Welcome to Barbecast 75, Yoenis Cespedes Is About To Play In The World Series Edition. Our special guest this week (at 15:00) is Boog "Jon" Sciambi, ESPN broadcaster and one of the 100 best broadcasters nicknamed Boog in the 21st century. We talked to Jon about...

After our conversation with Jon (at 1:03:40), we introduced a slight twist to our weekly B-Ref Battle -- fewer names! We still managed to blabber on for 15 minutes about our respective players, though. After B-Ref (at 1:20:49), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered The Baby Hitler Question because it didn't make sense to talk about that during any other part of the podcast. Thanks Lana! We concluded (at 1:28:40) with an explanation for this week's music and an amusing few minutes from Jake's inebriated friend. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Why You Always Lying?

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Welcome to Barbecast 74! This is our super-special playoff preview podcast in which 30% of this 2+ hour long marathon is anything resembling a playoff preview. We have two special guests this week. Our first special guest (at 15:00) is Jeff Passan, MLB columnist for Yahoo Sports and PLAYOFFS EXPERT. We pondered a bevy of playoff-related questions with Jeff, including:

Our second special guest (at 56:52) has been on the Barbecast before, but we decided to bring him back on to talk about some recent controversial happenings in the major baseball league. It's John Baker! Topics include:

After John (at 1:36:42), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle for the ages, including a player who the tallest pitcher in baseball for over 60 years. For Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry (at 2:03:51), we called Lana immediately following her beloved Rangers' epic collapse against the Angels on the penultimate day of the season and invoked the memory of the great Carlos Garcia (Seriously, go listen to it). We conclude this audio voyage (at 2:13:45) with our own playoff picks (the Nationals are gonna win it all!!11!1) and a somewhat somber Varsity Baseball Update. Thanks for listening <3

Music: PLAYOFF HYPE SONGS

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Welcome to Barbecast 73! In the spirit of Yom Kippur, we're atoning for the sins of the previous 72 Barbecasts with two special guests and an inordinate amount of actual baseball talk. Our first special guest this week (at 19:55) is Cardinals minor league pitcher Kyle Grana. (It's Gran-uh, not Grahn-uh. alternatively: Kyle Grandma).We talked to Kyle about how he went from being an undrafted D-II starter to a shutdown reliever with two full seasons of an ERA under 1.00 in the minors. Our second special guest (at 58:10) is Andrew Stoeten, Blue Jays Ambassador to the United States of America. We talked to Andrew about his beloved Jays as they march towards the postseason for the first time in over 20 years. The Jays are awesome! After our special guests (at 1:33:04), another B-Ref Battle took place and included an instant classic in the Agamemnon Baca category and some prominent religious figures. Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry (at 1:56:30) reached an all-time high in the Ridiculous Recording Conditions category as the 8/9-hour time difference afforded us the ability to keep this god damn segment alive. We concluded with a brief draft of our favorite Yogi Berra quotes and some exciting general BBQ news. Thanks for listening <3

Music: First Place - Taylor Swift

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Welcome to Barbecast 72! Our special guest this week (at 28:45) is Rangers prospect and Integalactic Defender of Unpopular Opinions, Mike Matuella. Mike was the Rangers' third round pick in the 2015 Draft out of Duke University just a couple months after getting Tommy John Surgery like all the other cool kids. We talked to Mike about a whole host of topics tangentially related to baseball, including:

Mike was great! Follow him on Twitter @mikematch30 for more scorching hot takes. After Mike (at 1:22:50), another B-Ref Battle commenced which included one of the more incomprehensible names we've ever heard as well as an incredible Honus Wagner story. Next (at 1:46:40), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry asked HOW MANY FINGERS?!?! We concluded (at 1:53:57) with some thoughts on our inaugural baseball experiences here in Europe: Jake watching actual baseball in London, and my inexplicable sighting of a Billy Koch painting at a Copenahagen pub. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Nickelback (Blame Mike)

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Welcome to Barbecast 71! Our special guest this week (at 24:55) is Ben Hill, minor league roadtrip aficianado and writer for MiLB.com. It's Ben's job to drive around America and document the ins and outs of minor league teams, from the on-field promotions to the weirdest ballpark food, and everything in between. It's basically the coolest job in the world (to people like us) so we asked him a bunch of fun experiences about what it's been like for the past five years gallivanting around the country watching minor league baseball. Ben's great! After Ben (at 1:05:15), yet another B-Ref Battle took place and included some guys from the 1850's LOL THAT IS SO RIDICULOUSLY LONG AGO. After B-Ref, we called Lana while she was at the Padres/Dodgers game and interrupted her pleasant afternoon. Tales from Logdog, everybody! We concluded with some updates our life in Europe (including Jake's internship with Manchester City FC), and a look at the week ahead. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Corey Feldman performing at a State College Spikes game?!?!?!

