professional baseball

The show welcomes a professional baseball player from the Cincinnati Reds, known as Captain Chaos. TJ discusses the benefits of playing multiple sports and shares his journey from being a preferred walk-on at the University of Nevada to becoming the most valuable position player in 2016, thanks in part to a motivational tweet. 

His misunderstanding of the MLB draft rule led to him receiving the biggest bonus ever given to an undrafted free agent. TJ recounts his unforgettable debut in the Pioneer League and reflects on the grind of the minor leagues that shaped him. He shares a touching story of being told he was headed to "The Show" and describes hitting a home run for his first MLB hit, which Mookie Betts later traded for a signed bat.

 TJ also discusses the ups and downs of the 2023 season, his outlook for 2024, and his offseason training regime at The Gym LV, operated by Rob Martinez, who specializes in sports-specific training, functional movement, and injury reduction. Additionally, TJ's family has a rich lineage of college basketball coaches at Kentucky, Xavier, and URI.

TJ Friedl Links:

Follow TJ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/tj_friedl6/?hl=en

TJ Player Profile Cincinnati Reds: https://www.mlb.com/player/tj-friedl-670770

Video on TJ 2023 Season Success: https://www.mlb.com/reds/video/tj-friedl-on-2023-team-success

The Gym LV

Website: https://thegymlasvegas.com/

Follow on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thegymvegas/?hl=en

Before the Lights Links:

A Heartbeat & A Guitar: Johnny Cash & the Making of Bitter Tear Docuseries: https://www.beforethelightspod.com/docuseries/bitter-tears

Hire Tommy to Speak: https://www.beforethelightspod.com/public-speaking

Become a BTL Member: https://www.beforethelightspod.com/support

Before the Lights Website: https://www.beforethelightspod.com/

Get Tommy a Glass of Vino: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/beforethelights

Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beforethelightspodcast/
Follow the show on Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/beforethelightspodcast/
Follow the show on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beforethelightspodcast?lang=en

Follow Tommy on Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/tcanale3

Rate & Review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/before-the-lights/id1501245041
Email the host: beforethelightspod@gmail.com

This episode, CPBL pitcher Bradin Hagens visits me in the virtual studio to discuss his favorite food in Taiwan, what to buy at a Taiwan 7-11, and the 2023 CPBL season. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

This week, to cap off 2023, I countdown the Top 10 storylines of the 2023 CPBL season and Taiwanese Baseball overall. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

This week, I discuss the latest CPBL offseason updates, including the TSG Hawks Expansion Draft and Chen Chun-Hsiu's FA move to the CTBC Brothers. Lastly, I talk about the successful unofficial cold opening of the BRAND NEW Taipei Dome! 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

This episode, I break down the Wei-Chuan Dragons' victory in the 2023 Taiwan Series, Team Taiwan's APBC 2023 roster decisions, and a thank you letter to CPBL owners. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

This week, I give my thoughts on the 2023 #CPBL Taiwan Series between the Rakuten Monkeys vs the Wei-Chuan Dragons. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

This week, I talk about the challenges the Wei-Chuan Dragons face in the Taiwan Series. TSG Hawks win the Future Series Championship over the Fubon Guardians, and the CTBC Brothers has no identity. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

This week, I talk you through the CPBL 2nd Half race, explain why CPBL stars are playing in the Asian Games, and lastly, a love letter to the Texas-Oklahoma Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

Former Major League Baseball Player Lin Tzu-Wei (林子偉) declares for the CPBL Draft. The First Pick Favorite was presumed to be joining the TSG Hawks, who has the number onoe pick, only to have new rumors hinting at potential trade...

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

I ranted about sports stuff. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

Just like the title suggests, the Loree thing still bothers me. And after a few days of cooling down, I've put together a less ranty rant about this. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

This week, I give a long, passionate rant on why the Guardians un-retiring Loree just to throw one at-bat as a foreign-born "domestic player" was A TERRIBLE IDEA. 

