Bat Flips And Nerds (Bat Flips & Nerds)

John, Will and Darius discuss the Olympic return for baseball and the trade deadline. John thinks Jeter is overrated.

More at www.batflipsandnerds.wordpress.com

Intro music 'Mr Thief' by Bright Falls (www.freemusicarchive.org

Darius Austin and Tom Pringle join John McGee to discuss the legacy and career of a man whose all-time career came to an end this week - Alex Rodriguez.

John and Tom are sorry for Clayton Kershaw's loss before bantering about the Ump Show and their beloved Red Sox. They discuss the parallels between the UK and US national pastimes, touching on the Andre Gray homophobia scandal and Fulham FC's attempts at sabermetrics.

John interviews GB Baseball head coach Liam Carroll about the team's forthcoming tilts at the European Baseball Championship and the World Baseball Classic Qualifier. They cover Liam's background as a player and coach, his hopes for the future of the sport in the UK and his own personal coaching creed - The GB Way.

Darius Austin (@dariusA64) talks to Ben Carter (@ukbaseballblog)about pitch framing, how he got into baseball, the playoff race, and the perils of following the sport from the UK.

John and Darius discuss two near perfect pitching performances from Rich Hill and Jon Gray, cast the lead in 'AJ Preller: Ocean's Seven' and get into the details of Adam Jones vital and timely interventions on baseball and race.

This week's one off intro music is provided by The Motorettes, with the usual sounds from the brilliant Bright Falls.

John McGee and Darius Austin are joined by LA Angels Minor Leaguer, Burlington Bees and GB Baseball utility man Jordan Serena.

Thomas Neumann of ESPN International joins John and Tom to discuss the GB Baseball squad's WBC heroics. Things then go rapidly downhill as Ben Carter joins John and Tom to mock Tim Tebow (again) before the stakes are upped - World Series predictions, and our own adopted players? It could all come back to haunt us.

Tom takes the host's chair as he and John discuss a few potentially quirky World Series stories before nailing their colours to the mast and predicting a particularly big series for a very big man - Joe West.

They then turn to the issue of domestic violence, attempting to work through the thorns of risk, PR, rehab and censure to work out the tipping point for offending sportsmen. The answer? It's complicated.

John and Tom chat to MLB's Director of Market Development for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Jason Holowaty on his journey to the UK, how MLB found and developed Max Kepler and the next steps for the game in the UK.

Simon Crosse, Blue Jays fanatic and sports producer for BBC, Channel 4 and BT Sport joins John to discuss the offseason in Toronto and the state of baseball broadcasting in the UK.

Tom hosts as John and Ben duke it out over how MLB needs to pitch its much discussed London series. The team also introduce the Bartolo Colon Game.

Jenny Fromer, joint-CEO of national development agency Baseball Softball UK, joins John to discuss their plans to grow the game UK wide, develop elite talent and how the mooted MLB London series might help boost the Great Britain baseball squad's Olympic dreams.

London newbie and Expos Nation stalwart joins John to talk about his beloved team, growing baseball in the UK, the role of the Blue Jays in Canadian sport and what it felt like to be present for THAT bat flip.

Ben Carter and Darius Austin join to preview pre-season, picking out our sleeper teams, players and fantasy picks for the 2017 MLB season. Meanwhile, John goes off the long run-up at Jeffrey Loria...

Kicking off our series of season preview pods, Tom is joined by Hampshire based Phillies fan Dave Shaw. They talk the team's hopes for 2017, and round off with some very UK specific looks at the roster.

On the second episode of the season previews, Tom is joined by BFBS DJ Hal Stewart to talk all about the Seattle Mariners. He begins by admitting he should have never chosen them and finishes by saying he hasn't seen the Adam Lind fart. In between there is some chat about last season and this upcoming season.

Alex Hoad of Kent Online joins Tom to talk all about the San Diego Padres. But before the chaps get down to that, Alex reveals he once competed in the NFL combine, then proceeds to make a wild AND bold prediction about Jered Weaver. Don't miss this one!

John is joined by Great Britain, and former Cincinnati Reds AAA, catcher Chris Berset to discuss his career with the GB squad, holidays with the grandparents in London and the craft and psychology that goes into being the busiest man on the field.

Mark Blakemore joins Tom to talk about Tom's least favourite subject, the New York Yankees. The conversation shifts quickly from what happened last year to what will happen this year, then finally onto the mighty team the Yankees could have in 2018.

Mike Witcombe (@MikeWitcombe) joins Tom to talk all about the "playoff curse" Washington Nationals. Mike has hopes for 2017, but not much beyond the year. All this hope is on the rotation staying healthy and Jayson Werth keeping garlic chilli mayo out of his beard.

Craig Hurring (@CraigHurring) joins Tom to talk all about the Milwaukee Brewers. They get all poetic and sentimental about this sport we all love, before deciding that Ryan Braun should stay at home, unless he's playing.

