Cheapseat Baseball

A weekly baseball history podcast from two friends who had the completely original idea of starting a podcast together. Each week we'll do a dive into a great ballplayer, great ballteam and great baseball stories... and some not so great ones as well.

Episode 78 -- The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals 03/11/2023

Episode 78 -- The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals We've got a real barn burner this episode. We talk about our fantasy football league -- especially topical now that football season is over. Thankfully that's it for the football talk, as we end up discussing the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals, which has NOTHING TO DO WITH FOOTBALL AT ALL WHATSOEVER. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/26197374

Episode 77 -- Pranks in Baseball 02/26/2023

Episode 77 -- Pranks in Baseball This week Tom and Josh discuss pranks -- including Josh pulling his own prank by not using his recording mic for this episode. While we start talking personal stuff, we spend most of our time talking about MLB pranks. We go over some of the old standards and tell one another about some more elaborate pranks that we came across. This is a fun, if a bit of a dumb one. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/26051280

Episode 76 -- Glenn Burke and Billy Bean 02/24/2023

Episode 76 -- Glenn Burke and Billy Bean This week Josh tells Tom about Glenn Burke and Billy Bean (not the one you're thinking of) who were two baseball players who after their playing days came out as gay. Both had very rough stories for very different reasons -- none of which had to do with them being mediocre players or Burke creating the high five (seriously). While we make a couple of jokes, we will warn you that this does get a bit heavy, but if we're a baseball history podcast, then it's a story to cover. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/26030076

Episode 75 -- The Bad News Bears 01/26/2023

Episode 75 -- The Bad News Bears Welcome to episode 75, where we finally get to Rickey Henderson... just kidding, we're covering the 1976 classic The Bad News Bears, not to ever be mistaken with the 2000's era Billy Bob Thornton-era cluster****. Walter Matthau pulls together a scrappy group of child rejects to SoCal Little League greatness. We admire the hardcore 70's nature of the movie, the wide variety of cheap beer, and are touched by the fact that it's an actual movie with an actual plot. Enjoy it with us! /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/25732728

Episode 74 -- The 1986 Boston Red Sox 01/15/2023

Episode 74 -- The 1986 Boston Red Sox We talk Boggs, we talk the Rocket, we talk the curse, and we talk Buckner. This week Tom tells Josh about the 1986 Boston Red Sox, including the history of the franchise leading into this season, how they built a contender, and how they fell just short in the most agonizing way possible. Join us. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/25613376

Episode 73 -- Minor League Baseball 01/02/2023

Episode 73 -- Minor League Baseball Apologies for ending 2022 with a fizzle -- between the holidays and other stuff in real life, we didn't post any new episodes, but we'll make it up for you in 2023! We discuss Nolan Ryan and Bo Jackson a bit more before launching into the meat of today's episode on the history of the minor leagues. Over time the minors have gotten more standardized and smaller. This episode was also recorded as the news broke of the MLB Players Association deciding to allow minor leaguers to join... so we kinda blew that one by not posting episodes forever. Though we do discuss some fun moments of the history, talk about fun team names, and some of the records set in MiLB history. Join us. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/25481952

Episode 72 -- The All-90's Showdown 12/01/2022

Episode 72 -- The All-90's Showdown Tom and Josh draft their 1990's all-decade teams, exercise veto powers for the first time, Tom jumps all over Pedro Martinez for the umpteenth time, but does Josh figure out Pedro this time? Let's find out... /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/25185042

Episode 71 -- The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers 11/17/2022

Episode 71 -- The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers In this episode Josh tells Tom about 'dem Bums, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, first going through the sad-sack history of the team until that point -- including a discussion of their many questionable team names. Tom's dog Dalton makes an overdue cameo. The famed Boys of Summer finally put it together this season, and got past their crosstown rival Giants (who had taken them down previously via the Shot Heard Round the World) and the Final Boss of 1950's baseball -- the also-crosstown New York Yankees, who had defeated the Dodgers in the World Series the past five times they had made it. Join us to talk 'dem Bums. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/25045326

Episode 70 -- Moneyball (The Movie) 11/10/2022

Episode 70 -- Moneyball (The Movie) As elder millenials, Josh and Tom decided to watch the movie rather than read the book, and that's what we did with the 2011 Bennett Miller / Aaron Sorkin movie Moneyball. It was based on a 2003 book by Michael Lewis about the 2002 Oakland Athletics. We dig into the movie a bit, we nitpick the baseball details because we're a baseball podcast. Though we do call out important details they got right, like the Royals' horrifying 2002 uniforms. Also, some dude named Brad Pitt was involved. Never heard of him, though. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24963363

