There's been plenty of real baseball lately and plenty more in the months ahead, but we're using the dead days in the MLB All-Star break to talk a bit about fictional baseball. Specifically, our favorite baseball movie (and probably yours too) — "Major League." 

On this week's installment of The StewPod, Mike and Chris are joined by sportswriter and author Jonathan Knight, who recently released "The Making of Major League," a book detailing the backstory of how Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn, Jobu, Willie Mays Hayes, Pedro Cerrano and all the rest of our favorite fictional Indians came to be.

We delve into Knight's experience writing the book, as he shares behind-the-scenes stories and secrets about the film you might not know. 

Here's the full rundown of the show:
• Intro
• Jonathan Knight interview about "The Making of Major League"
• The process of writing a book about "Major League" 
• Stories and secrets about the film
• Getting Charlie Sheen involved
* Mike and Chris talk about their second-favorite baseball movies
• What we liked and didn't like about the All-Star game
• Trade deadline matchmaker
• Important questions
• What if your wife thinks Bryce Harper is hot?
• The Franchise Four of Food

[Music: "Burn On" by Randy Newman"]

The Secrets Of 'Major League,' Our Favorite Baseball Movie

It's apparently beef season in baseball. We're getting stories this week about unsettled problems involving Yasiel Puig in L.A. and Jose Fernandez in Miami. And, of course, awards season always brings out a lot of angry baseball fans.
Here to talk about all that and more on this week's StewPod are Mike Oz and Chris Cwik. We also delve into what rumors we believe this time of year. Bad News Ramen joins us for his Three Strikes segment and we talk Disneyland and parents throwing you under the bus in our Important Questions.

A full rundown of the show: 
• Are you mad at any of the MLB awards? 
• Does Clayton Kershaw want Yasiel Puig off the Dodgers? 
• Jose Fernandez is supposedly rubbing people the wrong way in Miami 
• What rumors do you believe this time of year?
• Inside Chris' awards crisis 
• Three Strikes w/ Bad News Ramen on Russell Branyan, Jake Arrieta's kid and David Ortiz's retirement 
• Important questions.

[Music: Pusha T — "Untouchable"]

Yasiel Puig, Jose Fernandez and MLB beef season

There's a lot to talk about in baseball this week: Big bucks are being thrown around in free agency, Hot Stove season is burning with rumors and the winter meetings are just days away.

With that in mind, we're presenting to you the most Stewtastic episode ever of The StewPod. Dave Stewart, the general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, joins this week's podcast to take us behind the scenes of the winter meetings. Stewart has a unique perspective. Not only is he an MLB GM, but he's a former agent and player. He sees this time of year from all sides.

So we talked to Stewart about not only the D-backs' plans, but what happens behind the scenes at the winter meetings. Among the topics: What's a typical day like for a GM, how technology has changed the meetings, how teams keep up on the latest news and how much misinformation is out there for the public to consume. 

On this episode, we're also talking about David Price's deal with the Boston Red Sox, the "ideal" landing spot for Zack Greinke, which throwback uniforms we'd like to see teams wear and lots more. Bad News Ramen stops by for another Three Strikes episode full of strong opinions.

Here's a complete rundown of the show:
• Intro
• Dave Stewart joins the show to talk about the D-backs and the Winter Meetings
• Mike and Chris discuss David Price and his mega deal with the Red Sox
• What's the ideal end to the Zack Greinke story?
• Throwback uniforms!
• Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen about Jordan Zimmermann, Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth vs. Michael Jordan. 
• Important questions about Disneyland and such.
[Music: Wiz Khalifa - "Outsiders"]

Dave Stewart takes us behind the scenes of the MLB winter meetings

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman has proven himself to be one of MLB's best young personalities. He's fiery on the field and fun off it. Last season, when his a spring training ACL injury cut his season short, he went back to college to finish his degree while rehabbing. Then he returned to post a 1.67 ERA in four regular season starts and help the Blue Jays in the playoffs.
So it's safe to say he knows something about the big-league balancing act.

When Stroman joined the StewPod this week, he proved that yet again. He was playing golf while talking to us, yet had plenty to say about his goal of becoming Toronto's ace next season, his recent rap debut, that video that surfaced of him as a kid on "Figure It Out" and his line of custom caps through New Era, for whom he is a brand ambassador. He'll also be part of their 2016 opening day commercial.

Also on this week's podcast, we're joined by Bad News Ramen for another Three Strikes segment and we talk about a wide range of sports and pop culture topics.

Here's the full rundown of this week's show:
• It's a slow week in baseball news, booo!
• Fangraphs' Win-Loss projections and why we're not down on the Royals
• A-Rod's ARod Corp.
• Marcus Stroman joins the show — while playing golf
• We talk about Marcus' 2015 season — from injury to college to the postseason
• On his relationships with Aaron Sanchez, David Price and Mark Buehrle
• What did he get with his Toy 'R' Us gift certificate from "Figure It Out" when he was a kid?
• Can he beat his dad in arm wrestling
• The No. 6, Drake and Marcus' foray into rapping with ex-Duke teammate Mike Stud
• How he designed his own line of New Era Caps
• Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on crazy bobbleheads, Jessica Mendoza and Bud Selig
• The story of when Hulk Hogan hit Mike in the face
• Mike and Chris talk about David Bowie, Alan Rickman and Brad Dassey's rap song.
• Important question: What's your dream job at ARod Corp?

