Bat Flips And Nerds

A comprehensive preview of Team GB's roster, strategies, and key players for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, including insights from on-the-ground reporter Russell Eassom and expert analysis. Followed by an interview with GB Performance Director Gary Anderson

Summary
The conversation delves into the World Baseball Classic (WBC), exploring its history, evolution, and the growing popularity of international baseball. The hosts discuss the strengths and weaknesses of various teams, including Japan, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Team GB, while highlighting key players and potential challenges. The discussion emphasizes the excitement surrounding the tournament and the unpredictability of outcomes in short-format games.

In this episode of Batflips and Nerds, hosts Russell Eassom and Darius Austin delve into the performances of MLB players from the previous season, categorizing them into overachievers and underachievers based on their hitting and pitching statistics. They discuss various players, their potential for the upcoming season, and the impact of injuries on performance. The conversation also touches on projections for the 2026 season, highlighting players to watch for potential bounce-backs and those who may struggle to maintain their performance levels.

In this episode of Batflips and Nerds, host John McGee is joined by artist Andy Brown and GB women's baseball player Kat Golik to discuss the remarkable journey of the GB women's baseball team, their recent success as European champions, and the growth of women's baseball in the UK. They explore the challenges and triumphs faced by the team, the differences between baseball and softball, and the importance of grassroots support in developing the sport. The conversation also touches on the mental preparation required for high-stakes games, the atmosphere of playing in international tournaments, and the future opportunities for women's...

After (another) hiatus, Ben, Rob and Darius chat through the major moves of the offseason so far, predict where the remaining big ticket free agents will go and play a quick game of 'Who Am I'...

00:00-04:08 - Intro
04:09-28:12 - Drafting our favourite offseason moves
28:13-42:25 - Predicting where remaining free agents land
42:26-54:21 - Updates to the Kauffman dimensions
54:22-01:09:05 - Who Am I?
01:09:06-01:11:17 - Outro

Ben and Darius hop on the microphones to talk through one of the most incredible games in baseball history, as the Dodgers closed out their second consecutive World Series title with an insane game seven victory in Toronto.

Ben and Darius step to the plate for some two-man playoff chat as the wildcard round gets underway and we officially enter the greatest month on the baseball calendar.

There's a brief discussion of the demise of the Astros and Mets before we look at some of the teams, storylines and players we're watching this October!

00:00-02:55 - Intro
02:56-12:20 - RIP Mets and Astros
12:21-23:15 - Storylines we're watching
23:16-32:26 - Who are the favourites?
32:27-37:40 - Who do we not want to win the World Series?
37:41-46:15 - Players...

John, Rob and Ben get together for a new pod, talking British baseball success, ESPN purchase of MLB.TV and then creating their baseball 'Mt Rushmore', based on some pretty loose historical analysis of American presidents...

00:00-03:05 - Intro
03:06-12:15 - British Baseball corner
12:16-20:08 - ESPN and Aroldis Chapman
20:09-01:02:45 - Baseball Mt Rushmore
01:02:46-01:03:45 - Outro

Ben, Darius and Rob join forces to talk through each of the current postseason contenders and their level of confidence... with a pokemon twist.

00:00-01:40 - Intro
01:41-06:40 - Hackney Bridge chat
06:41-11:09 - Ray S and Segway chat
11:10-13:50 - GB U23s win the Euros
13:51-57:45 - The AL Contenders
57:46-01:27:21 - The NL Contenders
01:27:21-01:29:40 - Outro

Ben, Rob and John hop on the microphones to discuss MLB's announcement of a Hackney Bridge takeover event in August and the teams we could be seeing on our shores in 2026.

They then dive into discussion of All-Star selections, the greatness of Tarik Skubal and which teams ought to be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline!

00:00-01:45: Intro
01:45-19:00: MLB London chatter
19:01-27:55: All-Star Game snubs
27:56-36:33: Tarik Skubal is good
36:34-52:20: You buying or selling?
52:21-01:02:35: Erie Seawolves, Wander Franco and outro

In this episode of Bat Flips and Nerds, host Ben is joined by Rob and Russell to discuss the recent Rafael Devers trade from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants, the implications of this trade, and the ongoing performance of various MLB teams. The conversation also covers Rob's recent trip to San Diego, the experience at Steinbrenner Field, and the return of Shohei Ohtani to pitching. The hosts share their thoughts on the unpredictable nature of the AL Central and the quirks of baseball fandom.

Russell, Darius and Ben hop on the microphones to briefly chat latest MLB news before sinking their teeth into a discussion around the breakout stars at each position so far in the 2025 season.

There are shoutouts for multiple Tigers, a high-flying Cub and.. dear god.. two separate Rockies players?!

