The Black Baseball Mixtape

The Washington Nationals' Jojo Gray is having a tremendous season. The 25-year-old, Right-handed pitcher is posting one the best pitching WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in all of baseball: 3.2. He has a team-high 7 wins, with 102 Ks (to date) and an ERA of 3.27. He was named a 2023 MLB All-Star for the first time, and he pitched a scoreless inning in this year's All-Star game, helping the National League to their first win since 2012.

I briefly sat down with Jojo at the Players Alliance Game Changer Awards. The awards took place Sunday night of All-Star week. MLB All-Star players were getting into Seattle, so it meant a lot for Jojo to attend the event.

We spoke about the importance of the Alliance, his favorite players, best dressed, and who'd he'd like to face in a "Dream" match-up.

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Special thanks to the Players Alliance for helping make this podcast happen.

BBM hit legend status at the 2023 MLB All Star Game in Seattle. I was able to steal some time with Hall of Famer Dave Winfield and MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark. I asked them both about the first-ever Swingman Classic and the work of the Players Alliance. You don't want to miss this short but compelling episode.

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This is the first episode from our time at the 2023 MLB All-Star week. This episode features two of culture's most influential content creators: The Kid Mero and Lou Young.

BBM founder, Cheats, spoke to Mero on the field at T-Mobile Stadium before the All-Starr game, and he sat with Lou at the Player Alliance Game Changer Awards. You will enjoy both of these interviews.

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I hope you're enjoying this break from the standard interview podcast. I'm learning from the overnight numbers that I should consider more of these types of podcasts.

Day 3 was lighter than the first two days — a blessing in disguise. Not to bury the lead, but I met Amber Sabathia! She's amazing (as expected - again, whoever said don't meet your heroes had the wrong damn heroes. I was so excited to meet her. I watched Toni's Promise dominate the competition. I did a ton of shopping - a ton: too much. The lobby is a movie. I took a few pics. I had a few people recognize the brand — always nice.

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I'm summing up Day 2 of my MLB All-Star activities with one word: historic. The day was historic on two fronts: The Players Alliance and Minority Softball Prospects (MSP), each launched inaugural undertakings. Toni's Promise is a U17 softball team comprised of Black girls from all over the country. They are coming together and playing in the Jennie Fench Classic for the very first time.

That was followed by the Inaugural Swing Man Classic/HBCU all-star game. Roughly 10,000 fans showed up and showed out. The atmosphere, the game, the drumline: it was a vibe.

Day 2 is in the books. I'm dead tired, but I will be back at it tomorrow.

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BBM Family, Cheats here!

And I'm doing something new: I am recapping my days at MLB All-Star Week in Seattle.

Today was my first day; it was a half-day due to travel, but, boy, did I get it in. And did I mention that I met Ken Griffey Jr.? If not, I met KEN GRIFFEY JR.!

That story is in this episode. I also met: Cito Gaston, Bill Rhoden, Marvin Freeman, and many (many) more people. What a first day. It was like an actual family reunion.

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Special thanks to the Players Alliance.

Additional thanks to MLB HQ.

Last Friday (June 30, 2023), I had the honor of being in Norfolk, VA, as the Norfolk Tided (AAA- Orioles) celebrated Negro League Night at Harbor Park.

This podcast episode is extraordinary. I sat down with Daz Cameron of the Tides to talk about his career and the honor of being a member of the Tide on this particular night.

Daz is a second-generation professional player. His dad, Mike Cameron, was a 16-year pro with 3 gold gloves and an all-star appearance.

Daz is striking his own path after being drafted by the Astros in 2015 and making his pro debut for the Tigers in 2020. In 2022, he signed with the O's and is having a solid season for the 1st-half International League East Champs.

During the podcast, Daz talked about his love for baseball, how he stays focused, and how he would do facing Bob Gibson. It's an enjoyable episode - on a very special night.

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On this Black Baseball Mixtape podcast episode, Cheats sits down with Washington Nationals' #1 prospect (MLB #6), James Wood. The Harrisburg Senators centerfielder spoke about his approach to improving his game, his early love for baseball in a house full of hoopers, his journey from Maryland to IMG (Flordia), to the draft (San Diego), and now back to his hometown club (the Nationals). It's a wild ride.

James is a thoughtful student of the game. You would never know that this old soul is just 20 years old. His future is exceptionally bright; he was named to the MLB Futures Game this week. The conversation was a lot of fun — and full of great gems for baseball fans of any era.

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On this special episode of the Black Baseball Mixtape podcast, Cheats sat down with Trey Lipscomb of the Harrisburg Senators. According to MLB.com, Trey is the #18 prospect in the Nationals organization. He was drafted in the 3rd round of last year's draft — after completing a stellar senior season at the University of Tennessee.

On the podcast, Trey talks about his journey from a college walk-on to a professional baseball player. He's always been "a guy" everywhere he's gone, whether it was right away or after a few years of perseverance. This is an honest look into Trey as a player and a person. You'll learn a little about how he fell in love with baseball and how the game took him from his hometown of Maryland to Flordia, a travel team in Atlanta, to the University of Tennessee. You'll also learn some lighter sides of Trey as he talks about music, the idea of playing hockey, and even marine biology (sort of).

This is an excellent window into one of the game's more interesting and exciting young players.

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Cheats HERE! And on this Black Baseball Mixtape podcast episode, I sat down with a true BBM legend: Delino DeShields. DeShields is currently the Skipper of the Harrisburg Senators (AA - Washington Nationals), but we at BBM will always remember DeSheilds as one of the coldest base-stealing icons of the 90s. He ashed the high socks - he had all the swag - and the culture knew it.

In our conversation, we learn the differences between playing in his day and today. We discuss Black ball players' challenges and the value of just playing the game at all levels. The episode is educational; it's fun, and it's filled with Black baseball joy.

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