[Music: Mike Stud ft. Marcus Stroman - "These Days remix"]

Marcus Stroman proves that he's good at everything

There may not be anyone in professional baseball like Hunter Pence — from the way that he throws and swings a bat, to his confessed off-the-field nerdery. Good luck finding someone else in MLB who will talk to you about playing "Magic: The Gathering" and picking out wands at Harry Potter World.

Oh, but Pence is that guy.

Not only is he one of the more crucial pieces for the San Francisco Giants, he's one of the more fascinating guys in baseball. He was riding his scooter to and from games before it was trendy. He's proud of his paleo lifestyle and helped the Giants introduce a garden beyond the outfield wall at AT&T Park not too long ago. He's a gamer, a vlogger (along with his fiance Alexis Cozombolidis, aka @LetsGetLexi), he's helping planning a wedding and he just got into pilates. It's quite the life.

He's also one of the new faces of Oberto beef jerky. Pence spent part of last week filming his commercial for the beef jerky brand, a trip to the national endrorsement stage that has him pretty psyched.

We at the StewPod were psyched as well, to have Pence join us for a wide-ranging interview that covered everything going on his life — from his Harry Potter vacation, to his interest in pilates and how it will help him on the baseball field and whether the Giants have some even-year magic bottled up for 2016.



Hunter Pence on pilates, Harry Potter and the tough NL West


Baseball, like society at large, is still trying to digest its on-going divide between the new school and the old school. We saw that in no uncertain terms Thursday, as Bryce Harper and Goose Gossage dominated the headlines for straddling each side of baseball's bubbling culture war.

There's Harper, who called baseball "tired" because of its unwritten rules that don't allow players to have flair and personality. He said baseball needs more players like Cam Newton and Steph Curry, more players with express themselves.

And there's Gossage, who speaking independently of Harper, expressed his disgust with the current state of baseball. He doesn't bat flips (particularly Jose Bautista's) and sabermetrics and Ivy League-educated execs running teams. 

Each of these were their own story, but they're stories from the same tree. So on this week's podcast, we delve into both cases and look at baseball (and society's) culture war in a broader sense. Why do young players want the game to be more open? Why do old veterans so loudly object to the way the game is played today?

Along the way, Bad News Ramen joins in for a Three Strikes segment and, spoiler alert, his takes are much more old school. 

Here's a full rundown of this week's episode:
• Goose Gossage's mad about everything
• Bryce Harper says "express yourself"
• What if Bryce Harper called his shot?
• What's the right amount of celebration?
• Hurt feelings and participation trophies
• Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen
• Happy Ending: What are the fun stories of the week?

[Music: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - "The Evening"]

Bryce Harper, Goose Gossage and baseball's culture war

Baseball season is almost here, which means that fantasy baseball IS here. On this week's podcast, we're joined by Scott Pianowski of Roto Arcade to talk about the 2016 fantasy season, including which players he's high on and which he's avoiding.

We talk about many other strategies along the way too and talk about our favorite fantasy draft experiences and rules. Bad News Ramen joins us for another installment of Three Strikes, which is partially a remembrance of Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest.

Here's a full rundown of the show:

• Me and Chris, reunited
• Scott Pianowski joins the show
• Players to draft, players to avoid
• Draft strategies
• Fantasy draft experiences
• Bad News Ramen on Phife Dawg, kids dancing on bases and being a savage fantasy baseball player
• Important questions
[Music: A Tribe Called Quest - "Buggin' Out" and "Vibes and Stuff"]


Who you should draft and avoid In fantasy baseball this season

Opening Day isn't the only day that some baseball fans call in sick. If they're dedicated to virtual baseball, fans consider Tuesday a holiday too. It's the day "MLB The Show 16" drops. 

"The Show" is the premiere baseball video-game title on the market, a game that prides itself on realism so much that a number of MLB stars are part of the game's development. Among them: Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals. 

We linked up with Hosmer for interview recently in Arizona, where he playing "The Show" on an off-day from Royals camp. In a fun interview, Hosmer talked about his invovlement in the game, his own experience with baseball video games and some of his preseason impressions about his team.

One non-video game thing he admitted to us — he hasn't yet looked at the mock-ups of the Royals World Series rings. He wants to see it for the time when he slips it on his finger next week.

