The Book of Joe with Joe Maddon & Tom Verducci

The Book of Joe Podcast with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon begins with Aaron Boone's epic interaction with umpire Laz Diaz.  Joe explains the emotion that leads to a manager blowing up on the field. Umpires have a tough job, but are the players making that job even harder?  Joe is 16th on the all-time list with 59 ejections in 19 years and we hear about some of the most memorable walks to the...

The Book of Joe Podcast with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon examine the moves made at the MLB Trade Deadline.  The Mets are left with $210 million in dead money but Tom explains why the team can still be happy. What's happening with the Dodgers and how can it be fixed? We look at other deals made by teams preparing for stretch runs while Tom thinks the Yankees are in trouble offensively. Joe ex...

The Book of Joe Podcast with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon welcome Fmr MLB Catcher and current Princeton Baseball Manager Scott Bradley.  We look at Summer Leagues and Collegiate Baseball and what that does for MLB.  Learn the insights of how players come up through the ranks and the differences between being developed and learning to win.  Scott and Joe were both catchers and reveal how diffe...

The Book of Joe Podcast with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon discuss hard pitching counts and the first 120 pitching performance of the season.  What has 6 man rotations and the lack of true aces on the mound done to the game?  Tom's phone was blowing up after a recent rant on one-knee catching in certain situations, find out what caused such an uproar! As a former catcher, Joe weighs in on what...

The Book of Joe Podcast opens with the All-Star break in the rear view and a look ahead to the 2nd half of the season.  Hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon discuss the teams getting a break and a fresh start.  Joe gives his secret to success for getting a team back in the groove.  Tom looks at four 'turnaround teams' and reveals who he thinks can sustain their new-found success for the rest of the s...

The Book of Joe Podcast opens with a day of bad luck for the Angels. Hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon discuss Mike Trout heading to the IL and some troubling stats around his legacy. Is it time for the Angels to consider trading Shohei Ohtani? Joe gives some surprising thoughts on the matter.  We turn our attention to 'Super Groups' in music and in baseball.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it d...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with how managers handle the dog days of summer. Hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon address the Rays benching Wander Franco and the recent struggles of the Yankees.  We explore Joe's insight into having team meetings and when is the right time to truly benefit the players.  Tom is puzzled by the struggles of the Mets and what can be changed to turn things around.  Plu...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with the MLB season approaching the halfway mark!  Hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon are in awe of Shohei Ohtani and with the Angels in the mix, Joe hopes the franchise is looking to protect their superstar.  How has Ohtani adjusted his performance at the plate to get even more comfortable?  On the fun side, should managers wear uniforms and numbers?  Joe explains hi...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon welcoming LA Dodgers Executive Josh Byrnes to the show.  The MLB Draft is around the corner and no one is better at talent evaluation than Josh.  We walk through how Josh started in Cleveland and found himself in Los Angeles.  Tom explores the process of identifying and nurturing prospects into a team's system. Josh gives his th...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon welcoming Orioles manager Brandon Hyde to the show.  Baltimore has the 3rd best record in baseball and Brandon tells us how this success is happening. We talk about players and pitchers gaining confidence and how last season set the table for this year.  Tom reveals how new rule changes may have helped this Orioles team.  We exp...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon welcoming Mike Krzyzewski to the show.  Coach K talks about retiring from coaching, but not retiring from teaching.  Being a leader is a learning process and something Coach K studies on a daily basis.  We explore the values that are important to build trust with those around you and how someone's character is just as important...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon introducing the 'potpourri' of topics of the day.  They both attended the reopening of Hinchliffe Stadium in New Jersey and relive the events of the day.  We touch on the death of St. Louis Columnist Rick Hummel and the 'rules' he lived by. Moving to starting pitching, Tom wants to know why so much less is asked of starters, but...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon excited to see 'It Ain't Over', a documentary on the life of Yogi Berra.  Lindsay Berra joins us to discuss getting the film made and how it's about more than just baseball.  Lindsay's Grandfather is a Hall of Famer, but how has MLB overlooking the history of the 13x World Series champ?  Joe takes us into some of the many conver...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon reacting to the Cardinals move with Willson Contreras.  Joe gives his thoughts on the handling of the situation and how the team moves forward.  MLB Coach Mike Borzello joins the show and talks about working with Contreras and this early season decision.  We explore the 'state' of catching and how it's impacting the game.  Mike...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon looking at the first month of the MLB season.   Joe says what you can and cannot take away after the first 30 days.  What are the first impressions you're seeing from teams? We address the injury of Aaron Judge and how the Yankees will adjust moving forward. Tom tells us where he's ready to jump to some conclusions about teams w...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon discussing the Max Scherzer controversy with his agent, Scott Boras.  Scott doesn't think MLB is as concerned with rosin as one umpire is being.  Is there a subjective standard for standards that pitchers are being penalized for?  Joe takes us back to his dealings with umpires and the enforcement of pitching substances.  Scott s...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with Joe Maddon watching early games and asking Tom Verducci why it took rule changes to teach players how to steal a base.  We're joined by Pitching Biomechanics Expert Glenn Fleisig to discuss pitching biomechanics and why we're not able to prevent more injuries on the mound.  We explore the relationship between torque and velocity and Glenn cautions an athlete cha...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon talking discipline. Joe comments on Tyler O'Neill being benched by Cardinals manager Oli Marmol for an 'unacceptable' base-running effort and how he's handled similar situations. Tom notes the changing culture in baseball and how managers have changed as well. Teams are stealing bases so far, but Joe has one concern he'll be wat...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon enjoying the start of the season and the new pace of the game.  Tom explains the early returns and what has already drastically changed on the field.  Joe comments on the Anthony Rendon confrontation with a fan and how MLB could make some changes moving forward.  Tom notes how the atmosphere in the stands has changed and how fan...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon getting ready for the 2023 season!  How does Joe feel about the season getting underway without him being in uniform?  Tom rolls through some of the new faces he's looking forward to seeing while Joe reveals how he handled the young prospects out of the gate.   Find out the 3 biggest storylines heading into the season, plus how...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon discussing Joe's performance in the Valspar Pro-Am event!   We're joined by MLB Umpire Phil Cuzzi, who has been working Spring Training and implementing the new rules for this season. Tom walks through Phil's journey to becoming an MLB ump.  We find out what circumstance saw Phil leave the game and the crazy coincidence that bro...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon welcoming Pirates pitcher David Bednar to the show.  David is part of Team USA at the World Baseball Classic and describes what it's like playing for his country and this team.  While talking about his pitches, David reveals how he incorporated a splitter into his game and the other major league pitcher that helped him.  David e...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon discussing Joe playing in the Valpar Pro-Am in Tampa and why he's so nervous, eager, and excited.  Shawn Purdy, father of 49ers QB Brock Purdy, joins us to discuss the amazing run of San Fran this season. Shawn had an 8 year career in baseball's minor leagues and explains how that perseverance was passed along to his son. Shawn...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon seeing Spring Training get underway without Joe in a dugout!   Newly retired Dexter Fowler joins us to talk about calling it a career and what's up next. Joe has always loved 'Glue Guys' and Dexter tops that list.  Dexter reveals how he started switch hitting at the plate and how he got his 'not to great' break into the Major Le...

The Book of Joe Podcast begins with hosts Tom Verducci and Joe Maddon exploring some of the rule changes coming to baseball this season.  Joe really likes one rule specifically and thinks it should've happened a long time ago.  Tom feels like 'pace' of the game is more important than how long the game takes.  How long does Tom think it will take for players to adjust to the changes?  With the shif...