Hold My Cutter

Game Designs
  • 5.0 (15)
  • BASEBALL
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Former Big League Catcher, Michael Mckenry & long-time broadcaster, Greg Brown team up for a one-of-a-kind podcast centered around baseball & stogies. Fascinating in-person guests include present & former players, managers, broadcasters, writers & other personalities, from politics to pop culture. Laugh, learn & live a little! with "Hold My Cutter" Reviews '"'Hold My Cutter' is an absolute Smoke Show"…...Sports Podcast News. 'Hold My Cutter' CUTS to the chase & gets listeners engaged RIGHT OFF THE BAT" Podcaster National. "If there is a better Podcast out there, we haven't seen or heard it. Hands down, Brown & Mckenry are blazing new trails for the entire industry. I can't recommend, 'Hold My Cutter' enough!" Podcast Entertainment Weekly Magazine.Email: Holdmycutter@gmail.com

  1. Balancing Acts: Ken Macha on Sports, Strategy, and Success

    3H AGO

    Balancing Acts: Ken Macha on Sports, Strategy, and Success

    Send a text Ken Macha, former Pittsburgh Pirates player and seasoned baseball manager, takes us on a riveting journey through his extraordinary career. From his formative days as a bench coach with the Oakland Athletics to taking the helm as their manager, Ken shares the pivotal moments that shaped his approach to coaching and management. Alongside Greg Brown and co-host Michael McKenry, we dive into fascinating anecdotes from Ken's playing days under the legendary Dick Williams in Montreal, his stint in Japan, and his strategic transition to minor league management. Listeners will gain invaluable insights into Ken's unique path in baseball, marked by both triumphs and challenges. Discover Ken Macha's intriguing athletic journey that began amidst the competitive sports culture at Gateway High School, where he balanced a love for swimming and baseball. Despite the school's football dominance, Ken's dedication to his passions led to memorable experiences, culminating in a celebrated career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and his induction into the Pitt Hall of Fame. Hear about his minor league beginnings and the often grueling path to the majors, including the trials of limited playing time and the emotional highs and lows of narrowly missing significant baseball milestones with the Montreal Expos. Ken also shares the importance of mastering baseball fundamentals and the strategic nuances that differentiate high-budget teams from those that must perfect their craft to compete. Reflect on his time with the Oakland A's, and the development of future stars like Tim Hudson and Barry Zito, accentuating the critical role of analytics and player belief in building a winning team. Join us as Ken Macha offers a rich tapestry of baseball history, filled with wisdom, humor, and reflections that celebrate the transformative journey of this beloved sport. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!! www.holdmycutter.com

    1h 1m
  2. What If Talent Isn’t The Edge—Relentless Want Is

    4D AGO

    What If Talent Isn’t The Edge—Relentless Want Is

    Send a text What if the trait that decides who wins isn’t talent or likability, but an unshakable need to get better? We dive straight into the fire with Mike Berger—Pittsburgh native, catcher-turned-coach, and longtime executive—to redefine “makeup” as the raw drive that outlasts comfort, politics, and pain. It’s not a mood or a mantra; it’s doing the hard thing again tomorrow. We separate makeup from character and test that idea against polarizing names—from Barry Bonds to Trevor Bauer—without flinching. This is a story-driven tour through baseball’s back rooms and dugouts. Berger traces a life in the game: catching in big league spring at 18, missing a long-awaited callup, then finding his future through a chance phone reservation that led to a 35-year marriage. We unpack how regimes protect “their guys,” why timing is brutal, and how a player-coach role accelerates leadership. Along the way, we get practical tools—reading swing angles, rehabbing around pain, and using the lineup to build the right reps. One gem: pushing a slumping Fernando Tatis Sr. into the leadoff spot to force more high-quality at-bats. It wasn’t about optics; it was about outcomes. What holds it all together is a clean framework: confidence creates momentum, momentum produces success. Not empty hype—earned confidence that comes from real adjustments and honest feedback. We spotlight the leaders who can steward that process: Jim Leyland and Chuck Tanner as people-first masters; the “glue guys” who stabilize rooms; and the elite “cleaners” whose edge must be harnessed, not sanded down. From Pirates lore and family legacy to modern scouting rooms, this conversation threads past and present to show how teams actually get better. If you value straight talk, layered stories, and practical insight you can use—on the field or at work—press play. Then tell us: is greatness worth the rough edges if the work never lies? Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review with your take on makeup vs. character. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!! www.holdmycutter.com

