Battery Mates - the Podcast

Matthew and Toby square off on whether this season does or does not totally stink.

Matthew and Toby revel in the bizarro standings at the halfway point, check in our (mostly bad) teams, and go from very mad at Rob Manfred on behalf of A's fans to downright unhinged when it comes to the “controversy” of MLB Pride Nights.

Matthew and Toby honor the king's coronation by reviewing the first month of the baseball season for the Royals (among other teams), taking a spin through the effects of the new rules and how the players feel about them so far, and pouring one out for Oakland fans.

Matthew and Toby welcome film critic and Mets fan Noah Gittell to the show — mostly to vent about the pitch clock, but also to serve up hasty takes on the young season, marvel at an elite minor league no-hitter, and discuss the glory of Little Big League and why baseball movies have seemingly disappeared from modern culture.

Matthew and Toby bask in the glow of another Opening Day, and Battery Mates Nation submits their predictions for the season ahead.

Matthew and Toby ostensibly gather to talk about the World Baseball Classic, and eventually that happened. But mostly Toby just wanted to dish about his fantasy baseball camp experience. There's also some chatter about the new rules and how they're playing out in spring training and a friendly wager on the U.S.-G.B. match-up.

Matthew and Toby find out who won the World Series, catch up on hot stove goss, and dive deep on butties, barms, and pea wets.

Matthew and Toby play some greatest hits in recapping the playoffs so far: Yankees schadenfreude, Big Papi's imminent retirement, filthy-mouthed post-home run taunting, filthy-mouthed senator taunting, and bittersweetness about Cleveland baseball.

Matthew and Toby take a spin through the first-round postseason match-ups, get pretty worked up over the “real” home run record debate (before arriving at a solution everyone should be happy with), take a victory lap for youths getting back into baseball, and walk through the impending rule changes for 2023. Finally, Toby makes a direct appeal to Battery Mates Nation.

Matthew and Toby check in on their teams' respective “disgusting brands of baseball,” while Matthew discusses the overlapping interests between him and Brewers' owner Mark Antonaccio. And the boys dive deep into the biggest ghost story in all of baseball.

Matthew and Toby discuss the trade deadline and the fallout from the Nats shipping out Juan Soto. And of course there's a critical update on the muddy ball situation.

Matthew and Toby check in our teams (and Matthew's fantasy team) and go around the horn on ESPN's Manfred puff piece, the high drama surrounding Joe Maddon's firing, MLB players' penchant for massive amounts of cologne, some momentum in finally reining in MLB's antitrust exemption, and the proper technique for muddying your balls pregame.

Matthew and Toby are joined by J.D. Scholten, Democratic candidate for the Iowa House and former professional baseball player to discuss his career as a pitcher and how the sport, specifically MLB blackouts, has emerged as an issue in his latest campaign. And of course, the Joc Pederson-Tommy Pham Affair is covered at length.

Matthew and Toby return to check in on the season, the balls, MLB in London, and new rules being bandied about. Now who's the idiot?

It's Opening Day, which means it's time for Matthew and Toby to ring in this should-be national holiday by wading through all the preseason predictions from Battery Mates Nation and making their own prognostications on what the 2022 season holds.

Matthew and Toby take batting practice with the latest news around MLB and open up the 2022 Preseason Predictions Contest. Here's how to enter — use your Voice Memo app to answer these six questions:1. What's your name?2. Who's your team?3. How many games will your team win in 2022?4. Will they make the postseason?5. Which two teams will play in the World Series?6. Who will win the World Series?Then, and this is the critical step: Send that audio file to thebatterymates@gmail.com by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, April 5.

Matthew and Toby get a bit slap-happy now that the lockout is over — going around the horn on the terms of the new CBA, the evolving media coverage, the owners' tactics, and what comes next in the sprint to Opening Day.

