Toy Cannon Canon

Vik breaks down his favorite play-by-play call in baseball history: Duane Kuiper's work on Barry Bonds' 756th career home run. How an epic story told over multiple careers and lifetimes led to a few of the most hauntingly poetic words ever uttered in a broadcast booth. Some added fun stems from the fact that guest Varun Raghupathi is a professional play-by-play commentator and Jacob was the color analyst alongside Vik's play-by-play work in high school.

Guest host Varun Raghupathi joins Jacob and Vik to present his canondate: the oft overshadowed Brian Jordan. Jordan was nothing but an utterly competent and valuable piece on multiple playoff teams in both the NFL and MLB. But whether it was being in the same defensive backfield as Deion Sanders, being a two-sport athlete at the same time as Primetime and Bo, or even being an athlete who peaked in the 90s named Jordan, there was always someone doing what he was doing more prominently. The athletic marvel finally gets his due as he enters The Canon.

Jacob canonizes one of the many inane schemes of famed former Oakland A's owner Charlie Finley: the designated runner. Herb Washington was perhaps the fastest man on earth and easily the fastest man in the major leagues when he signed for the princely 1974 sum of $60,000. Along with Vik and guest Varun Raghupathi, Jacob breaks down how an unprecedentedly limited role and a locker room full of two-time defending World Series champions couldn't stop Herb Washington--but a righty's pick-off move often could.

Jacob and Vik are joined again by Matt Wilson and Jimmy Arvan to load up a great week of content. First, the guys reflect on a whirlwind week in which Toy Cannon Canon was a rising entity on KBO Twitter (0:57). Then they re-introduce the concept behind The Canon for any new listeners (13:00). Jacob and Vik detail the exciting Week 8 ahead, with three different but equally intriguing canonizations (18:48). Finally, the quartet plays a psychologically taxing game of Baseball Guess Who (21:52).

Vik and Jacob are joined by special guest Noah Averick to trumpet the Hall of Fame cases for three borderline candidates. Jacob's nominee was an icon and a machine when it came to 30 homer/30 steal campaigns, but the advanced metrics don't quite reflect his impact on the game (3:32). Vik touts the résumé of one of MLB's quietest stars of the 2000s; a player whose baseball-reference page would shock most visitors (30:48). Finally, Noah surprises even the hosts with his mystery wide receiver: a noted head case whose statistics stick out even in the golden age of the wideout (1:06:00).

Special guest Noah Averick justifies the HOF case for an all-time head case. In an era stacked to the gills with talented and productive wide receivers, Noah's pick tends to get lost in the shuffle. He moved to a few different cities, had a plethora of off-field problems, and never played for a successful playoff team. But, he holds a number of individual records and ranks among the best wideouts both of all time and of his star-studded era. Can you guess the mystery man with such an intriguing HOF résumé?

Alongside Jacob and guest Noah Averick, Vik canonizes one of the great underappreciated players of the early 2000s: Bobby Abreu. Stuck on underachieving Phillies teams, Abreu got little national attention and his critics were louder than his supporters. However, Abreu came to the ballpark day after day, and steadily mounted one of the most compelling HOF cases of any player.

Jacob presents the HOF case for Alfonso Soriano, one of the most potent power/speed combos ever. Joined by Vik and guest Noah Averick, we go through Soriano's eye-popping counting stats, underwhelming advanced metrics, and undeniable icon status during his peak. Is Alfonso Soriano a Hall-of-Famer? He's certainly worthy of The Canon.

Welcome to the first edition of our Monday series: "Loading the Canon". Vik & Jacob detail what's coming up on this week's episode of The Canon (0:43). Then Jimmy Arvan and Matt Wilson join to play the Baseball Prospectus Annual Game, where contestants receive only a short blurb about an MLB player and have to identify him (2:08). Play along at home and see if you can guess the overarching theme! Finally, the quartet discusses MLB rule changes (31:35).

Jimmy Arvan comes back on as a guest for a varied class of inductees. First, Vik canonizes the unsung component of the Backyard Sports catalog (2:57). Jimmy takes us back over 100 years to a college football legend whose winning ways and dour demeanor made him the Bronze Age Belichick (26:42). Finally, Jacob enters a baseball player worth 2.1 bWAR into The Canon because his effect on his hometown team goes far beyond his meager statistics (45:07).