Episode 056: It's October

The regular season ends today, and the postseason is upon us! It's simultaneously exciting and depressing.

In this episode, Matthew and Toby preview October baseball—first by making glass-half-full and glass-half-empty predictions about how the Nationals and Clevelands will fare, before digging into each of the Wild Card and Division Series match-ups. There’s also a review of your preseason predictions, many of which hold up surprisingly well.

And the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The Battery Mates Nation 2017 Postseason Prediction Contest is on. Make your picks before the AL Wild Card game starts at 8p ET on Tuesday, October 3rd, and you'll be eligible to win an exclusive Battery Mates prize. 

Episode 055: One Hundred Thousand Popups

Matthew and Toby are joined by special guest Jason Kander. The former Missouri secretary of state, president of Let America Vote, and devout Royals fan discusses everything from his weekly reliving of the 1985 championship, the superstition around his 1981 Ken Brett jersey, his unsolicited twitter beefs with Curt Schilling (link), why he's fighting for voting rights, and the one or two things on which he might agree with Donald Trump.

It’s a not-to-be-missed conversation with an upcoming Democratic leader and a truly impressive baseball fan.

Episode 054: Remember Where You Are So You Remember Where You Were

Matthew and Toby record “live” as the Nats clinch the NL East. The boys go three-up, three-down to discuss $1.7 million of free windows given away thanks to Cleveland’s historic win streak, the 2017 World Series Champion Dodgers’ surprising, Jeff-induced losing streak, the eight teams competing in a ridiculous AL Wild Card race, the strange users agreement of the player-centric social media platform "Infield Chatter," the Red Sox being accused of cheating, and (of course, once again) Matthew’s overwhelming love for Sean Doolittle. 

The coming weeks will include plenty of postseason content and previews, including a contest for Battery Mates Nation and—on the next episode—an interview with a very special guest.

Episode 053: Carnage at Comerica

Matthew and Toby return to Three Up, Three Down for some deeper baseball banter, starting with the brawl(s) between the Yankees and the Tigers. Other items discussed: Rich Hill’s remarkable oh-so-close-to-a-no-hitter performance; some tough words for the St. Louis Cardinals from Rally Cat’s legal team; Ian Kinsler being a jerk (paraphrasing Matthew here); a sort-of happy ending to an ugly homophobic incident in Oakland; and the ludicrous story of a Cleveland pitcher being struck by lightning on the field in 1919.

And for the first time, the boys open up the Listener Mailbox to take some questions from Battery Mates Nation.

Episode 052: Au Naturel

Matthew and Toby are back with an Around the Horn for the ages, covering Chad Bettis’ return from cancer, umpire Joe West's views after his 5,000th game, the saga of Derek Jeter buying the Marlins, and the pros and cons of players picking their own nicknames for Players Weekend. Sean "Doooooooo" Doolittle soldiifies his role as our new Trevor, and the Dodgers receive their 2017 World Series rings following a record-setting season.

Kate Stayman-London joins for another edition of Battery Mates at the Movies to discuss the 1984 film The Natural.

Episode 051: It Feels Very Miami

Matthew and Toby GO TO MIAMI for a very special live episode, recorded from Marlins Park on August 2nd. Listen in as the boys drink beer and take in a game for the first time at this ballpark. There's also a rundown of how Washington and Cleveland fared at the trade deadline, a ball gets tossed by a player, caught, and given to a kid, and a new friend is made in Roberta, a long-time Marlins season ticket holder and former high school hardball player. 

(Extra thanks to Will S. for the song he wrote for this episode.)

Episode 050: A Little Rusty

Matthew and Toby return after an extended All Star Break, catch up on a bit of what’s transpired in the interim, and go around the horn on Chris Christie’s adventures at the ballpark, the Cubs being Cub again, the Girls Travel Baseball team taking tournaments by storm, and the most credible candidate yet for The Next Trevor.

Kate Stayman-London joins the program for the inaugural edition of Battery Mates at the Movies to discuss the 1988 film Bull Durham. 

Episode 049: Methed Out of His Mind at All Times

Matthew and Toby go around the horn to discuss Tim Tebow’s big—and hard-earned—promotion, the return of Jonathan Lucroy to the city he rejected, what baseball fields (or lack thereof) on Cuban military bases told the intelligence community during the Cold War, and Toronto closer Roberto Osuna speaking out publicly about issues with anxiety. 

Lifelong Baltimore fan Andy Oare joins for a Half-Hearted Attempt at Empathy thanks to the Orioles recently tying a 93-year MLB record of 20 consecutive games allowing 5+ runs. He sticks around to explain to Matthew the historical reasons why O’s fans vandalize the national anthem.

Episode 048: I Don't Need Books, I Have the Internet

Matthew and Toby commemorate Father’s Day throughout baseball and go around the horn on several topics: (1) evidence that baseballs might be juiced (and the impact it might be having on the rising HR rate), (2) Dusty Baker’s kid Darren, (3) the upcoming debut of “Players Weekend,” and (4) the continuing calamity that is the Nationals’ bullpen.

CNN contributor Doug Heye, a Yankees fan who served as deputy chief of staff for former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, becomes the first official GOP operative on the program. He joins the show to discuss this year's poignant Congressional Baseball Game and why he hopes it's the first of many bipartisan efforts to get some of the hatred out of politics.

Episode 047: Digby Moonshoes

It’s the “Houston’s 117-Win Season” souvenir edition of Battery Mates! 

Matthew and Toby go around the horn on the league-wide home run surge, the brawl Matthew requested in San Francisco, Cleveland’s championship status, and John McCain’s excuse for his recent incoherence. The show's Chief British Elections Correspondent weighs in with live results from across the pond, and the boys welcome Houston fan Ross Morales Rocketto, co-founder of Run for Something, to discuss the team’s historic season.