Links:
Twitter Page: @daniel_shih88
1-0 Sports: https://1-0sports.myportfolio.com/work

Oakland A's 2022 MLB Draft Pick Jack Perkins shares his awesome story of playing at Louisville, Indiana, then pro ball. Long time LT Family and Kokomo, Indiana Native, Jack Perkins has been an Elite Level Pitcher his entire life. He shares his faith in God, stories of adversity, learning what "winning the day" means, as well as what he has learned in life and at all levels of baseball!

Recorded in February of 2023 before Spring Training!

Josh Schaub, Commissioner of American Association of Professional Baseball Also What's happening with the MLB & MLBPA on the CBA

• Path from Scout in Milwaukee to Commissioner
• First days on the job facing pandemic and the environment of the  contraction 
• Independent Baseball League joins MLB Partners and maintains Autonomy
• First days on the job facing pandemic and the environment of the  contraction 
• American Association was able to field teams while other leagues shut down during Covid
• Playing the Game the Way it was meant to be
• We Play to Win
• Traditional Baseball Just says No to Robo Umps
• Alumni include Max Scherzer Tyler Matzik, Chaz Roe & others
• Lockout in MLB does not impact American Association  they are on schedule
• Opening Day for American Association is Friday, May 13th
• aabaseball.tv - Fans can watch past season playoff games and more
• What are MLB & MLBPA arguing about. Can't we find some common ground
• We continue to support the candidacy of Lou Schiff for CEO of the Marlins
• Good News for Dick Vitale and his fans

BaseballBiz is also on iheartradio, Stitcher, Apple & Google podcasts 
We recommend following American Association of Professional Baseball at https://aabaseball.com/ and on Twitter @AA_Baseball
You can reach Mark @TheBaseballBiz on Twitter & Brandon @SportsBlitzPod 

Special thanks to XTaKeRuX for the music "Rocking Forward"
 
God Bless the Ukraine and it’s people

We continue our MLB Draft Podcast series as we sit down with the Toronto Blue Jays Midwest Crosschecker C.J. Ebarb. In this episode, C.J. pulls back the curtain to give players and their families valuable insight on the scouting process through the eyes of an MLB organization leading up to the MLB Draft, as well as what makes players successful once they are in professional baseball.

With so much information about mock drafts and rankings available through the internet and social media, it is sometimes hard to manage everything without being overwhelmed. C.J.’s insight into the evaluation process that an MLB organization goes through before the draft is invaluable and lends perspective on what is important, and how to take a step back and drown out the noise during the year before the draft. We also discuss how education and surrounding yourself with the right support systems before the draft and in professional baseball have helped similarly situated players be successful in their careers.

Passion, work ethic, and skill are all important attributes that MLB teams want to see and feel comfortable with before drafting a player. Throughout this podcast, C.J. talks about the importance of these characteristics, how they can ultimately positively impact the way that a team values a player in the draft enough to invest in them, as well as how these same attributes help a player achieve their full potential. 

Episode Highlights

• (2:30) Mock Drafts – What do they mean and do they actually impact where you will be drafted?
• (3:54) Who are the different scouts that will come watch me from an MLB organization?
• (5:37) What is the importance of the summer before your draft year?
• (6:30) Is there an organizational philosophy on a certain type of player that you look for?
• (8:30) Do MLB organizations think it hurts a player’s leverage to hire a financial team before the draft?
• (11:30) In-home meetings with teams and the education process for a player - learning that baseball is a business and preparing yourself for it.
• (14:25) Traits that show a team that a player is ready to handle the rigors of professional baseball.
• (17:45) Is velocity the most important thing that MLB teams look at and should that be your main focus?
• (21:45) The pressures that players face during the draft process from MLB teams, friends, and social media, and how to handle this.
• (23:05) What makes a player have a successful transition to professional baseball?
• (27:00) How MLB teams are helping develop their players in different ways to handle the workload more efficiently.
• (30:55 Health is opportunity – Why and how you should invest in yourself on and off the field.
• (35:08) Can my agent help me get drafted higher?
• (37:40) Enjoy the process – Finding perspective in the last few months before the draft.

