The Black Baseball Mixtape

The homies Clinton Yates and Alex Hyacinthe join the BBM podcast for a live recap of all things playoffs and Black baseball.

Cheats and Flobo are joined by our resident Dodgers fan April to talk about where we are in the playoffs. The Birds are down 0-2 to the Rangers. The Braves are down 0-1 to the Phils, and the Dodgers are down 0-1 to the D-Backs (Flobo is pumped). Here us talk about what's going right and what's going wrong. Please subscribe to the Black Baseball Mixtape. Leave a review to enter into a chance to win...

The MLB Wild Card rounds are in the books, and we had four sweeps. Congrats to the Phils, Twins, Rangers, and D-Backs. Let's face it — there was not a competitive series in the bunch, so that begs the question that I asked the BBM crew: Flobo and TC: Were the MLB Wild Card rounds a complete bust? We also played a little game of: Who would you rather be about the upcoming Divisional round, which st...

Cheats and Flobo are talking MLB playoffs live and in full effect. On this premier BBM live look-in, we're joined by Malik Chamber (@Buttamanecane) from the BBM group chat. The Rays looked and felt pathetic (we have to call it like it was), and their attendance was the worst in an MLB playoff game since 1919. The Rangers, while not a juggernaut, took care of business. The Twins broke their 18-game...

Is travel ball the best route for Black kids to play baseball? It's clearly a very important part of elite youth baseball in 2023. So, what does that really mean? We know travel ball is expensive. Not every working-class family can afford the equipment, the uniforms, the tournament entry fees, the club monthly fees, and the add-on expenses for travel. Travel ball is an expensive and difficult grin...

Baseball absolutely needs a Coach Prime. It needs a Deion Sanders to shoot energy directly into its veins. There is no denying the impact that Coach Prime AKA Prime Time AKA Neon Deion has had on the American sports landscape this year at the University of Colorado. It's huge! It's not only the talk of sports, but it's the top of pop culture and the top of traditional news media (AKA 60 Minutes le...

We have another great episode for you. Please rate and review the show on Apple Podcast. 13-year MLB alum Jeffrey Hammonds joins the podcast. Hammonds may not be a true household name, but he was one of my favorite Orioles of all time. He was a hitting machine. The only thing that truly slowed him down was his health. Even with injuries, Hammonds played 13 MLB seasons, making the all-star team in...

The Roberto Clemente Award is the most prestigious award in MLB. The Roberto Clemente Award is bestowed annually to the player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field. Past winners include Willie Mays, Willie Stargel, Rod Crew, Don Baylor, Curtis Granderson, and Derek Jeter....

Kerrick Jackson is a true trailblazer. He made history last year when he was hired as the first Black baseball Head Coach at the University of Memphis. In one season at Memphis, Jackson led the program to their first winning season since 2017, racking up 29 wins. In June, he accepted the head coaching job at the University of Missouri. A hire that allowed him to return home - he had served as an a...

Chances are - if you're a boxing fan, you've seen Brandon Watson's face. He is one of THE faces of boxing, along with his brother Marcus and his father Sam. But even though you may have seen his face, you probably don't know his story. Brandon Watson took the long way to achieve his dream of being an MLB player, but he did it. At the age of 23, Brandon made his debut with the Washington Nationals...

"The Fair Ball Foundation provides need-based financial support, mentoring, and professional development opportunities for college-bound African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander American, and Native American students. Through scholarships, fellowships, internships, and ambassadorships, Fair Ball provides the funds necessary to CLOSE THE GAP between partial aid packages...

This is another amazing episode from my visit to Seattle during All-Star week. This episode is a conversation with Phillies legend Ryan Howard. I sat down with him at the Players Alliance Game Changer Awards. I'm going to assume you already know how dominate of a slugger Ryan was but just in case you forgot: 3×  All-Star  ( 2006 ,  2009 ,  2010 ) World Series  champion ( 2...

Emergency Short: This is truly the end of an era on the Southside of Chicago. Allow me a minute to tell you about Kenny Williams.

