Have you been listening to the podcast? If not, you can catch up on all the episodes on the podcast page.
In the latest one, Ashley and I have a broad conversation about numerous baseball topics, including how different it is to be a fan today versus 25 year ago. And you’ll just have to listen to find out why the episode is titled “Bunting skills competition”.
As someone who has only followed baseball since 2002, and only seriously since about 2006, a lot of the conversation about being a new fan resonated with me. Bizarrely though, as I have mostly observed the game from here in the UK, it was actually Andy’s 1980s experience that I identified with more.
Not having a sports-only channel or a fast internet connection back in the mid 2000s meant that the only time I could watch games was on a Wednesday or Sunday night. However, that usually meant staying up until at least 3AM, something not entirely practical on a school night.
I didn’t read blogs or match reports for teams other than the Giants, so my knowledge of the rest of MLB was limited. The first time I saw Ken Griffey play (at a Reds-Giants game on one of my trips to San Francisco) was also the first time I’d heard of him.
The mystery of what players look like also struck a chord. Ridiculous as it sounds, for the longest time I had no idea that Eddie Murray was black. Ashley’s bafflement at a Andres Torres stealing a base mirrored my own puzzlement at witnessing a balk, after about three years(!) of semi-following the sport.
Rather conveniently, the late nights required to watch games live became much less of a problem once I left for university (funny that) and as a consequence I became much more immersed in the sport. I’m also fortunate in that the nature of my work means I can still follow games live, not to mention keep up with the articles here on HHS.
So there were some interesting points discussed in the podcast. I will say however, that I think a more structured show as per previous episodes allows for more in-depth discussions. It is great to have a range of voices on the podcast though, so I’m glad to see the likes of Ashley being brought onto the show. Keep up the good work Andy!
And here I thought the title was in reference to Dale Sveum’s single-elimination bunting tournament during Cubs’ 2012 Spring Training.