Jasmine Baba (@__baba) joins Tom to talk all about the San Francisco Giants, their 2016 fragile bullpen and lack of hitting, then they soon shift onto 2017 and who has the smoothest face in the lineup. This is the sort of content Giants fans want.

New Zealand Test cricketer Daryl Tuffey joins John to discuss the crossover between his sport and baseball, how fantasy baseball brought together the NZ squad in the mid 2000s, his love of the Minnesota Twins and his enduring rivalry with 'arch nemesis' Scott Sytris.

Rob Noverraz (@RobNoverraz) joins Tom to talk all about the Tampa Bay Rays, the fragility of their team every year and who broke David Price (This was before we all found out he was fixed). The pod finishes with another round-up of silly questions where the stakes for "Who stays at home?" continues to shift!

Joe Hulbert (@HulbertJoe) joins Ben Carter (@UkBaseballBlog) to talk all about the Los Angeles Angels. They discuss the back end of the rotation, why Mariners fans should be cautious of Jerry Dipoto and the quick fire questions to finish. Which category will Mike Trout fit into?

BASEBALL IS BACK! Tom is incredibly excited, Darius less so, but seeing as Tom is hosting the chaps talk Spring Training.

The WORLD baseball classic and it's lack of coverage available in the UK is laughed at.

Tim Tebow (obviously) gets a mention

And finally we look at some of the funny tweets in the past 7 days, with the potential prize giving potentially coming...potentially.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/batflips_nerds
Facebook: www.facebook.com/batflipsandnerds

Jed (@TigersJUK) joins Ben to talk all about the Detroit Tigers in detail, Jed remains pessimistic throughout the pod until the wild and bold prediction.

http://www.batflipsandnerds.com

Mike Shipley (@99Xenon99) joins Tom to talk all about the Toronto Blue Jays. Mike stays positive, even when talking about Jarrod Saltalamacchia and his potential time at the plate. To Toms disappointment, Josh Donaldson doesn't feature in the silly questions to finish.

Matt Smith (@MattBaseballGB) joins Tom to talk all about the Oakland Athletics. They cover the Sonny Gray injury, the hopes for 2017 and Matt leaves everyone with an image of an Oakland A sitting in a gutter, eating a kebab.

Southampton Mustangs and National Baseball League (NBL) commissioner, Ben Davis, joins John to talk all about the Mustangs 2016 NBL victory and the future of the team. They touch on the ever increasing Venezuelan population in Southampton thanks to the fantastic players Ben and his team manage to attract. Ben wraps up the discussion touching on the adjustments to NBL and what the future could be for the league.

Southampton Mustangs - www.southamptonmustangs.co.uk
Mustangs Twitter - www.twitter.com/sotonmustangs

www.batflipsandnerds.com

Sydney Blue Sox and Great Britain pitcher Vaughan Harris (@vaughanh34) joins Darius Austin to talk about his career, the Australian Baseball League, and the World Baseball Classic, including his very own team ratings.

Vaughan's WBC team ratings: https://twitter.com/vaughanh34/status/841085668746969088
Sydney Blue Sox: http://web.theabl.com.au/index.jsp?sid=t4069
World Baseball Classic: https://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/

www.batflipsandnerds.com

In a special tie up with Extra Innings, we bring you exclusive interviews with Adrian Gonzalez, Francisco Cervelli, Drew Butera and Josh Harrison direct from the WBC.

John provides appalling narration, showing ring rust by using the wrong mic for his intro...

You can say thanks by following Gabriel at Extra Innings:

On Twitter: www.twitter.com/extrainnings_bb
At their website: https://extrainningsbaseball.wordpress.com
And here on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-166708407/

The preview tables are turned on Batflips & Nerds regular Ben Carter (@ukbaseballblog), as Darius Austin (@DariusA64) grills him about the Colorado Rockies, a process that reveals lots of love for Nolan Arenado and not so much for Gerardo Parra.

In his first appearance as a preview host, John is guided through the ins and outs of the Cleveland Indians by Bath based Indians fan and blogger Ash Day.

You can check out Ash's Indians writing over at www.englandtribe.blogspot.co.uk

Broadcaster and British Blue Jays fan royalty Colin Murray joins John to talk getting into baseball, why you need to stick with it, how Roy Halladay and Roberto Alomar have left a mark on his life and to compare Canadian musicians to baseball ephemera.

Richard Churchill (@RChurchill26)joins Ben to talk all about the St. Louis Cardinals. They go deep into last season with plenty of honesty on display, then Richard continues the pessimism as they discuss the season ahead.

Ben calls the team fat, Richard does little to disagree.

http://www.batflipsandnerds.com

Some bloke called Tom Pringle joins Ben Carter to talk all about the Boston Red Sox. They talk about last season, this season and of course the collection of silly questions to finish.

