Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

4.6 (50)
BASEBALL
UPDATED WEEKLY

Longtime Toronto Blue Jays radio voice Mike Wilner hosts Deep Left Field, a baseball podcast from the Toronto Star. With great baseball coverage, opinion and analysis from Mike and other Star sports journalists including Laura Armstrong and Gregor Chisholm, as well as MLB players and others in the game, Deep Left Field has everything you need to know about the Jays, specifically, and baseball in general.

5 DAYS AGO

Blue Jays columnists discuss the good, the Vlad and the ugly

Guests: Toronto Star Baseball Columnist Gregor Chisholm Spring training is underway in Dunedin, Florida, and Gregor Chisholm has been there since the first day, which means he was there when the news broke that the Blue Jays had failed to come to a long-term contract agreement with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Gregor joins us to discuss all the goings-on from camp, first and foremost the how and why Guerrero is moving into a walk year that nobody wanted. Aside from the Vladdy story, we talk about what he’s seen and heard during the first week of spring. Baseball is back!

1h 6m
FEB 12

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Inductees Jose Bautista and Greg Hamilton

Guests: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Inductees Jose Bautista and Greg Hamilton This week, we celebrate the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame as it announces the newest honoured members who will take their place among the immortals at the Hall on Induction Day, June 7 in St. Marys. Jose Bautista headlines the class and he joins us to talk about his career with the Blue Jays, from the beginning to the BatFlip and beyond, and to reflect on becoming a Hall of Famer. Greg Hamilton, the Director of National Teams for Baseball Canada for a quarter-century, also stops by to talk about his career, his impact on baseball in Canada and his well-earned recognition from the Hall.

51 min
FEB 7

Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, Canadian actor Aaron Abrams and more

Guests: Aaron Abrams, star of CTV’s “Children Ruin Everything,” plus clips from Max Scherzer and Ross Atkins’ news conference and we bring you clips and analysis of that news conference. Scherzer talks about his health, the hows and whys of his coming to Toronto, his motivations in finally coming to the AL East and his feelings about baseball’s data revolution. Ross Atkins avoids a question about a possible contract extension for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Also, TV star and huge Jays fan Aaron Abrams joins us for a Jays vibe check as they get set to head to spring training.

1h 13m
JAN 31 · BONUS

The Blue Jays add Hall of Fame pitcher Max Scherzer

The Blue Jays Add A Hall of Famer A busy January on the free agent front came to a close with the Blue Jays snagging Max Scherzer, the 40-year-old eight-time all-star who will bring his three Cy Young awards and two World Series rings to town with him. With five trips to the injured list in the past two seasons, and only having been able to make nine starts in 2024, what does Scherzer have left to add to a decent Jays rotation? Can he stay healthy, and if he does how much should be expected of him? Does the big right-hander help the Jays in their quest to get back to the post-season?

27 min
JAN 30

Blue Jays 1B coach Mark Budzinski, former Baseball Canada slugger Scott Thorman and more

Guests: Blue Jays 1B coach Mark Budzinski, former Baseball Canada slugger Scott Thorman Not too many people in the Jays’ system know their new acquisition, Anthony Santander, better than Mark Budzinski, who managed Santander at two levels of the minor leagues. We get the goods on the new guy from his ex-skipper, who is very excited for the reunion. Also, we catch up with Cambridge, Ontario’s Scott Thorman, a Baseball Canada standout and Joey Votto’s inspiration growing up.

51 min
JAN 23

Toronto Maple Leafs pitcher Ayami Sato, Anthony Santander, Ross Atkins and more

The Blue Jays introduced Anthony Santander, their first major offensive acquisition in four years, and we bring you clips of his media availability and interpret Ross Atkins’ attempts to sidestep criticism for the Roki Sasaki debacle and the Jays’ failure (so far) to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a contract extension. We examine the Cooperstown Class of 2025, as well as those who fell just short in the voting, and talk to Ayami Sato, the greatest female baseball player of the modern era, who will become the first woman to play pro ball for a Canadian team when she suits up for the Intercounty Maple Leafs this summer.

58 min
JAN 20 · BONUS

Finally, some good news as the Blue Jays sign slugger Anthony Santander

Only days after the Roki Sasaki debacle, the Blue Jays finally added a significant power bat, the first time they’ve done such a thing in four years. Anthony Santander, a switch-hitter who clubbed 44 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles last season, got a five-year deal worth a reported $92.5 million to come to Toronto, and his slugging stylings are desperately needed for a team that finished 26th in the majors in home runs last season. The addition of Santander bolsters a lineup that only had one hitter with as many as 20 home runs last year, and was definitely a significant enough move to warrant a special bonus episode. Finally, some good Blue Jays news.

15 min
JAN 18 · BONUS

Blue Jays front office throws away $11M to swing and miss in the Sasaki Sweepstakes

There’s no shame in making an aggressive attempt to sign a coveted free agent but falling short, and the Blue Jays have done that several times over the past few years, whether it was with superduperstars Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto or mere mortals like Corbin Burnes, Justin Verlander and Xander Bogaerts, but the way the Jays mismanaged the pursuit of Roki Sasaki required a special episode of Deep Left Field. Not only did the Jays miss out on the 23-year-old Japanese phenom, who pings the radar gun at 102 mph, they quite literally threw away $11 million (U.S.) in doing so. This one wasn’t disappointing, it was infuriating.

24 min

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Mike Wilner

Host

4.6

out of 5

50 Ratings

Solid weekly podcast for all things Blue Jays

Jan 21

Ballpark Nerd

I’ve been a fan of Mike since his days in the Jays booth. Deep Left Field is a great listen! Mike expects the best from the Jays and calls out the management team that has them looking to win games 0-0. Now where I get up in arms is the Billy Wagner is a Hall of Famer monologue. He blew G2 of the 06 NLCS and allowed runs in G6. He wasn’t trusted in G7 in a tied game. The HOF bar is too low. Great podcast Mike!
The Michael Kay of Blue Jays Media

12/12/2024

JTNBGJ

Title says it all. Make of it what you will.
Geddy and Baseball

08/17/2024

M Bradley Oliver

Mike, thanks for the interview…my first podcast listen. As a huge fan of baseball (Royals!) and Rush (Geddy Lee), your left field was right up my alley. Interesting story from Geddy’s book tour in Chicago; I was lucky enough for him to take my submitted questions. One was, “who was better, Mike Schmidt or George Brett?” After defending the cases for each, Brett came out on top! Just wanted to share with you and say Thanks to Geddy to help settle an argument with a lifelong friend! Anyway, good luck getting the Blue Jays front office situation ironed out!. Rock on!
Shapiro & Atkins interviews

10/03/2024

Shwolfe

Thank you for your podcasts! Curious, why do most reporters throw such softball questions to these guys? Realize Shapiro cut you off because he didn’t want to answer you. Why not ask what you stated in the opening of your last podcast: Why they believe their track record has been good despite the regression , and a lack of a single playoff game? Seems these guys believe mediocrity justifies them keeping their jobs. While I agree no one wants to see people lose their jobs, we want to win more! These guys have had almost a decade here, and have the gall to say “they’re still learning?” We have had enough of losing, and want a new front office stat!

Longtime Toronto Blue Jays radio voice Mike Wilner hosts Deep Left Field, a baseball podcast from the Toronto Star. With great baseball coverage, opinion and analysis from Mike and other Star sports journalists including Laura Armstrong and Gregor Chisholm, as well as MLB players and others in the game, Deep Left Field has everything you need to know about the Jays, specifically, and baseball in general.