All About Baseball with Byron Copley

I had always intended to conduct interviews on All About Baseball, and I didn’t have to look very far for my first subjects. Neighbors Kyle and Holly, husband and wife, who played D1 baseball and softball at North Carolina and Penn State respectively, join me to tell their unique stories about the ups and downs of being a D1 college athlete. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” Sergei Pavkin

With all the sudden and substantial rule changes that have been enacted in Major League Baseball the past few years, this podcast episode proposes three specific changes to rule 6.02 “Pitcher Illegal Action” that would make enforcing balks more consistent, more just, and less arbitrary. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of All About Baseball, I remind myself and you, the listeners, the reason why I am doing this, suggest a few past episodes to listen to that best exemplify the purpose of this podcast, talk about how I would coach youth baseball today if I ever again took on the responsibility to mentor, and offer a measure of gratitude for your interest and loyalty. Thank you for that. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

On June 4, 1974, an actual riot took place on the field of Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, where more than 1,000 drunk and disorderly fans, intoxicated by drinking beers that cost a mere 10 cents, lost all inhibition and stormed the field DURING the 9th inning of a 5-5 game between the Indians and the Texas Rangers. This podcast focuses on the events of the week prior, amplified by the media and the respective team managers, which contributed to the crescendo of the riot. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com

You’d think that this was already the case, but it isn’t, and it should be. With bloated rosters, defections, replacements at the last minute, mandatory representation of every team, starting pitchers opting out because of insufficient rest, and fan bias — it’s no wonder that interest and viewership has dwindled over the last 40-plus years. This podcast offers some needed reforms that would boost the competitiveness and relevance of the all-star game to the levels attained from 1933 to the 1980s. Since the late 1980s, the game has steadily devolved into a meaningless exhibition that garners the dwindling attention of fewer and fewer people. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Sign stealing is an ancient discipline and it perfectly legal when people directly involved in the game observe base coaches with the naked eye. At all levels, signs are a visual code that communicates plays like bunt, hit-and-run, steal, squeeze play — and more. I learned a foolproof way to protect our signs from the third-base coach that the opposition never deciphered, and that our own player never had to remember. This podcast covers how MLB teams traditionally flash sign and the novel method we employed that, to my knowledge, has never been duplicated. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

A curious assertion, given that the majority of MLB ballplayers wear their uniforms in one of two ways: with the pants at knee-level (or above) or as full-length pants that drape over the shoes. Unimaginative is lending credit to today’s current “style”. The point is that the art and ritual of donning a baseball uniform in the Major Leagues has given way to a more bland, utilitarian, and un-nuanced necessity. Dressing in a baseball uniform used to be a ritual. Not anymore. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin AL Players at the 1937 All-Star Game Stirrups, 1975

Ninety years ago today, May 25, 1935, Babe Ruth, now with the last-place Boston Braves, capped his 22-season career with a banner day against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. This podcast expresses the significance of that day, excoriates Braves’ owner Emil Fuchs, and identifies perhaps the actual day, June 13, 1948, when Babe Ruth retired from the game. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin “Babe Bows Out” Braves vs. Pirates Box Score, May 25, 1935

What is up with Javier Baez? I looked at the numbers in detail to find out HOW Javier Baez has improved so dramatically in 2025 compared to 2024, because they can’t lie. Many of Baez’s stats are drastically different in 2025 compared to 2024. However, many others are surprisingly the same, or worse, in 2025 compared to 2024. What did I discover? More affirmation that baseball is a random game that gives and takes away. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Not much more to say about the content of this podcast, except for that it references, obviously, the movies American Grafitti, Casablanca, and Animal House. More to the point, it’s somewhat ironic to me that MLB Commissioner Manfred waited until Rose died before removing him from the “permanently ineligible” list. This entire situation reeks of irony and contradiction. And convenience. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

“The Midnight Library of Baseball,” by Ben Orlando, is the podcast that inspired me to create “All About Baseball,” and my podcast is loosely modeled after Orlando’s. I want to share Orlando’s podcast with you because it is worth listening to. I just finished his three-part series on the 1919 World Series, and if you think that there’s nothing more to say or write about the Black Sox’ Scandal, I invite you to listen to check out Orlando’s, with the help of several other authorities on the subject, fresh perspective on the event that shook the nation to its foundation. In this podcast, I offer a few highlights and “moments” that Orlando offers about the 1919 World Series. Here is a link to the Midnight Library of Baseball website. https://bendavidorlando.podbean.com/page/2/ [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

In a recent game between the Reds and the Braves, where Braves’ first basemen Matt Olsen was awarded an inside-the-park home run, I think that the umpires missed the opportunity to apply Rule 5:12 (b) (3). In my opinion, Olsen should have been awarded two bases and no runs allowed, in the spirit of the game and in the name of player safety, which should be the #1 priority of the game at all levels. This episode begins with an anecdote where a little-league umpire called time when he should have let play proceed. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