The wild prediction that Tom makes may surprise some of the Red Sox faithful, but his thoughts on Pablo Sandoval, will not.

www.batflipsandnerds.com

John and Tom are joined by 'The Show Before the Show' stalwart and ballpark chaser Benjamin Hill to decide the order for the Bat Flips and Nerds 'Official MiLB Affiliate of the UK' bracket.

The boys are tired, which means they swear. So please be warned, John's potty mouth does go for it.

Tom hosts, John and Ben talk at different points, there is a loose structure to the pod, it soon falls apart.

The title isn't some funny joke, the boys do spend some time on the pod trying to name a Twins reliever.

Please forgive us.

Greg Coleman, GM of the Official UK MiLB Affiliate Erie SeaWolves, joins the show to introduce the team and town, and talk about how much they all love the UK!

With Tom 'on manoeuvres' Ben and Darius join John to find a fitting nickname for phenom Eric Thames and to discuss which pitchers they love and love to hate. Health warning for fans of John Lackey, Big Degsy Jeter and Bruce Springsteen.

John and Darius stick a fork in the Mets before casting an eye over the bona fides of two phenomena - Aaron Judge and the Minnesota Twins. Ryan Schimpf and Eric Thames prove that some guys are easier to nickname than others...

It's #JeterWeek in the Bronx, so it's the perfect time to hear from the man who scored his most famous run - GB Baseball's recently retired outfield stalwart, Antoan Richardson. As well as discussing that run, Antoan talks linking up with GB and the future of baseball in the Bahamas.

John continues his hosting duties, where he offends the returning Tom, the military, anyone who has died during active service, the Rockies, Julio Urias and all the UK Garage fans that are still standing.

The oracle that is Darius continues to feed us solid and serious information, except one vital point that could have stopped us offending Urias.

The lads actually manage to answer some genuine listener questions! Keep them coming please.

Enjoy the show, please rate us on itunes, stitcher, all the others and if you want to get in touch please visit www.batflipsandnerds.com. We'd love to hear from you!

Tom takes over hosting duties while John is away watching Battle Bots and reading Harry Potter. The guys start the show with a very important guest, GB Baseball Head Coach, Liam Carroll. Liam tells us all about the upcoming All-Star game at Farnham Park on the 28th May. It's free so you all really should go!

The boys then get serious about baseball, baseball in the UK and end with some very serious and very silly listener questions.

Follow us on Twitter @batflips_nerds
Facebook.com/batflipsandnerds
batflipsandnerds.com

Rate and review, it really helps us out!

John talks to Great Britain player Jordan Edmonds of the Hamburg Stealers about his baseball career and life in the Bundesliga. Then Darius and Ben discuss whether Mike Trout should get the Barry Bonds treatment, if Chris Sale is on Clayton Kershaw's level, and what on earth is going on with Mike Leake and Andrew Cashner, before answering listener questions about player-themed areas at parks and baseball crushes.

Bundesliga stats site: http://stats.baseball-softball.de/
Sam Miller's Mike Trout article: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19451253/is-teams-treat-mike-trout-barry-bonds
Ben Lindbergh's piece on Kershaw's slider: https://theringer.com/2017-mlb-los-angeles-dodgers-clayton-kershaw-slider-improving-43d7492c00e3
David Schoenfield's suggestions for player-themed sections: http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/79832/every-team-needs-a-judges-chambers-section-and-here-are-some-suggestions

Britain's top prospect Ben Carter isn't available tonight, so this time John leads the cause while Darius and Tom pull at his coat tails.

Tonights show consisted of:

Bryce Harper, Hunter Strickland, can anyone defend them? Does anyone care? What was the funniest moment of the whole shebang.

Mr Met, how many fingers does he have? Can he swear? Is it really an issue? Does he has a leg to stand on in court? John was a lawyer!? WTF.

The great comeback team of the AL East! The boys talk all about these plucky heroes and how much the public love them.

Something was announced about MLB in the UK. The boys weren't overwhelmed by the public response.

FINALLY, Tom pleads with the public to all vote for Allen Craig in the AAA All-Star game. #AAAllenCraig

Harper Fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w6tEO81kAY
Mr Met Finger: https://twitter.com/adelucia35/status/870360369402966016
MLB Battlegrounds: http://mlb.mlb.com/social/mlb-battlegrounds/
AAA All-Star Ballot: https://secure.milb.com/milb/events/asg/y2017/ballot/ballot.jsp

Ben and Tom join John in wondering how to pronounce Scooter Gennett's surname, whether anyone saw his four homers under that came uni, and to dig deep on the roasting hot Houston Astros. As ever, fan questions lead things to take a turn for the weird - apologies to Ryan Hanigan who looks like he could kill again.

