Best Podcast in Baseball

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  • 4.6 (665)
  • BASEBALL
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold and other sports columnists and reporters discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, MLB and anything tangentially related to the national pastime and the city that adores it.

  1. 4D AGO

    Prospect performances force Cardinals to decide between playing in Memphis, sitting in St. Louis

    Post-Dispatch podcasts page Please consider subscribing While typing the introduction to a brand new episode of Best Podcast in Baseball, I'm sitting in the press box at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida, having just watched rookie Michael McGreevy carve through the Mets lineup, pitch around two errors, and finish his impressive spring trianing with five scoreless innings. Meanwhile, down in Jupiter, Florida, Victor Scott II has homered. Again. McGreevy and Scott personify the decision the Cardinals are going to have to make weighing whether it is better for their future to have a deserving player sitting in St. Louis or playing in Memphis. That's the crux of quesitons facing the Cardinals as they crystallize their roster before leaving Florida for the start of the regular season and opening day Thursday against Minnesota at Busch Stadium.  The final Best Podcast in Baseball from Florida centers on that choice -- sitting in the majors, playing in the minors -- and what is best for the players, what is best for the team, and what is a true reflection of the promised "transition" and youth movement? How they act upon the strong springs by McGreevy and Scott will say more than any quote from the Cardinals. Post-Dispatch sports writers Derrick Goold and Jeff Gordon explore the final Cardinals' roster choices and much more much in the sixth episode of the 13th season of the Best Podcast in Baseball. Gordon also provides a forecast for the reception the Cardinals will receive upon returning to St. Louis. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. It's available weekly throughout the season. Please consider subscribing to the Post-Dispatch at the above link and support local journalism and the constant Cardinals coverage you've come to expect from the only outlet that dedicates multiple reporters to every day of Cardinals spring training and has for decades.

    51 min

  2. MAR 13

    Cardinals broadcaster Chip Caray's idea: ditch geography, reimagine MLB divisions by economy

    Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43 Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5   JUPITER, Fla. -- Cardinals broadcaster Chip Caray lobbed a compelling question into the conversation he and other members of the media had this past week with Tony Clark, chief executive of the Major League Baseball Players' Association.   Caray, a longtime presence on baseball broadcasts and third-generation Caray in that role, wondered what it would look like if Major League Baseball ditched geographic divisions and reimagined itself along economic lines. The divisions would be organized by market size, not region. Tampa Bay would be free from competing against the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for a division playoff spot. The Colorado Rockies wouldn't have to keep pace with the wallets in the National League West, if they were in the Plaines Division with Kansas City.   It's one way to open up more spots in the postseason for markets that are increasingly seeing those routes erased.   Expansion is going to make such tinkering possible.   Intrigued, Best Podcast in Baseball host and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold asked Caray to expand on his question in this brand new episode -- and much much much more.   This is the 80th year of a Caray calling baseball, and that puts their family up there with some of the longest tenured in the history of the game in any role, any level, or any capacity. And there is a fourth generation on the way. FanDuel Sports Network picked up the Cardinals' Spring Breakout game on March 14 for prospects, but the prospects won't only be on the field. Chip's son, Stefan, will join him in the booth to call the game and offer thoughts on many of the players he's seen before from calling minor-league games.   Prospects for the future of baseball, prospects for the future of playing baseball, and prospects for the future of calling baseball -- all in one 30 minute conversation under the son at the Cardinals player development complex in Jupiter.   The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

    37 min

  3. MAR 8

    3 up, 3 down at Cardinals spring training and 1 lineup dilemma yet to come around

    JUPITER, Fla. -- With three weeks of spring training remaining before opening day at Busch Stadium and three weeks to make decisions on the bullpen, three weeks to explore any last-minute trades, three weeks to stir the offense, and three weeks to make that first free-agent move of the offseason, the Best Podcast in Baseball considers camp with a pair of threes. Three up. Three down. Post-Dispatch sports columnist and instant offense for StlToday.com Jeff Gordon joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss three ups of spring (players who have stood out) and three downs (trends of note), and all of that leads to the one major lineup dilemma looming over the team. Manager Oliver Marmol likes to say it will take a larger room to come to a conclusion on some of the defining decisions of March. This is a look at how those talks could go. Gordon joins the podcast from St. Louis, while Goold is in Jupiter covering spring training for the Post-Dispatch's constant Cardinals coverage. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is in its 13th season. It is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. Find more podcasts from the Post-Dispatch. Subscribe to the Post-Dispatch.

