The Top Step

Voice of the Fredericksburg Nationals, Erik Bremer, hops on the podcast to discuss his career from Northwestern to the Australian Baseball League and the excitement and challenges associated with the broadcasting the inaugural season of the Fredericksburg Nationals.

Catholic pastor Fr. James Hudgins joins the show to discuss one of his many areas of expertise--architecture--and its relevance to both churches and ballparks. 

Paul and Steve discuss March Madness for the first few minutes and then dive into some of the interview's highlights (3:05).

Fr. Hudgins joins the program and takes us through intentional architecture, intellectual history, and why physical reflections of our culture are so important (10:40).

Steve interviews Charlie DiPietro, owner of Sports Cards Plus, about the booming trading card hobby. 15:00

First, Steve and Paul talk about gambling, investing, and other means of speculation people have tried since the pandemic hit.

Paul and Steve dive into the reshuffling of Minor League Baseball. Which leagues are being cut? Which teams are losing or gaining affiliations? Will there be a 2021 season at all? And what's next for Paul and the Bowie Baysox?

What makes a ballpark great?

Steve and Paul dive into Paul Goldberger's architectural history of baseball, titled Ballpark: Baseball in the American City.

They discuss old, urban neighborhood ballparks like Fenway and Wrigley before lamenting the suburban concrete monstrosities of the mid 20th century. 

The meat of the conversation is focused on the neo-urban parks built since 1992, including of course Camden Yards, PETCO Park, and Oracle Park.

The two newest MLB parks--Truist Park in Atlanta and Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas--challenge the style that Camden Yards popularized. Is this where the ballparks of the future are going?

Make sure to read Steve's full-length review on TopStepTalk.com.

Steve shares the results of a study he conducted based on a personal premise: the size of a city's airport can be estimated by the level of professional baseball team that plays in the city.

Triple-A cities like Charlotte and Salt Lake City could be MLB expansion opportunities. 

Orlando has no baseball team at all.

Portland deserves better than a short-season Single-A team.

Paul has never been to a Richmond Flying Squirrels game.

Paul and Steve give a quick update on the regular season, which is nearing an end.

Then, they discuss a now-infamous incident between Fernando Tatis Jr. and the Texas Rangers, which sparked baseball's youth to speak out against unwritten rules. They agree that if anyone deserves to be hit with a pitch, it's Houston Astros batters.

Steve reviews the new stadium of the Fredericksburg Nationals (Class A Advanced affiliate of the Washington Nationals) with his brother Joe. 

Paul and Steve interview the D.C. Sports Bog's Scott Allen at the Washington Post offices in 2017. They discuss Paul's Garden Gnome adventure and the Nats' failing bullpen, which remains an issue to this day.

Paul and Steve chat with The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg back in the summer of 2017. But first, they wonder what a shortened MLB season might look like and dive into the weird history behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.