Matthew and Toby are joined by Steve Krupin — former White House speechwriter, current SKDK managing director, and longtime Nationals fan — to preview the final weekend of the regular season and the playoff picture, recap how the year went for the Clevelands and the Nationals, gawk at the feats of Shohei Ohtani, examine the pitch clock tests in the minor leagues, and send happy birthday wishes to Chief Hollywood Correspondent, Kate Stayman London.
Matthew and Toby are joined by Seth Reznik to discuss the New York Metropolitans. Other topics are covered, sure.
For a special Trade Deadline edition, Matthew and Toby are joined by Kelly Kreft — Orioles fan, data scientist, and 2012 Obama vet — to discuss first and foremost the breaking news that the Cleveland baseball franchise has a NEW NAME (no spoilers here!). Other discussions include wish lists for Trade Santa, the first all-female broadcast of a MLB game, and whatever Javy Baez just did to taunt the Reds.
For a special All-Star Game edition, Matthew and Toby are joined by Jeff Gabriel (who’s frustrated he can’t get in a clean hit over Euro 2020). The ball is flipped around the horn about the emptiness of the All-Star Game, the incredibleness of Shohei Ohtani, the stickiness of the stuff, and the awfulness of Trevor Bauer. Everyone checks in on how the 2021 season is treating their team.
Matthew and Toby are joined by Brent Colburn, Obama alum and VP for communications and public affairs at Princeton University, to go around the horn on Pittsburgh’s allergy to first base, the crackdown on Sticky Stuff™, MLB teams’ role as leaders in the community, and pitchers getting hurt being hitters.
Matthew and Toby are joined by Run For Something co-founder and Astros fan Ross Morales Rocketto, who dishes on his ballpark routine, why he hates the Rangers, and why he’s embracing being the haters this year. All three go around the horn on the Tomahawk Chop still being a thing in Atlanta, the Manfred-aided plot to strong-arm the city of Oakland on a new ballpark site, what’s up with all these damn no-hitters, and of course the ongoing saga of Tony LaRussa and the White Sox clubhouse.
Matthew and Toby check in quickly on how things are going across the pond after the implosion of the Super League and go around the horn on fans being in the stands… players being vaxxed… hitters being historically bad… Angel Hernandez maybe being worse… the Astros getting sad about fans getting mad… and the rule that prevented John Means from having a perfect game. Toby dives deep on baseball’s antitrust exemption, and Matthew promotes a very good cause.
Matthew and Toby turn to Chief Over-There Correspondent Matthew McGregor to explain what just happened with the proposal and rapid collapse of a European Super League, and then go around the horn on COVID outbreaks, players’ vaccine hesitancy, new rules being tested in the Atlantic League, and the latest political fallout from the relocation of the All Star Game.
It’s the first actual breaking-news episode of Battery Mates, as Matthew and Toby react to the news that MLB will move the 2021 All-Star Game in response to Georgia’s new voter suppression law.
Breaking News music from Fesliyan Studios (https://www.FesliyanStudios.com).
Glory! Glory! It’s Opening Day! Matthew and Toby play back all of the submissions to the 2021 Preseason Predictions Contest and revel in the arrival of a new season.
It's just three days until the baseball games start counting. That means the deadline for the annual Battery Mates Nation Preseason Predictions Contest is approaching fast. (That deadline is Wednesday, March, 31, at 9a ET).
Here’s how to enter (it takes about a minute) — use your Voice Memo app to answer these six questions:
1. What's your name?
2. Who's your team?
3. How many games will your team win in 2021?
4. Will they make the postseason?
5. Which two teams will play in the World Series?
6. Who will win the World Series?
Then, and this is the critical step:
Send that audio file to thebatterymates@gmail.com by 9 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 31. It's easy to enter and tough to win… but the winners (eventually) get an unforgettable prize.
With two weeks to go before Opening Day, Matthew and Toby are joined by Justin Barasky, celebrated fan of the Clevelands who spent 2020 taking back the Senate as a senior advisor at the DSCC. The horn is gone around on the Rangers’ plans to have a full house for their opener, Trevor Bauer’s latest exhausting behavior, the Clevelands’ name change, and the rule experiments coming to the minor leagues this season. Justin talks about trying to stump Senator Sherrod Brown in baseball trivia, credits the Cavs’ 2016 championship for his mental health, and introduces Battery Mates Nation to a whole host of really stand-out Ohio Republicans.
And it’s that time of year again to submit your entry in the Battery Mates Preseason Predictions Contest. It only takes a minute to enter. Here’s what to do: Pull up the Voice Memo app on your phone, and answer these six questions:
1. Who are you?
2. Who's your team?
3. How many games will your team win in 2021?
4. Will they make the postseason?
5. Which two teams will play in the World Series?
6. Which team will win the World Series?
Then send that audio file to thebatterymates AT gmail.com by 3:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 30. That's it. With that, you're not just entered to win one of our fantastic, quirky prizes, you’ll also get your entry featured in our Opening Day episode.
Matthew and Toby are joined by Faiz Shakir, chief political advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders and his 2020 presidential campaign manager. The ball gets whipped around the horn on the Tatis extension, the Mariners CEO’s remarks at a local rotary club, gambling’s creep into sports media, and the creep that is Mickey Callaway. Faiz shares stories from his days as the Harvard Crimson’s second baseman, his little league coaching strategies, and what it’s like to play on the literal Field of Dreams.
As pitchers and catchers report to spring training, Matthew and Toby launch Season Six with a visit from Mike Casca, Dodger fan and communications director for Sen. Bernie Sanders, for a wide-ranging discussion on MLB’s continued efforts to use the media to screw over the players in advance of the CBA expiring, juiced and unjuiced balls, the Dodgers’ payroll, and the Marlins’ plans to have 20% capacity crowds this season. Mike talks about why he doesn’t mention being a Dodgers fan around Bernie, trying to wake his kids up after the Dodgers won the World Series, the pure greatness of Minor League Baseball, and why he grew up believing his little league team gave Tommy Lasorda a heart attack.
Matthew and Toby get together for a wintry mix of conversations about Curt Schilling not getting enough votes, the Clevelands making Toby sad, other payroll-slashing owners, Rob Manfred’s latest gambits, Matthew’s new favorite baseball card, and where folks should and shouldn’t buy pillows.
Matthew and Toby catch up on news from the offseason, discuss the ways Rob Manfred keeps messing things up, and lay out what’s in their letters to Baseball Santa Claus.
Matthew and Toby do their best to remember the World Series, dive deep on Rob Manfred’s handling of the Justin Turner debacle, discuss what the offseason has in store, and reveal the anxiously awaited results of the 2020 Preseason Predictions Contest.
Matthew and Toby preview the World Series, if that’s what you want to call it, and make the case for the team everyone should root for. The Research Department pulls together some data on what this World Series could portend for the election, and way too much time is spent analyzing a Trump tweet about Fauci and his Nationals mask.
As the Championship Series get under way, Matthew and Toby check in on the Clevelands’ early exit, the aggravating Astros, and other reasons people aren’t all that jazzed about the 2020 playoffs.
Matthew and Toby meet for one last “regular” season check-in to discuss how our teams have fared and go Three Up, Three Down on the Cy Young Award going through Ohio, Sean Doolittle’s (maybe) final games with the Nats, the wonder that is Jose Ramirez, Washington getting another high draft pick, Joe West being awful (surprise!), and the only plausible way to get out of this dark timeline.
And now that it’s confirmed that Jeff Gabriel was wrong about this season, the boys finally discuss expanded playoffs.