The MLB season might be in doubt, but Battery Mates is back for its record-breaking seventh season. Matthew and Toby kick off the campaign with a discussion of the CBA negotiations and how baseball is letting its fans down.

Matthew, Toby, and Father Christmas gather for a very special yuletide episode. The 2021 preseason prediction contest winner is revealed, the World Series is remembered (ish), and the conversation turns to the ongoing MLB lockout and why both sides think the other will blink.

The October Classic is underway! Matthew and Toby are joined by Addisu Demissie, an Atlanta fan who also managed Cory Booker's presidential campaign, and Ross Morales Rocketto, a Houston fan who also co-founded Run for Something. No one outside of those teams' two cities is particularly thrilled by this World Series match-up, so Ross and Addisu break down how their clubs got here and do their best to get Battery Mates Nation to root for (or against) them.

Matthew and Toby are joined by Steve Krupin — former White House speechwriter, current SKDK managing director, and longtime Nationals fan — to preview the final weekend of the regular season and the playoff picture, recap how the year went for the Clevelands and the Nationals, gawk at the feats of Shohei Ohtani, examine the pitch clock tests in the minor leagues, and send happy birthday wishes to Chief Hollywood Correspondent, Kate Stayman London.

Matthew and Toby are joined by Seth Reznik to discuss the New York Metropolitans. Other topics are covered, sure.

For a special Trade Deadline edition, Matthew and Toby are joined by Kelly Kreft — Orioles fan, data scientist, and 2012 Obama vet — to discuss first and foremost the breaking news that the Cleveland baseball franchise has a NEW NAME (no spoilers here!). Other discussions include wish lists for Trade Santa, the first all-female broadcast of a MLB game, and whatever Javy Baez just did to taunt the Reds.

For a special All-Star Game edition, Matthew and Toby are joined by Jeff Gabriel (who's frustrated he can't get in a clean hit over Euro 2020). The ball is flipped around the horn about the emptiness of the All-Star Game, the incredibleness of Shohei Ohtani, the stickiness of the stuff, and the awfulness of Trevor Bauer. Everyone checks in on how the 2021 season is treating their team.

Matthew and Toby are joined by Brent Colburn, Obama alum and VP for communications and public affairs at Princeton University, to go around the horn on Pittsburgh's allergy to first base, the crackdown on Sticky Stuff™, MLB teams' role as leaders in the community, and pitchers getting hurt being hitters.

Matthew and Toby are joined by Run For Something co-founder and Astros fan Ross Morales Rocketto, who dishes on his ballpark routine, why he hates the Rangers, and why he’s embracing being the haters this year. All three go around the horn on the Tomahawk Chop still being a thing in Atlanta, the Manfred-aided plot to strong-arm the city of Oakland on a new ballpark site, what’s up with all these damn no-hitters, and of course the ongoing saga of Tony LaRussa and the White Sox clubhouse.

Matthew and Toby check in quickly on how things are going across the pond after the implosion of the Super League and go around the horn on fans being in the stands… players being vaxxed… hitters being historically bad… Angel Hernandez maybe being worse… the Astros getting sad about fans getting mad… and the rule that prevented John Means from having a perfect game. Toby dives deep on baseball’s antitrust exemption, and Matthew promotes a very good cause.

Matthew and Toby turn to Chief Over-There Correspondent Matthew McGregor to explain what just happened with the proposal and rapid collapse of a European Super League, and then go around the horn on COVID outbreaks, players’ vaccine hesitancy, new rules being tested in the Atlantic League, and the latest political fallout from the relocation of the All Star Game.

It’s the first actual breaking-news episode of Battery Mates, as Matthew and Toby react to the news that MLB will move the 2021 All-Star Game in response to Georgia’s new voter suppression law.Breaking News music from Fesliyan Studios (https://www.FesliyanStudios.com).

Glory! Glory! It’s Opening Day! Matthew and Toby play back all of the submissions to the 2021 Preseason Predictions Contest and revel in the arrival of a new season.

