Filling in for Lauren this week are returning favorites Richard Staff and Sean Doolittle. Don't need to say much more, they're all-timers.

Mellie is back and filling in for Lauren this week. We're talking spring training, John Middleton, baseball anarchy, regional water use policies, and mormon conspiracy theories.

Sorry for the audio issues, new hardware will be here before the next episode.

Stephen's trip to Ireland. Jacob deGrom's NPC-style answers to basic questions. Another Terry Francona food nightmare. A minor leaguer comes out. Big Boss is back. Then we power rank all the WBC countries' hats and Lauren gives us some insight into the DR national team.

This is the last free episode Lauren is going to be on for a few weeks because she'll be out recovering from surgery. If you want more Lauren sign up at Patreon.com/BattingAround because she'll be on our episode coming out next Monday on Eastbound and Down. While she's gone we'll have a few guest hosts fill in for her that you'll love or at least tolerate.

We keep remarkably on track even though spring training hasn't technically started yet. We talk Joe West's internet war, Joey Votto's local chess tournament fits, Bally's bankruptcy, and then Lauren does a deep dive on Japan's WBC roster.

Keep an eye out on Patreon.com/BattingAround for a Couching Around on Eastbound and Down season one next week.

Slow news week! Spring training is around the corner, and we really tried to stay on track but you know this podcast you know the score.

Go to Patreon.com/BattingAround and sign up because we've got bonus episodes coming up.

the coolest episode we've ever done

Apologies to Sean Doolittle.

We made it to 100 episodes! We talk the hilarious (maybe?) end to the Correa saga, Cueto signing with the Marlins, and some WBC stuff. Then we play a bunch of voicemails from listeners and beloved guests who tell us how great we are.

We're still recovering from 2022 and we're talking Avatar, baseball resolutions, free agent signings including what's going on with Correa, ZiPS projections, Jerry Reinsdorf's reign of terror, and I guess cannibalism.

Next week is our 100th episode so leave us voicemails about the show at (703) 261-4915‬.

Bradford William Davis joins us to talk about his investigative report into MLB's use of different types of baseballs during the 2022 season, as well as the Carlos Correa drama, billionaire owners mad that Steve Cohen is actually spending money, and Trevor Bauer's suspension being cut in arbitration. We also propose a tactical alliance with a controversial figure and put out a challenge to the show's fans.

Head over to Patreon.com/BattingAround and sign up to support the show.