Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

Guests: New York Mets infielder Bo Bichette, Blue Jays pitchers Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty, Jays bullpen coach Graham Johnson    
 
This week in Deep Left Field, we have our first-ever conversation with Bo Bichette while he's wearing a uniform other than the Blue Jays'. Drafted by the Jays in 2016, making it to the big leagues in 2019 and a Toronto mainstay and fan favourite ever since, Bichette belted a three-run home run off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series and then did not get the off-season interest from the Jays that he was looking for.
 
He returned to Toronto as a New York Met this week and joins us to discuss his time here and his new start in Queens.
 
Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher took time out from their busy schedules, leading the major leagues in pitching appearances and all, to join us in Deep Left Field, and so did their bullpen coach, Graham Johnson, otherwise known as the guy who slaps Louis Varland in the back awfully hard before the Jays' closer comes into each game.
 
All that, plus the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

The Blue Jays have lost six games in a row after finally reaching the .500 mark, each loss pretty much an agonizing repeat of the one before.
 
Fall behind early, increase the deficit, rally late but still wind up losing, rinse and repeat.
 
To suggest it's been a rough week for Jays' fans would be a massive understatement, and so we here in Deep Left Field had to put together an emergency bonus podcast to help get you through.
 
The star of this show is you - your thoughts, comments, frustrations and venting received in the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca and on Bluesky @wilnerness.bsky.social.
 
There's nothing to be happy about with the Jays right now, so let's talk about it!

Guests: Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber, infielder Luis Urias; Houston Astros outfielder Joey Loperfido
This week in Deep Left Field, we talk to Shane Bieber after his first start of the season, coming almost three months after opening day. The former Cy Young award winner opens up about working his way back to full health and his disappointment in that first outing, with hopes for better in the second half.
We're also joined by Joey Loperfido, a favourite in the Jays' 2025 clubhouse - and a great contributor when given the opportunity - who was traded back to the Astros this spring for Jesus Sanchez. As it turns out, we gave Loperfido the DLF bump, unfortunately for the Blue Jays.
And we'll play "Meet The New Guy" with Luis Urias, who the Jays acquired from Arizona earlier in the week. The 29-year-old homered in his first game before making a huge base running blunder in his second.
All that, plus a dip into the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

Guests: The living inductees from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 - Devon White, Stubby Clapp, Kate Psota, Bill Stoneman and Paul Runge, plus former Blue Jays centrefielder Lloyd Moseby and former Baseball Canada pitcher Steve Green and outfielder Jeremy Ware
In this special bonus episode of Deep Left Field, we take you to St. Marys, Ontario, for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's induction weekend.
We present a live recording of the annual pre-induction banquet, an intimate and informal discussion with all the inductees the night before the main event.
You'll hear from the greatest centre-fielder in Blue Jays history, Devon White, accompanied by his predecessor at the position, Lloyd Moseby.
Baseball Canada icon Stubby Clapp is joined by his ex-teammates Steve Green and Jeremy Ware.
Arguably the greatest female player this country has ever produced, Kate Psota, joins us, and the evening wraps up with Bill Stoneman, who threw two no-hitters for the Montreal Expos, and Paul Runge, a 25-year National League umpire who brought the house down with a couple of great stories.

Guests: Blue Jays pitchers Max Scherzer and Chad Dallas; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame co-chair Cathy Landolt    
This week in Deep Left Field, we celebrate Fathers Day as well as the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's induction weekend.
Of course, we'll tell you all about the Blue Jays "week that was" that moved them back into the final American League wild card spot, but we also chat with Max Scherzer - before the back spasms landed him back on the injured list - about being a father on and off the field. First and foremost to his four children, but also as the 19-year big-league veteran who serves as a father figure to his younger teammates.
Chad Dallas, just recalled to the Jays this week, joins us to talk about his (so far) only big-league outing, in which he notched the win in his major-league debut, and also to share memories of his late father Tony, lost to ALS last year.
On the weekend, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame will add six new inductees, including Blue Jays great Devon White and Baseball Canada icons Stubby Clapp and Kate Psota. We're joined by one of the co-chairs of the Hall's board of directors, Cathy Landolt, to fill us in on induction weekend.
All that, plus a dip into the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!