Here's the Ben Lindbergh Astros piece we discussed:https://theringer.com/2017-mlb-houston-astros-searching-for-a-flaw-f73f4c8f774e?gi=776b54817f8c

Here's where to vote #AllStarllenCraig: https://www.milb.com/milb/news/voting-begins-for-triple-a-all-star-game/c-232404964/t-185364810

Ryan Hanigan's going to go across the street and bring you some orange sherbet: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hanigry01.shtml

Tom hosts, with Darius and Ben providing all the vital stats and info on the Major League Draft. Who went where, did the Twins pick right? Who has the silliest name? When will Ben be drafted.

Next the guys explain their "Crap Catcher Competition", where the loser has to write about the team of the winners choice (It's got to be John who loses).

Finally we learn all about Ben's new job at MLB UK, how long will it take for him to be fired and what has he asked Rob Manfred so far.

You can find out more about the team here, at http://www.batflipsandnerds.com

Legendary Channel 5 baseball broadcaster and GB catcher Josh Chetwynd joins John to discuss everything from his college career at Northwestern, his professional baseball career to his key role in developing players from 'non traditional' baseball countries - including African pioneer Gift Ngoepe.

There's plenty of time to revisit his on screen relationship with Jonny Gould and to get Josh's candid views on MLB's latest attempts to put down European roots.

You can find all Josh's work - and buy all seven of his books - at his website www.joshchetwynd.com

Bat Flips And Nerds - www.batflipsandnerds.com

 

Darius and John are joined by Blake Finney to discuss the Nats bullpen and the state of the shocking NL East. They also look at a 'week of bullshit' in baseball discussing the Mets puzzling reaction to Yasiel 'Joyful' Puig, Jarrod Dyson's uncontroversial bunt and Joe Maddon providing ample evidence that John was right about him all along.

They go deep on which teams will buy and sell at the deadline, with consensus breaking out over some controversial teams.

Award winning journalist Darius Austin and "Peter and the Wolf" lead Tom Pringle join together on a miserable Thursday evening to talk baseball.

MLB UK have announced the lineup and itinerary for MLB Battlegrounds! Tom reads the list out (Jeff Stelling style) and the boys discuss how everyone who loves baseball has to support this event.

Then it was the turn of trades and rumours, the biggest news of the day being Bartolo Colon being DFA'd and becoming available for all 30 teams. Or does the listener question from last week make sense?

The Crap Catcher Competition gets an update, spoiler alert, you're all going to be reading about the Blue Jays next season.

Then we get to a whole host of great listener questions including the impossible dream of a London franchise, is Nolan Arenado human and is there an MLB manager who is a bit like a dictator?

MLB Battlegrounds Post - http://batflipsandnerds.com/2017/06/29/mlb-battlegrounds-details-released

MLB Questionnaire - https://t.co/oQEjwcHVfj

Visit http://www.batflipsandnerds.com today!

A special episode this week with John and Darius live on site from MLB Battlegrounds. We hear from MLB legends Cliff Floyd and Shawn Green, Italian sensation Federico Celli, GB coach Liam Carroll, MLB UK's Charlie Hill and most importantly - you guys, the fans!

It was a great event. Touch wood, the first of its kind here in the UK!
 

Jared Carrabis of Barstool Sports and CSN's Baseball programe join Tom and John to talk Red Sox in this very first edition of Brit Sox and Nerds! The Red Sox spin-off from Bat Flips and Nerds.

Jared tells us all about his start in baseball writing, radio and television. Before touching on his relationships with the players and how it differs to everyday beat writers.

The guys then quiz Jared on his successful Red Sox podcast "Section 10", the roles of Pete Blackburn and Steven Perrault, before switching to nicknames of the Red Sox non-stars.

Once Tom and John have exhausted Jared of his life story, they then switch to David Price and his role as a leader in the Red Sox clubhouse. Before disecting the Red Sox pre-season prediction and the current team.

Tom invents a nickname, that is reviewed by Jared. Let's not spoil the results here.

Oh and Pablo Sandoval may get one or two mentions.

It was a fun episode, we hope you guys enjoy it to.

 

Rate and review on itunes, stitcher etc.

http://www.batflipsandnerds.com

With John, Tom, and Ben all away, Blake Finney (@FinneyBlake) joins Darius to discuss the latest blockbuster MLB transaction, Pablo Sandoval being designated for assignment. They then move on to much more minor moves such as Jose Quintana heading to the Cubs, before thinking up landing spots for the likes of Justin Verlander and Sonny Gray. Blake's All-Surprise and All-Disappointment fantasy teams are assessed, particularly Alex Bregman's unfortunate Twitter interactions, and the duo pick their own All-Crap and All-Star teams, and ponder the bizarre saga of Zack Cozart's donkey. Midseason award frontrunners are picked, considering the issue of whether anyone can stop Aaron Judge, and finally the issue of how to spice up the All-Star game is solved (spoiler: we don't think it's incredibly shiny catcher gear).