    45 min

  4. FEB 28

    What sights of spring will reveal the Cardinals commitment to focus on the future?

    Find more podcasts from the Post-Dispatch. Subscribe to the Post-Dispatch. JUPITER, Fla. -- Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado created buzz within the Yankees' social media greenhouse for driving to visit a couple of close friends and, oh, playing six or so innings in an exhibition baseball game. That is where the discussion begins in a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball featuring host and baseball writer Derrick Goold along with Post-Dispatch sports columnist Jeff Gordon. The downstream impact of Arenado remaining in Cardinals camp and starting at third base for the Cardinals is a major factor in their spring training, but it doesn't disrupt the priority playing time as much as it might seem. Nolan Gorman will still be able to receive ample at-bats, just at a new position. Brendan Donovan won't be budged from the lineup, just to the outfield. And so on, all the way to center field,. That is where this podcast goes. Looking at center field, the big-league bench, the rotation, and the bullpen, Gordon and Goold explore the decisions the Cardinals must make with young players that will reveal how committed they are to the future -- and how the now still shapes their choices. The players discussed include Michael McGreevy, Zack Thompson, Matthew Liberatore, Michael Siani, Thomas Saggese, and center fielder Victor Scott II, who is off to a blazing start to spring training. Gordon joins the podcast from St. Louis, while Goold is in Jupiter covering spring training for the Post-Dispatch's constant Cardinals coverage. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is in its 13th season. It is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

    51 min

  5. FEB 20

    What will 1985 NL champ Ricky Horton be watching for as 're-something' Cardinals begin games

    JUPITER, Fla. -- There is a sense around the Cardinals that one of the reasons for reducing expectations, seesawing between the words "reset" and "transition" but never once using the world "rebuild," is that the club is trying to create a valve to release some of the pressure that greats young players when they arrive in the greenhouse of October demands. It's as if the Cardinals front office is trying to take the team out of the Jiffy-Pop tin of its usual brand and try something new, trying to see what grows when that greenhouse is a little cooler. Former Cardinals pitcher, current Cardinals broadcaster, and winner of the 2025 St. Louis Baseball Writers' of America Chapter's 'Good Guy Award,' Ricky Horton joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss that release of pressure and what it means for the Cardinals. Horton, who appears on the KMOX/1120 AM and Cardinals Radio Network broadcasts,  discusses with BPIB host Derrick Goold what he'll be watching as spring games begin. The two also talk about what lens to use when evaluating the Cardinals given the youth movement, and finally they explore whether the Dodgers' spending and acquisition of talent is creating a juggernaut unlike any baseball has seen. The Dodgers are likened to the Death Star. There is a stretch of the podcast where the most cynical of Cardinals fans might need earmuffs as Horton and Goold discuss whether a trade not made this winter means a red jacket that must be made in the future. And Horton describes how Whitey Herzog approached pressure and whether there is a lesson from the 1985 Cardinals for the 2025 Cardinals on the power of adopting a style of baseball. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is brought to listeners weekly in its 13th season. The podcast is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

    47 min

  6. FEB 13

    Best Podcast in Baseball's 13th season premiere: Answering 10 questions facing Cardinals