Here's a full rundown of the interview:
• Hosmer's involvement in "MLB The Show 16"
• Whether he campaigns for better attributes
• Who's the best Royals player in the game?
• Why he plays games with fans
• His favorite baseball video games from the past
• Early impressions of this year's Royals team
• Whether they pay attention to the projections/predictions that have the Royals under .500 this year

Podcast: Eric Hosmer on MLB The Show 16, video games and big rings

With opening day getting closer by the hour, this week's podcast is devoted to everyone's favorite thing this time of spring — predictions. Oh yes, The StewPod has predictions for you.

And so does Aaron Boone, the ESPN analyst who you'll see this season on Sunday Night Baseball alongside Dan Shulman and Jessica Mendoza. That's the team you'll hear calling Sunday night's opener, a World Series rematch between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals.

Boone joined us on the show this week to offer his insights into the season ahead as well as offer his take on some of the hot topics surrounding baseball — mainly bat flips and celebrations. We talked about Jose Bautista's ALDS homer (yes, still) and Boone has a great perspective because he also hit a famous postseason homer, so he can understand the moment. We also talked to him about working with Mendoza and how he responds to her critics.

Bad News Ramen also stops by to drop some predictions of his own — although, if you know Mr. Ramen, you know there's nothing normal about his predictions. After that, we've got some Important Questions to answer.

Here's a full rundown of the show:
• Mike and Chris offer some of their hottest predictions
• Aaron Boone joins the show
• Boone's 2016 season predictions 
• How he sizes up the Mets and Royals in 2016
• Bat flips and the line between celebration and showboating
• Working with Jessica Mendoza
• Did he feel passed over when Mendoza got promoted last season?
• How he preps for broadcasts
• Important Questions on fantasy drafts and title belts

[Music: Fort Frances - "Days Get Heavy"]


MLB prediction bonanza with Aaron Boone

MLB icon Johnny Bench makes an appearance on the podcast. He tells us about his campaign with Kingsford Charcoal to take back opening day, as well as when opening day went astray.

Other topics we touch on:
• What else is wrong with baseball
• Bat flips
• Catchers and concussions
• New rules about take-out slides
• The generational divide in baseball
• Why opening day in Cincinnati is so great
• Whether a hot dog is a sandwich

Johnny Bench's campaign To restore opening day

If someone were going to bring dabbing to baseball, it makes a whole lot of sense that it's Carlos Gomez. The Houston Astros outfielder is one of baseball's biggest personalities. He celebrates when he does well. He gets upset when he doesn't. But even then, you'll find him smiling a few minutes later and having fun with fans. And possibly dabbing.


He's been doing it lately. It's a celebratory dance that most sports fan associate with Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, but it's taken all sports by storm in the past six months or so. In baseball, Gomez is the guy.

"Nobody was doing it in baseball, so I'm saying, I'm going to be the first one." Gomez told us on the latest edition of The StewPod. "It's fun. Bring fun to baseball and people enjoy it. Now you see in the stadium, they're screaming at me, 'Carlos! Carlos! Dab!'"

That's just part of our conversation with Gomez, in which we talk about his passion for the game, playing with swagger, entertaining fans and being friendly with kids, plus how he views the 2016 Houston Astros' World Series chances.

Also on this week's podcast, we talk about the teams that aren't faring so well in this young baseball season and Bad News Ramen drops in for another installment of Three Strikes

Here's a full rundown of the show:
• Intro and teams that stink
• Carlos Gomez joins the show
• Kicking the outfield wall and karate moves
• Dabbing and the Carolina Panthers
• How he's viewing the 2016 season
• What's it like to watch Carlos Correa every day?
• Why it's important to play with emotion
• Baseball in Latin countries
• The difference between putting on a show and disrespecting the game
• His interactions with fans, especially kids
• Bad News Ramen joins us for Three Strikes on The Bad News Bears, Barry Bonds and catching foul balls
• Important questions on special MLB uniforms and Papa Slams.

[Music: "The Game Belongs to Me" by UGK]

Carlos Gomez on dabs, swag and his passion for the game

Here's a fun story: Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson is a big fan of the Golden State Warriors, which isn't too surprising since he grew up in the Bay Area. When Trayce Thompson was traded to the Dodgers this winter, he became pals with Pederson. Now, they're living together. Thompson is, of course, the brother of Warriors star Klay Thompson. 

That's just one of the fun things going on in the life of Pederson, the 24-year-old, second-year Dodgers outfielder. He's a big video gamer, so he's always playing FIFA and "Call of Duty" with his teammates. He's also tight with his brother Champ, for whom Joc released a special cap last year with New Era. Pederson joined us on the podcast to talk about all that and lots more, including Vin Scully and his walk-up music.

On this week's StewPod also talking about the death of Prince and the firing of Curt Schilling, and we're joined by our pal Bad News Ramen for another installment of Three Strikes. 

