Bat'HER Up

An episode that features pets! Between Carrlyn's dogs making a surprise appearance and Shannon's cat making her first cameo on the pod, it was a show full of our favorite fur friends. When the attention wasn't on them, which was shockingly a lot of the time, the girls talked about getting into Twitch during the pandemic, their shared admiration of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, what the future of intersecting sports and video games could look like and of course, MLB's Creators Cup.    Follow Carrlyn on Twitter: @CarrlynBathe Follow her on Instagram: @carrlynbathe Follow Shannon on Instagram: @shannonnnn13 Follow the podcast on Instagram- It's due for an update: @batherup_pod

Sonja Chen is a reporter and producer for MLB.com based in the Bay Area. She mostly covers the visiting teams, and most recently covered the spectacle that was the Astros getting swept by the Oakland A's.  This weeks episode covered everything under the sun- how trading Shohei Ohtani for Juan Soto would be the fairest trades of them all, why the A's have such fast rebuilds and of course, the debate about whether the Angels are some complex performance art piece that no one is aware of. Afterall, there's striking similarities between them and the famous Taylor Swift/Tom Hiddleson shirt drama.  Follow Sonja on Twitter: @sonjamchen Read her latest piece: https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-lose-to-a-s-swept-for-first-time-in-2022 Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod

Jean Fruth is on this week. It was a long time coming and worth the wait. The girls chatted about everything under the sun- what to eat at Citi Field, the Midwest Baseball scene, and of course,  her ever expansive career that spans from working with La Vida Baseball, the Baseball Hall of Fame, and of course, Grassroots Baseball. Learn more about Grassroots Baseball: https://www.grassrootsbaseball.org/ Buy her Grassroots Baseball books here: https://www.grassrootsbaseball.org/store La Vida Baseball: https://www.lavidabaseball.com/ Follow Jean on Instagram: @jeanfruthimages  

This weeks episode features Jennifer Mercedes, a producer and host at La Vida baseball and the founder of Chica Deportes. We spoke about why its important for players to have reporters who have similar backgrounds as them, success and of course, Chica Deportes.   Jennifer's Twitter: @chica_deportes Jennifers Instagram: @lachicadeportes La Vida Baseball's Twitter: @lavidabaseball La Vida Baseball's Instagram: @lavidabaseball   Bat'HER Up's Instagram: @batherup_pod  

Julia Kreuz makes a ton of podcast appearances, so its super lovely that she made the time for Shannon. When she's not on pods, she writes for MLB.com. She recently covered for Bryan Hoch on the Yankees beat, has an adorable dog that we somehow did not talk about and a very charming friendship with fellow baseball writer Keegan Matheson.  Follow her on Twitter: @juliackreuz Read the piece on Gabriel Moreno: https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/gabriel-moreno-journey-from-venezuela-to-top-prospect The elusive Substack: https://batherup.substack.com/ Follow the pod on Instagram: @batherup_pod

Kelsie Heneghan does social media and features for Minor League Baseball and MLB Pipeline. In this weeks episode, Bat'HER Up's first in a hot minute, we talked about the upcoming draft, what some players from prior draft classes are up to now, what makes captivating picks and of course, how on earth she manages the Minor League and MLB Pipeline social channels.  Follow Kelsie on Twitter: @kelsie_heneghan Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod Subscribe to the Substack: batherup.substack.com  

Caitlin an ambassador for Major League Baseball, which basically means she makes baseball Tik Toks and then gets to do insanely fun baseball activities like take batting practice at Wrigley. We touched on that, whether she goes for the big can of Bud Light or the smaller can of fancy schmancy IPA at games, why it's so easy to poke fun at the Oriole's and how on earth she landed in the ambassador program to begin with.  Follow Caitlin on Instagram: @caitlin_hendricks Follow her on TIk Tok: @caitlin_hendricks Caitlin's website: www.caitlinhendricks.com Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod Follow Shannon on Instagram: @shannonnnn13

Toni Nocita owns Impact Sports Marketing- a sports agency centered around helping professional athletes find and support causes that matter to them. You can find learn more about it here: https://www.impactsportsmarketing.com/our-story Follow Toni on Instagram: @toniceleste Follow Impact Sports Marketing on Instagram: @impactsportsmarketing   Follow the pod on Instagram: @batherup_pod   Rate, review, subscribbbeee. 

