Running The Bases

It's Coach's Birthday (Yea!), so we celebrate with some surprise teams that may crash the October party. We look back at the greatest surprise teams of the last 50 years, while trying to remain unbiased... But seriously, the 1991 Atlanta Braves (and '91 Twins) are the greatest.

Coach and I determine the best teams in the American League (on paper), and hold out First Annual MLB "Ultimate Expansion Draft!" To Trout, or not to Trout?... Is that really even a question?...

Spring Training has officially begun! We look at the best in the National League on paper, and discuss the lack of minority managers, and the importance of giving fair opportunity, in Major League Baseball.

From John McGraw and Gaylord Perry, to the 1919 "Black Sox", we debate the great cheaters of baseball, and the difference between Gamesmanship vs. Foul Play.

Horsehide meets leather this week, and thus, Baseball is Back! We celebrate the coming of Spring Training by looking at some of the great baseball TV advertisements ever made. Chicks will always dig the long ball... Full commercials here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtEnfoh_7omzRs4jzAvyubUTMC76GWeiM

With Super Bowl 50 in the books, and Spring Training only days away, we examine the state of Baseball vs. Football in 2016. Also, some key names avoid arbitration, the quest to the 2017 WBC begins in full, and we celebrate the birthday of Hammerin' Hank Aaron.

Wrapping up the end of the Hot Stove with Cespedes, Upton and Davis. The hammer falls on the Cardinals' hacking scandal, and we hash out the Best Ballplayers never to play in the World Series.

Hot takes on the new members of the Hall of Fame, and what's still cooking on the Hot Stove. Will Justin Upton make the payday he thinks he is worth?

The Hall of Fame Class of 2016 will undoubtably feature "The Kid", who could be unanimous. After that? The ballot is decidedly grey. Will the steroid era stars crash the party? Will the players of the fringe get their due? And the case for (and against) the greatest DH.

On the last day of 2015, we reach the final stop of our Hot Stove Tour: The NL East. Full rebuilds in Atlanta and Philadelphia, no clue in Miami, and who has to win, now: Mets or the Nats?

Orwin Smith, good friend and former Georgia Tech A-Back, joins the podcast to go "Off the Bag" and talk about continuing to pursue football, "Life after Sports" for elite athletes, and the need for more "Minor Leagues" on the path to the NFL.

The Hot Stove tour takes us through the Once-Almighty AL East. Red Sox reload, while the Yankees exercise fiscal restraint? Thoughts on Cueto, Heyward, and why teams are looking to 2018 spending really, REALLY big.

Reactions to DBacks snaking Greinke, the early moves of the Winter Meetings, and out Hot Stove Tour runs through the "Champions League" NL Central: Will the division be as strong in 2016? Will the Reds and Brewers be able to compete in the future with the 3-Headed monster that won almost 300 games in 2015?

Our Hot Stove tour takes us to the PowerHouse AL Central, where the Tigers make an early splash, but is that enough? Do the Royals need anything not already in house? Will the Twins find power in Park? Plus, early reaction to the Red Sox signing Price.

Good friend Chris Easter, founder of "The Man Registry" and life-long St. Louis Cardinals fan, joins the Podcast to talk MLB in the Powerhouse Midwest, some Hot Stove, a Cards/Royals lineup-mashup, and if Cards fans are really "The Best Fans in Baseball."

Bold reaction to the Braves' trading of Simmons, and the RTB Hot Stove Tour goes through the NL West.

Our first stop on the Hot Stove tour of divisions is the AL West. Will the Astros spend big? Can the Big 3 spend any more? What are the A's? Plus, reaction to the tragic, sudden passing of Tommy Hanson.

The Kansas City Royals ascended to the mountain top for a second straight year, only this time, they planted the flag... Emphatically. The reflections, takeaways, and lasting images of the 2015 Major League Baseball season, and a peek at what's already cooking on the Hot Stove.

Can the Royals truly take the crown in their second straight World Series appearance? Or do the Mets have a road-team advantage? All things World Series 2015, and a look back at the "Origin Story" Fall Classic of 1903.

The Cubs look to be gone, while Daniel "The Dragon Slayer" Murphy continues his torrid postseason clip. In the 1971 World Series, Clemente goes gangbusters to lead the Pirates over the vaunted Orioles, who featured four 20-game winners.