 

BP Boston writer and The Red Seat podcast host, Jake Devereaux joins Tom to talk all about the Boston Red Sox.

They start by talking about how Jake got into baseball writing, including his running of a daily fantasy baseball podcast. All before joining BP Boston as a writer and starting the excellent Red Seat podcast.

The guys wrap up by almost dismissing their pre-season predictions, getting excited about having Chris Sale appear three times in a playoff series and finally, the big news of the week, the DFA of Pablo Sandoval.

It was a fun podcast to record, we hope you enjoy listening to it.

http://www.batflipsandnerds.com

BP Boston

The Red Seat Podcast

John and Ben are joined this week by two special guests. Evan October, frontman of the Isotopes Punk Rock Baseball Club talks about their upcoming UK tour supporting CJ Ramone and how a baseball themed band will get to British crowds. 

Journalist Nick Miller then joins to discuss his recent Guardian piece on MLB's efforts in the UK and parallels to the growth of soccer in the States.

He sticks around to answer some truly bizarre listener questions, and partake in some mad deadline speculation too.

You can find the Isotopes awesome music (including an awesome version of Let's Go Blue Jays) here: https://theisotopes.bandcamp.com/

Dates for their UK tour are here: https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/isotopes-1

Nick's piece on MLB is here: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/03/mlb-battlegrounds-hyde-park-baseball-europe-regular-season-games-2019

Tom and John join for a very quick podcast to talk about why they didn't record on Thursday and planned to record on Sunday. It's a tale of hope, elation, desperation and finally despair.

They then tackle the very difficult subject of the Boston media, David Price and the Red Sox dressing room.

Finally, Tom found a terrible book in his garage and gives it away to a pun-writer. The winner was a cracker.

http://www.batflipsandnerds.com

Ben and Darius break down the very exciting news of MLB regular season games coming to the UK in 2019 and 2020, before brainstorming ideas for the UK Night being held on August 16th by Official Minor League Affiliate of the UK, the Erie Seawolves. They then move onto the trade deadline, including the dramatic Yu Darvish trade, whether the Dodgers are invincible, if the Royals were right to buy rather than sell, and what on earth the Orioles were doing. A Crap Catcher update follows, with Jett Bandy moving John ever closer to having to write about the Blue Jays for a year. Finally, they ponder a listener question about which footballers they'd most like to see on a baseball field.

Tom and John join forces for the first live Bat Flips And Nerds show (There was another one, but we will never speak of it again).

The boys talk Manchester Meetup, the dangers of democracy, Erie SeaWolves, U23 Baseball Championships, GB Baseball, GB players in the minors and finally some listener question...questions after a plea on Twitter.

Stay tuned, we plan to do more!

John is joined by Great Britain baseball coach Liam Carroll, making his fourth (including cameos) appearance here on the pod. Liam talks about the experience and impact of MLB Battlegrounds on the GB programme and gives the rundown on the recent Under 23 European Baseball Championships in Austria and the Czech Republic. He discusses the bright future for GB in the shape of this team, and the under 18 side and how they can harness the wisdom and experience of recently retired stars such as Chris Reed and Chris Berset.

 

Liam gives a laundry list of places to visit to learn about baseball in the UK, and his own programme. They are:

greatbritainbaseball.com - for updates on the GB Team

britishbaseball.org - to find your local club, volunteer and play

busk.com - the home of the UK Development Agency, Baseball Softball UK, for regular updates, intros to both sports and more info on finding clubs and facilities.

 

MLB UK Ambassador, 2007 Comeback Player of the Year, 2009 All Star and home run leader - all these things describe this week's guest Carlos Pena. In a taster for a more in-depth chat soon, baseball's answer to Peter Ustinov takes a break from his MLB Network to talk to John about his family's time in Europe this summer and his hopes and plans to grow the game of baseball on this side of the pond.

Bryan Joiner (Baseball Prospectus Boston and Over The Monster) joins Tom to talk all about how he got into writing, wiriting for BP Boston and Over The Monster, the recent SB Nation critism, why he hates writing lineups and how awful (fantastic) it is to record podcasts with Jake Deveraux.

They eventually get onto the main topic of the Red Sox and the guys give a realistic prediction for the end of the season.

AppleGate gets its own segment, Tom and Bryan completely agree, but which way will it be?

You can find Bryan on twitter at - http://www.twitter.com/bryanjoiner

All of our posts and previous podcasts can be found on http://www.batflipsandnerds.com

John, Ben and Tom talk Dodgers and Indians and Ben's trip to MLB HQ before getting creative with listener questions. There are some terrible puns, include perhaps the best/worst Yu Darvish pun of all time, and a bit of a sing song...

