The Windup: A show about Baseball

If you love baseball oddities, you love Jayson Stark and you should also love Sarah Langs. Put these two greats together and you have the strangest but truest podcast ever! Jayson and Sarah explain what led them down the path to baseball's numbers, records and overall weirdness and why they're driven to ask questions about the game that most people don't even consider. Then Starkville becomes a family affair as Sarah's mom stops by.The guys also discuss the rise of the Double Hook... the new rule in the Atlantic League that was named by Jayson and take a moment to marvel at the perseverance of Sean Kazmar Jr.Sarah also delivers this week's trivia question: Nelson Cruz almost became the first player to lead his league in HRs last year in a season in which he turned 40. The oldest HR champ of all time was 38 when he won. Who is he? To join The Athletic for just $3.99 per month, visit theathletic.com/baseballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken Rosenthal answers your questions on specific teams and players or the biggest storylines facing MLB. In this week's mailbag:-Explaining the timing of The Athletic's story on Mets culture-Are the Dodgers better than the 90's Braves?-Where did Akil Baddoo come from?-Should technology be taken out of the dugout?-Impact of MLB expansionThose topics and more. If you want to get involved in the show you can reach the voicemail line at: 646-543-7072 or Email: tabaseballshow@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keith Law and Derek VanRiper discuss Carlos Rodón's long road back to the White Sox's rotation and Wednesday's no-hitter against Cleveland, early pitching risers, the changing profile of Byron Buxton, and Keith's recently updated Top 50 prospects list for the 2021 first-year player draft. Follow Keith on Twitter: @keithlawFollow Derek on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Baseball Barista with Hunter Pence & Grant Brisbee are ready to serve you a hot cup of baseball talk this week. They will talk about the art of pinch hitting, some early season interesting division battles and how deep bullpens are a big key for championship teams. Pablo Sandoval has great career numbers as a pinch hitter and Hunter talks about what makes The Panda so great at it. The guys break down some of the early season interesting division battles. The NL East is off to an interesting start and the AL West is pretty much wide open so far. The Giants are really surprising in the NL West and are using great pitching, hitting and defense to get the job done. Farhan Zaidi has a system set up to find the best out of players in every situation during a game. The Red Sox have surprised so far in the AL East and their bullpen has been pretty impressive. Hunter talks about how a deep bullpen is something that a lot of the World Series winning teams have had in the past 10 seasons. And they talk about Hunter's approach as a pinch hitter and if he remembers who he hit his first MLB pinch hit HR off.Follow Hunter on Twitter: @hunterpenceFollow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBrisbeeSubscribe to The Athletic for just $3.99 per month at theathletic.com/baseballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Buck visits Starkville to discuss his power to jinx no hitters, why he hates your team, why he doesn't love bass fishing, his favorite World Series games, his relationship with his dad and much more (22:10).  Also on this episode, Jayson and Doug set out to fix instant replay (1:00), and in the latest edition of Tales from the Doug-out, Glanville shares stories of his favorite stadium of all time, The Vet, which would be celebrating its 50th birthday this month (1:12:25).This week's trivia from David Salituro (@DavidSalituro): Johnny Vaner Meer famously has the record for the fewest starts between no-hitters. Who hasthe second-shortest span between no-hitters? Hint: This pitcher coincidentally also has the record for most starts before his first (1:04:40).To join The Athletic for just $3.99 per month, visit theathletic.com/baseballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken Rosenthal shares his thoughts on Trevor Bauer, MLB cracking down on pitchers using illegal substances (2:30) and much more in the mailbag...-How will the Yankees address shortstop problems?-Do the Padres need to add more pieces this season?-Is Tony La Russa in over his head in Chicago?-Will MLB expand the playoffs in 2022?To get involved you can leave a voicemail at 646-543-7072 or Email TABASEBALLSHOW@GMAIL.COM and you can join The Athletic for just $3.99 per month by visiting theathletic.com/baseballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keith Law and Derek VanRiper discuss the Padres' options at shortstop with Fernando Tatis Jr. on the IL, expectations for Geraldo Perdomo in Arizona, early surprises -- including Andrew Vaughn's slow start at the plate, Keston Hiura's struggle to make contact -- the potential impact of learning a new defensive position on offensive production, and more. Rundown2:21 Ha-seong Kim & the Padres’ Depth Behind Fernando Tatis Jr. 9:06 The Importance of Seeing Players Against Upper Level Competition15:53 Geraldo Perdomo Gets the Call to Arizona19:00 Andrew Vaughn’s Slow Start at the Plate22:14 Keston Hiura’s Soaring Strikeout Rate27:08 How Sustainable is Yermín Mercedes as a Big League Hitter?32:45 Akil Baddoo’s Huge First Week36:04 The Value of Game Reps for Rebuilding TeamsFollow Keith on Twitter: @keithlawFollow Derek on Twitter: @DerekVanRiperSubscribe to The Athletic for just $3.99/month to start: theathletic.com/baseballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Baseball Barista with Hunter Pence & Grant Brisbee are back to talk about an exciting opening week of baseball and what teams/players surprised them the first week. One of their biggest surprises of the opening week was how much the A's have struggled so far. The Phils and Angels really impressed the guys in the first week of the season. Ohtani has looked amazing at the plate and on the mound so far. Mike Trout has shown a lot more fire this season and you can see if effecting the team in a good way. Hunter talks about what it takes to be able to be the vocal leader of a team and how you have to be able to back it up on the field. Hunter talks about how hard it is to hit off Kershaw. They talk about how much the Tatis Jr injury will hurt the Padres and baseball in general. And Hunter talks about 2 young players that have really surprised him so far in the early season.Follow Hunter on Twitter: @hunterpenceFollow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBrisbeeSubscribe to The Athletic for just $3.99 per month at theathletic.com/baseballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are excited to announce The Athletic's new podcast series - Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks. Hosted by hip-hop legend Chuck D, the series dives deep on the past 20 years of the Knicks. Shattered reveals never-heard-before stories about the Knicks, team owner James Dolan and the NBA, with interviews from dozens of voices including franchise legend Patrick Ewing.This is the first 5 minutes of episode one - a look at how the 90's Knicks team broke apart.  To listen to the rest click this link or search Shattered wherever you get your podcasts.  A new episode of Shattered will be released every Tuesday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Starkville: The first week of the 2021 MLB season has been filled with strange but true moments. Cody Bellinger home run that was an out, Miguel Cabrera sliding into 2nd on a home run in the snow and Shohei Ohtani's incredible performance on the mound and at the plate. Jayson and Doug cover all of that before being joined by Giants broadcasting legends Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow for a hilarious conversation about their careers and baseball today (33:15). Plus listener trivia and much more on the latest episode of Starkville (25:00).Follow Jayson on Twitter: @jaysonstFollow Doug on Twitter: @dougglanvilleFollow Jamie Pridmore on Twitter: @Prid72Subscribe to The Athletic for just $3.99 per month at theathletic.com/baseballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.