00:00-05:57 - Intro and latest MLB news
05:58-14:20 - Catchers
14:21-21:56 - First Basemen
21:57-29:13 - Second Basemen
29:14-32:53 - Third Basemen
32:54-37:51 - Shortstops
37:52-57:09 - Outfielders
57:10-01:06:40 - Pitchers
01:06:41-01:12:06 - Disappointments and outro

In this episode of Batflips and Nerds, Russell, John and Ben discuss various topics in baseball, including the ongoing situation with Raphael Devers and the Boston Red Sox, the surprising revelation that the Pope is a Chicago White Sox fan, and the recent firing of Rockies manager Bud Black. They also share their experiences watching baseball on the West Coast, the excitement of college baseball, and the latest player injuries. The episode concludes with a segment on the highs and lows of the week in baseball, and the controversial reinstatement of Pete Rose.

Ben and Darius are joined by Nick of LA Angels UK, Halfway Around the Halo and MLB UK Clubhouse to breakdown the top 10 players in Major League Baseball! The trio also discuss some hot teams (Mariners, Mets, Tigers, Royals) and some not-so-hot teams (Angels, Rockies, Orioles) as well as the latest news from across the game.

00:00-01:55: Intro
01:56-04:27: GB Baseball hire of Brad Marcelino
04:28-07:17: Pirates fire Derek Shelton
07:18-13:31: The Rafael Devers Discourse
13:32-26:28: Good Baseball Teams - Mariners, Mets, Tigers, Royals
26:29-42:01: Bad Baseball Teams - Angels, Rockies, Orioles
42:02...

The guys mark a very unusual Jackie Robinson day in Major League Baseball before reflecting on the disaster zones that are the AL Central and NL Central and the bin fire Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox.

Come for the baseball, stay for the incredibly strong food opinions.

Ben, Darius and Rob come together to discuss some early season storylines, including Devers' struggles, the Dodgers winning start and the Braves spring slump. They then get on to torpedo bat chat (which now has a new name...) and of course finish with 2 Good, 2 Bad!

0:00-17:45: Early season storylines
17:45-24:15: Torpedo bat chat
24:15-39:12: Extensions, extensions, extentions
39:12-1:02:15: 2 Good, 2 Bad

Russell and Ben get together for a rare in-person podcast at the first watch party of 2025, joining fellow fans at Moonshot Social in London1 George from MLB UK Clubhouse joins them too, discussing event plans for the season, ways fans can get involved and of course, his beloved Houston Astros.

00:00-04:00: Intro
04:00-18:30: Chat with George of MLB UK Clubhouse
18:30-25:05: Yankees bats chat
25:06-31:43: Additional Opening Weekend chat
31:44-34:33: Outro

John, Tom, Darius and Ben perform their annual ritual in the form of discussing 30 MLB teams and filling out a spreadsheet. Will they be right? No. Will they let that stop them? Also no.

Rob, Gav and Russ are back to destroy the "A-team" once again with their outstanding knowledge of baseball and predict the win totals for all 30 teams.This is a lively discussion about their predictions for the 2025 baseball season and a fun tiebreaker game for when they don't agree.

In this episode of Bat-Flips and Nerds, host Russell Eason interviews Liam Carroll, the manager of the High A Greenville Drive and a prominent figure in British baseball. They discuss Liam's journey from British baseball to coaching in the minor leagues, the impact of data and analytics on coaching, and the cultural differences between coaching at the national team level and in minor leagues. Liam shares insights on player development, the importance of individualized training, and the exciting changes in the Red Sox system. The conversation also touches on the new rules in baseball, the significance of the pitch clock...

Ben, Russell and Darius combine forces to discuss Spring Training news (RIP Gerrit Cole's elbow), potential 2025 breakout candidates (and what even is a breakout?) plus some classic Spring Traning statline overreactions (panic!!!!)

Time Codes:

00:00-02:00: Intro
02:00-18:30: Spring Training stories: Gerrit Cole, Dave Roberts, New Era caps
18:30-46:00: Breakout candidates
46:00-1:02:00: Spring Training statline overreactions
1:02:00-1:05:00: Outro

In this episode, Jay Jackson shares his journey through baseball, discussing his experiences in the MLB and NPB, the challenges he faced with injuries, and the importance of maintaining a positive mindset. He reflects on his book, 'Nine Innings to Living Your Best Life,' and how his personal experiences shaped his outlook on life and baseball. Jay emphasizes the need for support systems within the sport, particularly for young black players, and shares valuable lessons learned from his son, JR. The conversation also touches on the cultural differences in baseball between Japan and the U.S., and Jay's aspirations...

