseason and preview spring training; pitchers and catchers report next week ! Three Up, Three Down returns for discussions about Youppi and the Expos in purgatory, Curt Schilling NOT getting to be a Hall of Famer (and Jim Thome getting in), the impending pitch clock, what-the-eff D...

Episode 058: Welcome to MLB Offseason Presented by Chuck E. Cheese's Battery Mates Matthew and Toby have a good chat about the World Series, including: brave new adventures in baseball advertising; how to experience the entire tournament entirely via twitter dot com; Sports Illustrated finally getting a prediction right; and the question of whether the Astros will go to the White House.  In a...