Everyone will learn something from this episode. Last week, I had the honor of speaking with Jean Lee Batrus. Jean is the Executive Director of the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation (YDF). YDF is a joint initiative by Major League Baseball and the Players Association to support efforts that focus on improving the caliber, effectiveness and availability of amateur baseball and softball program...

I'm excited to share this conversation with Royals prospect Tyler Tolbert. Tolbert, 25, plays for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He is a true utility player, playing infield and outfield: wherever the team needs him. He is in the top five in the Texas League in stolen bases and is second in the league in hits (118) and triples (6). Tyler shared a lot in this interview. He talked about his approa...

This episode features the return of one of my favorites guest, Edwin Jackson. I spent a large part of All-Star week with EJack and other members of the Players Alliance as we attended the first-ever HBCU Swingman Classic, Toni's Promise softball games, the Players Alliance Game Change awards, and other meaningful panels. This podcast was recorded live at the 2023 Game Changer Awards honoring Dave...

The Washington Nationals' Jojo Gray is having a tremendous season. The 25-year-old, Right-handed pitcher is posting one the best pitching WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in all of baseball: 3.2. He has a team-high 7 wins, with 102 Ks (to date) and an ERA of 3.27. He was named a 2023 MLB All-Star for the first time, and he pitched a scoreless inning in this year's All-Star game, helping the National L...

BBM hit legend status at the 2023 MLB All Star Game in Seattle. I was able to steal some time with Hall of Famer Dave Winfield and MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark. I asked them both about the first-ever Swingman Classic and the work of the Players Alliance. You don't want to miss this short but compelling episode. Please subscribe to the Black Baseball Mixtape Podcast. Please like, subscribe,...

This is the first episode from our time at the 2023 MLB All-Star week. This episode features two of culture's most influential content creators: The Kid Mero and Lou Young. BBM founder, Cheats, spoke to Mero on the field at T-Mobile Stadium before the All-Starr game, and he sat with Lou at the Player Alliance Game Changer Awards. You will enjoy both of these interviews. Please subscribe to the Bla...

I hope you're enjoying this break from the standard interview podcast. I'm learning from the overnight numbers that I should consider more of these types of podcasts. Day 3 was lighter than the first two days — a blessing in disguise. Not to bury the lead, but I met Amber Sabathia! She's amazing (as expected - again, whoever said don't meet your heroes had the wrong damn heroes. I was so excited t...

I'm summing up Day 2 of my MLB All-Star activities with one word: historic. The day was historic on two fronts: The Players Alliance and Minority Softball Prospects (MSP), each launched inaugural undertakings. Toni's Promise is a U17 softball team comprised of Black girls from all over the country. They are coming together and playing in the Jennie Fench Classic for the very first time. That was f...

BBM Family, Cheats here! And I'm doing something new: I am recapping my days at MLB All-Star Week in Seattle. Today was my first day; it was a half-day due to travel, but, boy, did I get it in. And did I mention that I met Ken Griffey Jr.? If not, I met KEN GRIFFEY JR.! That story is in this episode. I also met: Cito Gaston, Bill Rhoden, Marvin Freeman, and many (many) more people. What a first da...

Last Friday (June 30, 2023), I had the honor of being in Norfolk, VA, as the Norfolk Tided (AAA- Orioles) celebrated Negro League Night at Harbor Park. This podcast episode is extraordinary. I sat down with Daz Cameron of the Tides to talk about his career and the honor of being a member of the Tide on this particular night. Daz is a second-generation professional player. His dad, Mike Cameron, wa...

On this Black Baseball Mixtape podcast episode, Cheats sits down with Washington Nationals' #1 prospect (MLB #6), James Wood. The Harrisburg Senators centerfielder spoke about his approach to improving his game, his early love for baseball in a house full of hoopers, his journey from Maryland to IMG (Flordia), to the draft (San Diego), and now back to his hometown club (the Nationals). It's a wild...

On this special episode of the Black Baseball Mixtape podcast, Cheats sat down with Trey Lipscomb of the Harrisburg Senators. According to MLB.com, Trey is the #18 prospect in the Nationals organization. He was drafted in the 3rd round of last year's draft — after completing a stellar senior season at the University of Tennessee. On the podcast, Trey talks about his journey from a college walk-on...