SABRcast with Rob Neyer

Baseball fans, tune in this season to SABRcast with Rob Neyer, a weekly podcast hosted by award-winning author and longtime SABR member Rob Neyer. SABRcast features insights and analysis of what’s happening in modern baseball on and off the field, plus compelling interviews with figures from around the game — and music from The Baseball Project.

Subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or Spotify, and listen to each episode as soon as it’s released.

Neyer is a longtime baseball writer and editor for ESPN.com, SB Nation, and FoxSports.com. He began his career as a research assistant for groundbreaking baseball author Bill James and later worked for STATS, Inc. He has also written or co-written seven baseball books, including The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers (with Bill James), winner of the Sporting News/SABR Baseball Research Award, and most recently Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game, winner of the 2019 CASEY Award.

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Current Episode

Episode #241: November 20, 2023

This week, we have a roundtable discussion on how to define a ‘major’ league as Rob interviews Warren Corbett, Dan Levitt, and Justin Mckinney. Warren Corbett is a past winner of the McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award and the author of The Wizard of Waxahachie. Dan Levitt is SABR’s Treasurer, a Bob Davids Award recipient, and author of The Outlaw League and the Battle That Forged Modern Baseball. Justin Mckinney is the author of Baseball’s Union Association: The Short, Strange Life of a 19th-Century Major League.

Click here or press play below to listen to Episode #241:

What’s Rob Reading?

Whales, Terriers, and Terrapins: The Federal League 1914-15
Edited by Steve West and Bill Nowlin

“The Federal League formed in 1913 as an “outlaw league” in six cities across the Midwest. In 1914 it added two teams and declared itself a major league. The league’s owners “stole” players from the two existing major leagues and put teams in some of the same cities. Both the American and National Leagues struck back. After the 1915 season, with several Federal League teams struggling financially, the two more-established leagues bought out several teams. This caused the collapse of the Federal League.”

Also reading: Justin Mckinney: Baseball’s Union Association: The Short, Strange Life of a 19th-Century Major League
Also reading: Dan Levitt: The Outlaw League and the Battle That Forged Modern Baseball
Also reading: Warren Corbett: “Rickey’s Folly: How the Continental League Forced Baseball Expansion”
Also reading: Warren Corbett: “A Global Fiasco: Walter Dilbeck’s Third Major League”
Also reading: Rob Neyer: “Was the Federal League Really a Major League?”
Read more: Click here to check out Rob’s full list of book recommendations on Goodreads.com

Archived Episodes

2023

Episode #240: Eno Sarris (November 13, 2023)

Episode #239: Scott Bush (November 6, 2023)

Episode #238: Chris Lamb (October 30, 2023)

Episode #237: Eddie Frierson (October 23, 2023)

Episode #236: Eddie Frierson (October 16, 2023)

Episode #235: Ben Lindbergh (October 9, 2023)

Episode #234: Van Schley (October 2, 2023)

Episode #233: Justine Siegal (September 25, 2023)

Episode #232: Wayne Krivsky (September 18, 2023)

Episode #231: Marty Appel (September 11, 2023)

Episode #230: Jim Martz (September 4, 2023)

Episode #229: Earl Santee (August 28, 2023)

Episode #228: Donna Muscarella (August 21, 2023)

Episode #227: Steve Gietschier (August 14, 2023)

Episode #226: Sean Kane (August 7, 2023)

Episode #225: Tribute to Tom Ruane (July 31, 2023)

Episode #224: Scott Bush (July 24, 2023)

Episode #223: Adam Darowski (July 17, 2023)

Episode #222: Alain Usereau (July 10, 2023)

Episode #221: Russell A. Carleton (July 3, 2023)

Episode #220: Sean Aronson (June 26, 2023)

Episode #219: Linda Pitmon and Steve Wynn of The Baseball Project (June 19, 2023)

Episode #218: The Only Rule Is It Has To Work panel with Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Theo Fightmaster (June 12, 2023)

Episode #217: Peanuts panel with Benjamin L. Clark, Luke Epplin, and Anika Orrock (June 5, 2023)

Episode #216: Jake Eisenberg (May 29, 2023)

Episode #215: Phil S. Dixon (May 22, 2023)

Episode #214: Jonathan Eig (May 15, 2023)

Episode #213: Michael Lewis (May 8, 2023)