    1h 5m
  3. Building A Winner Through Player Development "A Look Back"

    FEB 27

    Building A Winner Through Player Development "A Look Back"

    Send a text What actually turns a struggling franchise into a contender? We dig into a people-first blueprint for the Pittsburgh Pirates that prioritizes player development, modern pitching, and a culture of humility and feedback over quick fixes. From the first conversation, the focus is clear: winning is hard everywhere, and sustainable success depends on great players supported by a smart, collaborative environment. We walk through why Pittsburgh is the right stage, how alignment with ownership sets the conditions for real investment, and why a player-centered philosophy can move the needle more than any single splash. You’ll hear how development becomes a compounding engine when 200-plus players each improve a bit, and how that philosophy connects scouting, coaching, analytics, and high performance into one clear system designed to raise the entire roster’s baseline. We also share lessons from Toronto on modern pitching: blending pitch design, biomechanics, and data with on-field translation so pitchers understand not just what to change, but why it works in-game. Culture ties it all together. Humility is treated as a performance tool—the base layer that makes learning possible—while active pursuit of feedback keeps blind spots from calcifying. We break down how to invite dissent, hire diverse thinkers, and give coaches and players a voice that actually shapes decisions. And when the team earns its shot? We talk about responsible risk, signaling belief at the right time, and making moves that push a good club toward October without sacrificing the future. If you care about how real baseball organizations win—through people, process, and clear-eyed choices—you’ll feel the plan taking shape. If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a Pirates fan who needs hope, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find us. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!! www.holdmycutter.com

    16 min
  4. Beating The Model: Inside A Baseball Lifer’s Playbook

    FEB 23

    Beating The Model: Inside A Baseball Lifer’s Playbook

    Send a text What if the true edge in baseball isn’t in a spreadsheet but in a heartbeat? We sit down with baseball lifer Mike Berger to unpack a scouting philosophy built on live looks, instincts, and the human elements analytics can’t quite capture. From the moment a prospect’s poise surfaces under pressure to the quiet ways chemistry binds a clubhouse, Berger explains why the best scouts either agree with the model—or beat it. The stories run deep. We relive the under-the-radar chain reaction that brought Michael McKenry to Pittsburgh for $50,000 and later turned Jason Grilli from “washed up” to All-Star. We walk the shared halls of Three Rivers, connecting Steelers and Pirates lore, and trace Berger’s family imprint on the franchise’s identity—from the skull-and-crossbones to the smiling pirate inspired by Frank Gifford and a grandmother’s babushka. Culture matters, he argues, because it shapes standards long before the first pitch. Leadership takes center stage through vivid moments: Adam Wainwright setting up a newcomer’s locker and handing him the pregame meeting, a masterclass in humility and clarity. Then comes Barry Bonds—his interview as a hitting coach, his glove-to-barrel timing lesson born from Bobby Bonds, and the ripple effects on Stanton, Ozuna, and a soon-to-explode Christian Yelich. Berger makes the case that modern staffs win with range: the truth-teller who says it once with precision and the grinder who shows up at noon for flips and stays until the last swing. If you care about scouting, player development, and what really makes a team hum, this is your blueprint—equal parts Pittsburgh pride, clubhouse wisdom, and practical tools you can feel. Subscribe, share with a baseball friend, and leave a review to tell us the one moment that gave you chills. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!! www.holdmycutter.com