Here's a complete rundown of the show:
• Chris has problems
• Joc Pederson joins the show
• What games is Joc playing?
• Will his Warriors win the NBA Finals?
• His encounters with Vin Scully
• His relationship with his brother, Champ and the New Era cap made in his honor
• Why'd he change his walk-up song to "The Fresh Prince" theme?
• Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on Curt Schilling, the Jason Heyward story and Prince's death
• How did the Internet do with the Curt Schilling news?
• What's next for Curt?
• Michael Jackson, Prince, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout

[Music: Prince - "When Doves Cry"]

Joc Pederson on everything from video games to Vin Scully

We've got an All-Star edition of the StewPod for you this week, as we're joined by MLB legend Dave Winfield and Yahoo Sports fantasy expert Scott Pianowski. If you're looking for a podcast that will both help yearn for a trip to San Diego for the MLB All-Star game and help fix your fantasy baseball team, this is it.


Winfield, along fellow San Diego Padres great Trevor Hoffman, was named as an official spokesperson and ambassador for the 2016 All-Star game. What's that mean exactly? Well, the Hall of Famer explains that plus more in the podcast. It's clear he has a soft spot for San Diego, though, where he played from 1973-1980. And he wore some fantastic uniforms in that time. (Yes, we talked about those too). 

Meanwhile, Pianowski stops by to offer his early season insights on which players are worth buying low, selling high and watching for on the waiver wire. Especially if your fantasy team is a mess like a certain podcast co-host.

Here's a full rundown of the show:
• Is Chris the Royals billboard thief?
• Dave Winfield on being an All-Star ambassador
• What makes a good All-Star game
• Wearing the brown-and-yellow unis once again
• Keeping young people interested in baseball
• Scott Pianowski joins the show
• How much should we care about April numbers?
• Buying low, selling high, watching the waiver wire
* Which prospects should we watch for?
• Most outlandish trade proposals?
• We play a game to see which early-season performances Scott is believing
• Important question: What should be Tyler Collins' punishment

[Music: Future - "Inside the Mattress"]

StewPod: Dave Winfield, the All-Star game and fixing your fantasy team

Adam Jones is many things — an All-Star outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles, a Silver Slugger, a husband and father, a fun follow on social media. But there's another thing he loved to talk to us about on the latest installment of the StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast.

He's quite the foodie. Whether he's tweeting his #StayHungry hashtag or looking for the best places to eat on the road, Jones knows what's up with food. Remember when got a birthday cake that looked like a Popeye's box? 

But if you ask Jones the best places to eat around MLB (as we did on this week's show) he'll quickly have answers for you, whether it's a small Cuban place in New York or which barbecue spot he prefers in Kansas City. (Food Network, you listening?) 

And that's just one of the topics Jones covered his chat with us. We covered a wide range of topics, such as the Orioles' hot start and their power potential, the recent wave of PED busts in baseball and his game-day routine. A few highlights:

On the O's power: "As an offense, it's good knowing that, all right cool, we're never out of a game. We're one swing away from being back in it."

On PEDs: "Obviously these people are making mistakes that are getting caught. I think they put a good structure in place for us with all the supplements, so it is a mistake that they're making. But to say that they're bad people and all that kind of stuff is not where I would start." 

This week's show also brings Bad News Ramen back to the StewPod and he's got a great story about Warren G. We're also talking about PEDs, selfies and "Space Jam." Here's the full rundown:

• Selfies in baseball
• Adam Jones joins the show
• Adam's pregame routine
• The Orioles' hot start
• How many players on the Orioles can hit 30 homers?
• How he reacts to PED suspensions
• Would he want to do a food show after baseball?
• His favorite places to eat in numerous MLB cities
• Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on the Cubs, Curt Schilling and Warren G
• The new wave of PEDs
• Mike Oz has never seen "Space Jam" and Chris hassles him about it

 [Music: "Runnin'" by The Pharcyde]


StewPod: Adam Jones on the best places to eat around MLB

There's almost nothing more than a baseball survey. OK, maybe a Bartolo Colon home run. But getting peoples' opinions about baseball in survey form is a lot of fun — and often surprising, as it was on Thursday when Public Policy Polling, a well-known political poller, released its annual sports survey.

And believe us, it asked the important questions. What do people think about bat flips? And the DH? Should Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens be in the Hall of Fame? Oh yeah, good ol' divisive baseball topics. 

So on this week's StewPod, we had some fun going through the survey and trying to see how well Chris could predict the survey results. We're also joined by Bad News Ramen for another installment of Three Strikes, and we talk about Bryce Harper's suspension, Bartolo's big homer and important questions about cheating, thought not necessarily with performance-enhancing drugs.

Here's a rundown of this week's show:
• Wait, you can't yell at umpires now?
• The magical Bartolo Colon
• The Baseball Survey: America's favorites teams, players, bat flips, DHs, the Hall of Fame and more
• Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen
• Important question: When did you cheat?

[Music: "Scapegoat" by Atmosphere]

StewPod: How well do we really know what baseball fans think?

In this Yahoo Sports podcast, Chipper Jones talks about his belief in the future of the Braves, but he doesn't expect anyone to feel bad now that the organization is struggling.

