Ben and Sam answer listener emails about the best name for a future baseball player, no-trade clauses, RBI and wins, and a starter with Mariano Rivera’s cutter. Cameo by a raccoon.
Ben and Sam pick the worst players eligible for the All-Star Game, then discuss Josh Hamilton’s smokeless tobacco use.
Ben and Sam talk about a pair of All-Star candidates, then discuss Royals GM Dayton Moore’s comments about Kauffman Stadium suppressing walks.
An early look at All-Star voting.
With All-Star voting officially underway, Ben and Sam make their incredibly premature picks, with Jason Wojciechowski joining them to settle any disputes.
After proclaiming the All Star Game can’t be fixed, Matt Kory proposes a fix for the All Star Game.
The All-Star Game will never be taken seriously because of a flaw in its design, but it’s time to stop trying to fix it.
Which players have won MVP awards without making the Midsummer Classic?
Scouts explain why they prefer Mike Trout to Bryce Harper, and a conversation with Bud Selig.
MLB lets everything go dark for two whole days after the All-Star break. That’s a mistake.
An email about the Baseball Prospectus event in Kansas City inspires the Professor to plan an encounter with a legend.
Ten years later, we look back at the tied 2002 All-Star Game.
Which players will be staying at home this year who should be playing in Kansas City?
John casts his ballot for this year’s All-Stars, and a conversation with Jim Leyland.
Although the specifics haven’t been laid out for public consumption, it is widely assumed that four teams would be added to the post-season mix, raising the number of participants from eight to 12.
Major League Baseball’s recent decision to base home-field advantage in the World Series on the outcome of the All-Star Game runs contrary to the way Commissioner Bud Selig normally operates. Spurred by last year’s All-Star debacle in Milwaukee, the entire process – from concept to approval – took only six months, and failed to employ even one sub-committee of analysts to explore the issue. More typical of Selig’s decision-making process is his announcement of the newly-formed special task force for “The Commissioner’s Initiative: Major League Baseball in the 21st Century.”