The Journeyman Podcast

Dan and Ben gush over Lee Dae-Ho's retirement tour and talk through a legendary comeback by the Lotte Giants.

Thanks for your patience! After a long layoff, Ben and Dan are stoked to be back hanging out together on the podcast. This episode (recorded in late August, 2022) chronicles Dan's trip back to the KBO after a year back in the United States.

Dan Straily starts the 2022 hot by earning PCL pitcher of the week with the Reno Aces.

Dan catches up with a close friend and fellow journeyman Asher Wojciechowski of the Seattle Mariners to talk about what it's like to compete for a spot in spring training. Dan gets mad about pitching and then happy again. Ben brags about his son.

Dan and Ben jump into the first day of Spring Training with the Diamondbacks in Scottsdale, Arizona. Alex Fast joins the show.

Dan and Ben catch up for the first time since the start of Arizona Diamondbacks mini-camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

And the destination is...

The Lotte Giants have filled  their foreign roster and Dan Straily isn't in the mix. So what's next? Featuring special guest Jessica Kleinschmidt.

Ben start's his "Top 5 landing spots" list for Dan in spring training, and the guys jump into a random Orioles Twitter thread when they discover that a Straily jersey popped up in a "mystery box" jersey purchase.

We talk to investigative journalist Bradford William Davis about his recent piece in businessinsider.com chronicling MLB's secret use of two different baseballs during the 2021 season. Bonus: We learn Bradford's drink of choice (we'll give you one guess).

With much of the baseball world in upheaval, Dan Straily is faced with the choice of KBO or MLB for the second time in as many years.

Lotte Giants coach and top-shelf journeyman Brandon Mann joins Ben and Dan to talk about his journey through baseball including a stop in Japanese independent ball and his new coaching gig with Lotte.

Ben and Dan finally reconnect with only a couple weeks left in the KBO regular season and talk playoff push,  the magic glove of Dixon Machado and a little bit of mental health.

Dan and Ben recap the All-Star season as KBO baseball makes way for the Olympics. One of the newest SSK Landers, Sam Gaviglio, joins the podcast.

Dan and Ben catch up on the KBO season and the guys discuss what "The Process" means for baseball and their lives.

The Lotte Giants find themselves at the bottom of the KBO standings, Dan has a few difficult outings and Dan and Ben discuss finding a bourbon garrison in South Korea.

Daniel Mengden of the Kia Tigers joins the show to talk about his adjustment to the KBO and his own journey through the Oakland A's organization.

Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News joins the show as Part 2 of our catch-up doubleheader to give us an early update on the KBO.Think of this as another journal entry for the Journeyman. Barring any more life crisis' we should be more consistent after this. Thanks for listening!

Part 1 of our "catch up" doubleheader features David Buchanan of the Samsung Lions.Thanks again for your patience with upload/scheduling. We're doing our best to keep on track with the season, but clearly we fell behind. Think of these episodes as journal entries catching you up with the Journeyman Dan Straily.

The Baseball BBQ goes BACK-to-BACK weeks with us as Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman join the show to talk about the wide, wide world of baseball.*Disclaimer*The interview with Dan, Jake and Jordan took place a couple days before the MLB Opening Day. If it feels like we left out some new storylines...we probably didn't know about them yet.

Three of our favorite KBO insiders, writers, observers, lovers join the show to give us their thoughts on the upcoming season. Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News, Dan Kurtz of mykbo.net and Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz of the Baseball BBQ Podcast help us wrap our minds around the biggest KBO storylines, the MVP and Golden Glove races, and Korean Series picks.

Dan gives us another update from KBO spring training and the guys give us their thoughts on all the Minor League Baseball changes coming to the 2021 season.

Dan's first spring start for the Lotte Giants goes as planned with 5 K's, 0 runs over 3 innings. Most of the credit seems to be going to his new pitch: The Cutter.We also have a new segment "Dan Does Sports" in which Ben gets Dan to have a take on the biggest storylines in the world of sports.

Sarah Langs joins the show to tell us about what she's most looking forward to in the new baseball season and New York Mets fandom. Dan nerds out on Sarah's depth of knowledge in the baseball research world.

ESPN's Joon Lee joins the show to give us insight on the future of the game, the KBO and to make Ben mad with his Boston fandom.

John Boog Sciambi joins the show for the second time, but this time it's as the new voice of the Chicago Cubs. Dan talks about his new pitch at Lotte spring training and Ben forgets that this is a podcast.

