Best Podcast In Baseball

So, what we were talking about again? Washington Post national baseball writer Chelsea Janes joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to make sense of a season no longer on the brink because the Cardinals are now the hottest team in baseball. In the span of two weeks -- roughly the time it took to put together a new episode of the BPIB (and scrap one, too) -- the Cardinals have gone from trailing by four games in the race for the National League's second wild card to leading it and being the favorite to land it. The Cardinals have gained eight games in the standings with the longest winning by the club in 20 years and only the 13th time in the team's 130-year history that they've won more than 10 consecutive games. To make sense of how far the Cardinals have come and the unexpected way they're winning, BPIB host and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold talks to Janes for a national perspective and how the Cardinals could become America's darlings of October if they dispatch that team from Tinseltow

The morning after a historically ugly loss in Pittsburgh for the Cardinals of 2021, Drew Silva, senior Major League Baseball writer at NBC Sports Edge and self-described "pessimistic" Cardinals fan, grabs a cold coffee and joins Best Podcast in Baseball host and baseball writer Derrick Goold to talk about the moves the club could make to reignite excitement by the start of the 2022 season. Silva, who last joined the podcast at Urban Chestnut in St. Louis, home of the Fantasyland IPA, writes about fantasy baseball and has a biting presence on Twitter when it comes the Cardinals. He explains how he became a fan of the team, how their notable successes came notable times in his life, and how this year's team got to where it is -- drifting from the playoff race, if only the other teams would let them. In addition to writing for NBC Sports Edge, Silva also hosts the podcast Circling the Bases. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Di

The Milwaukee Brewers and their ever-widening lead in the National League Central visited Busch Stadium with, as infielder Kolten Wong said, "a point to make." Consider it made. Brewers broadcaster Jeff Levering, who spent time as a prospect in the Cardinals' organization too while calling games for Class AA Springfield during Mike Shildt's tenure there, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball from the visitors' radio booth at Busch Stadium to talk about Milwaukee's ascension as the best team -- best organization? -- in the National League Central. With two wins in the first two games of the series, the first-place Brewers have widened their lead over the third-place Cardinals to 12 games with 11 head-to-head games remaining. Milwaukee has had the season the Cardinals imagined -- one hinged around an exceptional, deep pitching staff and infused with an aggressive move as a booster rocket up the standings. Levering talks with Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold about watching Shildt's work in Springfield, M

A "second reckoning" is upon the Cardinals less than a week after baseball's one and only trade deadline for the 2021 season. There were frenetic trades, an MVP and a Cy Young Award winner with St. Louis ties, and a lot of energy and excitement everywhere around the Major League Baseball trade deadline -- except locally. The Cardinals added two established, veteran lefties and spoke about their goal of "getting through" the 2021 season. That's several notches below contending, let alone striving for a championship. They spoke of surviving, not thriving. St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson joins Derrick Goold, baseball writer at the Post-Dispatch, to discuss the Cardinals increasingly conservative approach to moves, whether injuries are indeed a valid explanation for their trouble breaking loose from .500, and if KC's visit with reinvented manager Mike Matheny is an example of how continuity might just breed complacency without the ranks of the Cardinals. The Best Podcast in Baseball, spo

Whether it's a Spiders roster transplanted to St. Louis and a nickname abandoned or how they're perched together in the middling middle of the majors, Cleveland and the Cardinals have an intertwined baseball history (and present) beyond their rare series against each other. Anthony Castrovince, MLB.com national baseball columnist and MLB Network contributor, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss the most significant and inevitable news in his hometown of Cleveland: The ball club has a new name. The Cleveland Guardians will debut in 2022. Castrovince talks with St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold about Cleveland's name change, about his advocacy of the Spiders, about the modern Cardinals getting their start when the Spiders moved to St. Louis (kind of), and how much the Cardinals and future Guardians have in common -- from an ability to develop pitching to a need to develop a hitter to that dangerous, uncomfortable limbo teams find themselves in these days when they win just enough to

