Is This A Great Game, Or What?

Jayson Stark, Hall of Fame baseball writer, joins our Hall of Fame baseball writer Tim Kurkjian and his son, Jeff, for a conversation that every baseball fan will love. We talk about their day-by-day books, how they used to look up stats, and just how nerdy they really are! It’s all love between these two seamheads, that’s for sure.

They are both incredibly curious people, and that curiosity has shown throughout their long and accomplished writing careers. We learn more about Jayson’s mother, who was also a writer, and how he somehow ended up as the only sports lover in his family. He certainly beat the odds!

Jayson also manages to stump Tim with a baseball fun fact, which is exactly what these two do to each other. They have a very long and special relationship, and as Jeff said, “Being a fly on the wall with you two is special for any baseball fan.”

Tim Kurkjian describes Jayson as a “dog grabbing onto your pant” when it comes to finding a story. That might be the ultimate compliment coming from Tim!

Thanks to Jayson for taking the time to join our little show. But most importantly, thank YOU for listening! If you’re new here, make sure to follow or subscribe.

Thank you so much for watching and listening, and as always, thanks for being a part of our family!

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On Sunday, August 16th, it was announced that baseball lost Tommy John at the age of 83. Tim Kurkjian makes a compelling case at 11:40 for his Hall of Fame argument.

Join us IN PERSON on August 22nd in Pottstown, PA, as we come together to raise money for our friend Michael Brown. Get info and tickets at souljoels.com/shop/tickets/anightwithtimkurkjian/. And if you can’t make it in person but would still like to donate, you can do that through the same link.

Tim is in Canada, Jeff is in the U.S., and we’re spanning borders for this episode of “Is This A Great Game, Or What?” Thank you for joining us as we celebrate what may be the greatest MLB debut in history. Three at-bats. Three home runs. Need we say more? Congratulations to Joshua Baez for making history Saturday night!

Pete Alonso batting leadoff?! Corbin Carroll has a lot of home runs AND a lot of triples, putting him in some serious company. And Sal Stewart is one impressive rookie! Mike Trout is important to our Quirkjians this week, unfortunately because of the number of losing seasons he’s been a part of. Alex Bregman and The Mix also make appearances. But it’s what the Detroit Tigers’ pitchers did in a shutout win that had us all scratching our heads. We don’t think you’re finding these kinds of stats anywhere else!

On This Date in Baseball History, we remember a legendary moment on the golf course involving George Brett. Yep… GOLF! Dustin Pedroia celebrates a birthday, and so does River Ryan, who inspired this week’s Team Tim: All Bodies of Water. If you have a great Team Tim to suggest, send it our way at GreatGameOrWhat.com.

Finally, the Wheel of Kurkjian wraps things up for the week. Don’t forget to subscribe or follow so you don’t miss our interview with Jayson Stark, coming Tuesday! Thanks for listening or watching, and as always, thanks for being a part of our family!

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Tim and Jeff are excited for the Field of Dreams game, mostly because they absolutely love that movie. But is it “have a catch” or “play catch”? Man, this might drive everyone crazy. We’re hoping to have Kevin Costner on the show to explain how that iconic line came about.

The play from the Red Sox game has everyone talking—and SO CONFUSED! Tim Kurkjian just can’t get over the fact that the mental side of the game isn’t as important as it used to be. Jacob Wilson has set a record, Cal Raleigh has been struggling (poor guy), and The Mix might still be the most exciting pitcher in baseball. WOAH.

The Quirkjians are led by Kody Clemens, and we know a little something about fathers and sons on this show. Plus, the Dodgers’ pitching is just kind of crazy when you really think about it. And finally, a matchup that actually got Tim some pop culture points!

On This Date starts with a smile and leads us right into Mickey Mantle. And that’s what our Team Tim is all about this week: the greatest Mickeys ever to play the game of baseball. Alphabest features last names starting with U, which proves to be quite the challenge. We wrap things up with Three Cards, where Tim has taken cards from his baseball-themed bathroom and riffs stories from them!

Support our show by leaving a rating or review and subscribing or following wherever you watch or listen. Jeff has some lofty goals for YouTube in 2026, so make sure to subscribe there if you haven’t already.

