There are a few podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, including NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and Pop Culture Happy Hour and Pardon the Interruption (when I can’t catch up on the DVR).
Recently I’ve added ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, hosted by Buster Olney, to that elite group.
To be frank, a lot of these podcasts are disappointing. Despite sources (such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated) that you would expect to be able to put some good production values into their product, some sounds like they were recorded in a tin can. BT has that feel at times, but the content makes up for it.
Olney, a former writer for The New York Times, does a good job as host, interviewing a staple of regulars from ESPN such as Jerry Crasnick, Tim Kurkjian, and Jason Stark, but it’s the guests that really make it stand out. The players he has on are hit or miss; how much can you listen to a pitcher describing his training regimen? But just take a look at some of the others who have appeared recently: MLB’s senior VP of scheduling Katy Feeney on baseball’s April weather problem; Mark Razum, the head groundskeeper for the Rockies, who may have the toughest job in baseball; agent Jamie Murphy about how negotiations go down and client stealing; and MLB Executive VP Peter Woodfork about the controversial call at the end of a recent Rays-Rangers game. Olney does a good job as host, with outside-the-box questions. This is definitely one of the best baseball-centric programs available. My only complaint is the editing. There’s is no segue from one segment to the next, which feels unnatural.
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