The Dodgers article the guys mention is here: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-dodgers-look-beyond-terrible-right-now/

With Darius back in the UK after touring Chicago's MLB parks, Tom and Ben quiz him about all the important stuff - mainly food, from Chicago-style hot dogs to nacho helmets and even Tom's very strict rules about when it's appropriate to eat chocolate. They also touch on the playoff races, the crap catcher competition, how teams with winning streaks fare in the postseason, and answer listener questions about more food and juiced balls.

Don't forget there's another UK fan meetup at the Shooters Sports Bar in Leeds on Saturday, September 23rd; more details at https://twitter.com/MLBUKCommunity/status/908385298765271041.

John and Darius join Tom to muse how many pitches they'd take to get a hit off Chris Sale. They also dig into the Bruce Maxwell story, whether there are too many home runs in baseball and make ill-advised playoff predictions. Tom introduces a new spot - 'Hot Cakes'.

Here's the Ron Darling article John mentioned:http://www.newsday.com/sports/media/ron-darling-explains-the-lack-of-anthem-protests-in-baseball-1.14278874

And Jeff Passan's great interview with Maxwell: https://sports.yahoo.com/bruce-maxwell-knelt-national-anthem-172301672.html

As the only member of the regular team who isn't a fan of a playoff team, Darius ends up quizzing John, Ben, and Tom about the postseason misfortune of the Rockies and Red Sox - the latter very much in real time. When John isn't lamenting Boston's performance, they talk about John Coppolella's shenanigans, the firing of Terry Collins, the ludicrous reaction to Chris Sale's Game 1 start, and terrible MLB themed Christmas jumpers. Ben then joins Darius to recap the Rockies' Wild Card loss, before Tom jumps on to offer a little more Red Sox rapid reaction.

MLB Shop Europe Christmas Jumpers: http://www.mlbshopeurope.com/stores/mlb/en/search/ugly%20cane?culture=en

Jonah Keri's piece on Coppolella's firing and the international signing rules: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/braves-gm-drama-shows-its-time-to-put-an-end-to-sports-fans-sense-of-entitlement/

With all the excitement of the playoffs, the team has managed to do very little awards research, so they are put on the back burner once again in favour of Divisional Series chat. John asks Ben and Darius about all four series, touching on such matters as the formidable Dodgers, the outstanding Jose Altuve, the Stephen Strasburg will-he-won't-he start furore, the implausibility of Jon Lester's successful pickoff, and the demise of Cleveland. Ben tries to defend himself for actually liking the Yankees, and the trio also ponder the reasons for John Farrell's firing, bringing about a trademark John diatribe against the Boston sports media. Listener questions about using starters out of the bullpen, and why wildly exuberant American fans are featuring on MLB UK instead of properly reserved British fans.

Tom returns to join John and Darius in a discussion of Joe Maddon's latest round of antics as the Cubs teeter on the brink of elimination. They also marvel at the Yankees' resurgence and the Astros' sudden inability to hit, before getting stuck into the rumours that MLB is considering expansion, which draws a broadly positive reaction from John and quite the opposite from Tom, and leads into the latest round of the DH debate. They also touch on the bizarre map that suggests north-west Canada hates the Padres, and the imminent hiring of Alex Cora as Red Sox manager.

Darius is joined by Tampa Bay Rays fan and friend of the show Rob Noverraz to marvel at an incredible seesaw battle in Game 2 of the World Series, including Chris Taylor's bizarre fielding play, Yasiel Puig's tantrum, and some varying approaches to home run celebration. They then round up the plethora of managerial moves, headlined by the Yankees' decision not to bring back Joe Girardi. Rob then breaks down the complicated issue of the Rays stadium saga with news of a potential move to Tampa itself surfacing, followed by discussion of the prospects for the team going forward, the announcement of the Gold Glove finalists, and a push for the Rays to sign Shohei Otani and become a team with two two-way players.

Darius and Ben get together for a World Series wrap podcast after the Astros' victory. They discuss the highlights of the series, where it ranks among recent World Series in terms of entertainment, the tumultuous series of Yu Darvish, and the juiced ball. They then consider what they might be doing with their time now that baseball is over for several months. They also ponder whether the Angels could be contenders with the re-signing of Justin Upton, and Masahiro Tanaka's decision to stay in New York rather than test free agency. Finally, they answer listener questions about whether a team will sign Ichiro next season, what the Astros could get in return for Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, or George Springer, and what they'd like to see as an entertaining compromise over the DH.

Following the tragic death of former Blue Jays and Phillies ace Roy Halladay, John is joined by Colin Murray to reminisce about Halladay's wonderful career and Colin's memories of meeting the man himself. Tom, Ben, and Darius then discuss the two major offseason storylines so far: a potential Giancarlo Stanton trade; and the prospect of Japanese phenomenon Shohei Ohtani coming to MLB. The trio then hand out a set of alternative awards, including a lengthy discussion of Best Fielding Howler (link to all contenders below), Best Blown Save, and Best Player Being Paid By Another Team.

