Burger Bites

Pitcher Chris Matlock talks us through his progression as an unheralded kid from Springfield, Missouri to becoming the 21st round draft pick for the Texas Rangers in 2009. He went from the junior college ranks to the University of Central Missouri, where Matlock shoved his way to NCAA All-American status and was chosen as the relief pitcher of the year for all of NCAA Division-II baseball.

As a closer, Chris Matlock pitched in one of the longest games UCM had ever played in in the 2008 Division-II College World Series. He went on to be chosen for the UCM Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.

It was far from all roses for Chris Matlock when he reached the minor leagues and the Class A short season Spokane Indians of the Northwest League. Lingering shoulder problems and an ill-fated game of long toss led to an abrupt and stunning exit. Without knowing what would come next, Chris Matlock was back in Springfield, Missouri, where it all began.

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: http://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

Chris Matlock came within one out of winning MVP of the 2020 Grip 'N Rip Baseball League championship game, which would have put his name on the Howard Bell Trophy a second time.  The 2009 21st round draft pick of the Texas Rangers jumped into an offseason full of career moves, travel and coronavirus tests. 

Plus, special windows for dogs? It turns out the imposing sidearmer is very tenderhearted when it comes to his two beloved boxers Millie and Bo. As Rance's broadcast partner Steve Lael says, "It's hard not to like a man who likes a dog." Chris Matlock wanted to rescue Millie so badly that he drove out of town in the middle of the night to get her and bring her home.

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Theme songs:

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: https://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

Ethan Bryan played catch for 366 consecutive days in 2018, and then he wrote the book on it. In 2021, he's encouraging other people to play catch, and if they don't have baseball gloves, Ethan is going on the road to bring baseball to them. Starting Father's Day 2021, Ethan Bryan takes off across the Midwest on the Catching Hope Tour. He will make stops in Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Rockford, Illinois, and at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. Along the way, he will give away baseball gloves.

BUY "A Year of Playing Catch" https://www.amazon.com/Year-Playing-Catch-Simple-Experiment/dp/0310360307

Ethan Bryan on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ethan_Bryan

Ethan Bryan on Facebook: http://facebook.com/EthanBryanStories

Ethan Bryan on the Internet in general: http://ethanbryan.com

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: https://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

Announcement after announcement after announcement. Grip 'N Rip Baseball League Chief Operations Officer Kevin "K-Rob" Robertson drops some serious information on Season VI of the GRBL, which gets going with tryouts and the draft Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021.  It all starts with something for the players. For the first time ever, they're going to be playing for some real dough in 2021.

Kevin also has some great information for fans, who will have more opportunity to participate and celebrate their favorite players than ever before.

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: https://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV.

Photo courtesy of Mike Hudgens Photography

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

Long before he ever made a baseball comeback, won a Grip 'N Rip League championship with the Ozark Mountain Ducks, and won the 2020 league MVP Award, Clay Murphy had to bounce back from having Tommy John surgery on his right throwing elbow. We look back at Murph's most formidable years with Missouri State, plus he gives us the exclusive on Clark Murphy, who is sure to be the next big thing. As an added bonus, we painfully revisit the day Clay and the Bears met Kale Kiser and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: https://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV.

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

#TheGRBL's Branson Showmen will be under new management in 2021. Who is their skipper? Rance Burger welcomes Grip 'N Rip Baseball League Commissioner and former Showmen manager Tony Lewis--and a mystery guest--for a press conference to give you the lowdown on a big coaching move. 

Registration for tryouts for the 2021 GRBL season are open at http://thegrbl.com.

Tryouts are Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark, Missouri.

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: http://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

Clay Murphy entered a new world when he went from tiny Wolf Lake, Illinois, to the starting lineup for the NCAA Division-I Missouri State Bears. The first pitch he threw got sent on a ride out of the yard, but he got better after that. Eight years after Clay Murphy's last college baseball game, he'd turn in one of the single best pitching performances as part of an MVP award-winning season for the Grip 'N Rip Baseball League champion Ozark Mountain Ducks.

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: http://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

Promotional consideration for Burger Bites has been given by Veit Relacing.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

Republic Locos manager Chris Meza is back in the host's chair. Rance Burger is a guest on his own show. The guys revisit some key moments from the broadcast booth at U.S. Baseball Park, starting with Rance's audition for the GRBL and concluding in the 2020 playoffs. In between, Chris and Rance discuss elements of a good baseball play-by-play broadcast, highlights from the past three seasons and way too many players to list here.

Chris Meza has his own show, the Press Box: https://open.spotify.com/show/00zgIevB7gsZrEPAWP4aKz?si=WhV-WMyGSemN1ShLOUJ6Mg

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: https://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV.

"Satellites" by The Endless Summer

From "Daydream" 2012

Personnel: Nick Bacon, Tyler Long, Shay Johnson, Tommy Oerding and Adam Cross.

Produced by Andrew Goldstein

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

Promotional consideration for Burger Bites has been given by Rueb Bats and by Veit Relacing.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Rance celebrates the 50th episode of Burger Bites by interviewing himself. Well, not exactly. One of his Grip 'N Rip Baseball League broadcast partners, the manager of the Republic Locos, and a dear friend Chris Meza invited Rance to the home studio for The Press Box (http://open.spotify.com/show/00zgIevB7gsZrEPAWP4aKz?si=WhV-WMyGSemN1ShLOUJ6Mg), where Chris asked the questions and Rance Burger gave the answers.

The guys talk about launching a podcast, Rance's limited athletic background, his education at the University of Missouri, journalism, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, superstitions, faith and a great deal about Rance's wife, Ashley.

Find Burger Bites on Facebook by searching "Burger Bites Podcast," or get after me on Twitter @RanceBurger

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: https://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV.

Additional voice work by Ashley Burger.

Promotional consideration for Burger Bites has been given by Rueb Bats and by Veit Relacing.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com

Brent Hanks made the jump from selling Chevrolets to helping families navigate the landscape of college sports recruiting. As the owner and CEO of Recruit-Me.com, Hanks works with athletes across an array of sports and skill levels to help them make the most of their opportunities. He says it's not a recruiting service, but an "anti-recruiting service" dedicated to arming athletes with the right tools to market themselves to college coaches.

Brent Hanks is also a parent who has been through the recruiting process once with his older son, Northwestern University Wildcats pitcher Parker Hanks, and they're going through it all again with Ozark High School pitcher Sutton Hanks.

"Burger Bites" is written, produced and edited by Rance Burger.

Art courtesy of Brent Hanks.

For more information, visit http://recruit-me.com

Theme songs

"Mr. Burger" by Burger Man

Produced by Tay Muletti

Buy/Stream: http://smarturl.it/BugerMan-MrBurger

"Champion" by SeriouzBeats, music provided by Rujay

Channel: http://YouTube.com/user/RujayTV.

More on Grip 'N Rip Baseball: http://thegrbl.com