    1h 9m
  5. A Homecoming for Cutch

    FEB 19

    A Homecoming for Cutch

    Send a text The door opens, a little face lights up, and suddenly the turbulence was worth it. That’s the spirit of this homecoming to Pittsburgh—a night where gratitude, memory, and the roar of a standing crowd all met before the first pitch. We revisit the moments that nearly cracked the helmet armor: spotting Maria in the suite, feeling the ovation swell, and trying to keep an at-bat alive while the heart races faster than a fastball. We get real about the hidden cost of getting traded. Nine seasons with one franchise builds a life—friends, routines, even the color of your training gear—then a single call redraws the map. From packing with a newborn asleep in the next room to relearning spring under a new sky, we share the logistics you never see and the resilience you need to find. Along the way, we offer thanks to the front office and coaches who stepped back to let a city and a player share a rare, human moment. Fatherhood sits at the center of it all. We talk about how a kid’s smile at the door can erase a brutal night at the plate, how priorities shift from performance to presence, and why baseball now serves the life being built at home. There’s humor too—ping pong grudge matches and a dad who’s part prophet, calling black and yellow before the draft board ever did. Most of all, this is a love letter to a fanbase that believed through losing streaks, turned handshakes into hugs, and showed that a ballplayer’s bond with a city can outlast any box score. If this story moved you, hit follow, share it with a friend who loves baseball lore, and leave a quick review so more fans can find the show. What’s the sports moment that still gives you goosebumps? Tell us—we’re listening. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!! www.holdmycutter.com

    22 min
  6. Draft Day Nerves, Steroid Era Realities, And A Yinzer’s Grit

    FEB 16

    Draft Day Nerves, Steroid Era Realities, And A Yinzer’s Grit

    Send a text A first-round pick, a hometown heart, and a league in flux. We sit down with Kevin Orie to unpack a career shaped by grit, timing, and the unforgiving glare of Wrigley Field. From kicking rocks out of infields in Pittsburgh to a private tryout at Wrigley where he sprinted the bases after BP on instinct, Kevin’s story tracks the highs and hard lessons of a young player dropped into a franchise starving for a solution at third base. The rookie season hit like a wave: an 0–14 start, the pressure to transform into a power bat behind Sammy Sosa, and the quiet squeeze of the steroid era altering not just bodies but recovery and confidence. Kevin doesn’t hedge. He breaks down how mindset, workload, and the drumbeat of expectations can change a player’s identity in weeks. He remembers a shoulder separation that killed a September call-up, a quad tear after a two-mile treadmill test, and a late cut in L.A. when the Beltre controversy closed a door at the buzzer. Through it all, there were anchors: Jim Leyland lighting up the tunnel in St. Louis as the Marlins went back-to-back-to-back-to-back, and Don Baylor’s simple inside-pitch drill that later unlocked a swing he didn’t know he had. We trace the journeyman years—out clauses, selling himself to third base coaches mid-game, cleanup roles on loaded Triple-A rosters that didn’t lead to a phone call—and the eventual return to Chicago on unfinished business. Kevin reveals the difference better development and clearer roles might have made, and how today’s strength and swing tech would have sped up his learning curve. Off the field, he opens up about raising three daughters after losing his wife, pivoting into hotel investments and commercial real estate through a recession, and staying in the game with Pirates pre/post on The Fan to keep those clubhouse threads alive. Come for the dugout stories and stay for the clarity about pressure, identity, and resilience. If you’ve ever wondered how a career can tilt in three weeks—or how a single drill can change a season—this one hits home. Subscribe, share with a baseball fan who loves the human side of the game, and leave a review with the moment that stuck with you most. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!! www.holdmycutter.com