Chipper Jones: 'Nobody's going to feel bad for the Atlanta Braves'

This week on the StewPod, we're talking to one of this season's breakout players and discussing another much-talked-about baseball brawl. It's a fun one.

Nick Castellanos of the Detroit Tigers joins the show to talk about his breakout season. The 24-year-old third baseman is finally fulfilling the potential the Tigers saw in him when they traded Prince Fielder and gave him the third base job. Castellanos is hitting .316 this season with 11 homers, adding another dangerous bat to the Tigers lineup. Did you know Castellanos grew up in Florida as a fan of Miguel Cabrera and even attended Miggy's first game? Now they're teammates. We talk about that and a lot more.

We also dig into the Manny Machado-Yordano Ventura brawl. Since it's draft week, we figured we'd draft which MLB players we'd want alongside us in a brawl. Tweet your answers to @bigleaguestew. Our buddy Bad News Ramen also swings through for another installment of Three Strikes.

Here's the full rundown of the show:
• Brawler draft
• Were the suspensions for Machado and Ventura fair?
• Nick Castellanos interview: fulfiling his potential, why he's not on social media, what it's like playing with Miguel Cabrera after being a fan, his draft experience and lots more.
• Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on the brawl, "Game of the Thrones" and David Ortiz
• Important questions

[Music: "Last Dayz" by Onyx]

Drafting brawlers and chatting with Nick Castellanos

How does hitting for the cycle compare to the no-hitter? 

We discuss that and more in the latest StewPod.

Cycles Vs. No-Hitters

We talked to Wil Myers of the San Diego Padres about his role as All-Star ambassador, plus his comeback season, why he doesn't wear batting gloves and arm wrestling. 

Wil Myers on the All-Star game, his breakout and arm wrestling

Lenny Dykstra joins the StewPod to talk about his new book, "House of Nails" and share his outrageous baseball life.

Lenny Dykstra on steroids, jail and his new tell-all book

John Smoltz joins the StewPod to take us inside the All-Star game from his rather unique point of view. Smoltz will be calling the game this year for Fox Sports and, as a player, was an eight-time All-Star. 

He talked to us about both sides of the All-Star game, his favorite memories as a player and what he's looking forward to in the booth this year.

Also on the show: Mike and Chris talk about the Home Run Derby, Bad News Ramen comes by for another installment of Three Strikes and we size up the best player hair in MLB.

John Smoltz takes us inside the MLB All-Star game

Since everybody's talking about improving baseball today, here's what we think of the ideas and how we'd do it.

Here's how we'd improve baseball

It’s that time of the baseball season where Jeff Passan’s phone is buzzing with information. Yes, the trade deadline is coming on Aug. 1, which means teams are making moves and our pal Jeff is trying to wade through the rumors and find the truth.

He took a few minutes out of his day — well, like 30, actually — to talk about the trade deadline for this week’s StewPod. We discuss which players he thinks will and won’t get traded, why the trade deadline has actually been more active than you might think and which teams will make a move that has them racing toward the postseason.

We’ve also got Bad News Ramen joining us for another installment of Three Strikes, lots of talk about Chris Sale and Aroldis Chapman, plus one StewPod host professing his love, once again, for “Battle Bots.” 

Here’s the full rundown of this week’s show:
-	Chris Sale and his cut-up jersey
-	The complicated Aroldis Chapman trade
-	Jeff Passan joins the show to talk about the MLB trade deadline
-	Bad News Ramen’s Three Strikes on Ichiro, Sale and Chapman
-	Important questions
-	Rate and review!


Breaking down the MLB trade deadline with Jeff Passan

Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal talks to Yahoo Sports about how the team has withstood a record number of injuries to reach first place in the NL West.

Inside the Dodgers' amazing comeback with Yasmani Grandal

Mike and Chris look at the biggest storylines in MLB for September, including whether Clayton Kershaw will return, who wins the wild cards, how many wins the Cubs finish with and lots more.



Our predictions for September's biggest storylines

Chris and Liz banter about Tim Tebow's new career in baseball, and discuss the state of Phillies fandom in 2016. Then, Israel joins the program to talk about the tight race in the AL East. Who will prevail in what promises to be the best division race down the stretch?

Straight Outta Yahoo

So Tim Tebow is a baseball player now

The world of baseball gave us three questions this week: What was A.J. Preller thinking? Was Adam Jones right? Can the Cubs really do it?

We tackle all three (and more!) in this week's StewPod, which finds Liz Roscher joining me. We dig into whether the Padres should be so quick to forgive Preller, their GM who was suspended Thursday for keeping a rule-skirting player-health database to gain the upper hand in trades.

Now that the Cubs are division winners, we're discussing what it will take for them to actually break their curse. And in the case of Jones, I talk about a piece of the conversation that so many baseball fans seem to be missing.