And, as always, thanks for being a part of our family!

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Mike Monaco is a teammate of Tim Kurkjian at ESPN and also calls Boston Red Sox games. What a team to be a part of in 2026! We start with a lot of Todd Frazier love (and impressions) because we all just love this guy so, so much. The Little League World Series will be starting up soon, and both Mike and Tim have called games there together. That means amazing memories in Williamsport, PA.

The first game these two broadcasters called together, they weren’t even in the same room! We hear all about how that went. Where did Mike get his broadcasting start? Well, you might be surprised to hear that broadcasting wasn’t actually his dream when he entered Notre Dame, but that clearly changed very quickly. He called games in the Cape League, so naturally, Jeff did some deep diving to find a question from someone in Mike’s past.

Mike grew up a Red Sox fan, and we hear about the players he loved growing up, including Mo Vaughn, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. They say, “Don’t meet your heroes,” but we disagree — and so would Mike Monaco. We also had to ask him about the red-hot Red Sox, who have completely turned things around. Mike has a message for Red Sox fans, too: He believes they are the best fans in the world.

Mike is a friend of the show and a member of the family, and we are so glad to have him with us — and with YOU! Thank you so much for listening or watching, and as always, thanks for being a part of our family!

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On Jeff Kurkjian’s 33rd birthday, we get Tim and Jeff TOGETHER! How special is that? And as if that weren’t enough to celebrate, it’s also Jeff’s daughter’s third birthday, so there’s plenty of celebrating to go around.

But nobody is celebrating more than Red Sox fans right now… even if their winning streak came to a rather strange ending.

Max Scherzer enters a top-10 list—big ups to him! However, Tim is rather bummed to see one of his favorites OUT of it. Jordan Walker finally breaks the curse. Matt Olson joins an exclusive club. Chase Utley gets honored, and Mike Krukow gets some love from Hall of Famer Tim Kurkjian.

The Tigers are really good—and they’re having a lot of fun doing it, piling up runs in shutout games. Miles Mikolas might just be a new favorite pitcher. Plus, we always seem to have a Shohei note!

We also spin The Wheel of Kurkjian, thanks to all of your suggestions—and there are a LOT of them.

We know we have a lot of new family members joining the show, so we want to give you a big WELCOME! Remember, we don’t do things like all the other baseball shows. Sure, we’ll give you what’s going on around the game, but we also want you to love baseball the way father-son duos do.

Get to know us. Become part of the family by following wherever you listen!

More info on our event, check this out souljoels.com/shop/tickets/anightwithtimkurkjian/

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The Red Sox are red hot, the Tigers are one of the most fun teams in baseball, and Pete Crow-Armstrong left us completely baffled with his latest hot take. We cover all of it in this episode of Is This A Great Game, Or What? But first, Tim shares his latest travel woes, Jeff celebrates an impending birthday, and we answer the question: What exactly is an "Alfonseca?" It couldn't be more perfect for this show.

Our Quirkjians feature plenty of Q's—not questions, but names. Winns and Wynns? That's exactly the kind of baseball quirk we love. Then we compare the Phillies' newest addition, Luis Arraez, with Nick Kurtz, and the contrast between the two is absolutely wild.

On This Date in Baseball History, Tim revisits perhaps the one number that still haunts him to this day—a moment he'll never live down. We also look back at the legendary Tony Gwynn, whose incredible ability to make contact and get on base feels even more remarkable in today's strikeout-heavy era.

For our Alphabest, the letter "T" belongs to a current position player who is a first-ballot Hall of Famer without question. And in 3 Cards In The (Wherever We Find Them), we actually pulled a manager card—a rarity that made for a fun surprise.

Happy early birthday to Jeff and his daughter, McKinley! Thanks for listening, thanks for watching, and as always, thanks for being a part of our family.

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We've got Tim Kurkjian's immediate reactions to one of the wildest trade deadlines in recent memory. The Tarik Skubal news may be a few days old, but it was easily the biggest story of the weekend. Plus, the Red Sox somehow landed Adley Rutschman from their division rival, the Orioles—still hard to believe. We break down all the biggest moves, including the Cubs, Guardians, Rays, and more.