It's just three days until the baseball games start counting. That means the deadline for the annual Battery Mates Nation Preseason Predictions Contest is approaching fast. (That deadline is Wednesday, March, 31, at 9a ET). Here’s how to enter (it takes about a minute) — use your Voice Memo app to answer these six questions:1. What's your name?2. Who's your team?3. How many games will your team win in 2021?4. Will they make the postseason?5. Which two teams will play in the World Series? 6. Who will win the World Series?Then, and this is the critical step: Send that audio file to thebatterymates@gmail.com by 9 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 31. It's easy to enter and tough to win… but the winners (eventually) get an unforgettable prize.

With two weeks to go before Opening Day, Matthew and Toby are joined by Justin Barasky, celebrated fan of the Clevelands who spent 2020 taking back the Senate as a senior advisor at the DSCC. The horn is gone around on the Rangers’ plans to have a full house for their opener, Trevor Bauer’s latest exhausting behavior, the Clevelands’ name change, and the rule experiments coming to the minor leagues this season. Justin talks about trying to stump Senator Sherrod Brown in baseball trivia, credits the Cavs’ 2016 championship for his mental health, and introduces Battery Mates Nation to a whole host of really stand-out Ohio Republicans. 
And it’s that time of year again to submit your entry in the Battery Mates Preseason Predictions Contest. It only takes a minute to enter. Here’s what to do: Pull up the Voice Memo app on your phone, and answer these six questions:1. Who are you?2. Who's your team?3. How many games will your team win in 2021?4. Will they make the postseason?5. Which two teams will play in the World Series?6. Which team will win the World Series?Then send that audio file to thebatterymates AT gmail.com by 3:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 30. That's it. With that, you're not just entered to win one of our fantastic, quirky prizes, you’ll also get your entry featured in our Opening Day episode.

Matthew and Toby are joined by Faiz Shakir, chief political advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders and his 2020 presidential campaign manager. The ball gets whipped around the horn on the Tatis extension, the Mariners CEO’s remarks at a local rotary club, gambling’s creep into sports media, and the creep that is Mickey Callaway. Faiz shares stories from his days as the Harvard Crimson’s second baseman, his little league coaching strategies, and what it’s like to play on the literal Field of Dreams.

As pitchers and catchers report to spring training, Matthew and Toby launch Season Six with a visit from Mike Casca, Dodger fan and communications director for Sen. Bernie Sanders, for a wide-ranging discussion on MLB’s continued efforts to use the media to screw over the players in advance of the CBA expiring, juiced and unjuiced balls, the Dodgers’ payroll, and the Marlins’ plans to have 20% capacity crowds this season. Mike talks about why he doesn’t mention being a Dodgers fan around Bernie, trying to wake his kids up after the Dodgers won the World Series, the pure greatness of Minor League Baseball, and why he grew up believing his little league team gave Tommy Lasorda a heart attack.

Matthew and Toby get together for a wintry mix of conversations about Curt Schilling not getting enough votes, the Clevelands making Toby sad, other payroll-slashing owners, Rob Manfred’s latest gambits, Matthew’s new favorite baseball card, and where folks should and shouldn’t buy pillows.

Matthew and Toby catch up on news from the offseason, discuss the ways Rob Manfred keeps messing things up, and lay out what’s in their letters to Baseball Santa Claus.

Matthew and Toby do their best to remember the World Series, dive deep on Rob Manfred’s handling of the Justin Turner debacle, discuss what the offseason has in store, and reveal the anxiously awaited results of the 2020 Preseason Predictions Contest.

Matthew and Toby preview the World Series, if that’s what you want to call it, and make the case for the team everyone should root for. The Research Department pulls together some data on what this World Series could portend for the election, and way too much time is spent analyzing a Trump tweet about Fauci and his Nationals mask.

