Episode 032: Matthew Goes to the Met

It's the very first offseason special! For the occasion, Matthew took a field trip out to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a conversation with Allison Rudnick, assistant curator in the Drawing and Prints Department, on the Met's current baseball cards exhibit. They talk about how baseball cards came to be such a phenomenon in American culture, as well as the man whose prodigious collection of baseball cards and "other ephemera" is on display. If you ever collected baseball cards, this one's for you. 

Episode 031: Rain Delay of Our Hearts

Matthew and Toby don’t really know what to say. The boys pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and spend some time looking back on the last three momentous weeks. There’s a recap of the World Series through the eyes of a Cleveland fan (that’s Toby), a look back on the season as a whole, and a preview of what’s to come from the program in the offseason. Hold tight, Battery Mates Nation: Just 93 days till pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Episode 030: Holy Cats, It's the World Series

It's a very, very special episode of Battery Mates, now that Toby's Cleveland baseball club is headed to the World Series to face the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs. No one can believe it. Toby finally gets Matthew to talk baseball again in a review of the championship series, and the boys are joined by a very special guest for a half-hearted attempt at empathy.

But... REPEAT: THE TWO TEAMS PLAYING IN THIS WORLD SERIES ARE CLEVELAND AND THE CUBS. Protect your children. The end is near. 

Episode 029: It's Like There's No Tomorrow (Special Division Series Review)

Matthew and Toby record a live episode from Union Grounds in Brooklyn during Game 5 of the NLDS between the Nationals and Dodgers. Join your hosts on an emotional journey through the winner-take-all classic, and take or leave their thoughts on each of the four division series and the championship series coming up. Please forgive the factual errors about the Rangers-Jays series, as well as the sound quality throughout the episode -- the regular sound engineer had the night off.

Episode 028: I Didn't Want to Bite My Toilet

Matthew and Toby are back for the final episode of the regular season, to Battery Mates Nation’s preseason predictions, give a shout-out to some of the best and worst prognosticators, and look ahead at the playoff series on the immediate horizon. Three Up, Three Down topics include the amount of alcohol being sprayed during divisional championship celebrations, the showdown aspect of Game 162, updates on Cleveland’s Yan Gomes and Trevor Bauer, and the World Baseball Classic qualifying round in Brooklyn last month. Your hosts also take time at the start of the program to talk about the sudden, heartbreaking death of Jose Fernandez.

The end of the regular season also brings with it an announcement of who won Battery Mates’ contest for a David Axelrod-signed baseball. (Now, if only they'd please identify themselves.)

Programming Note: The plan is to feature playoff update episodes between each set of series -- expect the next after the Division Series wraps up. Godspeed to all you fans of the Orioles, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rangers, Mets, Giants, and Dodgers. An early, but also overdue congratulations to fans of the Cubs for your inevitable billy goat-busting World Series championship. And a tip o' the cap to Cleveland and Washington fans for being on the right side of history. 

Episode 027: The Mission Statement Includes Some Stretch Targets

Matthew and Toby dive right into this one with a discussion of Adam Jones’ powerful comments on race and protest in baseball. Toby reports on the dramatic fallout from a Cleveland beat writer’s hot take. (You’ll be happy to know that Trevor Bauer plays a prominent role in that one.) Other topics covered include the national treasure that is Harry Reid, how awful national broadcasters are to teams that aren’t the Yankees or Red Sox, A.J. Preller’s 30-game suspension, and David Axelrod’s great piece on the Cubs in the New Yorker (which he previewed thoroughly back in Episode 016). The program welcomes Tigers fan Tim Skoczek for a half-hearted attempt at empathy, which is more than most Tigers fans deserve. Finally, here’s your reminder to go review Battery Mates on iTunes to be entered for a ball signed by David Axelrod himself. The last day to enter is October 1st.

Episode 026: Magic Numbers

Matthew and Toby discuss scoreboard watching with three weeks to go, the epic social media reaction to the Mets signing Tebow, Trevor Bauer's new video on his day-after-pitching routine, the emergence of way too many late-season medical issues, David Ortiz’s hot-fire interview with USA Today, and a few Nationals bat flips that topped the charts this week. James Lynch, Oakland Athletics fan and policy director for Kamala Harris, joins in for a half-hearted attempt at empathy and provides an overdue oppo dump on Mitt Romney’s baseball fandom.