In this episode of Batflips and Nerds, the hosts discuss the arrival of spring training, exploring the optimism it brings, the downsides such as injuries and media clichés, and the impact of new rules on player performance. They delve into the significance of small sample sizes in evaluating player performance during spring training and share their thoughts on the media's coverage of the event. The conversation wraps up with final thoughts on the season ahead and the importance of player health.

Ben and Russell are joined by a baseball legend: former player and manager Clint Hurdle.

Clint talks the pair through his playing career, his coaching career and his two stints as a manager of a Major League ballclub, in a fascinating discussion of the highs and lows of professional sport!

Timestamps:
00:00-04:30: Intro and 'Hurdle-isms', Clint's new book
04:30-07:05: His role as special advisor
07:05- 19:48: Draft, SI cover and playing career
19:48-28:44: Coaching and becoming manager
28:44-39:50: Rocktober and the Rockies era
39:50-52:09: The Pirates era
52:09-59:03: Final questions

Pitchers and catchers have reported! Russ and Ben get together for a brief offseason recap in the form of an awards show, taking a look at the good, the bad and the wonderful of winter.

John and Russell are joined by current Seattle Mariner, Will Klein.   They chat through his debut year in which he was traded twice and moved house 8 times, they talk about pitching development and how it is changed over Will's career. There's also a smattering of Chelsea talk as the boys find out Will is an ardent Chelsea fan.

John and Russ are joined by Zack Scott, the former Acting GM for the New York Mets and Assistant GM for the Boston Red Sox. We get a bit of John fan girling over Koji Uehara to the man who brought him to Boston before they get on to the main topic of how a front office works in the offseason.

Russell is joined by Darius and Rob to look back on 2024 and decide some things which should be binned and things that should be kept. Then they look into 2025 and determine what they think will continue on and what new things will happen.

John and Russell are joined by the Kyle Bodd. Kyle is the Founder of Driveline and is currently the Special Assistant to Boston Red Sox PBO Craig Breslow.

They talk about how driveline came to be, how teams and players have taken on board these new development methods. They also talk about how to coach and how to positively impact players.

The team is back to discuss the Sasakit deal, the Dodgers and some FA chat about the players not signed yet. Then they chat about some sneaky picks for the season and then Ben goes full Traitors on us.

John and Russell sit down to chat with with Tyler Gillum, the head coach of the Savannah Bananas. The Bananas are the talk of the baseball world with their barnstorming show growing bigger every year.

Tyler talks through how this all came about, how they bring in players and how they plan out these amzing ideas.

Come for some amazing anecdotes on the Bananas, stay for a pretty awesome discussion on life, passions and doing things for the fans.

The team discuss briefly about how the Yankees and Dodgers made it to World Series, who stands a better chance of making the playoffs again out of the Mets and the Guardians.
Before Russell makes Ben and Rob draft the players in the WS teams to discuss who has a better line up.

The team are back to talk about postseason baseball. They discuss the wonder and the farce that was the Mets v Braves Monday double header and then talk through who is gonna all the ropunds of the play offs.
Who do they they think are going to make it to the World Series, listen in to find out.

Russell is back with Ben this time to talk a bit about the world of British baseball, the Mets and the Ohtani 50/50 chase. But they are mainly there to play a blind resume game, giving each other stat line on over and under performing players and seeing if they can guess who they are.

After whatever last weeks episode was Russell is joined by Darius tonerd out and discuss how do we farely evaluate players with diffferent skill sets. Using the Ohtani v Londor MVP Race and the Skubal v Clase CY Young discussion.
They then also discuss some of the bat tracking metrics which have released by MLB this year on Baseball Savant.

The team is back. John is johned by Rob, Ben and Russ to discuss the WBC, Votto's retirement, Jansen's playing for both sides and the wonder that is Judge.

Followed byprobably the most legendary 2 Good 2 Bad ever.

Rob, Darius and Ben convene to discuss the biggest moves from the recent trade deadline. From the sellers (hello Rays, Marlins, Blue Jays) to the buyers (yo Mariners, Orioles, Yankees) and a few extra in between.

Russell chats with with Comdien, Writer and Mets podcaster / live streamer John Saponaro. The talk about John's baseball life and what it is to be a Mets fan, what the final years under the Wilpons was like and how things feel different with Cohen. They then get onto discussing Lindor and Nimmo and their respective All-Star Snubbs.

Professors Eassom, Carter and Noverraz have come together to grade the performances of the teams against expectations. With grades from A+ to U and even a random symbol in there, it's a pod not to miss.

The crew is back and discussing the past on the future of baseball. They start with discussions on the passing of Willie Mays and the amazing game at Rickwood Field before getting onto what more MLB can do in this area. They then discuss GB's Michael Petersen's debut and how much that means to fans and player in the UK before moving onto the tight wild card picture and how there might not be many trades out ther just yet.