Fielding howlers list

In the first of two podcasts to preview this year's Australian Baseball League, John talks to new Sydney Blue Sox manager and long-time Baseball Australia stalwart Tony Harris. They cover Tony's early days in baseball, his time as a coach in the Dodgers system and his current role as a Pirates scout before diving in on Sydney's chances in this year's ABL.

 

For the second in our previews for this year's Australian Baseball League, John is joined by the Brisbane Bandits' Travis Blackley. Travis talks about his fast track to the Majors in Seattle, his Playoff year on both sides of the Bay Area and his life as a globetrotting gun for hire.

 

Thanks again to Cam McHarg for helping sort the interview

Gabriel Fidler of Extra Innings UK joins John and Darius to talk about the new European baseball tournament and his interviews with British minor leaguers P.J. Conlon and Blake Taylor, Italian star Marten Gasperini, and Colombian prospect Erick Julio. They then discuss Derek Jeter's early days as a Marlins executive, the likely landing spot for Giancarlo Stanton, the latest developments in the lengthy Shohei Ohtani saga, and John Coppolella's demise and the severe penalties handed out to the Braves for infractions in the international market.  Finally, they debate the merits (or otherwise) of Joe Morgan's letter imploring voters not to put PED users in the Hall of Fame.

Gabriel's work can be found at http://extrainnings.co.uk/

John is joined for an in-depth chat by Dan Vaughan, the voice of ABL's Perth Heat and the Kansas City T-Bones of the American Association. Dan shares tales of his path to the commentary booth and how a native Texan comes to call Western Australia, and the ABL, his home from home.

Joey Mellows has an interview with Melbourne Aces stud pitcher Josh Tols covering his development in Australia, transferring to the States for college and his time in pro ball in Indy Ball's Pecos League and American Association and in Japan with the Niigata Albirex. Thanks to Joey for such an awesome interview, and to Josh for his time.

 

 

 

Host of the Baseball by the Book podcast Justin McGuire joins the guys to share some of his favourite guests and take part in a 'draft' of our favourite, and less celebrated, baseball books.

A full list of choices can be found here: http://batflipsandnerds.com/2018/01/09/baseball-book-draft-podcast-reading-list/

Former Labour leader and current MP for Doncaster North, Ed Miliband, joins John to discuss his love of the Boston Red Sox and the crossover between baseball and politics.

Ed also has his own brilliant podcast, Reasons to be Cheerful, which he presents with the inimitable Geoff Lloyd. It covers the big social issues of the day with an optimistic and wry outlook. You can find them on Twitter @cheerfulpodcast

Tom and Darius talk about the revamped Milwaukee Brewers, including the Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich moves, then discuss the many reasons suggested for the general lack of free agent activity. The new pace of play improvements are then critiqued, from the pitch clock to putting a man on second base in extra innings. Finally, they delve into the mailbag to answer questions about an Ashes baseball series, baseball players in the WWE, whether they'd rather strike out all the time or have no power, which member of the crew would win a home run derby, customised John Sterling calls, and the Disney character who would be the best baseball player.

John and Darius are joined by The Athletic's new Reds correspondent C. Trent Rosecrans to discuss the team's 2018 vintage, and his own podcast 'Great American Dream', which follows Minor League prospect Shed Long through his 2017 season. They also learn about Ken Griffey Jr's secret passion, and ask loads of questions about Joey Votto, obviously...

John and Tom are back, this time they answer all your burning questions.

They start by looking at the Red Sox and their recent moves, tackle the Rays teardown/rebuild/who knows, they speculate free agent training camp, they draft street furniture (feel free to skip this) and finally end by discussing their favourite baseball website and apps.

Another week in which you, the listener, are the star of our show as we answer your weird and wonderful questions - including which second baseman would best a bar brawl, and which MLB stars are secret jazz stars.

We also consider tanking, surprise teams and try and place some of the remaining free agents.

Darius fawns over Tim Lincecum, and John teases a surprise in the offing.

Miguel Sano provies nothing but a pun.

John is joined by the head of MLB's UK office, Charlie Hill.

They cover everything from MLB Battlegrounds, through fan engagement and the expanding London office. Oh, they talk about some baseball games too...

The whole team is back - even Ben is there. So what do they do? They fill in a magic spreadsheet that has magic powers; namely, telling them whether their predictions for the 2018 MLB season make any sense.

They don't. Listen in to see how wrong they are.

 

It looks like the Yankees and Red Sox are coming to London in 2019. Blake Finney joins John and Darius live from across the pond to discuss the news and ponder the implications and logistics of the situation, including the venue, the timing, and what other events might be in store leading up to the games. They also answer listener questions about the event, including how the teams might prepare (fish and chips before games, anyone?), and, randomly, the inability of the Mariners to win the World Series.