Episode 025: We Hold Grudges for Life

Matthew and Toby make fun of the 28 professional baseball teams (including their own) who scouted Tim Tebow, and chat about a terrifying pitching injury in an Angels-Mariners game, another unbelievable walk-off, and behind the scenes in the world of Mets clubhouse music. There are updates in ongoing discussions of baseball’s tragic bants shortage and Cleveland’s innovative bullpen usage—and a half-hearted attempt at empathy with Kate Stayman-London, a Mets fan and writer for the Clinton campaign. Matthew breaks some yuuuge personal news and announces a one-of-a-kind chance for someone in Battery Mates Nation to win a baseball autographed by THE David Axelrod. Just go review our program on iTunes, and you’re automatically entered in the drawing to be held “live” on the final episode of the regular season. It doesn't even have to be a good review. (Or does it?) Just make sure you email the program at thebatterymates@gmail.com if your user name doesn’t obviously indicate who you are.

Episode 024: Our Fred

Toby and Matthew are back for a special pennant race preview episode. For 3 up, 3 down, the boys discuss one of the greatest moments in recent Indians baseball history, Katie Ledecky’s ceremonial first pitch, the triumphant end to the Little League World Series, the economic plight of minor league players, a preview of the last World Baseball Classic qualifying rounds, and what in god’s name everyone should call the White Sox stadium. MLB Commissioner Rod Mandrebb's proposed rule changes get sent through the gauntlet, and each division goes under the microscope with five weeks to go in the season. Finally, a tip o' the cap for some clutch assists from Battery Mates Nation’s Alex Wall, Kelly Kreft, Peter Bondi, James Hupp, Patrick Stevenson, Dan Carson, and Jeff Gabriel. 

Episode 023: Big Puma Dunked on Me

Matthew and Toby do their best to sound refreshed and raring to go after a week off, diving straight into immigration law to celebrate Cookie Carrasco’s recent success on his U.S. citizenship test. Matthew wants all of Battery Mates Nation to relish in the Mets’ recent struggles, Toby wants to revisit the bloody sock episode now that Curt Schilling is threatening to run for elected office, and all you listeners want to be treated to the latest updates on favorites Trea Turner and Trevor Bauer. The boys make a half-hearted attempt at empathy with Houston Astros fan Ross Morales Rocketto, and Toby teaches Matthew the term TOOTBLAN.

Episode 022: Go for the Juggler

Matthew and Toby report live from the MLB trade deadline. So much news gets broken and sadly, most of it can't be put back together. There's a lot to discuss: Matthew visits AT&T Park, witnesses history, and celebrates the end of the Papelbon era for Nationals closers. Toby discusses the rollercoaster ride that was the Indians last few days of trade season. There's all that AND the boys welcome Jeff Gabriel, a Dodgers fan and a guy who gets mentioned a lot on Battery Mates, for this episode's half-hearted attempt at empathy. 

Episode 021: The Battery Mates Bump

Matthew and Toby reunite in Brooklyn to chat about an awfully eventful week, including the latest in Trevor Bauer’s drone antics, potential future Veep Tim Kaine’s alleged rooting interests, Matthew witnessing a steal of home plate from up close, and of course the clubhouse troubles of White Sox ace Chris Sale. No guest this episode, but that's because Matthew stopped by the White House (!!!) to report on the Royals' visit to celebrate their World Series championship. So that happened.

Episode 020: Touch Wood

Matthew and Toby don’t have a lot to talk about thanks to the All Star break, but they find time to cover David Ortiz’s recent transgressions, theorize about Mike Pence’s baseball affiliations, fantasize about eating one of the Diamondbacks' new concession items (a 3-pound ice cream helmet featuring multiple brownies), and completely butcher Edwin Encarnacion’s name. And it’s a particularly half-hearted attempt at empathy this time with Royals fan James Hupp, who talks about what it's like to win a World Series after years of being terrible and relays the epic incident of George Brett and the pine tar bat.