The numbers seem to indicate that the players who regularly use the Torpedo Bat are not, in most cases, hitting the target in regards to improved offense when compared to March/April 2024. Only a few of the 19 MLB players reviewed in this podcast (and by all accounts, who are the only players who use the Torpedo Bat ) have experienced improved performance in the key metrics of Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, Weighted On Base Average, Weighted Runs Created Plus, Hard Hit Percentage, Batting Average Balls in Play, and Line Drive Percentage. This podcast takes a deep delve into these metrics, dispelling the hype that Torpedo Bats attract baseballs to its sweet spot. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

The sounds of baseball that emanated from the high school behind my back yard on a warm Sunday prompted me to walk over there and investigate. What I discovered was a softball team of young women at practice who obviously love the game and a coach who instills confidence and courage in his players. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “FIeld Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Brad Havens is one of the 23,431 men, as of this podcast release, to have ever played Major League Baseball in the history of civilization. He is also the only player from my high school, Royal Oak Kimball, to have made the major leagues. This podcast briefly accounts his story, based on limited personal experience and limited press coverage. Why spend time on a largely anonymous MLB player? Because most of them are. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Baseball, unlike other sports, offers unique and subtle ways to express courtesies to teammates, opponents, and even umpires. In this podcast, I cover a few examples that should be taught from the very beginnings of a player’s experience as a ballplayer. These courtesies are as much a part of the game as are the fundamentals of pitching, fielding, throwing, baserunning, and hitting. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Just recently, the Pittsburgh Pirates removed a logo honoring Pirates’ legend Roberto Clemente that was placed in the right-field corner of PNC Park and replaced it with…an alcohol ad. Thankfully the blow back from baseball fans prompted the Pirates to undo their mistake, but how this idea ever was even mentioned remains a mystery. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

In a word: No. It may adjust they way pitchers approach hitters who use the torpedo bat, but, ultimately, the torpedo bat will be an after thought by the All-Star Break. However, I would expect the marginal hitter, looking for any possible edge, to give it a serious tryout. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

While under the influence of painkillers to blunt the discomfort of back surgery yesterday, I had a lucid dream of relating a podcast, complete with images, words, and voice. I attempt to recreate it here. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

It seems timely to share several anecdotes about the years that Kirk Gibson and I, with a select group of other great guys, played hockey together on Thursday nights at a local ice arena in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Gibson was as tenacious on the ice as he was on the diamond. Gibson recently stepped down as a television baseball analyst for the Detroit Tigers to focus on helping others battle the same disease that he has battled for 10 years: Parkinson’s. [email protected] www.byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

In this podcast, I offer three reasons why a head-first slide is not recommended by me, an alternative that is far more effective and safer, and a description of an my makeshift office-studio and the book that inspired this specific podcast. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin MLB Sliding Injuries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8xV5C387Lw Siding Photo on the cover of Bill James Historical Abstract: https://www.catchershome.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Mickey-Cochrane-dive-1536×1201.jpg

This podcast reflects on a couple of memorable heckling experiences that I witnessed 40 years apart. The first was at Tiger Stadium in 1971 with my girlfriend. The second was at Comerica Park in 2011 with my daughter. Both were highly entertaining and perfect examples of what imaginative heckling can do to enhance the experience of attending a major league baseball game. [email protected] byroncopley.com Brian Wilson dugout meltdown 7/1/2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkFOgF9Mmdo Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

We learned how to execute rundown situations during neighborhood games of pickle. Having watched several random videos of major league baseball players failing to retire trapped runners on the basepaths, I was inspired to promote a solution that retires a runner caught flat-footed between bases with a single throw. [email protected] byroncopley.com https://twitter.com/allaboutba27871 Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

The Automated Ball-Strike system (ABS) has intruded into Major League Baseball Spring Training games. In this podcast, I refute the wisdom and necessity of using it at this level of play, because it will not necessarily guarantee 100-percent accuracy in calling balls and strikes. And the way that selected players can challenge an umpire’s ball-strike call introduces an element in the game that reverses the relationship between the two and supplants the umpire’s primary function on the field. And, because it does so, why not just replace human umpires with this infallible machine? [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

In this podcast, I apply the numbers that, in my opinion, prove that the performance Alex Bregman is expected to produce at the plate in 2025 is not proportionate to his $40,000,000 salary, especially when compared to other third basemen in the league. Even though Bregman is projected to play second base for the Red Sox, another team that offered him a substantial contract, the Detroit Tigers, would have put him at third base, and they are better off without him — this year or any year. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