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Welcome to Barbecast 70! You thought you'd get a break from this podcast with us being in Europe. You thought wrong. All the way from Manchester, England and Copenhagen, Denmark, it's a brand new Barbecast with two special guests and all the usual fun we squeeze into these longform audio ramblings. Our first special guest this week (at 16:20) is Carson Cistulli, fringe-prospect fanatic and rennaissance man over at FanGraphs and The New Enthusiast. Carson also has experience living in a European country during baseball season, so we asked him for advice on how to adjust to being surrounded by people that couldn't care less about the beisbol. We also talked about two of Carson's favorite fringe-prospects, Willians Astudillo and Blayne Weller, and even squeezed in some Danish soccer talk as well. Our second special guest this week (at 1:03:30) is a genuine real-life friend of the BBQ and Generally Awesome Person Kinza Baad! Kinza plays softball at the University of Virginia and spent this summer scouting the Cape Cod League for a major league baseball team. We asked about her experience as the incredibly rare female scout and her advice for girls that want to get into that part of the game. We also talked about softball because we also love softball now. After Kinza (at 1:26:25), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle of baffling baseball names. Next (1:47:00), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered Lana's somewhat timid excitement for football season (sorry for the shitty audio here -- Lana is so damn far away). We concluded (at 1:52:35) with some observations on our time in Europe thus far and what you can expect from us going forward this semester. Thanks for listening <3

Music: The Countries of the World (Europe edition)!

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Welcome to Barbecast 69, the nicest Barbecast yet. We have THREE special guests this week in honor of the special occasion. Our first special guest this week (at 25:53) is Jared Diamond -- no, not THAT Jared Diamond -- the Jared Diamond who covers the Mets for the Wall Street Journal! Amidst one of the craziest weeks in franchise history, the Mets traded for our beloved hero and all that comes along with him, so we asked Jared about how Yo's stay in New York has been thus far. We also talked about the Wilmer Flores fiasco, the inexplicably awesome Jacob deGrom, and more! Our second special guest (at 1:00:40) is John Baker, former major league catcher and current major league critic. We last spoke to John when he was still with Triple-A Tacoma back in April. This week, John came on to talk about what he's been doing since becoming a free agent, how he watches baseball as a fan, and his ongoing transition into his post-playing career. Our third special guest (at 1:41:18) insisted that he be included on this special episode long ago: it's Jesse Spector of Sporting News, who came on to discuss his fascinating piece on the history of major league players wearing #69 and why those few players ended up with the number in the first place. After our special guests (at 1:48:30), another B-Ref Battle of extraordinary proportions took place. Tales from Logdog (at 2:10:01) with Lana Berry covered Lana's new podcast, which is weird because she's still on this podcast every god damn week. We concluded (at 2:17:41) with some updates on our respective study abroad programs and a look ahead at the challenges the Barbecast may face in coming weeks. Stay tuned! Thanks for listening <3

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Welcome to Barbecast 68! This week's show has two special guests: a minor league pitcher and a major league ballgirl. Our first guest (at 26:03) is Chase De Jong, a right-handed pitcher in the Dodgers organization who was recently traded from Toronto for international bonus money. We talked to Chase about that experience and much more, including...

Next (at 1:00:35), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle of extraordinary baseball names and laughed at them because they are funny. Our second special guest this week (at 1:25:16) is Celine Fowler, a softball player for Central Washington University and one of the many ballgirls for the Seattle Mariners. We talked to her about softball and how the hell she became a major league ballgirl. It was great! Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry (at 2:00:01) covered what Lana would trade in her life for something from our lives. It was a tremendously strange conversation. We concluded with a somber Barbecuers update on the tragic end to our season :( Thanks for listening!

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Welcome to Barbecast 67! Our special guest this week (at 21:30) is the author of "The Best Team Money Can Buy", Molly Knight. TBTMCB is Baseball Twitter's favorite thing at the moment and we also enjoy it quite a bit, so we had Molly on to talk about some of the highlights of the book, including...

After Molly, we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle chock full of absurd sounds that are actually names and a fair share of World War II jokes. Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered how her roommate Molly's book has positively and affected HER life since she moved in...and how much she likes the book, of course. We concluded with an exciting Barbecuers update and an update on our remaining summer plans. Thanks for listening <3

Buy Molly's book! 

Music: DJ YRS JERZY

Welcome to Barbecast 66! After last episode's 1,000 pitch festivities, we've returned this week with a fairly regular Barbecast -- at least, as regular as Barbecasts go. Our special guest this week (at 15:47) is Luke Ramirez, one of the most notorious players in Little League World Series history and a huge part of the 2009 LLWS Champion Chula Vista team. We talked to Luke about all the ridiculousness surrounding the Little League World Series, including:

After we talked to Luke (at 59:05), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle of extraordinary baseball names. After B-Ref (at 1:18:08), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered Lana's #FinalVote candidacy and why she doesn't even really wanna get voted into the All-Star Game. We conclude with a brief discussion on our recent trip to North Carolina and look ahead to the rest of the summer. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Phineas and Ferb

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