Veronica Alvarez is a spring training catching instructor for the Oakland A's. She manages the USA Baseball Women's National Team and she quoted Shannon's forever fave Taylor Swift without any prompting what so ever.  Check out the Women's National Team: https://www.usabaseball.com/events/girls-baseball-development/about Follow them on Twitter: @USABaseballWNT Follow Veronica on Instagram: @veronicaoalvarez  

Ariel Epstein shares how she landed into the world of sports betting, the invisible line in the Yankees clubhouse and what on earth a prop is.  Follow Ariel on Twitter: @ArielEpstein  Ariel's Yahoo page:  https://www.yahoo.com/author/ariel-epstein/ Follow Chelsa Messinger on Twitter: @chelsamessignger Follow Kelly in Vegas on Twitter: @Kellyinvegas Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram- @batherup_pod

Minor League baseball is important. Katie Walden tells us why. 

Cat Garcia is a freelance baseball writer and podcaster. She was just as shocked as Shannon when the lockout ended as they pressed record. She hosts the ever spectacular podcast, Grab a Drink with Cat Garcia.   You can listen to her show here: grabadrinkpod.buzzsprout.com Follow her on Twitter: @TheBaseballGirl    

Katie Krall is a genius. No, really, she sounds like a general manager who is about to lead a big league team to a World Series victory. The way she speaks about baseball is mesmerizing and insightful and she has this knack of turning really really complex things- such as developing the future generation of big leaguers into digestible bits of baseball wisdom.    Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram- @Batherup_pod Subscribe to the Substack- substack.com/batherup

M'Lynn loves snowboarding and baseball, and so does Shannon, which brings us here- the conversation that could have lasted hours but got cut short because our girl Chloe Kim had an Olympic gold medal to win. When M'Lynn isn't talking snowboarding, or Freddie Freeman, she's an area scout for the Cubs, which she gladly offered insight into- aka answered a lot of crazy questions, like, if she thought Moneyball glamorized her job. Kinda? Not giving anything away on that one.  Learn more about M'Lynn- https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20220204/gonzales-early-intro-to-baseball-fuels-the-fire-for-new-cubs-scout She hasn't written for Baseball America for a hot second but if you're into archives, check out this lovely site- https://www.baseballamerica.com/about-ba/authors/m-lynn-dease/   Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram- @batherup_pod    

Chelsey Falzone is a Twins lifer. She currently is the Manager of Youth Engagement but previously worked in Ballpark Operations. Unlike Shannon, the host of this thing, she gets very sad when her beloved Twins play the Yankees, ever.    Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram- @batherup_pod Follow Shannon on Instagram- @shannonnnn13

Alexis Brudnicki is a former baseball writer who left the game after years of freelancing and struggling to find a full time job that actually paid. She's currently in law school working towards giving baseball one last shot to love her back. 

Baseball is insane. No really, it is totally wild and it's a real shame theres lots of folks who think its the most boring sport ever. This weeks episode, Bat'HER Up's first in a hot second was recorded pre lockout, during one of baseball's most entertaining and chaotic 60ish hours ever. Maria shared what life was like on her end, her favorite walk up song- spoiler alert, it doesn't belong to a Giants player and what it's been like covering three very different baseball teams. Follow her on Twitter: @mi_guardado Read her work at mlb.com Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram, though don't expect much because Shannon is scared of social media: @batherup_pod Follow Shannon on Instagram and watch her get realll happy whenever Taylor Swift does anything ever, and sometimes promote this thing: @shannonnnn13 Rate, review and tell your friends and enemies about this show.