Here's a full rundown of the show:
- Welcomes and where's Chris Cwik
- How bad is the Padres situation?
- Should Preller get off this easy from Padres brass?
- Can the Cubs win it all?
- My best possible World Series outcome
- What people are missing about the Adam Jones situation
- "Pitch" and whether people will get mad at fictional baseball diversity
- Important questions: Getting to know Liz

[Music: Local Natives - "Mother Emanuel"]

A.J. Preller, Adam Jones and whether the Cubs can win it all

The World Baseball Classic is upon us and baseball's international tournament finds itself in a very familiar place as far as its American participation is concerned: How do we get more U.S. stars to care?

The WBC has proven in the past that the United States — where we call baseball our National Pastime — just doesn't care as much about winning on the world's stage as much as Japan or the Dominican Republic does. That goes for fans but also players. Sure, Team USA has put forth a team that's capable of winning the tournament, but that team is nowhere near as good as it could be. And that remains to be a storyline that hovers above the WBC.

For this week's podcast, we're joined by Jon Morosi, MLB Network's chief evangelist for the WBC, to get you totally up to speed on some of the tournament's biggest storylines. We spend a lot of time, however, talking about ways to get more buy-in from MLB's top stars. The list of frontline stars who aren't playing in the tournament includes Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Kris Bryant, Mookie Betts, Max Scherzer, Noah Syndergaard and countless others. Morosi gives us some of his ideas to drive more engagement to the tournament and hips you to some of the other countries and plays to watch out for. (Keep an eye on worldbaseballclassic.com for the full schedule of games over the next couple weeks).

Elsewhere on the podcast, we're talking about A-Rod's reported new relationship, Tim Tebow's spring debut, fantasy baseball and, a fitting topic on the 20th anniversary of the Notorious B.I.G.'s death, a debate about Tupac vs. Biggie with Bad News Ramen.

Here's a full rundown of the show:
• Intro
• Who has more to gain: A-Rod or J-Lo?
• Tebowmania
• The WBC so far
• Jon Morosi joins the show.
• How he well in love with the WBC
• Does Team USA have a chance?
• How do we get more American stars to care?
• Other WBC teams to watch for
• Who's going to be a breakout player?
• Bad News Ramen joins the show and offers his WBC takes
• Am I making bad fantasy baseball decisions?
• Biggie vs. 2pac?

[Music: "Sky is the Limit" by Notorious B.I.G. ft. 112]

How do we get more U.S. stars to care about the WBC?

This week's StewPod is the stuff of legends — and that's mostly because St. Louis Cardinals great Ozzie Smith is joining us.

On the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, we're talking with Smith about baseball's changing rules, plus Chris Cwik and I are digging into the soon-to-be legendary Madison Bumgarner injury, which has all of baseball talking as we head into the weekend. It's a good listen, so pop us into your playlist while you're out dirt biking this weekend ... or maybe just doing your errands.

Ozzie Smith joined us on behalf of Kingsford Charcoal, whom he's working with on the #BestOfBaseball campaign in which one fan will win a trip to the All-Star Game. We asked for Smith's opinions about many of the rule changes and proposed rule changes in the game, plus we talked about the talented young crop of shortstops in the game right now.

We've also got a lot to say about the Bumgarner injury, including how it will impact the Giants this season, how people will view Bumgarner getting hurt on his day off and how people might view it differently if he got in trouble doing something else. 

[Music: Cam'ron — "Bubble Music"]

Podcast: Madison Bumgarner's injury and Ozzie Smith on baseball's changing rules

First a thing you know about Arizona Diamondbacks star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt: He's one of the best players in the league. And that's consistent, year in and year out. He's a big reason the D-backs are one of this year's most surprising teams in MLB.

Now a thing you might not know about Goldschmidt: During the 2013 baseball season, when he was an MVP runner-up, he finished his college degree. Like, during the season. He divided up his days between baseball and school. He had an itch to finish his degree after being drafted out of Texas State University a year shy of graduation.

"I actually learned it was easier during the baseball season than the offseason," Goldschmidt told the StewPod. "Just because of our schedule and having a routine every day. Especially on the plane flights when we were going cross country. I’d put my headphones in, I’d have my laptop or my iPad and just get after it and read and write my papers and everything. I really didn’t get to hang around with my teammates as much as I can now because when they’d go to breakfast or dinner, a lot of times I’d stay back and have to finish up schoolwork. I missed out on movies for two years, but it was definitely worth it."

Goldschmidt obviously see the value of education, which is one of the reasons he's partnered with the University of Phoenix for a scholarship program to help people pursue their dreams of graduating. Whether it's to finish a degree or start fresh, Goldschmidt and University of Phoenix are offering five full-tuition scholarships.

On this week's installment of the StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, Goldschmidt joined us to talk about his college journey, baseball players seeking education, plus such as his stolen-base prowess and why the D-backs are exceeding expectations.

Elsewhere on the show, we're examining a number of hot topics from around MLB:

• Is MLB doing enough to prevent brawls?
• Are brawls good for baseball?
• All-Star voting: Which player is getting too much love?
• Who should Jeter team up with to buy the Marlins?
• Can Mike Trout still win the MVP after being out two months?
• Do you have a three-year-old (or older!) beef you want to settle? Who did you wrong!?

