Longtime Toronto Blue Jays radio voice Mike Wilner hosts Deep Left Field, a baseball podcast from the Toronto Star. With great baseball coverage, opinion and an...
Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis, hitting coach David Popkins and more
Guests: Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis, hitting coach David Popkins, Vancouver Canadians 1B Peyton Williams Spring training is over and the Blue Jays are back home in Toronto, coming off their Grapefruit League title, getting set to open their season on March 27 against the Baltimore Orioles. We go over the season-opening 26-man roster for you, which includes a few surprises, then hear from last year’s breakout star, Bowden Francis, who has to wait until March 31 to make his first start of the season. The Jays revamped their hitting department over the winter, and you’ll meet new hitting coach David Popkins, who has the players buying what he’s selling, at least so far. Also, they call him The Iowa Meat Truck – we chat with up-and-coming young slugger Peyton Williams.
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55:35
Jordan Romano, Jays' pitcher Nick Sandlin, plus going through Mark Shapiro's spring training media session
Guests: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jordan Romano, Blue Jays pitcher Nick Sandlin Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro held his annual spring training session with the media and we take you through what he had to say in painstaking detail. His confidence that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would re-sign with the Jays, despite their failure to make a deal all winter, the state of the farm system, whether players like Daulton Varsho, Andres Gimenez and Alejandro Kirk need to hit better for the Jays to succeed and much more. Also, we head over to Phillies camp to check in with “the one who they let get away.” Jordan Romano is thriving in his new digs. And meet the new guy – Nick Sandlin!
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56:19
Max Scherzer, Alan Roden, Trey Yesavage and more
Guests: Blue Jays outfielder Alan Roden, starter Max Scherzer, top pitching prospect Trey Yesavage Deep Left Field is back in Dunedin as the Blue Jays move into their final week of spring training leading the Grapefruit League with a 14-9-1 record! This week, we talk to the story of the spring – young Alan Roden, who is trying to hit his way onto the team and doing a spectacular job so far, batting .409. We also hear from Trey Yesavage, the Jays’ first-round pick in 2024 who made his pro debut in this weekend’s Spring Breakout game with two shutout innings, and starter Max Scherzer, whose spring has been derailed by thumb soreness.
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40:32
Deep Left Field opens up the mail bag
Guests: Toronto Star baseball columnist Gregor Chisholm This week, Gregor and I crack open the mailbag and tackle your Blue Jays questions submitted by email, on Bluesky and here at thestar.com. We touch on the leak of Vladdy’s contract demands, the broken promises of Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, a Jays’ fan’s existential crises and much more! One submission was pretty much a plea for Vladdy to get off the writer’s lawn! Your questions answered on this episode of Deep Left Field!
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1:12:22
Veteran executive Ellen Harrigan shares her baseball journey
Guest: Ellen Harrigan, current Los Angeles Dodgers VP of baseball administration and Blue Jays front office member from 1981-1995. This week, we’re joined by Ellen Harrigan, who is about to begin her 45th season working in baseball. She started out with the Blue Jays in Exhibition Stadium in 1981, as part of a skeleton-crew front office, and will receive her fourth career World Series ring next month (Blue Jays 1992-93, Dodgers 2020, 2024). Harrigan shares her story, from the quirky way she landed that first job with the Jays out of high school, to working for the modern-day Dodgers of Betts, Ohtani, Freeman and Sasaki. She was the first woman ever to be the general manager of a professional baseball team and has been a mentor, teacher and pioneer for women in baseball for decades.
Longtime Toronto Blue Jays radio voice Mike Wilner hosts Deep Left Field, a baseball podcast from the Toronto Star. With great baseball coverage, opinion and analysis, Deep Left Field has everything you need to know about the Jays, specifically, and baseball in general.
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