First Pitch Strike

After two busy schedules slowed down, Ethan and Aaron return. Aaron shares his observations from his baseball road trip. The guys discuss the firings of managers so early in the season and what impact this could have. Aaron mentioned the Astros injury woes, and Ethan weighed in on what the training staff has to do with injuries - if any. Of course they talked a little playoff hockey, and even ment...

The first games of the MLB season is upon us! Ethan and Aaron are joined by our friend Bob as we share our thoughts on the upcoming season. PCA got a new contract, the Dodgers are naturally the favorites, Pittsburgh in the playoffs, and Bob is upset at the owners. Join us and get filled up with 2026 MLB season thoughts. 

The 2026 season has arrived, and Spring Training is in full swing. Aaron asks Ethan what one looks for during Spring workouts and games. Can Japan repeat in the WBC, or does Aaron Judge and company have what it takes? We recap a few observations from the Hot Stove League - including what the Mets are trying to do. Because we're sports fans, we talked about the Winter Olympics, curling, the ski jum...

The first episode of 2026 brings the joys of wishing teams a New Year's resolution. Ethan throws shade at the New York Mets and their intersting off season so far. Aaron is still slightly bitter about where Brandon Nimmo plays in '26. Aaron and Ethan both want the Rockies to improve their team ERA. We throw in a little football for our Pat Hobart Don't Be Stupid Award winners. And for good measure...

Join Ethan and Aaron for another postseason discussion. Aaron watched most of that marathon Game 3 and might be a little delirious. Strategy plays a role, and how does it impact the game? Do you walk Ohtani, Springer, Betts, and others? What are the similarities between this year's Blue Jays and the 2017 Astros? Ban electronics/screens? Cheating is taken to a whole new level in our Pat Hobert winn...

GAME DAY!!! Ethan and Aaron return on the biggest day in Mariner baseball history. They discuss the good and bad of what they've seen. Could Shohei Ohtani be unbeatable? Is he even human? There's some important history made in each series, and where is your money for the World Series? Can you cheer injuries? For the first time ever on First Pitch Strike, we mention Cricket too. Join us for the rid...

Crossover episode alert! Ethan and Aaron are joined by our friends, Matt Robert and Braden Morris, from the Everyman Sports Podcast. We start with baseball and the meaningful game in the last 2 weeks of the season. Records are being set and records are being avoided. Since there are playoff spots clinched, we focus on a couple of pennant races. We then jump into some football talk. Is UCLA a mess?...

We are once again back on track and have a short talk about records. From Cal Raleigh and the records he has broken to the record the Rockies might be breaking. Ethan wants to see the Rockies set the futility record, while Aaron has mixed emotions. Both Ethan and Aaron believe Cal should win the MVP in the AL for one reason - Seattle is sunk without him. We cover a few quick minutes of the trade d...

We return this week and discuss random things of the last two weeks from MLB. Big Dumper is playing a real life video game according to Ethan. Have the Rockies given up based on what Ethan saw at the game? Do we have a new hate filled rivalry brewing in SoCal? And we cover LSU winning the MCWS and how Coastal Carolina got robbed. Finally, did Ethan call a shot? Join us for a rollercoaster of an ep...

Aaron and Ethan welcome Rachel Marsden from the Frisco RoughRiders to the show. We get a glimpse behind the scenes of AA baseball in Frisco and a whole lot of softball from Rachel as she shares her experience as a former D1 pitcher. We cover the WCWS, AUSL, and our usual Pat Hobert and trivia segments. Join us for a fantastic episode with a great guest.

Welcome back for another adventure with Aaron and Ethan. We highlight a few things we liked so far this season (Catchers, Nimmo catch, Baez hitting) while bemoaning what we didn't like (last-place teams and the Rockies). Ethan shares what team he'd play for if there were open tryouts. Rockies and Rangers share an award; Cubs are highlighted in the trivia question and we even gave props to the Astr...

Two games in Japan were just a tease. Join us as we welcome a few fans and experts to our annual Regular Season Extravaganza. We're talking about what we see in the coming year for our favorite teams and their divisions. Who wins this weeks, "Diaz-Hobert Don't Be Stupid Award?" Will anyone have a bold prediction for the 2025 season? Come along for the ride and welcome MLB back.