Episode #212: J.J. Cooper (May 1, 2023)

Episode #211: Ryan McGee (April 24, 2023)

Episode #210: Baseball Films roundtable: Ellen Adair, Eric Gilde, Noah Gittell (April 17, 2023)

Episode #209: Ben Jedlovec (April 10, 2023)

Episode #208: Edwin Rodríguez (April 3, 2023)

Episode #207: Emma Baccellieri (March 27, 2023)

Episode #206: Michael Clair (March 20, 2023)

Episode #205: Tim Hagerty (March 13, 2023)

Episode #204: Miles Wolff (March 6, 2023)

Episode #203: Bill Brown (February 27, 2023)

Episode #202: Emma Tiedemann (February 20, 2023)

Episode #201: Clint Hurdle (February 13, 2023)

Episode #200: Lindsay Imber (February 6, 2023)

Episode #199: Jim Joyce (January 30, 2023)

Episode #198: Pat Neshek (January 23, 2023)

Episode #197: Mike Capps (January 16, 2023)

Episode #196: John McLaren (January 9, 2023)

Episode #195: Graig Kreindler (January 2, 2023)

2022

Episode #194: Ben Lindbergh (December 26, 2022)

Episode #193: Bob Valvano (December 19, 2022)

Episode #192: Lindsay Berra (December 12, 2022)

Episode #191: Brian McRae (December 5, 2022)

Episode #190: Mike Parker (November 28, 2022)

Episode #189: Jeff Pearlman (November 21, 2022)

Episode #188: Mark Armour (November 14, 2022)

Episode #187: Scott Miller (November 7, 2022)

Episode #186: Joe Sheehan (October 31, 2022)

Episode #185: Brad Snyder (October 24, 2022)

Episode #184: Paul Aron (October 17, 2022)

Episode #183: Tyler Kepner (October 10, 2022)

Episode #182: Emma Baccellieri (October 3, 2022)

Episode #181: Jared Ravich (September 26, 2022)

Episode #180: Rob Nelson (September 19, 2022)

Episode #179: Steven Goldman (September 12, 2022)

Episode #178: Jimmy Lonetti (September 6, 2022)

Episode #177: Bill Bavasi (August 29, 2022)

Episode #176: David Eskenazi (August 22, 2022)

Episode #175: Josh Rawitch (August 15, 2022)

Episode #174: Jim Coffman (August 8, 2022)

Episode #173: Curt Bloom (August 1, 2022)

Episode #172: Kevin Cremin (July 25, 2022)

Episode #171: Willie Horton (July 18, 2022)

Episode #170: Josh Wilker (July 11, 2022)

Episode #169: Mark Armour and Dan Levitt (July 5, 2022)

Episode #168: Danny Peary (June 27, 2022)

Episode #167: Scott Bush (June 20, 2022)

Episode #166: Steve Steinberg (June 13, 2022)

Episode #165: Jean Fruth and Jeff Idelson (June 6, 2022)

Episode #164: Emma Baccellieri (May 30, 2022)

Episode #163: Bill Nowlin (May 23, 2022)

Episode #162: James Brunson III (May 16, 2022)

Episode #161: Rich Waltz (May 9, 2022)

Episode #160: Kostya Kennedy (May 2, 2022)

Episode #159: Jim Kaat (April 25, 2022)

Episode #158: Jim Allen (April 18, 2022)

Episode #157: Tyler Kepner (April 11, 2022)

Episode #156: Andy McCue (April 4, 2022)

Episode #155: Dale Scott (March 28, 2022)

Episode #154: Alan Nathan (March 21, 2022)

Episode #153: Pedro Moura (March 14, 2022)

Episode #152: Jeff Katz (March 7, 2022)

Episode #151: Will Carroll (February 28, 2022)

Episode #150: Gary Cieradkowski (February 21, 2022)

Episode #149: Allen Barra (February 14, 2022)

Episode #148: Katherine Walden (February 7, 2022)

Episode #147: Jake Stone (January 31, 2022)

Episode #146: Terry Pluto (January 24, 2022)

Episode #145: Zack Hample (January 17, 2022)

Episode #144: Eno Sarris (January 10, 2022)

Episode #143: Jeff Neuman (January 3, 2022)

2021

Episode #142: Kyle Schultz (December 20, 2021)

