In the early 2010s, the Houston Astros were in a slump - shown on a TV station most of their fans couldn't access, they were tanking and losing over half their games each year. Rob Fontenot, host of Astros Baseball, joins Stuart this week to explain how this was (kind of) intentional, and how with a clever usage of draft picks and the farm system, the Astros were able to win the World Series in both 2017, and again in 2022 with an almost entirely different team!

Listen as Rob explains how unusual this in baseball, and also hear about the origins of the team, and the cool things to do in Houston!

https://twitter.com/RobFontenot

https://twitter.com/stuart_levy

https://twitter.com/SwollenJawPod

Joining Stuart in the first episode of his deep-dive journey into Baseball is Eric Sanford - staff writer at Seattle Mariners community website Lookout Landing. 

Growing up in England, pretty much the only Baseball players Stuart had heard of were those who featured in the inconic episode of The Simpsons "Homer at the Bat". Eric helps Stuart to answer the important questions such as: why was Ken Griffey Jr chosen to feature in that episode? What else did he do in his career? What was his best moment in the Mariners uniform - and how does that link to his refusal to play for one of Baseball's most famous teams?

What started off as a look into why Griffey Jr was chosen to appear in the Simpsons, quickly becomes a fascinating adventure into one of Baseball's greatest ever players!

https://www.lookoutlanding.com/

https://twitter.com/sanford_and_son

https://twitter.com/LookoutLanding

https://twitter.com/stuart_levy

https://twitter.com/SwollenJawPod

https://www.peteobriensglasses.com/blog/2016/7/26/dues-paid-in-full-junior-and-seattle-get-their-day-in-the-sun Eric's experience of Ken Griffey Jr being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame 

https://youtu.be/jReh-ibeClU the famous end of the first playoff series vs the Yankees: "the most iconic moment in Mariners history"

https://youtu.be/TIgK56cAjfY View here for a detailed history of the Mariners

https://youtu.be/jXZTw-GtQcY Ken Griffey Jr's best catches ever

https://theathletic.com/1698812/2020/04/02/solving-the-mystery-within-ken-griffey-jr-presents-major-league-baseball/?source=twitterpcads&ad_id=40700840&twclid=258ele3ec0x66jc1xfcieqd8ca Cool story from the Ken Griffey Jr video game 

Gift pass for The Athletic https://theathletic.com/gp/ychterwdm2

Ken Griffey's Grotesquely Swollen Jaw is the new podcast from Stuart Levy (21 For 21 - 21 Lessons about Sport and Media in the 21st Century).

A lifelong soccer fan, Stuart wants to get into Baseball, and to do so, he's going to need the help of each MLB team to learn a cool story, myth, legend, or something super important in the fandom.

Beginning with the Seattle Mariners, Stuart finally finds out the story of one of the players featured in his favourite episode of The Simpsons - Homer at the Bat!

https://twitter.com/SwollenJawPod

https://twitter.com/stuart_levy