Tipping Pitches

Bobby and Alex open up the mailbag to take your questions on college sports, broadcasting "icks," Mets vs. Yankees fandom, when it's okay to hate your team, and more. Plus, they end the episode with their patented (and still unnamed) ranking segment. Links: ⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon⁠  ⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise⁠  Songs featured in this episode: Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Bobby and Alex reflect on the legacy of Willie Mays after this passing this week, discussing his singular place in the game and how fans internalize his legacy. Then they place the Orioles and Pirates’ new jersey patches on the Most Evil Jersey Sponsorship list, answer some listener questions, check in on a couple friends of the pod, and rank baseball superstitions.  Links: Clinton Yates on Tipping Pitches  Clinton Yates on Willie Mays' Life and Legacy Most Evil Jersey Sponsors  Bat Flips and Nerds rates our accents  Batting Around Patreon  Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon  Tipping Pitches merchandise  Songs featured in this episode: John Fogerty — "Center Field" , Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Alex and Bobby return to their regularly scheduled programming with — what else? — a betting controversy involving umpire Pat Hoberg, and discuss the sport’s increasingly hard-to-ignore gambling problem. Then they react to some comments from former agent Jeff Berry on the league’s economic landscape, cross a couple of items off their season bingo card, and run through this week’s edition of the Unnamed Ranking Segment.  Links: MLBUA’s statement on Pat Hoberg  Tucupita Marcano banned from baseball  Mark Attanasio on Bloomberg Business of Sports  Arctos Sports Franchise Index  Q&A with former agent Jeff Berry  Michael Bloomberg joins bid for Timberwolves  Tipping Pitches bingo card  Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon  Tipping Pitches merchandise  Songs featured in this episode: Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Alex and Bobby talk through Alex's journey to London for the Mets-Phillies MLB London series, including the people Alex met, his attempt to meet the Phillie Phanatic, the food at the ballpark, the stadium experience, and more. Throughout the episode, you'll hear natural sound and interview tape that Alex captured during his weekend at the games. Links: ⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon⁠ ⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠ Songs featured in this episode: Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Scheduling conflicts means we had to take the week off from our normal feed, so please enjoy this unlocked Patreon episode of Three Up, Three Down, featuring in depth discussion of bespoke AI appliances, Catholic guilt, accents, and more. To unlock every episode of the Tipping Pitches Patreon feed, you can sign up at patreon.com/tippingpitches --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Bobby and Alex discuss the increasingly confounding (and self-destructive) business plan of the Oakland A's and owner John Fisher, before making fun of Hal Steinbrenner crying poor and the predictability of another betting scandal. Then, they answer listener questions about salary caps, MLB contraction, express written consent, and more. Finally, they close with another Untitled Ranking Segment about playground games. Links: Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon Tipping Pitches merchandise Songs featured in this episode:Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Alex and Bobby discuss the latest AI innovation (quoting fake stats with its chest), break down the Perfect Game/Fanatics partnership and what it means for the future of youth baseball, and ponder the prospect of "nationalized" TV rights in the wake of Rob Manfred's comments, then unleash top sunflower seed power rankings in a new segment.Links:Perfect Game, Fanatics deal has agents raising concerns F.C. Rancho Cucamonga (feat. Ryan O'Hanlon) Could MLB nationalize its media rights? Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon Tipping Pitches merchandise Songs featured in this episode:Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