San Francisco Chronicle baseball writer Susan Slusser joins the Best Podcast in Baseball host Derrick Goold, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for a conversation at Oracle Park about the surprise time in the National League -- the Giants. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the team that has to contend with the glitzy Dodgers and rising Padres, and instead it's the Giants who neared the All-Star break in first place with the best record in the National League. Slusser, a former president of the BBWAA, won California's sportswriter of the year award for her coverage of the Athletics, and for 2021, in a significant offseason move, relocated across the Bay to a new beat covering a new team in a new league. That's a good launch point for a discussion about how the Giants were built, their giant coaching staff, and, of course, what happens when a catching Giant hangs up his gear for the last time after defining an era for a championship team. It could happen in two NL cities soon. The Best Podcast in Baseb

What started at a bicycle race and put him on the road with the Cardinals and in an elevator with the champ continues today in a press box carrying his name: Rick Hummel. The Hall of Fame baseball writer and member of just about every Hall of Fame for sports and sportswriting in the greater St. Louis area, Hummel began his career at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch 50 years ago this July 3. And he hasn't stopped. He'll cover his 41st Major League Baseball All-Star Game that same month and be back on the road to Pittsburgh soon after that. In a brand new edition of the Best Podcast in Baseball, recorded in the Bob Broeg/Rick Hummel press box at Busch Stadium, baseball writer Derrick Goold talks to his longtime colleague about his favorite stories, how his writing as changed, and just what changes the 2021 Cardinals need to break loose from the middle of the standings and .500. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Gool

Major League Baseball's crack down on the sticky stuff being used to enhance pitches has begun, and who better to talk about the pursuit and policing of the game's best pitches than the reporter who wrote the book on pitches: Tyler Kepner, New York Times national baseball writer and author of "K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches." Kepner joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss how far the game has veered toward a pitching-dominated game and whether baseball's nature is always to favor the pitcher. They explore are how the targets of criticism -- coaches, managers, front office, media -- compare when the Yankees are struggled to when the Cardinals are struggling. And, also asked is whether Kepner, one of the most highly respected and read baseball writers in country, has concerns for the game as it wrestles with a lack of action while on the precipice of a labor tussle. The Best Podcast Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Po

The trade winds are already blowing, and the St. Louis Cardinals have needs after almost six years of not being an active participant -- buyer or seller -- at the deadline. St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson rejoins the podcast to discuss options for the Cardinals and what move or moves would stabilize a team listing through June. The available starting pitchers, such as former Mizzou greats Max Scherzer and Kyle Gibson are discussed, as well as an outfielder that would reshape the look of the Cardinals' lineup and possibly give the National League Central a compelling subplot for years to come. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, stltoday.com, and Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series that Changed Baseball', by author Luke Epplin, is a captivating read that weaves the origins, backgrounds, motivations, and legends of Larry Doby, Satchel Paige, Bob Feller, and Bill Veeck together just as they unify to carry Cleveland to the 1948 World Series title. It's the last World Series championship Cleveland has won. It's also one that captivated the country and signaled a history shift for Major League Baseball. Epplin grew up in Illinois, about an hour outside of St. Louis, on tales of the St. Louis Browns, and he became a "die-hard Cardinals fan," his words, watching Ozzie Smith & Co. flip through the league in the 1980s. Epplin joins BPIB host and Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss his book, the route that took him from St. Louis fan to Cleveland chronicler, and how the story of the '48 team reconnected him with baseball and resonates with the situation the game is in today. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored b

