Introducing STL Pinch Hits -- a brand new way to get BPIB and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball coverage and expanded coverage, including a brand new beat at the newspaper, Cardinals minor-league writer. Daniel Guerrero, the new addition to the Post-Dispatch team, will be covering all of the Cardinals' top prospects and minor-league affiliates, bringing exclusive coverage to the new STL Pinch Hits app, including a podcast, video reporters, and almost daily updates on the performances from the minor-league levels. Guerrero grew up in Anaheim, Calif., and that's where this brand new BPIB begins: What it was like being a young baseball fan when Albert Pujols left St. Louis to be an Angel, and now being a reporter in St. Louis as Pujols makes his return at designated hitter. With baseball writer Derrick Goold, Guerrero discusses early performances of note in the minors and the Post-Dispatch Dozen, a ranking of the top 12 prospects in the Cardinals' system who have yet to appear in the majors. Plus, Guerrero drops a scoop at the end of the podcast. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.  

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The return several months in the making of a podcast now 10 years in the talking. The Best Podcast in Baseball previews opening day of the 2022 Cardinals season with Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel. He talks about his surprises of camp (Albert Pujols' return?), the issues unaddressed by the team (fifth starter), and what he thought about the first year of Camp Oli. Hummel joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer and BPIB host Derrick Goold to discuss whether the Cardinals are a good team relative to the rest of the National League Central, or a good team within the National League. Answers may vary. The Best Podcast in Baseball, which can be found on the new app STL Pinch Hits, is sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, and it is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. Look for it weekly during the regular season.

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In a predictable but poetic twist, the best way to recapture the enthusiasm of a fanbase after the ice-chill of a work stoppage for the Cardinals, that old-school National League ball club, may be through an American League gizmo. Is the DH the Cardinals way to create excitement coming out of a lockout? That question forms the backbone of a conversation between St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson and baseball writer Derrick Goold during a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball. The lengthy delays between negotiations and attempt to create urgency is discussed in the first 25 minutes before Frederickson and Goold explore how the Cardinals specifically can energize a frustrated fanbase. There will be a frenzy of transactions once the lockout ends, but is that enough? There will be questions about the Cardinals' offense, so is answering them with a name-brand DH enough? The Cardinals are keen on their prospects, but is selling the future any way to regain the fans' interest in the present? In its 10th year, the Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, remains a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

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Mike Ferrin, MLB Network Radio host extraordinaire, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the ongoing lockout, the ramifications of extending winter for the fans, and how close the Cardinals are to being a favorite for the pennant -- if only they'd make that one last move they just haven't. In this brand new episode and extended conversation, recorded right before the inevitable delay of spring training, Ferrin and Goold discuss whether the National League is more vulnerable or just more volatile given all the moves yet to be made once MLB's lockout ends. Home decor is also detailed. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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With another year of Hall of Fame voting and angst over, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens ushered off the ballot, and David Ortiz welcomed into Cooperstown, Jay Jaffe, senior writer at FanGraphs.com and Hall of Fame aficionado, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss what it all means. Does Ortiz's first-ballot induction set the stage for a new precedent when it comes to specialists like relievers or players with ties to performance-enhancing drugs, however vague or intangible? Does Scott Rolen's second significant jump in as many years put him on deck for induction in 2023, and does that mean Cooperstown is starting to feel the glove? If so, Yadier Molina -- first ballot? Jaffe, author of The Cooperstown Casebook and essential reading every Hall of Fame season at FanGraphs, joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss their ballots, the trends, the frustrations, and where several prominent current and former Cardinals fit on the road to bronze at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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The annual opening of the international signing period has been nicknamed "Jesse Sanchez Day" because of the attention, care, insight and depth of coverage MLB.com baseball writer Jesse Sanchez has brought to that market and the talents it introduces to baseball and baseball fans. In a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball, recorded a few days after the Jan. 15 opening of the international market, Sanchez talks with St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold about the challenges that faced players and scouts alike as they negotiated deals and identified players during a global pandemic. More than just the calendar shifted. Sanchez also offers a scouting report on the prized signing by the Cardinals -- switch-hitting shortstop Jonathan Mejia, a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic. Plus, the two writers detail how the Cardinals scouted and ultimately signed Won-Bin Cho, the teenage slugger from South Korea who is also the first amateur player from Asia to sign with the Cardinals. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

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The Best Podcast in Baseball begins its 10th year with a brand new and extended episode and a discussion about baseball's past and the Cardinals' future. St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold faces questions from Kevin Wheeler (KMOX/1120 AM) about the 2022 National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot and the players he voted for this year. Lists are the theme, after all. Goold brought his list of 10 players who appeared on his ballot, and Wheeler discussed his list of Top 20 prospects in the Cardinals' system. The podcast explores the nature of ranking players for what they could do in the game, and then years later having to research and assess what players did in their careers and whether that merits Cooperstown. Warning: There is a rant about how underappreciated third basemen are, historically. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

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When baseball emerges from its long, cold, inactive winter, and players take the field again in spring, what should the game look like? Start with more improvisation of talent, less calculation of risks. That was the answer given by Kevin Wheeler, broadcaster at KMOX/1120 AM. He tackled the on-field product first, saving the off-field economics for another conversation. As baseball has shifted from probability management to risk management, the product and entertainment value on the field has shifted. Do good teams draw fans, or do teams also have to play an appealing style of baseball, and if every team is drawing from the same numbers does that mean they all play the same? Dullsville. In the final BPIB of 2021, Wheeler and host Derrick Goold, baseball writer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, talk about the changing dynamics of baseball on the field, from youth to majors, from development to debut, and how when the lockout ends and play resumes some changes (including one simple tweak that would address tanking, too) will give the team a jolt. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. Have a happy, healthy holiday season. BPIB will return in 2022.

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Should St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson be able to decorate a window at his house with a "major award"? He turns this question -- which definitely has legs -- over to the listeners of the Best Podcast in Baseball. And that's just the beginning. As BPIB nears its 10th year in the podcast game, Frederickson joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the biggest stories of the past year for the St. Louis Cardinals. The acquisition of Nolan Arenado, a record 17-game winning streak, and the abrupt, confusing firing of the manager -- any of those would have been the biggest story of a non-championship season. And they all happened in 2021. The answer on what was the biggest shapes how the Cardinals should be viewed in 2022, and the podcast explores the rising expectations, the storylines, and who specifically is in the spotlight as the Cardinals also reach a decade milestone. That is, a decade without a title. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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Todd Radom is the artist whose work you know and whose name you should. You probably have one of his designs on a t-shirt or a hat, on a sticker or a pennant or a flag or bobblehead or beer stein. You might even have it as a tattoo. As I type this, I can see at least a half dozen items in my offense -- from patches to baseballs -- that have one of the logos he created. Radom, an author and graphic designer, is the hand behind Busch Stadium II's final year logo, Busch Stadium III's first year logo, and so many others, from the Washington Nationals' logo and look to the Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, and other teams' anniversary logos. He designed the patches for the final year of old Yankee Stadium and the first year of current Yankee Stadium, and the Wichita Wind Surge -- yeah, that's his work, too. Radom joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the history of logos, the history he invests into his logos, and along the way the two add a few stitches of trivia. The Birds on the Bat are about to celebrate their 100th anniversary, and their place in logo legend is discussed. Plus, Radom offers his definitive opinion on whether the Cardinals should wear blue caps on the road. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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