Ep. 90 — Alex and Bobby banter about Mike Francesa, how PETCO Park fits into its urban surroundings, and baseball’s subliminal military ties. They discuss the news that Mike Matheny is in talks to manage the Royals and ask, quite politely, why? They read off some choice answers from Pedro Pedro Martínez’s Bleacher Report AMA, and take a moment to reflect on this season of baseball and what they as fans want out of it. This week’s Three Up, Three Down features an Uber driver pitching for the Twins, and candidates to hit .400 in a season.

Links:

Pedro Martínez AMA

Songs featured in this episode:

Frank Ocean — “Pink + White” • Telekinesis — “Power Lines” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 89 — Bobby and Alex banter about the improbability of Homer Bailey in the year 2019. Then they dive deep into the idea of what the perfect superstar of the 2020s would look like, taking into account skill, style of play, and personality traits on and off the field. This week’s Three Up, Three Down features a discussion on blame, and why Max Kepler is the softboi we were looking for.

Links:

The band shirt photo

Marcus Stroman’s stylish Instagram

Songs featured in this episode:

Grateful Dead — “Shakedown Street” • Linkin Park & Jay-Z — “Numb/Encore” • Linkin Park — “In The End” • The Notorious B.I.G. — “Juicy” • The Beatles — “The Long And Winding Road” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 88 — Alex and Bobby talk the joy of Tony Kemp (yes, that Tony Kemp), and Mike Francesa becoming the investigative sports journalist we need. They discuss the Red Sox firing Dave Dombrowski and ponder what it means for the future of GMs who want to spend money to win championships (hint: it’s not pretty). Then they break down an article in FiveThirtyEight that asks if we even need minor league baseball, leading to a quasi-philosophical discussion about whether we “need” sports, or entertainment, or, say, FiveThirtyEight. This week’s Three Up, Three Down features some Mets shenanigans and the Diamondbacks’ sheer inability to tank.

Links:

Travis Sawchik asks if we need minor league baseball

Albert Burneko responds, “what’s it to you, pal?”

Songs featured in this episode:

The Olympians — “Mercury’s Odyssey” • Talking Heads — “Burning Down The House” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 87 — Alex and Bobby talk the wonders of the Justin Verlander no-hitter and dream of a league where every team is the Astros. Then they take a deep dive into the world of baseball conspiracy theories, going over a few big ones — including an anti-Expos bent and the rigging of Cal Ripken Jr.’s streak — to assess their truth. This week’s Three Up, Three Down features a galaxy brain take on leads from A-Rod and some postseason game theory.

Links:

More reading on conspiracy theories in baseball

A-Rod is On One

Songs featured in this episode:

Vampire Weekend — “White Sky” • Neil Young — “Out On the Weekend” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 86 — Alex and Bobby fire off a Bad Take Dramatic Reading thanks to Anti-Hero of the Pod Phil Mushnick and his crusade against Gary Sanchez. Then they bring on Hannah Keyser, a national baseball writer for Yahoo Sports, to talk about the creation of her baseball web show The Bandwagon, baseball’s 1994 strike, and the nature of sports fandom. This week’s Three Up, Three Down features Justin Verlander’s media beef and Nick Castellanos’s existential thoughts on baseball. Follow Hannah on Twitter here, and keep an eye out for The Bandwagon every Wednesday at noon.

Links:

The Bandwagon

Hannah on fan backlash to the ‘94 strike

Nick Castellanos gets meta

Songs featured in this episode:

Normani — “Motivation” • The Beatles — “I’ve Just Seen A Face” • Frank Ocean — “Sweet Life” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 85 — Alex and Bobby banter about Bill Walton’s magical night calling the White Sox-Angels game, and discuss what made it such a successful experiment. Then they talk about Aristides Aquino and the generational talents coming up at such young ages, and discuss how it plays into notions of exploiting labor in baseball (obviously). This week’s Three Up, Three Down features the joy of the Little League World Series and a presidential endorsement in the DH debate.

Links:

Bill Walton in the White Sox booth

A minor league major standoff

Major leaguers against robot umps

Worst strike three call of all time?

Songs featured in this episode:

The Mamas & The Papas — “Dedicated To The One I Love” • The Delfonics — “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 84 — Alex and Bobby talk about MLB’s plan to play at the Field of Dreams, and discuss the mechanics of playing in a corn field in Iowa. Then they dive into all the trade deadline news they missed, including some major moves and not-so-major ones. They zoom out to talk about how we as fans engage with the trade deadline, and how teams have shaped that mentality over the last couple decades. This week’s Three Up, Three Down features a whole lot of good Mets players and some choice Zack Greinke anecdotes.

Links:

Diamondbacks players reflect on Zack Greinke ($)

Nathan Patterson gives hope to all of us

An improbable baseball/tennis crossover

Songs featured in this episode:

Stranger Ranger — “Sunday” • Fleetwood Mac — “Second Hand News” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 83 — On the two year anniversary of Tipping Pitches, Alex and Bobby discuss how baseball has changed since they started this podcast and how it has remained the same. Then, they bring on two long-awaited guests in Phoebe Walsh and Gabriella Bower to discuss the ways in which the sport could foster a more inclusive and equitable environment, including the creation of more spaces for non-men and a more balanced financial system. Finally, this week’s Three Up, Three Down features ruminations on the hit tool and Jeff McNeil’s puppy adoption.

Songs featured in this episode:

Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 82 — Bobby and Alex briefly banter about watching baseball with the sound off. Then they attempt, in possibly futile fashion, to predict what the second half headlines will be, including a couple players reaching some rarified air, surprise playoff teams and a changing narrative on baseball’s competitive structure. This week’s Three Up, Three Down features baseball players playing tennis and Matt Chapman emerging as baseball’s unlikely sad boy.

Links:

Cut4 on MLB’s clubhouse DJs

Robot umps have arrived

Songs featured in this episode:

Bee Gees — “You Should Be Dancing” • Taking Back Sunday — “MakeDamnSure” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Ep. 81 — Alex and Bobby discuss the pure madness of the Home Run Derby and a slight controversy over Pete Alonso’s comeback victory, plus the rest of the All-Star game festivities. Then they talk about Justin Verlander’s comments on the juiced ball and interrogate Rob Manfred’s response, pondering how the league might be able to reign in the increasing frustration. This week’s Three Up, Three Down features a meditation on baseball’s ability to heal in times of grief, and some good old fashioned hot dog eating goodness.

Songs featured in this episode:

Coast Modern — “Now I’m Cool” • Ducktails — “Hamilton Road” • Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions”

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Follow Tipping Pitches on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Find more great content over at tippingpitches.atavist.com. Questions, comments, or concerns? Shoot us an email at [email protected].