To unlock this and our entire back catalogue of Patreon-exclusive episodes, go to patreon.com/tippingpitches --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Bobby and Alex invite FanGraphs writer Michael Baumann to join them in drafting the most powerful figures in baseball, spanning executives, owners, players, politicians (??), and more.  Links: Follow Michael on Twitter  Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon  Tipping Pitches merchandise  Songs featured in this episode: Huey Lewis — "The Power of Love" • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Bobby and Alex fulfill their promise of ordering and eating MLB Ballpark Bites on the podcast (at the expense of their stomachs). Then, they each share four extrapolations from the first month+ of the MLB season and whether they expect them to actually continue or not. Links: Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon  Tipping Pitches merchandise  Songs featured in this episode: TKTK • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Bobby and Alex take a moment to appreciate the human toil of maintaining MLB Gameday feeds, then try and see if they can become a ghost kitchen for MLB’s new food delivery venture, throw out some other ideas for venture capitalists wanting to squeeze more juice out of the sport, and reflect on one year since the A’s announced their move to Las Vegas. Then they answer some listener questions about an employee-owned team, the MLBPA, and what they'd do if there were no copyright restrictions on broadcasts. Links: Alec Bohm breaks play-by-play  Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon  Tipping Pitches merchandise  Songs featured in this episode: Equipment — "Talk to Strangers" • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Bobby and Alex take a look at how Slam Corp stock is doing, then discuss a recent article about Diamond Baseball Holdings’s minor league shopping spree and what the encroachment of private equity means for the developmental arm of the sport. Then they settle on a slogan for the A’s and answer some mailbag questions about how to denote outs on scorebugs, governmental investigations, the outlook for robot pitchers, MLB in the Middle East, and more. Links: What is Diamond Baseball Holdings up to?  Rockies under investigation by the FAA  Every 2024 scorebug  Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon  Tipping Pitches merchandise  Songs featured in this episode: Arm's Length — "Dirge" • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Bobby and Alex are joined by Hannah Keyser to run through a grab bag of topics, including the Shohei Ohtani/Ippei Mizuhara investigation updates, the state of the Designated Hitter across the league, why pitchers are not more...anxious, whether Jordan Montgomery leaving Scott Boras portends anything, team slogans, and more. Follow Hannah on Twitter. Links: The billionaire behind the scenes in White Sox’ stadium plan Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon Tipping Pitches merchandise Songs featured in this episode:At the Drive-In — "Lopsided" • Jimmy Eat World — "Christmas Card" • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Alex and Bobby break down the quote that's got them saying "Let's Go Brandon" and check in on some news items regarding a Sacramento baseball team and a recent rash of elbow injuries. Then they take stock of MLB's current bedfellows by ranking this year's jersey patch sponsors based on their benefit (or lack thereof) to society. We're talking grocery stores and oil spills, baby!Links: Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon Tipping Pitches merchandise Songs featured in this episode:Madonna — "Material Girl" • The Saints — "Know Your Product" • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Bobby and Alex preview the 2024 season (three days into the season) by putting together a bingo card of some off-field events they'll be watching for this year, including billionaire shopping sprees, the encroachment of sports betting, political donations, Twitter settings tweaks, and more. Play along with your own card at the link below! Links: A-Rod, Marc Lore and Glen Taylor clash publicly over Wolves, Lynx ownership Play Tipping Pitches Bingo: https://bingobaker.com/#660a190e3bb4104e Songs featured in this episode: Smirk — "Violent Game" • Booker T & the M.G.'s — "Green Onions" --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

Return of the pod! Alex and Bobby are back to kick off the 2024 season with this year’s banned topics, a list which includes a media member, a sport, an oft-repeated lie from owners, a uniform decision, and more. Plus, some discussion of a couple small stories from the last week involving Shohei Ohtani and the MLBPA. Everything is fine here!  Links: Players move to oust Bruce Meyer from union  Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon  Tipping Pitches merchandise  Songs featured in this episode: Thin Lizzy — “The Boys Are Back In Town” • Gulfer — “Clean” • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

[From April 20, 2020] Alex and Bobby are joined once again by Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle to break down Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians. It’s a game that features plenty of dingers, plenty of Hall of Famers, and vintage Pedro Martínez in the tightest pants imaginable. Plus: a dive into the story of Albert Belle and the greatest heist in baseball history. Follow Sean on Twitter at ⁠@whatwouldDOOdo⁠. Links: ⁠Watch along with Tipping Pitches Classics⁠ Songs featured in this episode: Jamiroquai — "Canned Heat"  • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

[From Dec. 9, 2019] For their 100th episode, Alex and Bobby take a look back at the 2010s by picking a player from each year who best represented the decade as a whole. The resulting list is a collection of players who were not necessarily the best, but who made the biggest cultural impact in the last 10 years, or who changed the way that we as fans consume the game. Does Yasiel Puig make the cut? Listen to find out… Songs featured in this episode: Lorde — “Supercut” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

[From Jan. 17, 2022] Bobby and Alex are back with a very special episode this week. They’ve invited on their friends Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of Céspedes Family BBQ to do the unthinkable: draft the owners who they would actually want — or wouldn’t hate — to have running their team. Some of the choices may surprise you and some may not, but the episode reveals the colorful history of some of baseball’s lesser known owners and is sure to give you a better understanding of the billionaires who run the sport we love to hate and hate to love. Follow Céspedes Family BBQ on Twitter at @CespedesBBQ. Songs featured in this episode: H.E.R. — "Do To Me" • Booker T & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message

[From Feb. 19, 2018] On this episode, Alex and Bobby banter a bit about baseball’s resident dad Mike Scioscia, the return of The Freak, and Hunter Pence’s board game/video game/comic book/live streaming/podcasting café in Houston (a.k.a our new recording studio). Then they bring on writer and prolific tweeter Eireann Dolan to talk about activism in baseball, a painfully slow offseason, baseball reality shows, and how she met her husband Sean Doolittle (spoiler: it was Twitter). She also has some great ideas for how we should monetize. Follow Eireann on Twitter ⁠here⁠. Links: ⁠Pedro Moura on Ohtani/Scioscia ($)⁠ / ⁠the Scioscia quote⁠ ⁠Hunter Pence’s foray into the coffee business⁠ Songs featured in this episode: X — “Los Angeles” • Japanese Breakfast — “Everybody Wants to Love You” • Jeff Rosenstock — “Nausea” • The Eagles — “Already Gone” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipping-pitches/message