Whatever happened to Cincinnattitude? First there was a moment that ignited Nicholas Castellanos and the Reds. Then it was a T-shirt. Now it's a huge, looming poster at Great American Ball Park, just as Castellanos was a huge, looming presence when he looked down on a Cardinals rookie pitcher at home plate and flexed. But what if that striking image of the Reds season is the high point of the season -- and there's no substance, no strength behind the flex. Cincinnati Enquirer baseball writer Bobby Nightengale joins the Best Podcast in Baseball and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the Reds, their peripheral contention in the NL Central, and the division at large. Is there a trade that would radically reshape the division race and catapult Cincinnati into the swaggering, bat-flipping, flexing team they say they want to be? The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.See

Before closing with a fantastic David Peralta story, Mike Ferrin, MLB Network Radio host and Diamondbacks broadcaster, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for a conversation about what's changing within baseball -- for the better. With the Nolan Arenado Show and the Cardinals' victory in the second game of a series against Arizona as the backbone of a wide-ranging discussion, Ferrin and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold mention rule changes, foreign substance crackdown, and strike zone shifts that could improve play. But they also explore how younger fans connect with the game through on-demand highlights and how emotions that are celebrated in October are finding their way into a series in May -- and it's time to embrace that. Baseball has become a power game, for hitters and for pitchers, and now the power of some personalities are taking over, for the better. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of StlToday.com, the St. Louis Post-Dis

Tony La Russa's return to the dugout has not been a breeze in the Windy City, but he's definitely part of the buzz for baseball on the South Side, while the North Side wonders what might have been. David Haugh, longtime Chicago Tribune columnist and now morning co-host at 670 AM The Score, joins the St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold on a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss all things Chicago baseball. La Russa made headlines this week by positioning himself as the arbiter of the unwritten rules of the game when he expressed frustration with his own player for hitting a 3-0 pitch for a home run in a rout of Minnesota. Was he behind the times -- or ahead of the strategy? The Cubs make their first visit to St. Louis' Busch Stadium since 2019, and they are a team at the fulcrum between maintaining their core players, some of whom won a championship in 2016, and moving on without the dynasty imagined. Haugh mentions the Cardinals' role in causing a pivot in the run of championships th

San Diego has built a contender out of big contracts, star power, and one of the most charismatic young players in baseball -- offering a stark contrast to how another mid-sized market runs their roster, or did. For the Padres, it better work, and soon. As the St. Louis Cardinals visit San Diego for the first time since losing a playoff series, the Padres' roster has been diluted by several positive COVID-19 tests and as many as five regulars will miss the three-game series at Petco Park. A full-strength rematch will have to wait. But depth will be on display. San Diego Union-Tribune baseball writer Kevin Acee joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss with St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold the Padres, their big-spending ways, their big moves, and whether they're big enough to overcome the behemoth of the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and D

Former Cardinals reliever and current broadcaster Brad Thompson joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to talk about what he was thinking on the mound in 2009 as he faced the New York Mets captain David Wright after two of his teammates had been hit with pitches. The art of pitching inside and the gray area of sending a message is where this brand new episode of the Best Podcast in Baseball begins. Thompson and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold also discuss some reasons for all of the bruises in baseball this season, and of course they touch on whether Albert Pujols, about to be released by the Angels, is fit for a reunion with the Cardinals. Thompson tells tales of being on the team when Pujols as at his peak. The 2021 Cardinals finding their footing and what they're missing is also explored. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat

What are baseball fans, their interest set ablaze by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and the brawny dizzying home run race of 1998, supposed to think about a summer that was so electric at the time -- and so inauthentic in hindsight? That was a question sportswriter Joan Niesen, a St. Louis native who spent years writing for Sports Illustrated, set out to ask in her podcast 'Crushed.' What she found was how baseball players on the brink of the majors faced a similar, uncertain and nebulous question, and that Steroid Era's scar on the game is more complex than a few stars dragged before Congress. Niesen joins the Best Podcast in Baseball host and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the genesis of her podcast, the revelations from a former Cardinals farmhand who faced a common fork in his career -- to use PEDs, or not -- and her own personal reckoning with the summer that captivated her imagination as a baseball fan. 'Crushed' is a seven-part series produced by Religion of Sports and PR