Episode 046: On the Right Side of the Doomsday Equation

It’s a very special Memorial Day episode of Battery Mates. Matthew and Toby go around the horn on Bryce Harper’s future, Cleveland's new statue honoring Frank Robinson, fake news involving the Mets and dinosaurs, and an update on how pace-of-play rules are failing miserably — especially if you’re a Rays fan, which, lol. 

Brent Colburn, former assistant to the Secretary of Defense for public affairs and OG Nats fan, is on hand to talk about growing up in a military family, watching a lot of minor league teams like the Hawaii Islanders and the Lansing Lugnuts, and the role that sports play in the lives of the men and women deployed overseas.

The boys take a look at what the MLB standings look like at Memorial Day, and Matthew gives Battery Mates Nation a rundown of his first viewing of A League of Their Own.

Episode 045: No One Cares If They Like to Peg

Going around the horn, Toby updates Battery Mates Nation on efforts to get rid of Chief Wahoo and calls out a potentially Cub gesture made by Anthony Rizzo to help families pay for health care, now that the House GOP has decided against it. Matthew accidentally refers to Jeremy Guthrie as “Jeff” (guess that’s what happens when you have a 135.00 ERA), and calls into question Orioles fans yelling “O” during the “Star Spangled Banner."

For the main event, the boys dive deep into what the hell is going on with the New York Metropolitans, featuring an esteemed roundtable of Seth Reznik, Peter Bondi, Kate Stayman-London, and Dave Duberstein.

Episode 044: They Have Slightly Pissed on My Chips

Matthew and Toby take a spin through the league one month into the season, check in on how teams are faring, and bemoan the fact that the end of the 2017 campaign is already getting too close for comfort.

Three Up, Three Down makes its big return: Battery Mates Nation gets an update on Matthew's fantasy team and the brand-new 10-day DL; Matthew proposes the "intentional hurt," and complains about MLB.tv; and the boys discuss the recent goings-on in Boston.

Episode 043: Anything in a Helmet Is Worth Eating

Matthew returns to the states for a very special *food* episode of Battery Mates. He and Toby go around the horn on C.B. (Stevie) Bucknor, Curt Schilling’s fall from political grace, the Nationals’ dominance over the Atlanta baseball club, and bullshit surrounding the “unwritten rules” of baseball. 

Sonia Chopra, managing editor at Eater, joins the show to talk about Eater's Stadium Dining Guide and does an excellent job of making Battery Mates Nation very, very hungry. The whole thing is followed by a light dessert of #engagement and another brief foray into British slang.

Episode 042: Something Numerological Is Happening

Guest host Kate Stayman-London joins Toby to discuss numerology, trying to follow the Mets game while at a singles mixer, the Lady Jeffs, and the commissioner's efforts to retire Cleveland’s logo. 

Matthew sends in a dispatch from the field where he (and Lily) spoke with the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Kathryn Lasdow about the Jackie Robinson exhibit on display right now to mark the 70th anniversary of Robinson's debut.

Kate explains character introduction theory in screenwriting and reviews the show "Pitch." And Battery Mates Nation sends in their walk-up songs in a top-quality #engagement segment. (Jeff says this was his idea. He's so vain he probably thinks this walk-up song is about him.)

Episode 040: One in 131,204

Matthew and Toby kick off Season Two by going around the horn—touching on Yoan Moncada’s diet of up to 85 Twinkies a week, Baby McG's first baseball game (!) featuring the LIU Blackbirds against the Manhattan Jaspers, Mariano Rivera’s closers summit with Donald Trump, and the breaking news that the President is too much of a scaredy cat to throw out a first pitch on Opening Day.  

Steve Krupin—Sports Illustrated’s "unluckiest fan in America” and former speechwriter for Harry Reid, John Kerry, and Barack Obama—joins in for the new season’s first Half-Hearted Attempt at Empathy.

Don't forget to get your 2017 season predictions in by the end of March (local time) so they're part of the big Opening Day special. (It's easy—here are the Instructions.)

(Special announcement) - It's time for your 2017 predictions!

Opening Day is almost here, which means it's almost time for Battery Mates' annual Opening Day predictions show. Here's how to be part of it: 

Use "Voice Memo” or another sound recording app on your phone to answer these six questions:

1. Who are you?
2. Who's your team?
3. How many games will your team win in 2017?
4. How far will they go?
5. Which teams play in the World Series? 
6. Who wins the World Series?

Then, send the voice file to thebatterymates@gmail.com before the end of March (that's the end of the day on Friday) to make sure it's included in the Opening Day episode. 

Episode 039: The Greek Salad Situation

Matthew and Toby debut a “new” segment called Around the Horn to discuss the Team Rubio phenomenon (which is probably not a reference to everyone’s favorite junior senator from Florida) and the final updates on Tim Tebow from spring training. On-location World Baseball Classic correspondent James Lynch joins the program to talk about the atmosphere at those final games, the future of the tournament, and why white masculinity means that no one can show they’re having fun playing baseball.

Episode 038: The Most Famous Buttocks in All of Baseball

Matthew and Toby check in on the World Baseball Classic, why Adrian Gonzalez is mad, the waiver wire, a seemingly nonstop spring training injury train, and a controversial new stem cell treatment for UCL injuries. The boys dive into a little bit of history with a chat about Nisei baseball in Japanese internment camps, and John Hagner joins the show for the debut of Benches Clear, in which Battery Mates covers a controversial topic with heated, dugout-emptying debate. This week’s topic is whether MLB should keep tinkering with the rules to shorten the game—and no one came to make friends.