Dave Shaw from Baseball by Committee joins John and Darius to discuss the spate of MLB fan meetups across the UK, and to discuss which of the stories of Opening Week might be for real. Including Shohei Ohtani, of course! John also chats with British Baseball Federation President Gerry Perez about Opening Weekend here in the UK - including trials for the GB age group teams, special coaching clinics with Cubs instructor Justin Stone, and the NBL opener.

 

 

Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic Boston joins John to chat about the possibility of a return for her to London - this time to see the Red Sox - in 2019 and to dip into some of the reasons for the team's red hot start to the season. She also shares her top tips for Brits visiting Fenway!

John is joined by 'BaseballBrit' Joey Mellows to discuss his plans to attend 73 baseball games in 2018, and to jump head first into the world of 'Indy' baseball. He also interviews the General Manager of one of the biggest franchises in Independent Baseball - Brian Lyter of the Gary Southshore Railcats.

John and Joey then preview and 'seed' the 16 teams for our upcoming 'UK Indy Affiliate' bracket. Who's your team

The whole gang are back, picking their MLB breakout stars and discussing rough starts for Stanton and Votto. They also chat about Tom's first ever pro baseball game, and the international currency of Green King IPA.

John is joined by the London Mets' Ryan Turtill to discuss their baseball for beginners programme, and by GB coach Liam Carroll to talk about GB players at elite level.

The guys break down the huge announcement of a Red Sox v Yankees series in London in June 2019. Tom recounts tales of shading Sadiq Khan and explaining baseball to the UK press corps, Ben talks about the return of MLB UK on Twitter and John rants about something for a change.

It’s double interview trouble! Ben is joined by Gloucestershire cricketer Benny Howell to discuss his passion for baseball, his unconventional ‘knuckleball’ and what the two sports could learn from each other. Then, Tom chats to author Brian Wright about his new book on the New York Mets and the highs and lows of the storied franchise. The pod even ends with a super easy giveaway to win a free copy of Brian’s book: ‘Mets in 10s - Best and Worst of an Amazin' History’.

 

Buy Brian's book here.

Tom is joined by Matt Clough (Orioles), Mike Shipley (Blue Jays) and Rob Noverraz (Rays) to talk all about the AL East and the "exciting" division that it is.

Matt starts us off and makes us feel like we're kicking a puppy by making him talk about his beloved Orioles. We also spend time wondering what the Orioles could get for Machado now.

Mike then continues the sombre chat when discussing his Blue Jays, but ends on a high when we discuss those exciting prospects (you know exactly who we mean) on the fringes.

Rob then completes the guest round-up in the only manner he knows. Happiness. He's delighted with his Rays so far but is absolutely, positively, in no-doubt this mini surge won't last. We also discuss the exciting new trend (Used twice, is that a trend?) of the OPENER.

Tom concludes by discussing the well rounded Red Sox, before ending on a low looking at the Yankees and how much they could dominate baseball. Mike makes a great point about Stanton and staring into the future.

Check us out on Twitter - @batflips_nerds

Check the website, www.batflipsandnerds.com for all our writing and our brand new shop, full 'o' t-shirts, stickers and mugs.

Tom gets a short notice call to get his ass up to the bigs, as John is a late notice scratch from the lineup. Without any prep, Tom welcomes back Darius.

Tom attempts (Badly) to update Darius on all the baseball news he missed whilst he was on holiday.

They answer listener questions on Josh Hader, Manny Machado, Justin Verlander, Yu Darvish, Anthony Rizzo and his recent antics, and finally Twitter burner accounts for Manfred and the Steinbrenners.

John heads to the wrong cafe to meet the wonderfully accommodating Evan Drellich. They chat about the 2018 Red Sox and Evan's new book 'The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the Boston Red Sox', including Evan's path to writing the book as a childhood Mets fan, and how he sought to bring new angles to some of the game's most famous stories. We have a signed copy of Evan's book to give away - watch this space! Or download it for your Kindle right now, here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-50-Boston-Moments-that-ebook/dp/B074VCT112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528401219&sr=8-1&keywords=evan+drellich

 

 

Dom Clarke (A's), Tom Young (Mariners), George Martin (Astros) and Nick Wright (Angels) join Darius on the second of our divisional roundtables to discuss the AL West, most notably whether the Mariners can push the Astros for the division, if the Angels and A's can stick around in the wild card race, and just how bad the Rangers are.

John is back in the UK and talks about an eventful trip to Boston, including a recreation of the Lion King in the stands. He and Tom discuss Terry Collins vs the Umpires and answer listener questions about the Twins, Harper and Machado.

Jen McCaffrey digs into her conversations with Red Sox and MLB brass on their hopes for next year's MLB London Series. She and John also address a resurgent Chris Sale and first day nerves for Jalen Beeks.