Episode #141: Richard Lally (December 13, 2021)

Episode #140: Eduardo Pérez (December 6, 2021)

Episode #139: Mark Simon (November 29, 2021)

Episode #138: Perry Barber (November 22, 2021)

Episode #137: Steven Goldman (November 15, 2021)

Episode #136: Chris Stewart (November 8, 2021)

Episode #135: Mark Armour (November 1, 2021)

Episode #134: Tim Hagerty (October 25, 2021)

Episode #133: Rich Burk (October 18, 2021)

Episode #132: Joe Sheehan (October 11, 2021)

Episode #131: Tony Castro (October 4, 2021)

Episode #130: Joe Posnanski (September 27, 2021)

Episode #129: Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde (September 20, 2021)

Episode #128: Dan Evans (September 13, 2021)

Episode #127: Rob Friedman (September 6, 2021)

Episode #126: Josée Tellier (August 30, 2021)

Episode #125: Dave Parker and Dave Jordan (August 23, 2021)

Episode #124: Jerry Blevins (August 16, 2021)

Episode #123: Ken Levine (August 9, 2021)

Episode #122: David Nemec (August 2, 2021)

Episode #121: Todd Radom (July 26, 2021)

Episode #120: Steve Rushin (July 19, 2021)

Episode #119: Hannah Keyser (July 12, 2021)

Episode #118: Alan Zweibel (July 6, 2021)

Episode #117: Emma Baccellieri (June 28, 2021)

Episode #116: Sean Forman (June 21, 2021)

Episode #115: Gary Bedingfield (June 14, 2021)

Episode #114: Gar Ryness (June 7, 2021)

Episode #113: Mike Cieslinski (May 31, 2021)

Episode #112: Rowan Ricardo Phillips (May 24, 2021)

Episode #111: Tom Shieber (May 17, 2021)

Episode #110: Will Leitch (May 10, 2021)

Episode #109: Daniel Jacob Horine (May 3, 2021)

Episode #108: Dan Epstein (April 26, 2021)

Episode #107: Victor Rojas (April 19, 2021)

Episode #106: Felipe Alou and Peter Kerasotis (April 12, 2021)

Episode #105: Lauren Meyer (April 5, 2021)

Episode #104: Tom House (March 29, 2021)

Episode #103: Tony Adams and Bradford William Davis (March 22, 2021)

Episode #102: Amanda Smith (March 15, 2021)

Episode #101: Adam Richman (March 8, 2021)

Episode #100: Brandon McCarthy (March 1, 2021)

Episode #99: Lawrence Rocks (February 22, 2021)

Episode #98: Hannah Keyser (February 15, 2021)

Episode #97: Marty Appel (February 8, 2021)

Episode #96: Susan Slusser (February 1, 2021)

Episode #95: C. Trent Rosecrans (January 25, 2021)

Episode #94: Chris Welsh (January 18, 2021)

Episode #93: Jason Turbow (January 11, 2021)

Episode #92: John Shea (January 4, 2021)

2020

Episode #91: Gary Ashwill (December 21, 2020)

Episode #90: Scott Bush (December 14, 2020)

Episode #89: Dan Shulman (December 7, 2020)

Episode #88: Mark Armour (November 30, 2020)

Episode #87: Daniel Okrent (November 23, 2020)

Episode #86: Scott Simkus (November 16, 2020)

Episode #85: Chris Dial (November 9, 2020)

Episode #84: Jeff Idelson and Jean Fruth (November 2, 2020)

Episode #83: Jon “Boog” Sciambi (October 26, 2020)

Episode #82: Sean Gibson (October 19, 2020)

Episode #81: Scott McCaughey (October 12, 2020)

Episode #80: Josh Schaub (October 5, 2020)

Episode #79: Bill Henderson (September 28, 2020)

Episode #78: Anika Orrock (September 21, 2020)

Episode #77: Eric Nusbaum (September 14, 2020)

Episode #76: Howard Bryant (September 7, 2020)

Episode #75: Ellen Adair (August 31, 2020)

Episode #74: Kat Williams (August 24, 2020)

Episode #73: Michael Schur (August 17, 2020)

Episode #72: J.J. Cooper (August 10, 2020)

Episode #71: Jon Pessah (August 3, 2020)

