Plus Chirp

As we moved towards the end of the MLB season, we decided to follow suit and move to a “season by season” format. This will be our Final Episode of our first season as the Plus Chirp Franchise. We can’t thank you enough for the continued support. We celebrate with our favorite parts of every episode of Season 1. See you in 2021 for Season 2!

As the guys have a week of travels, we decided to run through Jack's story this time as Mitch sits down with him diving into Jack's path to baseball at a collegiate level, his time playing professionally, and what he's currently doing to stay involved in the game. This episode is brought to you by Johnny's Banana Bread - head over to - johnnysbananabread.com - and use code "Chirp20" for 20% off your order.

Mitch and Jack get a chance to sit down with John Flood, their former Coach at UIC, this week as listeners gain some insight into the in's and out's of the coaching world in Division 1 baseball. John and the guys share conversations about recruiting, player development, and building a strong team culture before we wrap things up with some rapid questions at the end.

The guys get a chance to sit down with Harvey Martin today where we talk with him about his story and current work with The MindStrong Project. Harvey shares with listeners about his unique story that helped pioneer his work in baseball and the sports world teaching athletes proper techniques to perfect their Breathing, Moving, and Thinking in the game.

Jeremy Frank joins the show this week to talk all things “knowledge” when it comes to the game of baseball. Not only do Jack and Mitch get a chance to pick Jeremy’s brain this week about unique stats in the game, but we get to hear about his experience writing his books, “The Hidden Ball Trick Vol. 1 & 2,” how he grew his following on Twitter, and what goes into making a complex stat easy for the common fan to understand. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @MLBRandomStats

Jon Goebel joins the guys this week to sit down and give listeners more insight into the JUCO world. We talk about the recruitment process, competition on the field, and learn more about his role as a coach at Parkland College.

As we spent our Monday's enjoying the day off for Labor Day, we decided to go for an interview only this week where we sit down with former UIC Flame and 8th Round Draft Pick, Connor Ryan, to discuss something more unique in the game of baseball - performance anxiety. Connor shares with listeners about his journey as he battled mental blocks on the mound and his process working through that behind the scenes.

We enter September catching up on another heartbreaking loss in this week’s “Riding with the Chirp Boys.” The guys then dive into discussion about tensions between the Cubs and Reds, the potential for The Baseball Cup and other miscellaneous baseball talk. We move on to chat about this weeks “Who’s Hot and Who’s Not” before we wrap it up to debate “Things that make a Super Bowl Party” in this week’s “Scouting Report.” Diamondback's Pitcher, Alex Young, joins the show (32:14) to share with listeners about his early career in high school and the process for him getting to collegiate ball. We then hear from him about his debut, current events, and Diamondback expectations for the next few weeks.

Schu is back this week as the trio catches up early to talk about this week's "Riding with the Chirp Boys" out the gates. As we missed the opportunity to discuss it last week, the guys breakdown the discussion of Fernando Tati's Jr. and dive more in the Padres early success before giving a league overview of "Who's Hot & Who's Not." We wrap things up with this week's "Scouting Report" as the guys debate Unique forms of Transportation. Steve joins the show (23:23) sharing with the guys about his playing collegiate playing and his period in the minors. We then transition as Steve gives us an insight into his role with the Cubs and what life's like working in the DR. Steve's Social: Twitter - @mass_polly // Instagram - @mass_steven

As Mitch heads out for a week’s vacation in the mountains, Tom and Jack pick up the slack to host this week’s episode. The guys give a quick run down of this week’s “Riding with the Chirp Boys” before diving into some baseball talk. Tom shares updates on a potential bubble in the MLB as we get a “way too early” preview of the postseason, we discuss the White Sox four consecutive home runs, and wrap it up with our “Who’s Hot & Who’s Not.” We finish our segments with this week’s “Scouting Report” where the guys debate The Best Uniforms in Sports. Devin Smeltzer joins the show (19:54) sharing his battle at a young age with pediatric cancer, his career through college and the minors, and his journey to earning his rightful spot in the MLB with the Minnesota Twins while wrapping it up with some talk about the current season and of course, fishing. Follow Devin: Twitter - @alka_SMELTZer // Instagram: @devinsmeltzer

We start out recapping our heartbreaking parlay loss as the Twins blew what would have been a perfect start to our new "Riding with the Chirp Boys" segment. We quickly get over it to talk about the Cardinals continued game delay and Zach Plesac getting sent home in this week’s Covid update. We wrap up our baseball news with talks about the scrap between the A’s and Astros as tensions flared over the weekend. We move over to a new segment discussion to chat about “Who’s Hot and Who’s Not” right now in the MLB before we debate the best iPhone Apps / Games in this week’s “Scouting Report.” George Kontos joins the show (24:43) giving us a humble brag about his golf game before we jump into his career in the league. We learn about his time with both the Yankees and the Giants, as well as, his journey to Two World Series Championships.