Tim joins us from ESPN headquarters in Bristol, squeezing us in between appearances on Baseball Tonight, SportsCenter, and Buster Olney's podcast. The fact that he still finds time for our little show is something we never take for granted.

With so much trade deadline buzz, don't forget to go back and check out our conversation with Jim Bowden. His perspective as a former general manager provides a unique behind-the-scenes look at what the trade deadline is really like.

We also want to invite you to a very special event on August 22 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. We'll be hosting an afternoon of great baseball conversation to benefit Michael Brown, a young father living with ALS who has become a close friend of our family. Our goal is to help Michael and his family get the support they need, and we'd love to see you there. If you're in the Philadelphia area—or just looking for a great reason to make a summer trip—join us at the SunnyBrook Ballroom. Get your tickets here: souljoels.com/shop/tickets/anightwithtimkurkjian/

Thanks so much for listening and watching. As always, thank you for being a part of our family!

To explore coverage, visit aspcapetinsurance.com/FOUL. The ASPCA® is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance.

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HAPPY TRADE DEADLINE! We are celebrating by bringing in Jim Bowden, friend and former General Manager of the Reds and Nationals. He is also the host of GM Territory with HIS son. I mean, come on, how perfect is it to interview him about that given what our show is all about!

His best stories come out including Ken Griffey Jr., Deion Sanders, Ryan Zimmerman and more. His very first year as a GM, well let’s not talk about it, but he has many years of amazing deadlines to talk about!

What ended up being a highlight was the chat about Frank Robinson. What an amazing man. What he had to say about Andruw Jones, now a Hall of Famer, will give you chills. Again, hopefully you laughed and learned in this episode. Our goal is to always tap into something going on in the game and nothing is more exciting than August 3rd, THE TRADE DEADLINE!

We appreciate you watching/listening and as always, thanks for being a part of our family!

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Welcome to "Is This A Great Game, Or What?" hosted by Hall of Famer Tim Kurkjian, with everything else handled by his son, Jeff Kurkjian.

The MLB Trade Deadline is looming, so you know we're diving into plenty of speculation and discussion. But first, Tim has a question about a walk-off automatic double that has us scratching our heads, and we'd love to hear your thoughts.

We all know what an Immaculate Inning is, but what do you call it when a pitcher throws just three pitches and records three outs? Tim may have come up with the perfect name.

In Takeaways, we discuss the Marlins' slump, the Angels' continued struggles, and somehow... The Miz. Plus, Max Muncy has officially cemented his place in Dodgers history.

The Quirkjians feature Shane Bieber and Jacob Young with some of the best quirky baseball stats you'll find anywhere. Then, On This Date in Baseball History takes an unexpected turn involving Adrian Beltre and Bud Selig.

Alphabest continues as Tim tries to name the greatest pitcher and position player for every letter of the alphabet. This week, the letter "S" might have given him his toughest challenge yet.

We wrap things up with Three Cards and Team Tim to close out another fun episode.

As always, thank you for listening. Without you, there is no show, and we truly appreciate all of your support. Be sure to follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and thanks for being part of our family!

Use our code for 10% off your next order of MLB tickets on SeatGeek*: seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TERRITORY10 Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount

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Jason Benetti returns to Is This A Great Game, Or What?, and this time he has another impressive title to add to his résumé: host of Sunday Night Baseball on NBC. Alongside his role as the Detroit Tigers' play-by-play broadcaster, Jason is now taking his talents to a national audience every week, and we couldn't be happier for one of the best in the business.

That said... we don't spend much time talking baseball.

Instead, we dive into Jason's marching band days (yes, he played the tuba), his love of trivia and game shows, and how those passions helped shape him into the broadcaster he is today. Then, somehow, Yellowcard enters the conversation—and if you know this podcast, you know things go off the rails in all the right ways.

Former guest Kevin Brown joins the conversation as we look back on their days together in Minor League Baseball. We also swap stories about Bill Walton, Roger Clemens, and John Kruk, making for another unforgettable conversation with this future (one-day) Hall of Fame broadcaster.

Thanks for watching or listening, and as always, thanks for being a part of our family!

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