Episode 69 -- The Last Folk Hero with Jeff Pearlman 10/25/2022

Episode 69 -- The Last Folk Hero with Jeff Pearlman Following up last week's episode with our own take on Bo Jackson, we welcome sports journalist and bestselling author Jeff Pearlman to discuss his new book The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson. Jeff tells us about some of his favorite Bo stories, how people are so willing to talk about their heroes and brushes with a legend like Bo. We also cover a few of the other topics he's covered over the years as well like the 86 Mets, Lyman Bostock and others. If you'd like to purchase The Last Folk Hero, it's now available for purchase at the or from your local or online bookseller. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24783663

Episode 68 -- Bo Jackson 10/18/2022

Episode 68 -- Bo Jackson This week Josh and Tom take turns telling some of the story of multi-sport legend Bo Jackson. While his star rose as a Heisman-winning football player, he shocked the world in the 1980's by refusing to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and instead choosing to sign with the Kansas City Royals. It was with the Royals and (eventually) the Los Angeles Raiders that Bo's legend took off before a horrible injury derailed his career, but led to one of the greatest comebacks in pro sports history. Join us for our take, before we have a special guest join us to continue the story next week. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24725805

Episode 67 -- We Continue Our Own Playoffs 10/13/2022

Episode 67 -- We Continue Our Own Playoffs The Guardians, Mariners, Padres and Phillies may have advanced in the "real" playoffs, but in our simulation, we pick back up in the LCS series where the 84 Tigers take on the 90 A's and the 69 Mets take on the 16 Cubs. Who will advance? Who will win it all? Will Tom accept that the Royals lost? Let's find out. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24672222

Episode 66 -- We do our own playoffs 10/07/2022

Episode 66 -- We do our own playoffs It's playoff time, which means we decided to do our own playoffs, pitting all of the teams we've profiled so far against one another. What do we do with the 1919 Black Sox? Who can possibly stop the 1985 Kansas City Royals? Will the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers finally win it? Will the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals carry forward their black devil magic? Is it even possible to stop the Miracle Mets or the 2016 Chicago Cubs? Let's find out how the opening rounds go... /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24622218

Episode 65 -- The 1995 California Angels 09/25/2022

Episode 65 -- The 1995 California Angels Josh takes Tom to the OC in the mid-90's where we talk about No Doubt and the 1995 California Angels. We cover the origin story of the Angels, their move from Los Angeles proper to Orange County early in their existence, and the long run of mediocrity through their first 30-odd years -- a solid run in the late 70's to mid-80's notwithstanding. The 1995 Angels showed up after the strike, having rocked the worst record in baseball in 1994, and got off to a scorching 56-33 start and a 11 game lead in the AL West. Then things happened... Join us to find out. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24481005

Episode 64 -- Larry Walker 09/21/2022

Episode 64 -- Larry Walker Josh and Tom make fun of Canadian whiskey before discussing the career of Canadian baseball legend Larry Walker. We follow his journey from being a middling hockey prospect, his transition into baseball, his early career with the Montreal Expos, his star run with the Colorado Rockies, and his ring-chasing year and change with the St. Louis Cardinals. Also, the wonderful tv series Letterkenny comes up a lot for some reason. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24441798

Episode 63 -- The MLB All-Star Game 09/13/2022

Episode 63 -- The MLB All-Star Game This week Josh tells Tom the history of the MLB All-Star Game. The great moments, the not-so-great moments, the time it ended in the tie. The stretch of time that there were two of them a season for some reason. The time that the Royals justifiably made up the whole damn AL roster, which was a fine and correct decision (guess who's writing this episode summary...) /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24357219

Episode 62 -- The Battle of Ohio 08/31/2022

Episode 62 -- The Battle of Ohio We fire up the Whatif? simulator to square off Josh's all-time Cleveland Bronchos / Naps / Indians / Guardians against Tom's Cincinnati Red Stockings / Reds / Redlegs / Reds. Can Bob Feller contain the Big Red Machine? Can Dolf Luque contain the Cleveland's stacked 90's outfield? Why does Whatif? love old timey players so much? Let's find out. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24225783

Episode 61 -- The 2001 World Series 08/22/2022

Episode 61 -- The 2001 World Series We pick up where we left off in the last episode, wrapping up the story of the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, by talking about the Yankees dynasty they took on, the 9/11 attacks, and one of the greatest World Series ever played. The shambling corpse of Rudolph Giuliani is mentioned. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24124872

Episode 60 -- The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks 08/15/2022

Episode 60 -- The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks This week Tom tells Josh the story of the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, one of the most quickly successful expansion franchises. We go over the origins of the franchise, its initial run, its going big and signing big names into the turn of the millennium, and then its magical 2001 run. We discuss expansion yet again, go into some big names, get into what a weird season 2001 was, Josh incorrectly says Alex Rodriguez was still with the Mariners that season, and tell the Diamondbacks story... up until the 2001 World Series, because that warrants its own episode. Join us. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/24062709

