Tipping Pitches

This week, in lieu of letting the feed go dark on a holiday week, we're sharing the first 30 minutes of our 'Angels in the Outfield' watchalong — a commentary track meant to be played alongside the movie. You can get access to the rest of this episode and our whole bonus episode back catalogue on Patreon. If you're interested in more movie watchalongs but aren't a patron, you can buy access to only the movie commentaries here.

For their final installment in Main Character Month, Bobby and Alex examine what has made up the DNA of a professional baseball owner over the sport's long history, charting the evolution of the ownership class alongside distinct eras of the game and American history. All told, they choose five owners that are most emblematic of how the "median owner" has changed over the decades. In doing so, they ask what we can learn about baseball's present and future for understanding the people who were in charge in the past. If you can't [redacted] them, you might as well understand them! Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

In their latest Main Character Month installment, Bobby and Alex are joined by writer and organizer David Hill to discuss the monumental legacy of Marvin Miller, the first executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association and one of the most important figures in the history of sports and labor. Among other things, they talk about Miller's path to baseball, his various experience at the Wartime Labor Board and the United Steelworkers, the legacy he left for the players union, how he was covered vs. how sports labor fights are covered now, and more. Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

In their second installation of "Main Character Month," Bobby and Alex zero in on longtime podcast frenemy Rob Manfred, plotting a 40 year timeline of his career — past, present, and future — to tell the story of how this Harvard lawyer turned MLB "fixer" became the de facto face of Major League Baseball and changed the sport forever in the process. Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

This week, in one of their most scholarly and unhinged endeavors, Alex and Bobby sift through years of A-Rod YouTube, podcast, and social media content to distill the Five Essential Rules to Life that the baseball and finance luminary lives by. Through a treasure chest of clips straight from the man himself, they take you on a journey which, at the end, will have you feeling closer to A-Rod than you ever would've thought you could. Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

At long last, Bobby and Alex are joined by enemy of the podcast Richard Staff to discuss his Defector feature on the shrinking of the minor leagues and the growing gap in competition between them and the majors. Afterward, of course they had to get into some shit talking and meme describing. Links: Richard's Defector piece ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby and Alex run through a list of news items that have gotten somewhat lost in the shuffle in the last few weeks, including the appraisal of damage to the Tropicana Field roof and the Rays' subsequent 2025 plans, the Orioles reversing course on their left field wall change from two years ago, Diamond Sports group's interminable bankruptcy proceedings, free agency, and more. Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

This week on the show, Bobby and Alex are joined by friends of the show Jane, Lauren, and Stephen from Batting Around to draft the silliest, most ridiculous, most Online, and just generally dumbest things that happened in the 2024 baseball season. From false ejections to panicked statements and everything in between, this episode runs the gamut (as it always has!). Links: ⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby and Alex bookend the 2024 season with a conversation about the ways it felt unique in comparison to the seven other seasons they've covered on the podcast. Then, they talk through some of the upcoming content plans they have for this offseason, including some exciting Patreon experiments and "Main Character Month," a series that will drill down on some of our faves with single episode features about the figures who've captivated the attention of the podcast over the years. Links: ⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby and Alex gather to react to a World Series bookended with two classic games that the Dodgers ultimately dominated over the Yankees. They discuss the shocking Freddie Freeman performance, the resilience of a very injured Dodgers pitching staff, the buttons that Dave Roberts pressed to navigate all 27 outs each time they took the field, an underwhelming Yankees showing, the outlook for Los Angeles heading forward, and what the league might try to learn from their dominant season. Links: ⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby asks Alex whether or not he has any other grand predictions (after predicting Freddie Freeman's huge Game 1 moment in the previous podcast). Then, they discuss the Dodgers winning Games 1 and 2 of the World Series and whether the Yankees have a chance to come back, plus the performance of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and more. Finally, they review Rob Manfred's pre-World Series press conference, discuss the state of the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium, and react to another year of baseball's revenue increasing. Links: ⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby and Alex gather to preview the 2024 World Series, which is here at long last and consists of two teams that everyone is having very Normal and Measured reactions to! They do so by presenting a list statements and deciding whether they will be true or false by the end of the series. Baseball analysis is everywhere for those with eyes (ears) to see (hear) it! Links: Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby and Alex discuss a $9 million sale of a copy of the U.S. Constitution and whether or not it relates to a very important figure in the baseball world. Then, they field your voicemails and emails about the teams that have been eliminated from the 2024 playoffs and try to provide some therapeutic advice for fans of those squads. Links:⁠ A rare copy of the US Constitution sells for $9 million at auction Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠ Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠ Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby and Alex run through a special (mostly) playoffs-oriented edition of Three Up, Three Down, discussing the Good New York Mets, how this postseason's relievers are like refrigerators, a well-timed F-bomb, the key to being rich, The Mainstream Media, an on-the-nose advertising mishap by TBS, David Rubenstein's prolific authorship of nothing, and more.Links:David Rubenstein on The Deal Enrique Hernandez goes blue on Ken Rosenthal David Rubenstein on presidents TBS cuts to commercial mid-inning The Trop's roof is being sold on eBay Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon Tipping Pitches merchandise Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby and Alex discuss a new zen that's come across Bobby as the Mets have ridden an adrenaline rollercoaster over the last two weeks. Then, they bounce around the various Division Series, highlighting the takeaways from the first games and whether or not any teams have changed their prospects of going deep into October, or whether the Phillies, Yankees, and Dodgers are still in pole position. Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

Bobby and Alex react to a truly mind blowing final day of the 2024 regular season that saw the New York Mets do extremely non-New York Mets things to make the cut for the postseason. Then, they fill out their postseason bracket based on the Power of the Narrative, defining what the narrative would be if each team won the World Series and determining which is the most preferable. Finally, Alex bids farewell to the A's and processes the mixed emotions he felt watching the final game at the Oakland Coliseum. Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PUP.⁠⁠⁠

Alex's return to the podcast is marked with an unprecedented Shohei Ohtani feat, some strange pitch tipping news out of High-A, a check in on the state of the playoff races, a Farhan Zaidi-McCovey Cove Dove improv re-enactment, and a frankly remarkable amount of Kevin Costner chat. Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of ⁠⁠⁠⁠PUP.⁠⁠

Alex still isn't back from his so-called "vacation," so please enjoy this special episode of "three up, three down" with friend of the show Hannah Keyser (unlocked from our Patreon)! Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahRKeyser. To find more episodes like this, you can subscribe to our Patreon for the full back catalogue at patreon.com/tippingpitches. Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of ⁠⁠⁠PUP.⁠

In part two of their fictional betting scandal series, Alex and Bobby are joined by reporter and friend of the show Bradford William Davis to discuss the nature of the scandal, how MLB would handle it, and the pernicious nature of sports gambling's expansion. They use real life examples of institutional issues to draw conclusions on what MLB's plan (if any) would be for a scandal of this magnitude. Listen to part one of the gambling scandal series here. Follow Bradford William Davis on Twitter @BWDBWDBWD. Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of ⁠⁠PUP.

This week on the podcast, we're doing something a little different. Instead of talking about the week's news or keeping you all abreast of the latest Alex Rodriguez happenings, we've prepared a fictional narrative betting scandal — complete with fake articles, TV hits, federal investigations, and more — to explore whether the baseball world is prepared for a bona fide gambling catastrophe. Come along on this (only slightly horrifying) journey! Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of ⁠PUP (!!!).⁠