    1h 18m
  7. Brian O'Neill's Remarkable Life Story

    07/25/2025

    Brian O'Neill's Remarkable Life Story

    Send a text Brian O'Neill's journey from surviving a near-death experience to becoming one of Pittsburgh's most beloved columnists reads like a chapter from a novel – except every word is true.  At 23, O'Neill was sucked through a storm drain pipe during a flash flood in Danville, Virginia, an experience he recounts with both terror and humor. "I honestly thought God was going to kill me in a sewer in Danville, Virginia," he shares. This brush with death unexpectedly launched his journalism career when his published account caught the attention of editors at larger papers, eventually leading him to the Pittsburgh Press in 1988. For 32 years, O'Neill chronicled Pittsburgh through his distinctive columns, developing a deep appreciation for what he calls "The Paris of Appalachia." His perspective on the city's unique position – straddling the Northeast, Midwest, and South – offers profound insight into Pittsburghers' character: "They have the work ethic of Midwesterners, can get in your face like Northeasterners, but they're also friendly like Southerners." Baseball emerges as O'Neill's lifelong passion throughout the conversation. From witnessing Willie Mays' first home run as a Met to analyzing the Pirates through his "Stats Geek" column, O'Neill represents the quintessential thoughtful fan. His memories of the electric 2013 Wild Card game and appreciation for underrated Pirates like Brian Giles and Jack Wilson speak to someone who understands baseball's soul – its unpredictability and personal stories beneath the statistics. What truly shines through is O'Neill's storytelling gift and authentic love for Pittsburgh. Whether recounting his humorous feud with former County Coroner Cyril Wecht or explaining how he fulfilled his childhood dream of living close enough to walk to baseball games, O'Neill demonstrates why his perspective resonated with readers for over three decades. Join us for this remarkable conversation with a true Pittsburgh treasure. What strange twists of fate have shaped your life? We'd love to hear your story in the comments. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!! www.holdmycutter.com

    1h 7m
  8. Mayo From Minor League to Major Impact

    05/06/2025

    Mayo From Minor League to Major Impact

    Send a text Jonathan Mayo didn't set out to become baseball's prospect guru, but after more than two decades covering future stars before anyone knows their names, he's become the voice baseball fans trust to identify tomorrow's talent. In this revealing conversation, Mayo takes us behind the curtain of baseball talent evaluation, sharing how his journey from newspaper journalism to MLB.com transformed into a specialized career tracking the game's brightest young prospects. From his early days walking past Frank Robinson's office where future Padres GM AJ Preller worked as an assistant, Mayo's career has given him unique access to stars before they were stars. What truly sets Mayo apart is his approach to prospect evaluation—balancing old-school scouting with modern analytics. "I'm a reporter," Mayo explains, describing how he collects insights from scouts and executives rather than relying solely on his own observations. This methodology has allowed him to build relationships with players from high school through the major leagues, with many stars appreciating that he was "the first one who ever wrote about me." The conversation delves into fascinating territory around player development philosophy, highlighting the dangers of organizations leaning too heavily on either analytics or traditional scouting. Mayo advocates for multi-sport athletes and appreciates teams willing to bet on raw athleticism rather than just refined skills. He shares stories of under-the-radar prospects who surprised everyone and the human element that statistics can't capture—how players handle adversity, their feel for the game, and what makes them tick. Whether you're a die-hard baseball fan wanting to understand how future stars are identified or simply curious about the human stories behind prospect evaluation, Mayo's insights reveal why baseball development remains as much art as science—and why that's what makes the game so special. Have you ever wondered how baseball's next superstars are discovered? Listen now to hear from the man who's made a career finding tomorrow's talent before anyone else knows their names. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!! www.holdmycutter.com

    50 min
See All (67)

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Former Big League Catcher, Michael Mckenry & long-time broadcaster, Greg Brown team up for a one-of-a-kind podcast centered around baseball & stogies. Fascinating in-person guests include present & former players, managers, broadcasters, writers & other personalities, from politics to pop culture. Laugh, learn & live a little! with "Hold My Cutter" Reviews '"'Hold My Cutter' is an absolute Smoke Show"…...Sports Podcast News. 'Hold My Cutter' CUTS to the chase & gets listeners engaged RIGHT OFF THE BAT" Podcaster National. "If there is a better Podcast out there, we haven't seen or heard it. Hands down, Brown & Mckenry are blazing new trails for the entire industry. I can't recommend, 'Hold My Cutter' enough!" Podcast Entertainment Weekly Magazine.Email: Holdmycutter@gmail.com

Information

  • Creator
    Game Designs
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Hold My Cutter
  • Show Website
    Hold My Cutter

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