[Music: "Chase Me" by Danger Mouse ft. Run the Jewels and Big Boi]

The Education of Paul Goldschmidt

With the MLB Draft right around the corner, Jordon Adell is waiting for his life to change forever.

Adell, a top-ranked high-school player from Louisville, Ky., is expected to be drafted in Monday's first round. Depending on who listen to, he could be a top-10 pick or a top-20 pick. Regardless, scouts all believe he has a high upside. Adell has the " best all-around tools" in the draft, according to MLB.com. He backed that up with a mammoth senior season at Ballard High School in which he hit 25 homers with 62 RBIs and a .562 batting average.

In our interview with Adell, he said he has an idea which teams are interested in him (he wasn't revealing it) and talked about wanting to find a team that truly thought he was a future franchise player.

"You want to be somewhere where they're all in for now. If a team is [No. 15] and they're like 'Yo, this is our guy. We're going to work him and we're going to get him where he's going to play for us and he's going to be our dude.' That's exactly what you want. You don't want to be just a discount .. You want to be the man and that's exactly what I want to be."

We also talked about how he's getting ready for the draft, what he'll be wearing and we threw some rapid-fire questions at him so you can get to know him better. The MLB Draft begins at 7 p.m. ET Monday. TV coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

Elsewhere on this week's show, we're talking about David Price's battle with the Boston media, whether it was right for MLB to auction off Hunter Strickland's brawl jersey, Scooter Gennett's four-homer game and the domestic abuse allegations involving Derek Norris and Addison Russell that surfaced on Instagram.

Give it a listen and if you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe on iTunes or Soundcloud and leave us a nice review.

[Music: Vince Staples ft. Ty Dolla $ign - "Rain Came Down"]

Jordon Adell tells us what it's like getting ready for the MLB Draft

With all the Unwritten Rules Theater we've seen around MLB this week, The StewPod imagines a world in which a new baseball league is starting and we have to decide which unwritten rules to keep and which ones to ditch.

Mike Oz and Chris Cwik are joined by Bad News Ramen and Yahoo Sports' Nick Bromberg.

We're also talking about Kyle Schwarber getting demoted, the 69-year-old baseball cards that sold $500K and we have a great question for you: Batman or Mario?

Music: Cousin Stizz ft. Offset - "Headlock"

The Unwritten Rules Draft

In a new episode of The StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, Hall of Famer Frank Thomas joins us to talk about the upcoming All-Star game. 

In the podcast, we talked about:
• Stanton vs. Judge in the Home Run Derby
• How it's reminiscent of Thomas vs. Griffey
• Frank Thomas' tips to win the derby
• Can the Big Hurt still hit dingers?
• Young stars to watch in the All-Star game
• The Cubs get snubbed
• The best part of the All-Star game for players
• First-half surprises/disappointments
• Thomas' current World Series pick

Catch Frank Thomas on Fox Sports' All-Star coverage, including the  pregame show alongside Kevin Burkhardt & Alex Rodriguez at 7:30pm ET on Tuesday on FOX. He's also on the two-hour All-Star preview show airing on FS1 Monday at 3 p.m. ET with Burkhardt, Pete Rose and Tom Verducci.

Frank Thomas breaks down Stanton vs. Judge and other things to watch at the All-Star game

New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius is having another impressive season, getting even better at the plate than he was the last two seasons. His batting average is up, so is his on-base percentage and he's looking even more at home at Yankee Stadium, where even though he had the toughest of shoes to fill, he's become a fan favorite.

On this week's Stewpod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, Gregorius joins us to talk about the adjustments that helped him succeed, what he seems from Aaron Judge that impresses him and whether he thinks the balls are juiced this year.

Gregorius joined us on behalf of the Delta Dugout program, which gives fans the chance to win memorable baseball experiences, like watching the Yankees play on the road next season. In his latest spot, Gregorius is even being a funny guy.

Here are some of the other things Gregorius talked about on this week's StewPod.

On how he’s more prepared this season:

“It’s more adjustments. I came from National League and it was different. I think personally they pitch different in the American League. You gotta make adjustments, get to know the pitchers and see what they try to do with you … The hardest part of the game is staying consistent with your plan when you go out there and play the game. I ask guys questions, how they approach this guy and try to put that in my plan too.”

On how Aaron Judge impressed him:

“It’s all-around game. He wasn’t the way he wanted to be when he came up last year. I like that he went home and made some adjustments and look what he’s doing now. It’s actually really great. I’m all for it. If he keeps making adjustments, he’ll be ever better. I think there’s a lot more in there.”

On whether the balls are juiced:

“No. Not at all. I haven’t seen anything to be honest.”

Didi Gregorius on Aaron Judge, his keys to success and life in New York

The Chicago Cubs are back. Since the All-Star break, the defending champs have shaken off that World Series hangover and taken control back in the NL Central.

