Baseball Isn’t Boring

Evan Drellich of The Athletic joins Bradfo to conduct one of his first interviews talking about his new book, 'Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball's Brightest Minds Created Sports' Biggest Mess'. Drellich explains the process that went into constructing the book on the path to what led to the Astros' cheating scandal, what he learned while authoring the project, and what it all means for baseball.

Of all the winter fan celebrations, one stood out over all the others: The Padres' party. Bradfo is joined by Ben Fadden of 'Talking Friars' @talkingfriars, who was Baseball Isn't Boring's boots on the ground for the FanFest in San Diego over the weekend. It has gotten baseball crazy in San Diego, and Ben expertly paints that picture on the podcast.

With the current crop of free agents thinned out with spring training almost upon us, we turn to the big ticket items of next offseason. And there is no better ticket than Shohei Ohtani. Bradfo is joined by free agent correspondent Ed Hand to discuss where Ohtani might find himself a year from now, while also taking a look at what next offseason's free agent class - beyond Ohtani - is looking like. It's never too early to talk about the future of the game's most important player.

With the release of his new book - A Damn Near Perfect Game: Reclaiming America's Pastime - taking place on Feb. 28, White Sox pitcher Joe Kelly calls in with Bradfo and Coop to announce some of his plans in the coming week, which will include a pass through the Super Bowl's Radio Row. Kelly also offers a fascinating passage from the book that offers insight into the 2018 Red Sox's reaction to the Kelly vs. Tyler Austin fight. To order the book, click here.

In Episode 2 of WBC Central, Shawn Spradling (@shawn_spradling) not only offers a flurry of updates regarding all things World Baseball Classic, but does an extensive question and answer session ... and there are some really good questions and some really good answers. With the rosters officially set to be announced next week, the anticipation is building. That's why WBC Central is becoming more important to listen to than ever.

The oldest active player in any of the four major professional sports, Rich Hill of the Pirates, joins Bradfo once again, this time to reflect on how Tom Brady made it as far as he did before retiring, whether or not Hill is eyeing playing as long as Brady, and what it takes to play into your 40's. It's the kind of insight nobody else in baseball can currently give.

Bradfo is joined by actor Ellen Adair and Courtney Finnicum to offer the the ultimate springboard into February, with the trio passionately talking about the great game of baseball just a few weeks before spring training kicks off. Ellen - who has made her mark not only in the acting world, but also as an astute follower of baseball (and Phillies fan) - joins Baseball Isn't Boring regular Courtney in offering a great look at what promises to make the 2023 the best season yet. If you want to get ready for those first swing of the spring, this is the podcast to listen to.

Two players who have dove head-first into the world of chess - while they aren't playing baseball - are Reds star Joey Votto and Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock. Both recently joined Bradfo on the podcast to talk about how the two games can intertwine and how they came to finding a passion in playing the game of chess. It's a fascinating conversation about two fascinating games. For the full podcast, click here.

In his latest Baseball Isn't Boring appearance, Pirates pitcher Rich Hill - who struck out Mike Trout in their only showdown - defined who he thought was the best hitter currently in baseball. His choice? New Marlin Luis Arraez. Hill goes on to explain why his former Twins teammate was the choice, and who else he would put on the short list of best hitters. For the complete episode, click here.

Former Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill, who has taken his talents to Pittsburgh for 2023, has a very real problem with what went down with the baseballs last season. With it coming out that Major League Baseball used three different kinds of baseballs in 2022, Hill takes MLB to task heading into the new season. To listen to the entire podcast with Hill, click here.