Episode #70: Brian Kenny (July 27, 2020)

Episode #69: Steve Goody and Seth Daniels (July 20, 2020)

Episode #68: Rob Fitts (July 13, 2020)

Episode #67: Bill Nowlin (July 6, 2020)

Episode #66: Greg Proops (June 29, 2020)

Episode #65: David Nemec (June 22, 2020)

Episode #64: Bob Kendrick (June 15, 2020)

Episode #63: Hannah Keyser (June 8, 2020)

Episode #62: Gabe Kapler (June 1, 2020)

Episode #61: Ball Four panel with Mitchell Nathanson and Mark Armour (May 25, 2020)

Episode #60: Doug Glanville (May 18, 2020)

Episode #59: Josh Lewin (May 11, 2020)

Episode #58: Fred Claire (May 4, 2020)

Episode #57: Jason Benetti (April 27, 2020)

Episode #56: Kyle Boddy (April 20, 2020)

Episode #55: Len Kasper (April 13, 2020)

Episode #54: Jon Sciambi (April 6, 2020)

Episode #53: Joan Ryan (March 30, 2020)

Episode #52: Jason Turbow (March 23, 2020)

Episode #51: John Dewan (March 16, 2020)

Episode #50: Bob Costas (March 9, 2020)

Episode #49: Rob Nelson (March 2, 2020)

Episode #48: Todd Radom (February 24, 2020)

Episode #47: Bill Ripken (February 17, 2020)

Episode #46: Mark Rucker (February 10, 2020)

Episode #45: Don Zminda (February 3, 2020)

Episode #44: Alyson Footer (January 27, 2020)

Episode #43: Jacob Pomrenke, Jason Turbow, Joe Sheehan (January 20, 2020)

Episode #42: Joe Posnanski (January 13, 2020)

Episode #41: Mark Armour (January 6, 2020)

2019

Episode #40: Leslie Heaphy (December 30, 2019)

Episode #39: Craig Wright (December 23, 2019)

Episode #38: F.X. Flinn (December 16, 2019)

Episode #37: Paul Lukas (December 9, 2019)

Episode #36: John Thorn (December 2, 2019)

Episode #35: Hannah Keyser (November 25, 2019)

Episode #34: Jason Schwartz (November 18, 2019)

Episode #33: Tyrone Brooks (November 11, 2019)

Episode #32: Justin McGuire (November 4, 2019)

Episode #31: Joe Sheehan (October 28, 2019)

Episode #30: Derrick Goold (October 21, 2019)

Episode #29: Dwight Jaynes (October 14, 2019)

Episode #28: Ben Mankiewicz (October 7, 2019)

Episode #27: C.J. Nitkowski (September 30, 2019)

Episode #26: Jane Leavy (September 23, 2019)

Episode #25: Steve Hofstetter (September 16, 2019)

Episode #24: Jacob Pomrenke (September 9, 2019)

Episode #23: Ricky Cobb (September 2, 2019)

Episode #22: J.J. Cooper (August 26, 2019)

Episode #21: Aviva Kempner (August 19, 2019)

Episode #20: Paul Dickson (August 12, 2019)

Episode #19: Joe Lemire (August 5, 2019)

Episode #18: Sean Forman (July 29, 2019)

Episode #17: Janet Marie Smith (July 22, 2019)

Episode #16: David W. Smith (July 15, 2019)

Episode #15: Bud Selig (July 8, 2019)

Episode #14: Randy Jones and Mark Sweeney (July 1, 2019)

Episode #13: Hannah Keyser (June 24, 2019)

Episode #12: Scott Bush (June 17, 2019)

Episode #11: Jerry Cohen (June 10, 2019)

Episode #10: Paul Goldberger (June 3, 2019)

Episode #9: Ben Lindbergh (May 27, 2019)

Episode #8: David Cone (May 20, 2019)

Episode #7: Meg Rowley (May 13, 2019)

Episode #6: Jon “Boog” Sciambi (May 6, 2019)

Episode #5: Mark Armour (April 29, 2019)

Episode #4: Meredith Wills and Rob Arthur (April 22, 2019)

Episode #3: Art Chou and Dr. Steven Cadavid (April 15, 2019)

Episode #2: Tyler Kepner (April 8, 2019)

Episode #1: Brian Kenny and Scott Bush (April 1, 2019)

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