As the Championship Series get under way, Matthew and Toby check in on the Clevelands’ early exit, the aggravating Astros, and other reasons people aren’t all that jazzed about the 2020 playoffs.

Matthew and Toby meet for one last “regular” season check-in to discuss how our teams have fared and go Three Up, Three Down on the Cy Young Award going through Ohio, Sean Doolittle’s (maybe) final games with the Nats, the wonder that is Jose Ramirez, Washington getting another high draft pick, Joe West being awful (surprise!), and the only plausible way to get out of this dark timeline. And now that it’s confirmed that Jeff Gabriel was wrong about this season, the boys finally discuss expanded playoffs.

Matthew and Toby touch base on the latest cases of COVID in the clubhouse, continued drama for the Clevelands, scams that involve Curt Schilling, and the final throes of baseball’s unwritten rules.

Matthew and Toby take a hard look at the Democratic ticket and the teams Joe and Kamala root for, and then go Three Up, Three Down on the A’s-Astros pandemic brawl, the Cleveland pitchers’ pandemic gall, incidents of maybe-accidental white supremacy, Tito’s TMI health issues, a troubling fantasy baseball pitcher profile, and criminal charges in Tyler Skaggs’ death.

Matthew and Toby record a special episode on the heels of some big breaking news: A second team has players test positive for COVID-19, and the best in the game goes on the paternity list.

Matthew and Toby get together for another bound-to-be-immediately-outdated chat about the new baseball season and try not to “get all political” about what the Marlins outbreak means for the entire enterprise.

It’s Opening Day! Matthew and Toby prepare for the first pitch of the 2020 MLB season and celebrate with the annual tradition of listening to YOUR Preseason Predictions. What a time to be alive!

Matthew and Toby touch base shortly before the abbreviated baseball season begins (and shortly before Matthew becomes a dad for the second time). Entries for the 2020 Preseason Prediction Contest are due by 3p ET on Wednesday, July 22nd. To enter, just fire up your Voice Memo app, and answer these six questions: 1. Who are you?2. Who's your team?3. How many games will your team win in 2020?4. Will they make the postseason?5. Which two teams will play in the World Series?6. Which team will win it all?Then, and this is important, send that audio file to thebatterymates@gmail.com by 3p ET on Wednesday, July 22. You’ll be entered to win and get your prediction featured in the annual Opening Day episode.***The ad for this episode is about Kate Stayman-London’s brand-new novel, One to Watch, which you should buy right now.

Matthew and Toby discuss the apparent return of the baseball season, and all the ways it’ll be a weird one. But more excitingly, Matthew is joined by the Hon. Alex Norris MP—an actual real-life Member of Parliament representing the seat of Nottingham North who also happens to be a huge Orioles fan—for a Half-Hearted Attempt at Empathy.

Matthew and Toby are joined again by Kate Stayman-London for a long-awaited discussion of the enduring film Major League, which is about the redemption of the Clevelands and therefore is forgiven for all of its flaws.

This is not your typical Battery Mates episode. Matthew and Toby play a round of coin-toss baseball and invite you to listen in. So you really have to ask yourself: Are you really that desperate for baseball? Do you like listening to grown men flipping coins (which Toby is somehow very bad at)? If you answered yes twice, this one’s for you. In this simulated game, some very good pitchers get hit around, lots of runs are scored, and it’s a nail biter to the very end. You’ll have to listen to the episode to see how it turns out…

Matthew and Toby somehow have quite a bit to talk about. The boys go around the horn on the Nationals book Matthew is featured in, the prize for last season’s preseason prediction contest winner, the fallout from the Red Sox cheating scandal, and MLB’s Operation: Restart.

Matthew, Toby, and Kate Stayman-London are back for another edition of Battery Mates at the Movies to unpack the 2011 Academy Award-nominated film Moneyball, the statement it makes on feminism in hiring practices, and the fact that they stole a key line for Brad Pitt directly from Jennifer Aniston.