AMANDA finally joins the show to talk about the crazy couple years her family has had, never meeting Ichiro and life on the road with at 3-year-old as the Straily's jump head-first into their first week of quarantine in Busan South Korea ahead of Lotte Giants' spring training.

Dan and Ben talk travel plans for the whole Straily family as they gear up for year No. 2 in the KBO with the Lotte Giants

So, the decision has been made, but what exactly does Dan's second contract look like with the Lotte Giants of the KBO? Well, there's a lot to it including breakfast and a new couch.

Dan is a member of the Lotte Giants again! How did that decision happen, who else was interested in Dan's services and what's next on this episode of The Journeyman.

Dan Straily finds himself up against the first big deadline of free agency. South Korea seems like a clear option, but interest from MLB teams muddies the waters. Listen in as Dan and Ben talk about hardball negotiations and Dan's wish list if he were to rejoin the Lotte Giants in the KBO. 

Dan and Ben are back in the casita! Jump into this short episode to catch up on Dan's trip home and the early outlook of MLB and KBO free agency.

Dan Straily's season is finished with the Lotte Giants, but while he's waiting for his flight out we take a moment to talk about his 200 strikeouts, 2.5 ERA and ask him for his favorite moments/sights/eats during the 2020 KBO season.

Seattle Mariners broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith joins the show to talk about his journeyman route to the big leagues.In Open the Box, Dan describes two more quality starts and gives insight into his pursuit of 200 strikeouts in the KBO. 

Brandon Barnes of the Hanwha Eagles joins the show to give us an understanding of life as a hitter in the KBO and what it's like to run into Ichiro during spring training.

Dan gives us the scoop on the noisy neighbor dispute between the Lotte Giants and the KT Wiz before The Athletic's Eno Sarris joins the show to give us a deep dive into analytics and what MLB teams might be looking for when Dan hits the free agent market in the winter.

Ben gets to watch one of Dan's starts (!!!) and we go over all the observations from advertising to music selection in an offbeat edition of Open the Box. Dan Kurtz uses interesting vocabulary to describe gloves and Dan Straily talks about the early days of his slider.

KBO insider and KBO on ESPN contributor Daniel Kim joins the show to give us a sneak peek on who could be the next Korean MLB star and what the future holds for the KBO in this brave new baseball world.

We pick up where the story left off after Miami, with a short time in free agency, followed by a difficult season in Baltimore with the Orioles. 

Agent and arbitration expert Rachel Luba joins the podcast to talk about finding a way into baseball as a female and a lawyer, building a brand and what the future of baseball could look like as Major League Baseball heads toward another Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Dan hits the lowest point of his major league career when he gets cut by Miami only two days before Opening Day. Dan's family spends the next few days trying to figure out what's next before signing a short-term deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

Fellow Lotte Giants pitcher (formerly Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers) and self-proclaimed "baby journeyman" joins the show to give us his take on the KBO, robot umps and fantasy football.

In addition to Open the Box we welcome back our first-ever guest, Dan Kurtz, to give us the scoop on the KBO as we make the playoff push in South Korea. In the interview section, we talk Driveline Baseball, baseball media and Trevor Bauer with Watch Momentum's Director of Content Taiki Green.

We make the stop in Miami, FL, which would prove to be the home of Dan Straily's best and most difficult moments. This episode features the birth of the Straily's son, Jaxson, Dan's first year with a loaded Marlins lineup, and DINNER WITH ICHIRO.

ESPN's Jessica Mendoza joins the show to talk about the Fernando Tatis Jr. saga, KBO broadcasts and the baseball/softball secret menu from all around the world.

The Journeyman heads east to the Cincinnati Reds after last week's three-day stop in San Diego. Dan experiences his most successful year yet as a big leaguer, going from long-relief to starter. Oh, and he collects his first major league hit.

Ben and Dan get no-showed for the first time! So, we fill the gaps with extended KBO talk and a discussion on young baseball player development.

The shortest of "The Journeyman" stops takes us to the San Diego for...three days. Dan shares stories about his brief stint with the Padres including a trade, a flight to Arizona, one exhibition start and one night in a San Diego hotel.

Dan takes the loss, but registers 10 strikeouts in another quality start for the KBO's Lotte Giants. Ben totally screws up a good five minutes of the podcast, and Baseballism's Travis Chock shares stories from his years in building one of baseball's most popular clothing/culture brands.

Dan gets traded in the offseason from the Chicago Cubs to the Houston Astros, and experiences some interesting interactions with managers AJ Hinch and Joe Maddon along the way. The bigger conversation: How to learn to trust again when it seems like everyone has a thought, opinion or agenda.