In this week's episode of "Painting the Corners," Anton Schindler talks about the best players of all time to come out of the American League East. This episode includes some of the toughest decisions ever made on the podcast, in an attempt to decide who the best player from the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays really is. 

In this week's episode of "Painting the Corners with Anton Schindler," Schindler examines the National League East to find the best players of all time. Players come from each of the five clubs that make up the always competitive division where each team involved has at least one world series championship under their belt. 

On January 25, The MLB Writers Association and the MLB Hall of Fame submitted their votes to get David Ortiz into the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. However, just like in 2021, there was a little bit of controversy that made this decision a bit of a heartache for fans and players everywhere.

In this week's episode of "Painting the Corners with Anton Schindler," we'll talk about the best players of all time in the National League Central and try to compare each one of those players to the hundreds of players who have cycled their way through the NL Central Division. What really made those players stand out above the rest? 

It's a festive gathering as Mick Gillispie, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and Kevin Reichard discuss what happened in 2021 and what to look forward to in 2022 in the year-end Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat. 

The three bid farewell to 2021 in this free-ranging discussion. True, 2021 was a better year than 2020, the year of the COVID shutdown. And despite Omicron rampaging through the population at the end of the year, we are looking at a situation where 2022 should be a vast improvement over 2021, as we take further steps toward normalcy. Among the topics discussed: 

Among the topics discussed: 

• The labor negotiations continue, with plenty of low-level talks between players and MLB in areas where there’s a level of agreement. January will be the key month in the talks, with February 1 being discussed as the idea time to come to an agreement.
• Mick’s strongest memory of 2021: how different the MiLB season was compared previous years, with six-game series, a shortened season, no playoffs (the plan at the beginning of the season) and struggles to house players. His 2022 wish list: improving off-field conditions for players, including higher pay.
• Jesse’s strongest memories of 2021: the lack of playoffs and why MiLB needs playoffs as an impetus to creating a winning atmosphere, better hotels and off-field conditions for players, and the rule changes at every level. 
• Speaking of player conditions on the road: Mick tells a tale of bedbugs, insect repellant and Ryne Sandberg.
• With recent news about ballpark development in Oakland, Las Vegas, Tampa and Montreal, Jesse and Mick remember attending Orioles games in their youth at Memorial Stadium, how attending games was much more affordable, and how that affordability led to fans attending many more fans during a season. But as ballparks improved and attending game becoming more expensive, fans attended few games per year, with businesses becoming a bigger part of the mix. The Rays are approaching a Tampa/Montreal split season with a fascinating premise: folks aren’t going to attend 40 games a year anyway, so the way to drive demand for tickets is smaller ballparks.
• The three agree tanking sucks. Yes, there is a level of ineptitude with a losing team, but the union is right: tanking is bad and any new player agreement needs to create disincentives to tanking. This led to a discussion of why some organizations need to tank while others manage to rebuild without tanking. Yes, we’re looking at you, Rays and Braves.
• ·Transitioning to 2022: Besides a resolution to MLB labor woes, the biggest stories of the year should be a resolution to both the Oakland and Tampa Bay ballpark challenges.
• There are still many things wrong with baseball, the use of two different baseball used in a season. Maliciousness or ineptitude? As it ends up, the theme of this podcast was ineptitude in the sport, so the wish for 2022 is a higher level of competency in the game: players and fans both deserve it.

Mick Gillispie is Voice of the Tennessee Smokies and a spring-training Voice of the Chicago Cubs, while often appearing on Marquee Network broadcasts and podcasts throughout the season. Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and author of The Baseball Thesaurus and the upcoming second edition of The Football Thesaurus, both from August Publications. Kevin Reichard is editor of Ballpark Digest and founder/publisher at August Publications.