Kristie Ackert has been covered the Mets as a beat reporter at the New York Daily News for six years before transitioning to an even weirder team, the Yankees. To say she has seen it all is a total understatement, which made for an enlightening chat.  Follow her on Twitter: @ByKristieAckert Read her work: https://www.nydailynews.com/kristie-ackert-staff.html Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod  

It finally happened. I got a college baseball coach on the show.. Beth Woerner. We chatted about her *unique journey into the game, especially coaching. Why we need more girls working in baseball- yes I know this always happens, Driveline, sorta the Braves and of course, life.    Follow her on Instagram: @bethanne15 Follow Bat'HER Up- @Batherup_pod Subscribe to the Substack- batherup.substack.com

Though we technically can't call Amanda Lane Cumming a *historian* she may as well be one. She's written extensively about baseball history, combining her love of old newspapers, knowledge that YES, public libraries are very much still in existence and obviously her fascination with baseball.    Find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarinerMandy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Read the Portland Mavericks Piece: https://www.lookoutlanding.com/2021/2/3/22263428/lanny-moss-and-the-women-of-the-portland-mavericks?utm_campaign=marinermandy&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod

Shakeia Taylor is a baseball writer who's work has been featured on SB Nation, fivethirtyeight, Baseball Prospectus, etc. She was nominated for(and won) a 2021SABR Award, has an amazing Twitter account and is one of the most highly regarded baseball writers of our time. Follow her on Twitter: @Curlyfro Read her piece on Marcus Stroman: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/marcus-stroman-wears-a-durag-every-game-he-starts-which-one-does-he-pitch-best-in/ Check out her website: https://www.hishakeia.com/ Read her piece on Effa Manley: https://www.sbnation.com/2020/4/30/21238190/effa-manley-hall-of-fame-negro-league-newark-eagles Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod Substack: https://batherup.substack.com/  

  Kaci Borowski is the Baseball Editor for The Athletic. She's most likely very tired from the playoffs and thinks that The Baseball 100 book is very, very pretty,    Follow Kaci Borowksi on Twitter: @kaciborowski  Read The Baseball 100 on The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/tag/the-baseball-100/ Buy The Baseball 100: https://bookshop.org/books/the-baseball-100/9781982180584 Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod Follow Shannon on Instagram: @shannonnnn13 Subscribe to the Substack: https://batherup.substack.com/          

Wendy Thurm currently tweets about the San Francisco Giants, she's a former baseball writer and lawyer. She wrote for Fangraphs before Shannon knew stats that weren't batting average existed and like most of baseball is very shocked about how good the Giants are this year.  You can find her on Twitter- @WendyThurm Read the Deadspin article we mentioned- https://deadspin.com/how-to-quit-your-job-to-be-a-better-feminist-and-paren-1686132340 Subscribe to the Bat'HER Up Substack- https://batherup.substack.com/ Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram- @batherup_pod Rate, review, subscribe, you know the drill. 

Lonnng episode alert!!! Alexa Ramos was so beyond kind to take a real long time to come on the show. We spoke about everything under the sun- from being a baseball coach's daughter, what on earth a Field Producer does, how wild it is to more or less watch draft prospects grow up before her eyes, it goes on and on and on. Which is the whole point of this.  Follow Alexa on Instagram: @Al3xaRamos On Twitter: @AlexaMRamos Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @Batherup_pod Subscribe to the Substack- www.batherup.substack.com  

This episode features Emily Jaenson, the second member of the Reno Aces' staff to come on the show. Emily is the GM of the Aces, host of an amazing podcast called Leadership is Female and works tirelessly to elevate and inspire women. We spoke about. her career trajectory, the moment she realized she was a leader, and of course, all about her show.  Follow Emily on Instagram: @EmilyJaenson Follow Emily's podcast, Leadership is Female on Instagram @Leadershipisfemale Leadership is Female Website: www.leadershipisfemale.com Listen to the show on all podcast platforms.   Follow Shannon in Instagram: @shannonnnn13 Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod Sign up to receive emails when Bat'HER Up launches new episodes: https://batherup.substack.com/p/coming-soon?r=5x9gf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&utm_source=copy   As always don't forget to rate, review and subscribe.     

Danielle Lerner is a Sports Enterprise Reporter for the Houston Chronicle. She has a hysterical Twitter account, in depth knowledge of tacos and managed to cover the MLB trade deadline and NBA draft at the same time.   Find her work here: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/danielle-lerner/ Follow her on Twitter: @danielle_lerner   Follow Bat'HER Up on Twitter: @batherup_pod  

In today's episode, Annie OD and Shannon talk Trevor Bauer, how much they despise Rob Manfred, and of course Annie's show OD on Sports.   Follow Annie on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok @sweetannieod Follow Annie's show on Instagram @ODonsports Follow Shannon on Instagram: @whimsicalshann   Rate, review, subscribe, you know the drill.     