This week on the podcast, we're talking to a man who might be so happy you'd think he's still part of the team. Well, he kind of is.

Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg — who is also an official team ambassador these days — is our guest. He's talking about what's behind the Cubs resurgence, offering his take on their trade-deadline additions and talking about his love for Chicago. That could be seen this week, as he worked with Subway to break ground on a renovation for a Chicago-area Little League field.

Elsewhere on the show this week, we're talking about Pete Rose, an alternative world in which Donald Trump owned the Giants and we take an unexpected turn into soundtracks of '90s sports movies.

[Music: Camp Lo — "Swing"]

Ryne Sandberg on the resurgence of the Cubs

The most unique event of the Major League Baseball season is happening Sunday night, as the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals forego a standard big-league game and head to Williamsport, Pa., to play in the first ever Little League Classic.

The idea: Take two big leagues and have them play in the heart of the Little League World Series. MLB renovated an old minor-league stadium — Historic Bowman Field, which is the second oldest minor-league stadium in the country, having opened in 1926 — and it will host the game. But it won't like many baseball games you see.

Capacity at Bowman Field isn't even 2,500. And for this game, all the tickets are going to Little Leaguers. The Little Leaguers will get to meet the big-league players earlier in the day and interact with them. It's sort of a sequel to last year's Fort Bragg game, an effort by MLB to take its product to different settings for one night per year.

To talk more about this, the StewPod's Mike Oz and Liz Roscher got on the phone with ESPN baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza, who will be calling the game. She also has a unique job Sunday. She'll be calling Little League World Series games in the afternoon for ABC's coverage, then take her normal post as an analyst on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball with Dan Shulman, Aaron Boone and Tim Kurkjian to call the Little League Classic.

We talked a lot about why the Little League Classic idea is so cool, and one of the Mendoza's reasons was:

"The intimacy of the event, you gotta understand these guys play in front of 40,000, 50,000 fans that are really removed from where they are. This is going to be, not just a small crowd, but they’re right there with them. And having spent the day with them and interacting — and how cool it’s going to look because all the kids are wearing their uniforms, so you’re going to see these bright colors. It’s just going, to me, bring this youthful, joyful feel to what can be a very serious game. But I think it’s important. I think we all remember when we first picked up a ball and played the game. And I think this game will give a reminder to not just the people watching but those playing in the game, which is going to show."

She also talked to us about MLB's upcoming Players Weekend — which you can get a preview of Sunday night, as the Pirates and Cardinals will wear their Players Weekend uniforms — her own experience playing Little League and about the growing interest for young girls to play baseball instead of softball.

[Music: Glass Animals - "Youth"]

ESPN's Jessica Mendoza on why MLB's Little League Classic is so cool

The busiest part of baseball's postseason is upon us — all four division series will be going by Friday. Friday, in fact, is the best baseball day of the year, as all eight remaining postseason teams will be in action in their respective ALDS and NLDS.

On a new StewPod, the Yahoo Sports' baseball podcast, we're talking to two men in the thick of it — one is Cody Bellinger, the Los Angeles Dodgers star rookie who will play his first postseason game Friday when the Dodgers open their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The other is Yahoo Sports' MLB columnist Jeff Passan, who joined us from Houston and will be stadiums across this land throughout October.

We delve into every series — particularly talking about if the Indians should fear the Yankees, if we might be underrating the Cubs and who might come out on top in the Red Sox-Astros series.

Bellinger joined us on behalf of sports nutrition MET-Rx, for whom he just starred in this new postseason hype video. With Bellinger, we talk about what it's like going into  his first postseason, how the Dodgers' losing streak affected the team and what it would mean for the Dodgers to finally win another World Series.

[Music: "Come on Baby" - Saigon]

ALDS/NLDS breakdown with Cody Bellinger and Jeff Passan

The next round of the MLB postseason is upon. We are one stage away from the World Series with four teams looking now to punch their tickets by winning either the ALCS or the NLCS. 

The Houston Astros and New York Yankees started Friday night, with the Astros taking an early series lead. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs begin their series Saturday. Here to talk about both of them is former MLB catcher and current Fox Sports analyst A.J. Pierzynski.

Fox, as you know, is home of the ALCS and will be broadcasting the World Series for the 18th straight year.

Pierzynski was part of the the FS1 broadcast team in the ALDS that called the Astros games, so he talks about what makes them dangerous and he talks about what makes the Yankees dangerous in the ALCS. He also gives us his take on two Dodgers pitchers — Alex Wood and Yu Darvish — that he caught in his playing days.

Previewing the ALCS and NLCS with A.J. Pierzynski

The StewPod is a baseball podcast by Mike Oz and Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports. We talk about the hot topics of the week, bring on big-name guests and a dash of pop culture to each episode. If you want to know what music Andrew McCutchen is listen to or what Evan Longoria's favorite pair of sneakers are, you're in the right place.

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