We start the show diving into the obvious, Joe Kelly and the drama against the Astros. We get an opportunity to discuss what Covid means for prospects getting pulled up, players putting in their opt-out notices, and Cespedes being MIA over the weekend. We finish things up with our Scouting Report to debate the best days of the year. Barstool Carl joins the show (25:05) to chat about the Bears, playing baseball at Illinois, and what it's like working for one of the most popular sports companies in the industry. Find Carl on social media: @BarstoolCarl

The guys are back to talk about the start to baseball, how Covid is already impacting the league, and their first takes on the new broadcasts. We wrap it up with this week’s Scouting Report where the guys debate the “Best Movies to Rewatch.” Sam joins the show (21:45) to talk about his days in broadcasting, how he got started in the sports betting industry, and how a shorter season might impact the bets you’ll see. Sam can be found on Twitter: @spshoot

The boys are back after Jack's vacation and we dive right into the obvious, baseball being back. We discuss broadcasts, rivalries, and throw together some ridiculous made up rules we'd like to see ourselves in the game. We finish up our intro with this week's Scouting Report where we debate the best snacks to bring on a road trip. We then welcome on guest and friend, Ryan Spaeder (27:06), to talk about his baseball days, how he got into the world of baseball statistics, and some of his crazy stories in the world of baseball. Ryan can be found on Twitter: @theaceofspaeder // You can find Ryan's book "Incredible Baseball Stats: The Coolest, Strangest Stats and Facts in Baseball History" on Amazon

Jack interviews Co-Host, Mitch Schulewitz, this week, as we step away from the traditional episode to give Jack some time away at the beach. Mitch dives into his younger days as a player and what it took for him to make a name for himself in collegiate baseball, his career in the Royals organization, and the process to becoming a scout in the LA Dodgers organization.

The guys catch up to chat about their Fourth of July weekends, MLB and Collegiate Baseball news and dive into their favorite video games in this week’s Scouting Report. Dr. Josh Heenan is welcomed onto the show (31:03) to discuss his 90 MPH Formula, the importance of strength coaching in the game, and his overall career in baseball.

On today’s episode of Plus Chirp we discuss the return to baseball and what the new layout brings to the game. We follow it up with our “Scouting Report” to discuss Naps this week and wrap it up with info about our upcoming merch supporting our new partners at Lost Boyz Inc. We head over to today’s episode with LaVont’e Stewart (26:14), Executive Director at Lost Boyz Inc, to chat more about the work he’s doing with the organization, the adversity these kids face, and his journey to where he is now.

The guys get it going out of the gates after Mitch shares about his youth baseball tweet that went viral. We follow it up with updates in the MLB world and dive into the "Top 3 Things We Don't Understand" in this week's Scouting Report. MLB Player Agent, Tucker Ward, joins the show (25:09) this week. We cover what it was like growing up with his father playing in the big leagues, his own career and his current role as an agent at the Beverly Hills Sport Council.

The boys catch up this week to talk about the draft, Long Gone Summer, and run through the Scouting Report: Top 3 Smells at a Restaurant. We’re joined by Director of Morale “DOM” for the Chicago Cubs (25:23) to talk all things Cubs, how he evolved into the position of DOM, and his love for Sammy Sosa. Follow DOM on Twitter: @DOM_Frederic

The boys catch up to talk about their weeks, especially Producer Gallagher’s birthday weekend. We talk sports around the globe with the start of professional sports practicing in the United States, pop-up baseball leagues across the country, and the KBO. We wrap things up with the Scouting Report to debate what three items we’d bring on a deserted island before we transition over to our guest Ryan Fitzgerald (24:50). Ryan joins us to talk about his career in the MiLB, his goals to make it to the show, and what he has in store for his company, GOAT BSBL.

The guys catch up and talk current events in the world, in sports, and in life. We threw in the debate of "throwing out a first pitch as hard as you can vs. accurately," and we debuted our newest segment "Scouting Report," debating our Top 3 of a certain topic - this week’s: TV Characters. Hannah Huesman joins us (26:10) to talk about her role as a Mental Skills Coach in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, the importance of getting in a "Mental Sweat" and her career path.

The boys catch up on the week talking Memorial Weekend festivities, "The Match" between Tiger, Phil, Tom and Peyton, and reminisce on their 3 Year Anniversary of their Horizon League Championship in College. Steve joins (18:36) to talk about his days playing at UIC, his transition beyond college and into the professional game, and what he's done since to create Minnesota Mash giving youth players in Minnesota the opportunity to grow their game.

The guys catch up to talk Last Dance, sports over the weekend, and baseball talk in general. Gerry joins (31:04) us to talk about his former days playing, his podcast and the relationships he's built doing that, and his work as a Gym Owner and Sports Performance Coach.

The boys open the episode discussing our weekly updates, news in the sports world of potential starting dates around the globe, and as always, The Last Dance. Emily Waldon joins us (20:20) to talk to the guys about her start in free-lance writing, what it's like telling the stories of the MiLB, and her role in supporting minor league players during these times of Covid.

Intro - The guys catch up on the week and dive into baseball news. We talk Last Dance, what we would want to see a sports documentary on and news in the sports world. Tony joins us (22:25) to talk about his career in the PECOS, what it was like to be a part of a film series while playing, the transition from player to coach, and his unique route to becoming a Player Development Coach in a Professional Organization.

Intro - The guys catch up as we wrap up April to talk NFL Draft, The Last Dance, and Sunday Story Time. (23:35) We are then joined by Austin Byler where we discuss Byler's playing career, his work Co-Founding and running Major League University, and the positive effects of CBD in today's game and society.

We talk about Rachel's inspiration to get into the game at a young age, her path to becoming the first female hitting coach in the MLB and her goals down the road.

The guys are joined by Pierson Gibis as we talk about his battle with pediatric cancer, his baseball career after his fight, and what he's doing beyond the diamond.

The guys are joined by Eric Sim on this week's episode. The guys talk about Sim's career, his foundation supporting Minor League players, and have some laughs along the way.