Having completed a distinguished 11-year career in 2021 as a catcher for the San Francisco Giants, Buster Posey, an immensely popular Bay Area figure, purchased an undisclosed percentage of the team and joined the Giants’ board of directors in 2022. Then, in a move that surprised many, Posey, at his own request, was appointed President of Baseball Operations in September, 2024.

His tenure as President of Baseball Operations, unfortunately, has not mirrored that of his stellar career as a player.

This episode of All About Baseball amplifies a listener request to “tell me more” about why members of an unidentified podcast criticized Posey’s performance during the last 18 months.

More recently, Posey has received negative responses for his refusal to address the media regarding a controversy surrounding “Pride Night” at Oracle Park. Posey may not yet realize that his responsibilities as “President of Baseball Operations” extend beyond the foul lines or that executing them effectively requires far more experience than he has gained since he willingly usurped the position.

NOTE: I misidentified a Giants’ player as “Sean Hentges.” His name is Sam Hentges. My apologies.

Also, our cat, Alice, offers her input just past the 15:00 mark.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is proposing changes to the MLB Amateur Draft. In my opinion, these changes will adversely affect the quality of play and deny thousands of aspiring young men the opportunity to develop into a Major League ballplayers.

Manfred wants to cut the draft from 20 rounds to 12 rounds, eliminating approximately 250 players from the existing draft pool and cancelling their dream of attempting to become an MLB player. Be very surprised in this episode to discover only a small sample of men who would not have been drafted if the draft was 12 rounds from 1965 to the present day.

By the way … the player who I talked to in my apartment workout facility was Kevin Patterson. A 30th-round draft pick, he played in the minor leagues for the Blue Jays’ organization from 2011 to 2014, upholding his promise to his wife. This episode explains.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

I am off this week. As the one-year anniversary of our son Stuart’s death approaches and passes, I thought it appropriate to replay the episode that I recorded in July, 2025, a few days after his funeral. After a brief preamble that I recorded in advance, you’ll hear that episode. Thank you for your prayers and support, and please continue praying for the peaceful repose of Stuart’s soul.

I am honored to welcome Pulitzer Prize finalist, journalist, author, and accomplished historian Edward Achorn to All About Baseball. Edward’s two books about baseball in the 19th Century, Fifty Nine in ’84 and The Summer of Beer and Whiskey, place the reader “at the shoulder” (Ed’s words) of Old Hoss Radbourn and Chris Von Der Ahe respectively. And as Radbourn carried the 1884 Providence Grays on his shoulders, Von Der Ahe carried the future of professional baseball on his. Achorn, in this episode, details the personas of both men, the process of writing these two books, and adds significant bonus material on Abraham Lincoln — the subject of his last three books.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Recently, a game between the Orioles and Blue Jays sparked controversy over a Blue Jays’ runner who veered well out of the baseline to avoid being tagged. The policy of MLB, which prohibits the league to “publicly address the umpires’ decisions,” only serves to amplify mistrust and minimize the credibility of MLB umpires and the league itself. This episode offers an explanation to umpire Nic Lentz’s non-call on Blue Jays’ runner Ernie Clements that you won’t find anywhere else.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

On May 28, the San Francisco Giants relieved Hector Borg of his responsibilities as third-base coach. I think that this decision was as hastily made as the one to hire him in the 2025 off season to handle the most difficult job on the field. In fact, I believe that the Giants should have retained Borg as third-base coach and mentored him into improvement, rather than demoting him to his familiar role of “player development.” This episode of All About Baseball explains why I think so, in the face of overwhelming “public opinion” that called for his removal.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

In this episode, I ruminate over the lost art of pitching that was prevalent in MLB as recently as 2010 or so. Now, since the “Velocity Virus” has infected the minds of baseball executives, scouts, coaches, and players at all levels, multiplied by the “schools” and “academies” that promote this fallacy, it seems that the nuance and complexity of baseball has given way to a more primal version — where the players are grist for a mill that feeds the thrill-seeking fan rather than the informed one.

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Link to Real Voices of the Game Podcast, featuring Jim Rooney

Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Since May 4 to May 20, 2026, the Tigers are 2-13. Is this simply a slump? I think not. The episode of All About Baseball delves into the sad statistics that indicate a bigger problem: the Tigers have too many role-playing players playing main roles, especially offensively, and they are not going to miraculously transform into reliable and ready hitters — or defenders.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Periodically, I recommend good books about baseball.

The Summer of Beer and Whiskey, by Edward Achorn, is a great book about baseball.

This is my unbridled endorsement of a book that, in great detail, captures the ethos of professional baseball in the 1880s as a time of flux, fanaticism, and fury.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

My first PSA episode of All About Baseball. It’s brief by design, but, if you take the action that I suggest, you could directly impact the lives of the people that Kirk Gibson has himself in the long-term. Do me a favor and listen to the end. Thank you.

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Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Link to Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s