Episode 019: The Sophie's Choice of Baseball

Matthew and Toby discuss ridiculous things about the All Star Game, mostly to bemoan the lack of meaningful baseball being played all week. Not that anyone needs to be reminded, but Matthew is still very disappointed about baseball fans' banter skills. And he submits a scientif-ish theory about why home runs are mysteriously up throughout baseball this year. The boys make a half-hearted attempt empathy with internet celebrity Erin Faulk, aka @erinscafe on Twitter dot com. Erin's a Dodgers fan, and she's leading the charge against "God Bless America." [NOTE: Battery Mates is looking for audio production interns! Have a Mac and ready to get your start in the podcasting biz? Hit up @battery_mates on the Tweetbots.]

Episode 018: 100 Emoji, 100 Emoji, American Flag Emoji... 3 Fire Emojis, etc.

Matthew is joined by guest co-host Alex Wall for a special on-location episode. Recorded in Chicago at the Emerald Loop on the day of Toby's wedding, Alex and Matthew pay tribute to Cleveland's incredible sports month, Trevor Bauer's incredible internet trolling, and how incredible some of Battery Mates Nation's pre-season predictions look at the halfway mark. Toby's dad, Gary, joins for a half-hearted attempt at empathy and mostly just tells embarrassing stories about his son.

Episode 017: People's Self-Reported Wave Propensity

Matthew and Toby return from a week off mostly to hear Toby break down emotionally about Cleveland's first championship in 52 years. The boys make a half-hearted attempt at empathy with John Hagner, professional pollster and Battery Mates' own Statto. Hagner presents a truly unique way of dealing with being a Cubs and Nationals fan, and walks us through some of the highlights from a recent Public Policy Polling sports poll. Toby and Matthew wrap up the show trying to examine the game's super obscure time-play rule.

Episode 016: An Eephus Pitch Without the Knowledge and Foresight

On location in Chicago, Matthew and Toby sit down for a big baseball chat with political guru David Axelrod. Axe explains how he can manage to root for both of Chicago's baseball teams, and tells a few great stories about how his love for baseball intersected with his job as senior advisor to President Obama in the White House. Along the way, he walks Battery Mates Nation through the full backstory behind the curse of the billy goat, and gives a sneak peek at a piece he’s working on about the Cubs' renaissance. EXCLUSIVE MUST CITE: Axe reveals a formative baseball-related moment from the President's early political career. 

Episode 015: What Happens at Revco...

The boys pay tribute to The Greatest, Toby admits he’s under high levels of emotional stress thanks to the NBA Finals, and Matthew shines a light on the shenanigans going on behind the scenes of All Star Game voting. Justin Barasky, Priorities USA communications director and lifelong Cleveland sports fan (who also pulls for the Cubs) joins in for a half-hearted attempt at empathy, shows off some next-level knowledge of Fleetwood Mac, and implicates himself in an unsolved crime from the 1990s.

Episode 014: Good Bants

Matthew and Toby return from a week away to mark the end of the first quarter of the 2016 season and revisit predictions from Battery Mates Nation. The boys celebrate the 23rd anniversary of one of the greatest moments in baseball history, and Matthew bemoans the lack of Good Bants™ at ballparks. Thus the world gets to witness the debut of two new bants hot and fresh out of Matthew's kitchen, and he promises to take requests. Toby attempts some half-hearted empathy with Hillary for America email director (and Nationals fan) Amanda Litman. During the discussion, it becomes clear Matthew doesn't know that Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are different people, and all parties discover that Drew Storen might be a lot less to blame for the Nationals' 2012 postseason woes than initially believed.

Episode 013: Stadium Mustard (take 2)

Toby and Matthew are on location at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. They sit down to chat with three real-life members of the Indians staff: Joel Hammond, assistant director of communications, who oversees social media strategy; Christy Corfias, manager of strategy and analytics who's much smarter than your hosts; and Anne Keegan, director of service excellence, who gave us a tour of the facilities. Listen in as the boys nearly have a stroke due to excitement.