Episode 59 -- Tony Gwynn 08/05/2022

Episode 59 -- Tony Gwynn This week Josh tells Tom about San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn. We follow Gwynn as he developed from a multi-sports star into one of baseball's best pure hitters. One who drove fellow Hall of Famer Greg Maddux to curse his name, and who received a key piece of advice from Ted Williams to unlock a secondary peak later in his career. Come join us. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/23965437

Episode 58 -- The Deadball All-Stars 07/20/2022

Episode 58 -- The Deadball All-Stars What better way for Josh and Tom to celebrate being together and recording together for the first time than firing up the WhatIf simulator and drafting all-star teams out of the Deadball Era? Tom's voice is clearly dead from the Jawbreaker concert the night before, both of us are clearly hung over, and we had to dig deep and pull together some guys we'd never heard of to fill out a 25-man roster under our true backup and reliever criteria... Sit back and enjoy! /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/23801354

Episode 57 -- Homer at the Bat 07/08/2022

Episode 57 -- Homer at the Bat Tom and Josh discuss the greatest episode about baseball (or more accurately, softball) ever created: The Simpsons' "Homer at the Bat." We fanboy out about the Simpsons, before getting into the episode, the premise to get so many athlete cameos into a single game, the stars featured, the stars not featured because they were long dead, we engage in a fierce debate about British history, and fanboy out about the Simpsons a bit more. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/23684522

Episode 56 -- Lyman Bostock 07/02/2022

Episode 56 -- Lyman Bostock In this episode Josh takes Tom on a journey that combines baseball history with true crime: the tragic story of Lyman Bostock. I'd offer a summary, but I wouldn't want to spoil our first true crime adventure... /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/23611769

Episode 55 -- The College World Series 06/23/2022

Episode 55 -- The College World Series Just in time for the real CWS, Josh tells Tom about the biggest annual sporting event that takes place in the city of Omaha, Nebraska: the College World Series. We discuss the ping of aluminum bats, it's evolution into a big annual event, various stars that made it into the majors, and the programs that have dominated the event. Unfortunately we recorded it early enough that we didn't mention jello shots. There's always next year. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/23513621

Episode 54 -- All-time Royals vs. All-time Blue Jays 06/14/2022

Episode 54 -- All-time Royals vs. All-time Blue Jays We break out the WhatIf simulator with Tom assembling an all-time Royals roster and Josh an all-time Blue Jays roster. Two expansion teams, two two-time World Champions, two-time ALCS opponents, with all-stars and Cy Young winners (and shoulda been winners) up and down the rosters. Will Tom's Royals triumph (as a sign of all being right in the world) or will Josh's Blue Jays get revenge for '85 and '15? /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/23420732

Episode 53 -- Jennie Finch 05/28/2022

Episode 53 -- Jennie Finch This week Josh tells Tom about arguably the greatest softball player ever, Jennie Finch. We talk about her absolute dominance of college and professional softball, how she was a trailblazer for women's sports, and we also make fun of what white people name their children and go down a few other diversion, because that's what we do. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/23256815

Episode 52 -- The Naked Gun 05/23/2022

Episode 52 -- The Naked Gun After a bit of a lull, Josh and Tom return to discuss the most baseball-packed baseball movie ever to feature baseball: the slapstick police parody The Naked Gun. We discuss Leslie Neilsen's performance, the totally-not-awkward-to-talk-about-now performance of O.J. Simpson, Encrico Pallazzo and the wealth of jokes in this great, great movie. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/23194775

Episode 51 -- Merkle's Boner 04/30/2022

Episode 51 -- Merkle's Boner We should probably apologize for the sheer amount of dick jokes at the top of this episode. You see, we're talking about Merkle's Boner -- boner in this instance being an old-timey word for blunder or mistake. That said, this was a major early incident in baseball history. It turns out that it's not exactly clear what REALLY happened, except that he made a horrible mistake that cost the New York Giants a pennant. Come join us as Tom goes into the various accounts of Merkle's Boner. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/22963247

Episode 50 -- The 1985 Kansas City Royals 04/28/2022

Episode 50 -- The 1985 Kansas City Royals This is without question the most important episode we've done yet. Tom revisits the Kansas City Royals and tells Josh about their momentous 1985 season. After nearly a decade of excellence that saw them repeatedly falling short, they finally broke through in 85, taking on an up and coming Blue Jays team in the ALCS and the evil St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. We talk about the team's early history, how an aging team finally put it together for a final run with a young pitching staff, how the Royals kept coming back against teams that appeared to be much better than them on paper, and -- of course -- Don Denkinger. /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/22937138

Episode 49 -- The 1992 Toronto Blue Jays 04/21/2022

Episode 49 -- The 1992 Toronto Blue Jays Josh takes Tom to our great neighbor to the north, Canada, to tell us about the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays. We talk Gerry Ford, Exhibition Stadium, Letterkenny, and the Blue Jays' run of futility starting in the mid-80's and how it all came together for a magical run in 1992. Come join us! /episode/index/show/cheapseatbaseball/id/22862228

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