We are back with a few things we've seen in Spring Training so far. From 88mph knuckleballs to the Mets didn't screw up a contract. There are bad reads in the OF, and pitchers are picking up new pitches. But we're more than just a baseball podcast. This week, Ethan's moment of frustration is all about hockey; which is kinda like baseball when he talks about beach balls. Join us for an hourish of f...

Finally! Football is over and baseball is back. Our friend, Jacod Milham from The Royal Rundown Podcast joins us on this episode as we share our excitement for the return of our beloved sport. What we love and hate about the events of the offseason sees a mutual hate of what Toronto is doing and a mutual love of the Athletics? We play a little trivia and rename the "Don't Be Stupid Award." As expe...

Happy New Year! In this episode, we honor a few of the greats we lost in 2024 after Rickey Henderson's recent passing. Instead of taking the normal path of creating a baseball Mount Rushmore, we look at the guys we consider generational players. Join us for all this and more as we kick off Season 6.

Ethan and Aaron are joined by friend and frequent guest, Bob Seide. Ethan started off on a rampage discussing contacts and ended questioning snow. Bob grilled us understand what the Cubs have since and what they need to do in 2025. Aaron is frustrated everyone wants the Mariners pitching. Didn't miss the chaos in this edition.

In this episode, we dove into a discussion to wrap up the season. Our surprise with how the World Series ended and Freddie Freeman's MVP started things off. Did we support the end-of-year awards? Who gets into the Hall of Fame? Can Ichiro be a 1st time ballot inductee? Does Aaron trust the writers who vote? And don't miss out on Ethan's hot take on...boxing?

With the World Series 2 games in, we must discuss preparing for the big game. There's no better person to join in on how to prepare for these games than our friend, Dave Brown. Dave is an umpire with several years of working in the Legion World Series. He's also a former football and basketball referee. Join us as this is going to be a fun discussion.

Marlin Casey joins Ethan and Aaron for a quick go round the league. There's a team that's mired, a team that fired, and a couple of guys we'd hire. From pennant races to ROY candidates and learning about touching 1st base. We then turn a little serious with our Don't Be Stupid segment. Join us for this packed episode and don't miss a thing.

We are back from our brief hiatus! We'll give you a life update about our absences. Hear our adventure with American Legion Baseball. We discuss some of our observations in MLB, including Aaron's trip to Oakland. We'll even toss in some other random topics, including what the Atlanta Braves bullpen and Olympic Breakdancing have in common (hint, Ethan has a beef). Join us for a little fun this epis...

We are back and have plenty to judge. From Aaron Judge and the Yankees heating up to judging what rules we'd change if we were commissioner. Finally, Aaron goes off judging the actions of one former MLB player. Sit down and enjoy the ride. ***Explicit content involving child exploitation/trafficking is discussed in our final segment. We do NOT condone the actions being discussed which is clearly s...

We had to walk a different path today as life got in the way. Our friend Bob joined us again for a simple talk about baseball. We came up with pitchers that defy today's metrics, what a flight filled with call-ups would be like and what happens to a city's economy when a team leaves. We gave the Don't Be Stupid Award a new name to honor multi-time winner Angel Hernandez. There's more so go give it...

Aaron was joined by guests, Cami, Bob, and Mac to talk all things preseason. We discuss the Cubs, Astros, Cardinals, and Mariners while touching on other teams and Ohtani. We even have multiple, "Don't Be Stupid Award" winners and some bold picks for the season. There is so much more that you will enjoy listening to another great episode with great people.

Time to catch up on more Free Agent movement. Ethan starts his rants early while Aaron ends the ranting in the return of the "Don't Be Stupid," segment. Oakland isn't leaving for Vegas now? What city could get a new team? Of course, we have a few moments where hockey talk also snuck into the conversation.

Time away does the mind and soul good. Ethan and Aaron return after a very long reprieve from the podcast. We talk a little about hockey, a little baseball, and a little everything else. We share our thoughts on Ohtani bombs and Snell without a job; Oakland's bungled move and Portland building things. Join us for our Season 5 debut and relax some as you get ready for baseball.