Today's episode features Dani Hunt of The Sports Brat. Shockingly, we didn't talk much about it, but rather Aaron Judge's tooth gap, Derek Jeter's facial hair and how baseball isn't doing too hot in Miami.  Follow her on Instagram @thesportsbrat Follow Shannon @whimsicalshann

Maci Hill is the Director of Marketing for The Federick Keys- a former Minor League team for the Orioles. 

Leah Withrow is the Head Grounds Keeper for the Reno Aces. She shared the low down on the animals that live in the center field wall, how the potential rule of moving the pitchers mound back will be a major headache, and what life in general is like for a grounds keeper. Spoiler alert- its amazing. Follow Leah on Twitter/Instagram: @leahlou2 Follow Shannon: @whimsicalshann

Does anyone even read the descriptions unless they're looking for something?? *cough cough the links to Jill's Instagram and Twitter*   I sure don't but, if you do by chance, HELLLOOO thanks for reading this thing.  Jill Gearin is the voice of the Visalia Rawhide, a former softball player at Emerson, the list goes on and on because she works in the minor leagues and does many things. We chatted about almost all of them, life, why moms rule. But hey, don't read me, just listen to the episode. Find Jill on Twitter: @Jillgearin Find her on Instagram: @Jillgearin If you or someone you know has been struggling with sexual assault reach out to RAINN at https://www.rainn.org/ or call their hotline at 800-656-HOPE Follow Shannon on Instagram @whimsicalshann   Stargaze sound: Magic Wand Glitter http://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/211624 by Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

Laura Wolff is a photographer for the Charlotte Knights, a Minor League team for the Chicago White Sox. She has two cats named after Manny Machado and Cal Ripken.  Find her work here: https://laurawolffphoto.shootproof.com/ Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurawolffphoto?lang=en Follow her on Twitter: @laurawolffphoto Learn more about the Charlotte Knights: https://www.milb.com/charlotte-knights Follow Shannon on Instagram: @whimsicalshann   Rate, review, subscribe, ya'll know the drill by now.   

Kate Lewis is an artist, former New Yorker and current resident of Chicago. She makes art that Shannon loves to fangirl over, designed the most expensive tee shirt Shannon has ever bought ever and handled Shannon more ore less fangirling over her very very well.    You can find her work here: http://katelynnlewis.com/ Follow her on Instagram: @kate.lynn.lewis Follow Shannon on Instagram: @whimsicalshann Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, you know the drilllllll.  

Dana Brooks is the Founder and CEO of Canadian Girls Baseball, a girls baseball league centered that provides a unique approach to getting girls involved in the game.    You can learn about it here:. https://www.canadiangirlsbaseball.com/ Don't forget to rate and review the show. Follow Shannon on Instagram: @whimsicalshann

Ila Borders is the author of one of Shannon's favorite books ever, a baseball player, firefighter amongst other things. She spoke about all of that stuff, the new age of baseball, why MLB should give Portland, Oregon a team and so much more.  Buy Making My Pitch: https://bookshop.org/books/making-my-pitch-a-woman-s-baseball-odyssey/9781496214058?aid=2877 Follow Ila on Instagram: @ilaborders Follow Shannon (the host) on Instagram:  @whimsicalshann Don't forget to rate, review and share the show with everyone ever.   

This weeks episode features Elizabeth Benn- a pitcher, former baseball coach and current employee at the commissioners office. We chatted all that stuff, plus the incredible work that the Kelly Rodman Baseball Foundation does.    Learn more about the Kelly Rodman Baseball Foundation: https://www.thekellyrodmanbaseballfoundation.org/about   Find Elizabeth: https://twitter.com/elizabenn?lang=en   Read The Athletic piece on her: https://theathletic.com/1151219/2019/08/22/35-under-35-on-the-mound-and-in-the-commissioners-office-elizabeth-benn-brings-the-intensity   Follow Shannon on Instagram- @whimsicalshann As always, don't forget to rate and review the show.     