    JUPITER, Fla. -- The 13th season of the Best Podcast in Baseball begins as it traditionally does with a gathering of the Post-Dispatch writers covering the Cardinals spring training and an answering of the 10 questions facing the club as it begins a new season. And what a new season. For the first time in the span of the podcast, the Cardinals have dropped the pretense of contending for a World Series championship and attempted to lean into a new message, a new direction, a new emphasis on youth and prospects and player development just before a new front office takes over at the end of the 2025 regular season. That has prompted a lot of questions. Ten to be precise. The Post-Dispatch's annual look at the 10 questions facing the Cardinals is once again the backbone of a podcast that aims to answer them. BPIB host Derrick Goold welcomes Post-Dispatch writers Benjamin Hochman and Daniel Guerrero to the table at their shared rented condo in Jupiter to explore the answers to these 10 questions: What's the fallout from the Nolan Arenado trade talks? When's the ETA on Generation Bloom? Will defense be a deciding factor? Can a new coach perk up the pedestrian offense? Any room for youth in a seasoned rotation? Will Cardinals really rev up the running game? Any room for surprises? What's the setup for the closer? How will fans react? Can Cardinals being their way back? In conclusion, Goold offers something to look for during spring training workouts as an answer to the 10th question. Watch for a frenetic camp. Measure the Cardinals' strides by the movement seen in spring training. The Cardinals have expanded the workforce for the coaching staff, and that should lead to a lot of instruction and action in spring training, just because they can, and when there aren't standings to monitor or wins and losses to track, consider looking at the pace of camp as a glimpse into progress and development. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a weekly podcast that is produced by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. It is part of the newspaper's Constant Cardinals Coverage, and it will be an element of the coverage from Cardinals spring training in Jupiter.

    1h 15m

  7. FEB 7

    First impressions: Cardinals top prospect JJ Wetherholt readies for debut at major-league spring training

    On the eve of his first major-league spring training with the St. Louis Cardinals, top prospect JJ Wetherholt joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for a discussion about his preparation, his health, his strides as a pro, his goals at shortstop, and his of a new technology to learn more about reaction time. He also details the trouble with the water temp in Florida. Wetherholt is a "brand ambassador" for Pison, a Boston-based biotech company that is launching a new product and expanded studies in baseball to help with reaction-time measurements and decision-making development. Wetherholt spoke about Pison and much more with St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold for an article and this companion podcast.  The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is available weekly wherever you find your podcasts and its a fixture of the constant Cardinals coverage at StlToday.com. A production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and host Derrick Goold, BPIB is approaching its 13th year as the leading podcast about baseball in St. Louis and the St. Louis Cardinals.

    29 min

  8. JAN 29

    Does MLB need a winter deadline for free agents to jolt owners, spark simmering Hot Stove?

    The Hot Stove needs a spark, and the Best Podcast in Baseball has flint ready to strike steel. The forecast calls for a flurry of moves in Major League Baseball before next month's arrival of spring training, and big reason for that isn't market cooling. After the brief, jubilant sparks of signings around the annual winter meetings, the free-agent market has gone cold, and the Cardinals have had difficult finding a trade partner for Nolan Arenado as a result. Does Major League Baseball need a winter deadline for transactions to spur moves, to grab the headlines? St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold and sports columnist Jeff Gordon discuss how creating a signing deadline in the offseason would change the pace of free agency and possibly benefit. The two writers discuss the history of baseball's deadline-less offseason, compare to other leagues with their frenzy of signings in a allowed window, and explore when and how a deadline would work for a sport that has long defined itself by just always being there, even if being there means being in the background. Goold wonders if a winter deadline might shake owners from their methodical, ruminating, risk-adverse approaches by limiting the time they have to marinate over moves and talks themselves out of it. The podcast explores the Chicago Cubs moves and how the Wrigley Astros will tilt the NL Central, Major League Baseball's most forgiving division. The discussion touches on whether the Cardinals would be the division favorite if they made the moves for outfielder Kyle Tucker and reliever Ryan Pressly that the Cubs did. And finally, the podcast concludes with a suggestion -- really, a solution -- that blends all of the topics about deadlines and doldrums into a proposal that's three words long: Luxury tax amnesty. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. BPIB is available weekly wherever you find your podcasts. Please rate and review the podcast because it is feedback from the community of listeners that has shaped BPIB as it nears its 13th year.

    44 min
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    4.6
    out of 5
    665 Ratings

    About

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold and other sports columnists and reporters discuss the St. Louis Cardinals, MLB and anything tangentially related to the national pastime and the city that adores it.

    Information

    • Creator
      St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    • Years Active
      2014 - 2025
    • Episodes
      143
    • Rating
      Clean
    • Copyright
      © 2024 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    • Show Website
      Best Podcast in Baseball

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