The 50th podcast of All About Baseball recalls two encounters I had when I was 14, in the summer of 1971. The first was a brief phone call with Detroit Tiger outfielder, Jim Northrup, who, out of left field, called me at home, with the assistance of my father. The second encounter was a face-to-face conversation with Tigers’ General Manager Jim Campbell in the Executive Lounge in the recesses of Tiger Stadium. I wish that I could say that these two conversations were rich in detail and insight, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Because I uttered only a handful of words in each, both were eminently forgettable, save for the lasting lesson that I learned and still apply. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

That’s the question that this podcast answers. Virtually non-existent before the MLB baseball strike of 1994, the walk-up song was ubiquitous by the end of the 1990s. Yet, its origins can be traced to the woman who accepted the job as the organist for the Chicago White Sox in 1970. Listen in as we explore the evolution of the walk-up song from a happy accident to part of the design of an MLB game experience. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin

I discovered this game, Immaculate Grid, a few years ago, and I consider it the best baseball trivia game I’ve ever played. In this podcast, I complete a specific grid and (attempt) to explain how the game is played, but the best way for you to learn is to go to immaculategrid.com and give it a try. You won’t regret it. Immaculate Grid encompasses the best aspect of good baseball trivia: it causes you to think rather than merely guess, and all the answers, right or wrong, have relevance. [email protected] Music: “FIeld Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin https://www.immaculategrid.com

“Jack T. Jamison” (not his real name) is one of 4,486 Major League Baseball players who never got to make a 10th plate appearance. The story as to why is the the subject of this podcast, the details of which were related to me by two of my cousins. “Jack T. Jamison” is their great uncle, who played for a National League team somewhere between the years of 1910-1930. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

This podcast adds to the litany of responses in reaction to the passing of Bob Uecker (1934 – 2025), but it focuses on the fact that this funny and famous man remained humble throughout his life. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

This podcast doesn’t answer this question. It answers why the Tigers shouldn’t have, as I said more than three years ago, before Baez made his first plate appearance in a Tigers’ uniform. I delve into the numbers that should have been an alarm that signaled Baez was not a sound investment. And introduce the Tigers’ signing of Gleyber Torres as a possible one-year insurance policy, who could fill in at the shortstop position. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

What does it cost a Major League team in dollars and cents to send one of its hitters on the roster to simply stride to the plate, no matter what the outcome may be? What are Major League teams paying its hitters to complete the singular most important objective in baseball — score runs? Obviously, not all players get paid the same to make a plate appearance, or score a run. However, if I were Gunnar Henderson, I’d question the fairness of being expected to score five fewer runs than Juan Soto this season, while being paid 60 times less per run. This podcast also begins the discussion of leveling the playing field by compensating players by present performance, rather than how they performed in the past, or how they are expected to perform in the future. Email: [email protected] Comments: byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

Consider these minor reforms in this podcast that could make the Little League Baseball more compelling, competitive, and compressed. The one that some may consider most radical is the one that I consider most essential. Email: [email protected] Comments: byroncopley.com Music: “FIeld Grass” Sergei Pavkin

In the initial podcast of 2025, I turn the corner to begin my second year of sharing my passion for the game of baseball with a like-minded audience. This podcast re-establishes the reasons why I initiated it, reviews selected topics, previews future episodes, and offers gratitude to you listeners and to the people who were integral in making All About Baseball a dream that became real. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin

Al Kaline, first-ballot Hall of Fame right fielder for the Detroit Tigers, whose career spanned 22 seasons from 1953 to 1974, was rejected, ostracized, and ridiculed by many teammates during his rookie season — primarily because the core of veteran outfielders perhaps knew that their days as Detroit Tigers were dwindling, and this rookie phenom bonus baby was accelerating the timeline. Who were these players who resented Kaline’s presence? That what this podcast reveals. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

A listener sent me a link to a story that revealed the latest in a long line of “reforms” that Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner, has proposed to “enhance” the game of baseball and “engage” the fans more thoroughly. Having already ushered in pitcher’s and hitter’s clocks, limits in pickoff moves, a placing a runner on second base in extra-inning games, larger bases, banning the shift on the infield, and the universal designated hitter, Manfred has proposed an idea that actually violates the present rules of baseball, which is only one of a legion of reasons why it should never reach the batter’s box. byroncopley.com [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

The transition from Little League baseball to playing for my Junior High was abrupt, blunt, and unapologetic. Here’s just a sample of the experience, that occurred in the spring of 1970. My no-nonsense, demanding, but fair-minded coach set expectations for our conduct on and off the field that forever changed my perception of the purpose of playing baseball: it was no longer simply to win; it was to do well. [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin

