Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

• Who is Cody Ponce, the newest Blue Jay? Plus, Gord Ash on what winter meetings are like for a GM

  Guests: Gord Ash, VP Baseball Projects, Milwaukee Brewers; Jee-ho Yoo, Yonhap News Agency This week in Deep Left Field, we get you set for Major League Baseball's annual swap meet and free-agent signing session, the winter meetings, by giving you a look from the inside. Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Gord Ash joins us to talk about what the meetings are like from a general manager's perspective. Ash was the Blue Jays' GM from 1995-2001 after working under Pat Gillick for six seasons. We also take you across the world to South Korea, where the Jays dove into the international market and pulled out right-hander Cody Ponce, who had a record-setting season with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO, winning the pitching triple crown while establishing new league marks in ERA and strikeouts. Jee-ho Yoo, who spent his university days in Toronto, joins us from the far east to tell us what he saw from Ponce this season and what Jays fans can expect. And, as always, we open up the mailbag at [email protected]

  --------  

  1:00:02

  --------

  1:00:02
• Star columnists discuss Blue Jays big off-season signing of Dylan Cease, plus we open up the mailbag

  Guests: Toronto Star baseball columnist Gregor Chisholm, Canadian Baseball League commissioner Ted Kalnins     The Blue Jays have made their first big move of the off-season, agreeing to a seven-year, $210 million (US) contract with starting pitcher Dylan Cease - the biggest contract they've given to a free agent in franchise history. We're joined by Gregor Chisholm, my partner on the Star's baseball beat, to talk about the deal and what it means as the Jays go into their first off-season as pennant winners in over 30 years. And about Cease and what he brings to the team as well. Also, Ted Kalnins talks about what used to be the semi-pro Intercounty Baseball League, now re-branded as the Canadian Baseball League, one that's fully professional. Plus, we open up the mailbag at [email protected]!

  --------  

  1:13:00

  --------

  1:13:00
• We speak to some Canadian stars of the stage and screen about the Jays' magical 2025 run and what's to come

  Guests: Ryan Bondy (Book of Mormon), Jeff Madden (Jersey Boys, Shrek The Musical), Paloma Nunez (Second City) This week in Deep Left Field, we sit in the limbo between the end of the World Series and the beginning of the winter transaction season, so we took advantage and gathered some Canadian stars of stage and screen who also happen to be huge Blue Jays fans. Ryan Bondy, Jeff Madden and Paloma Nunez join us to talk about their memories and feelings about the Jays' magical 2025 that saw them get within two outs of winning the World Series, and we look ahead to the off-season with an eye on Bo Bichette and whether or not the Jays should keep the whole gang together in an attempt to run it back. Also, Madden fills us in on what it's like to sing the anthems at a Jays game. The mailbag is always open at [email protected]!

  --------  

  1:13:48

  --------

  1:13:48
• Don Mattingly's Blue Jays exit interview

  Guest: Former Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly After three years with the Jays, Don Mattingly feels that his work is done and he is moving on. But before the 64-year-old tackles the next challenge in a life that has seen him involved in Major League Baseball since the New York Yankees drafted him in 1979, he joins us in Deep Left Field to talk about his time in Toronto. Mattingly went to the World Series for the first time this season and he discusses what they could have done better in the late innings of Game 7, but also compares this Jays team to his old Yankees teams in the mid-90s that would go on to build a dynasty. Also, as always, we open up the mailbag at [email protected]! 

  --------  

  1:08:42

  --------

  1:08:42
• Breaking down Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins' year-end press conference

  As they do at the end of every season, Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins meet the media to discuss the year just passed and to hint at their plans for the year to come. This year, for the first time in a long time, it wasn't a disaster. We take you through Shapiro and Atkins' availabilities and go through heir comments as they discuss, among other things, the impact that this World Series run had on the people they encountered, the unique toughness and cohesion of the 2025 Blue Jays, John Schneider's future and what might happen as Bo Bichette enters free agency for the first time. Plus, we open up the mailbag at [email protected]!

  --------  

  38:42

  --------

  38:42

More Sports podcasts

Trending Sports podcasts

About Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner: Podcasts in Family