Today's guest is Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. Her and Shannon spoke about what makes The Athletic different from other sports publications, the process of coming up with stories during the pandemic, and so much more. Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the show, and of course, check out the links to Jen's work below.  Jen's author page: https://theathletic.com/author/jen-mccaffrey/ Follow Jen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jcmccaffrey   Star gaze sound- Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

Gabrielle Starr is the founder of Girl At The Game, host of Locked on Red Sox and sooo much more. We chatted about her career, the inception of Girl At The Game, her thoughts on baseball in 2021 amongst others.   Find Girl At The Game here: https://girlatthegame.com/ or here: https://www.instagram.com/girlatthegame/ Listen to Locked on Red Sox: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-red-sox-daily-podcast-on-the-boston-red-sox/id1456798246 Follow Gabrielle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starrynight64/ Follow Shannon, the host of Bat'HER Up on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whimsicalshann/ Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe so you can keep up with new episodes.

Veronica Alvarez was the first podcast guest to make a Taylor Swift reference.  It was historic to say the least. Oh, she's also a baseball player, turned coach turned manager for USA Baseball's Women's National Team. You read that right, USA has a professional BASEBALL team, and chances are you had nooo clue about it. That's fine though because in todays episode you get to learn a bit about the team, how it's grown, and its brightt future. Learn more about the team here: https://www.usabaseball.com/team-usa/womens-national-teamFollow Veronica on Instagram- @veronicaoalvarezFollow Bat'HER Up on Instagram- @batherup_pod

Episode 12 features LA Times sports writer Helene Elliot breaking down the Jared Porter incident with Shannon. You can find the piece they spoke about here: https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-01-21/mets-jared-porter-helene-elliottFollow Helene on Twitter: https://twitter.com/helenenothelen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorFollow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod

Learn more about the IWBC:http://www.internationalwomensbaseballcenter.org/Learn more about the Association of Professional Ballplayers:https://apbpa.org/Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @Batherup_pod

Lisa is a content creator, former co-founder of The Relish and Emmy winning producer. She currently works for Advocates For Minor Leaguers, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of MILB players. Learn more about Advocates For Minor Leaguers: https://www.advocatesforminorleaguers.com/ Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @Batherup_pod

Jacara Ware found herself working for the Arizona Diamondbacks after mentioning she wasn’t a baseball fan during an informational interview. Since then, she has risen the ranks of the organization and is currently a Senior Marketing and Advertising Coordinator. Jacara is the founder of HeartWare Marketing- a company that assists athletes and businesses with strategic marketing, branding and business consulting. She is also heavily engaged in her community and is a Board of Director for WISE, AZ. Learn more about HeartWare Marketing: https://heartwaremarketing.com/Listen to Jacara’s Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/32ACflqE4UtfCAh0loAjF5?si=tCFND9P1Rr-wyeGl4AcNxwFollow Jacara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msjayware/ Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod

In this episode Shannon and Barbara Gregorich spoke about Barbara's journey from baseball fan to baseball writer, what drew her to baseball and the moment she decided she was going all in on her dream to write a book. As always don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the show.  Barbara's website: http://www.barbaragregorich.com/Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram @Batherup_pod  Magic Wand Glitter http://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/211624 by Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode 

This weeks episode features Olivia Witherite, a digital/social media content creator for The Athletic. We spoke about our mutual love of Steve Cohen's Twitter, why baseball needs to do a better job marketing its players and of course the ever exciting Kim Ng hiring.  You can find Olivia on Twitter at: @oliviawitherite Read her piece on The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/2200908/2020/11/16/witherite-kim-ngs-hiring-brings-a-glimmer-of-hope-for-many-including-me/Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_pod Magic Wand Glitter http://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/211624 by Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

Hannah Keyser is a writer for Yahoo Sports and host of The Bandwagon. She named her childhood lizards after Lenny Dykstra, got banned from Citizens Bank Park, became tight with the Phanatic, this list goes on and onc. She calmly watched a bird fly into my house, was totally chill about it and turned what could have become a horrific moment of unprofessionalism into the most normal thing ever, so basically, she's awesome. Read her work: https://sports.yahoo.com/author/hannah-keyser/Watch The Bandwagon: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtAg01865jDcGWU057GcyOzReN2nT6gizFollow her on Twitter: @HannahRKeyserFollow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherup_podLearn about More Than Baseball: https://www.morethanbaseball.org/ Stargaze sound: Magic Wand Glitter http://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/211624 by Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