For the baseball fans in your family, I offer several Christmas-gift suggestions that should delight them. None of them are all that expensive, but I hope that they would become priceless over time. The best gift is that which is unexpected and appreciated. And I expect that few listeners have considered what I am going to propose in this podcast. byroncopley.com [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

As we enter the Holiday Season, it’s often a time for fun-filled games as a way to laugh and bond with friends and family. In this podcast, I offer a few games that only require a simple love and knowledge of baseball and a desire to experience it with others. Oh, and a little sidetracking on the 1981 MLB baseball strike. It’s relevant to the topic. Comments: byroncopley.com (or on the platform of your choice) email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

One way or another, it’s time to end interleague play in MLB. Either merge the leagues into one and create even more balance in the scheduled games to blur the lines between the leagues completely, or revert to the days when the two leagues were separate and distinct. Comments: byroncopley.com email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

OOPS. Somehow the unedited version of this podcast was initially posted rather than the edited one. Apologies. So I encourage you to listen to what was intended to be heard. For decades, bunting was a staple of a Major League Baseball team’s offensive strategy. Now, it’s considered a penalizing measure in the effort to score runs. And the abandonment of the bunt in MLB has filtered down into the lower ranks of baseball, even down to Little League. In answering this question, and in providing a counter argument to the controversial nature of bunting, I went down several rabbit holes before finding my way to the surface. My bottom line: Bunting should not be controversial. Comments: byroncopley.com email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

On November 22, 2015, my younger brother, Christopher, passed away in his sleep. This podcast commemorates his death and expresses sadness for my not spending more time sharing my passion for baseball with him. email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin

This rather rash statement, to some, is axiomatic to me, and I think that the numbers back up my claim. Yet, Whitaker, who played 19 seasons for the Detroit Tigers and saved some of his best seasons for last, was only on the Hall of Fame ballot once, where he received only 2.9% of all ballots cast. I make the case that the Baseball Writers Association of America snubbed Whitaker, for reasons that only the Writers know, because, in my opinion, it is the most-egregious Hall of Fame snub to date. email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

There are inherent and lasting advantages for youth baseball players to use wood bats, which have been supplanted by the proliferation of metal and composite bats. This podcast enumerates those advantages, and advocates the value of the experience of stepping to the plate with a bat made of wood — an experience that every youth player should have. Credit to King Sports for helping to define those advantages. https://playksports.com/blog/why-youth-baseball-players-should-embrace-wood-bats/ email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

As a counterpoint to an earlier podcast, “The 5,000-5,999 Plate Appearance MLB All-Time Team: 1960-2023,” I flipped that idea on its head and researched MLB players, using Fangraphs and Baseball Reference, with more than 3,500 plate appearances and who consistently “underachieved” at the plate and in the field yet still managed to remain in the Major Leagues for 10+ years. I then selected an “all-time” team — by position — for players whose careers took place from 1960 to 2024. More details as to my methods and metrics are in the podcast. Thank you for listening. [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

The top of the 5th inning of World Series Game 5 reinforced the capricious and chaotic nature of baseball, compounded by chance and circumstance, amplified by critics who, according to Theodore Roosevelt, are “cold and timid.” This podcast takes a dispassionate look at this inning and offers a hopefully empathic view of it. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

I was ruminating over a conversation that I had with a client more than 15 years ago in which I discovered that he was the grandson-in-law to a Hall-of-Fame ballplayer who was one of the oldest players alive at the time. This prompted me to look into who were the oldest-living players in the present day and I discovered one mind-blowing fact that will hopefully amaze you, the listener, as well. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

With the passing of Fernando Valenzuela, who pitched the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, I was prompted to produce a podcast about his most effective pitch: the screwball. He is one of the very few pitchers in MLB who relied on the screwball to get hitters out, and he and other prominent pitchers of his era, as well as pitchers from the nascent times of MLB, used the screwball without suffering the career-ending arm injuries that pundits warned as its final consequence. Rest in Peace, Fernando Valenzuela (1960-2024) Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

On August 2nd, the Detroit Tigers were 52-59, 16 games behind the Cleveland Guardians with little to no chance of making the playoffs. On September 30, the Tigers were 86-76 and had qualified for the playoffs. How did they do it? I offer a rather basic explanation that involves chance as much as it does skill, that isolates a single baseball metric: BABIP — Batting Average of Balls in Play. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

This is about as “seat of the pants” as I have ever been, as I express my “nerdity” about the game of baseball in the form of waxing spontaneously over the winners and losers of World Series from 1903 to 2023 — I have memorized them. During this “podcast without a safety net” I reveal a “license plate” game I play to keep the data base fresh in the “junk drawer” that is my mind, I offer some selected World Series stories, and, as a special bonus, I list all the winners and losers in order at the end of this podcast. I make a solemn oath that I am not reading from one. Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin email”[email protected]