Kat Williams is a lifelong baseball fan, author, professor, founding member of the IWBC, the list goes on and on, which is great because it made for a great conversation. We touched on her upbringing but spent most of our time talking about the impact the ladies of the AAGPBL made on her life.  Learn about more than baseball (the fine folks presenting the show): https://www.morethanbaseball.org/ or @mtb_org on InstagramFollow the show on Instagram: Batherup_podLearn more about the IWBC: http://www.internationalwomensbaseballcenter.org/our-board.htmlFind out where you can buy Kat's books: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=author%3AWilliams%2C%20Kat%20D. 

Todays episode features Jean Ardell, a lifelong Yankees fan and author. We spoke about how she became a Yankees fan, what drew her to becoming a writer and the inherent sexism she's dealt with over the years as a woman in baseball. The bulk of our conversation was centered around Jean's newish book Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey, which tells the story of Ila Borders, an athlete Jean stumbled upon in 1994. We chatted about the process of writing it, Jean's friendship with Ila and why baseball books written by women rarely get the publicity they deserve, especially in comparison to their male counterparts.  Jean Ardell is a writer, speaker and researcher. She's presented in Cooperstown, at SABR's conference, and the NINE Spring Training conferences amongst others. She's written two books on the game- Making My Pitch and Breaking Into Baseball: Women and the National Pasttime. She became a Yankees fan as a kid and hasn't looked back since.Check out her website: http://www.jeanardell.com/index.htmlBuy her books: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=jean+ardell Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @Batherruppod Stargaze sound: Magic Wand Glitter http://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/211624 by Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

Imagine going to one of the country's biggest baseball colleges and not realizing it until months into your time there? That's exactly what happened to Katie Walden during her first few months at Vanderbilt University. It started with the crack of the bat, the most iconic of sounds and eventually led to Katie becoming one of Minor League Baseball's biggest advocates and researchers a few short years later. Since that moment, Katie has seemingly done it all, interned at Cooperstown, become a college professor, get recruited by organizations that assist minor league players to assist these often underpaid athletes, and so much more. We touched on all of this in our conversation, but focused mostly on the minor leagues.. what baseball needs to do better, the importance of unions and just how messed up the industry is. Find Katie's work here: https://kwaldenphd.com/https://twitter.com/kwaldenphd?lang=en Follow Bat'HER Up on Instagram: @batherruppod Links to the organizations we spoke about:More than Baseball: https://www.morethanbaseball.org/Advocates for Minor Leaguers: https://www.advocatesforminorleaguers.com/Adopt a Minor Leaguer: https://adoptaminorleaguer.com/   Sound attributions: Glitter Sound: Magic Wand Glitter http://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/211624 by Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

Rachel Folden is a lifelong softball player and most recently coach. She owns Folden Fastpitch, a baseball and softball instructional facility based in Indiana, has worked with the Chicago Cubs as a hitting coach and is an all around amazing human who has managed to seamlessly balance sabermetrics with the people aspect of baseball. We touched on all of that, and more in our conversation. Find Rachel here:Folden Fastpitch: https://www.foldenfastpitch.com/Rachel's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foldenfastpitch/ Insta for the podcast: https://www.instagram.com/batherruppod/  Stargaze Sound from: Magic Wand Glitter http://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/211624 by Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode  

Leslie Heaphy is a Mets fan. She’s also an Associate Professor at Kent University in Ohio, the Vice President of the Society of Baseball Research (SABR) and a lifelong scholar of baseball. She, like most, has *complex* feelings about George Steinbrenner, calls the discovery of The Negro Leagues the most surprising thing she’s ever learned about baseball and is deeply passionate about chronicling the work of women in the game, so much so she wrote The Encyclopedia of Women in Baseball, a tremendous resource for all baseball fans. Learn more about her and her work in the links below.  Read the work she has written for SABR here: https://sabr.org/authors/leslie-heaphy/Buy a copy of The Encyclopedia of Women in Baseball here: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/encyclopedia-of-women-and-baseball/Bat'HER Up instagram- @batherrup_podStar gaze sound- Iwan ‘qubodup’ Gabovitch http://freesound.org/people/qubodup under CC-BY 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode