Best Podcast in Baseball

Episodes

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  Does a small-ball, smaller-market World Series hold larger truths for Cardinals and MLB? 28.10.2026 1h 7m

  The search for larger truths from a small-ball, smallest-market World Series is on, and it's possible that this year's Fall Classic, pitting two of the most innovative and shrewd clubs in the game against each other in the Brewers and Rays, does not buck recent trends as much as prove them. Best Podcast in Baseball host and Post-Dispatch Baseball writer Derrick Goold welomes recurring guest Kevin Wheeler, of KMOX/104.1 FM, to discuss this years World Series that will crown a new champion for the first time and what, if anything, the Cardinals can learn from it. Both the can-do Brew Crew and the Tampa Bay Rays have their roots in in the same place, sharing some of the same executives, but they've grown through nurture and opportunity in different directions to meet in this World Series. The Cardinals intend to follow that path with president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, who spent his formative years with the Rays, leading the way. But catching up to the division champion Brewers isn't the goal. Getting ahead of the game is, and Wheeler and Goold discuss where the Cardinals can do that and which organization has the brighter future as of right now. The backdrop to the World Series is the onrushing expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and imminent lockout. With two smaller-market, smaller-payroll teams playing for the championship, the Fall Classic has become an inkblot test. It can be whatever suits the argument for or against a salary cap, for or against restrictions that narrow the payroll disparity, for or against the structures said to be needed to spur competitive balance. In reality, this World Series only affirms the trends already in place and the edges that bigger-market, higher-spending teams already have and how the owners may need to explore significant adjustments on their end for that to change. A depth of talent to survive the postseason and be versatile for matchups is what wins, and the fatter the wallet the easier it is to acquire and maintain that depth. Wheeler and Goold outline the reasons why. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.  
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  The Big Cheese: What World Series history for Brewers means for future of NL Central and Cardinals 19.10.2026 51m

  A World Series preview 44 years in the making: The Fall Classic returns to Milwaukee for the first time since the Cardinals were there in 1982 and upended the American League champion Brewers.  Forty-four years and one league change, and the Brewers are back in the World Series. And they sure look like a team that's only going to get better for a few years. To discuss what the Fall Classic in Milwaukee means in the history of the Brewers and for the future of the National League Central, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel beat writer Curt Hogg joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for a conversation with St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold. They detail what the reaction in Wisconsin has been like for this team, when expectations are going to start applying pressure (if they haven't all ready), and how the Brewers built a juggernaut when it comes to developing pitchers. A recurring theme of the conversation is an edge the Brewers have often played: patience. Hogg also offers a scouting report on the two prospects the Cardinals received from the Brewers at the trade deadline in exchange for pitchers Dustin May and JoJo Romero. Both Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale are outfielders, and the Cardinals were thrilled to get two talents from a system that is among the best at spotting, acquiring, and developing talent. Just check the standings. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  A major revival in the minors: Cardinals player development goes on the power play 14.10.2026 1h 4m

  Two years into their overhaul of the minor-league system to modernize it, staff it, and reanimate it, the Cardinals are on the power play. By adjusting their scouting focus and expanding their avenues for acquiring talent (i.e., trading All-Stars during one whirlwind winter), the Cardinals have radically changed the potential within the system, especially when it comes to power. An example of this was a recent exercise by Baseball America that had hosts of the Prospect Podcast draft teams of power hitters and also power pitchers. The Cardinals had five hitters, including top prospect Rainiel Rodriguez and breakout talents Joshua Baez and Jose Baez, selected, four of them by one BA writer. The same BA writer chose several rising talents for his power pitching team. Geoff Pontes, a prospect writer at BA, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss his selections and the state of the Cardinals' farm system with Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold. Pontes sees not only the Cardinals' answers at third base and for the middle of the order ascending (and fast) in the system, but for the possibilty of two pitchers arriving in 2027 who could be the left-right, Nos. 1-2 combo in Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin, respectively.  Prospects specifically discussed include: Jake Gurevitch, Doyle, Franklin, Rodriguez, Jesus Baez, Joshua Baez, Josiah Ragsdale, Sandro Santana, Daniel Eagen, Jack Martinez, Nate Dohm, Brandon Clarke, and more. During the conversation, both writers reference the 20 to 80 scale used by scouts to describe upside for various tools, such as 70 power or a 60 slider. Eighty is rarely given, but the higher the score the better. And this episide of the BPIB is an 80 conversation.  More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  How 100 years ago this week Babe Ruth helped launch Cardinals' brand in 1926 World Series 06.10.2026 56m

  After a lengthy delay, the Best Podcast in Baseball is back and making up for lost time.  Or, well, going back in time. On the 100th anniversary -- to the date -- of the 1926 World Series and the Cardinals' first world championship, author Terry Lemons joins BPIB host and Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the significance of that title and its role in creating St. Louis as the baseball city we know so well. Lemons' book, "The Year St. Louis Became a Baseball Town: The Cardinals, Babe Ruth, and the 1926 World Series" explores how that series was much more than a best-of-seven showdown. It pitted Ruth and the mighty Yankees against the furthest team west and furthest team south in the majors, and a Cardinals club that wasn't even in the most popular major-league team in its city. Lemons presents the idea that the series and the Cardinals' victory was the "lightning strike" that made baseball, already popular in St. Louis, part of the city's identity. And that goes right down to the practice of cheering for the opponent. And at the center of it was the Great Bambino and what Lemons called the "Ruthian" mistake that ended the series. Signed copies of his book is available at his website, 1926Baseball.com. Thank you listeners for the patience as BPIB took an unplanned break for a few months and will now resume a more regular and recurring schedule as it reinvents itself a bit. We appreciate the support. This podcast only exists (persists?) because of the listeners like you. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  Trade winds: When it comes to contention, is a bird in hand worth two birds on a bat? 19.06.2026 1h

  KANSAS CITY -- When it comes to the fragile, fleeting nature of contention, is a bird in hand worth two birds on a bat? That's the question that baseball writer Derrick Goold asks in a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball. St. Louis Post-Dispatch editor and frequent podcast contributor Nathan Mills joins the podcast to discuss which direction the Cardinals are going with their pitching, their offense, and their plans for the upcoming trade deadline. Goold has traveled west to Kansas City, where the World Cup has come for some of its games and the Cardinals have arrived for the conclusion of the I-70 Series.  The Cardinals revitalized their lineup with recent moves. The bullpen is undergoing renovation. And all of that happens with the August trade deadline as a backdrop. The Cardinals have close to 40 games remaining before having to make a call on whether they'll be buyers, sellers, or neither at the deadline. A lot as it stake with their decision. A seller keeps them true their plan to accumulate young talent to contend at a later date. Neither chooses not commit. And both directions could lead to fan frustration as the club is trying to lure them back to the ballpark and get them to buy into a refreshed franchise. The podcast closes with a cautionary tale about contention, the potential of which played out for the Royals in the first game of this series and is another in a series of reminders for the Cardinals from their recent opponents -- all of whom have talked about identifying a window to contend, a window to spend to contend, a window when the talent would all come together for an extended run of success. And all of whom have had those plans derailed, unable to take a spark of contention and turn it into a campfire all because they were so convinced the could become a blowtorch able to light at will. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  A conversation with NLBM president Bob Kendrick: Storytelling's power to inspire baseball with its past 08.06.2026 42m

  One of the first true baseball dynasties in St. Louis history was the St. Louis Stars, who had the talent to back up the name. And, at their centrally located ballpark, the Stars and greats like Cool Papa Bell played such an entertaining, exciting brand of baseball that it not only enriched the game's popularity in St. Louis but also informed the style of play fans have expected and celebrated for generations since. Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for a wide-ranging conversation with baseball writer and host Derrick Goold. They start with the Stars and the discussion grows from there to detail the NLBM's "Pitch for the Future" iniative to raise $50 million an expand the current footprint of the museum to a campus that will include more items to display, a hotel, and a larger research and academic space. The goal comes back to telling the story of the Negro Leagues and bringing those players and those games to the modern fan with such a strong connection that information becomes inspiration. And that's where this new episode ultimately leads -- to a spot where legends of the past influence the present and bring the game of baseball to the next generation of players and fans. More about the NLBM's "Pitch for the Future" can be found here.  More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  101 life lessons from the dugout and a few extra from the CBA negotiation room 05.06.2026 51m

  It's become book week at the Best Podcast in Baseball. Long time baseball writer and columnist and former president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America Ken Davidoff joins the podcast to discuss with host Derrick Goold his new book, "101 Lessons from the Dugout." The book, written for young adults, is a merger of baseball, parenting, and life lessons that use the dugout, batter's box, basepaths, and mound to map how baseball is a window into larger affirmations and experiences. One chapter discusses baserunning on a sacrfice fly and amplifies tagging up to a larger idea of pausing, gathering one self, survey the situation, and then charge headlong toward your goal with knowledge and without hesitation. "Your mound (is your) high ground," the book describes as an image for standing tall with an opinion at the center of everything. Davidoff spent decades covering baseball for the New York Post and Newsday, and on his final day on the beat a small group of writers, including Goold, stayed late into the night to cover CBA negotiations between the players' union and owners at the Cardinals' complex in Jupiter, Florida. The negotiations blew right past one of the deadlines, leading to Davidoff staying on the beat a few hours longer. There are lessons from those events too, and the two baseball writers dive into what could be lost with a missing season, what the owners aim to gain with the salary cap, and if any of the 101 lessons from the dugout apply to the situation. The book, "101 Lessons from the Dugout," is available wherever you prefer to shop for books, including here. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  The seams that bind St. Louis baseball and the history of the game itself: A Glove Story 03.06.2026 52m

  What is it with St. Louis and fielding, what are the seams to tie the city, its fondness for baseball, and defense together? That's the question that comes at the conclusion of a brand new episode of the Best Podcast in Baseball. Author and historian Ed Wheatley joins baseball writer and host Derrick Goold to discuss his new book, "The Finest in the Field: A History of Baseball Through 50 Iconic Gloves." The book uses art-worthy photos of famous gloves, from Bill Doak's that launched the modern glove to Bob Gibson's beloved glove without a logo, to tell the story about individual players, their gloves, and ultimately baseball history. The game itself has changed because of the advances in gloves, from tossing pitches like horseshoes to firing 104-mph fastballs because the catcher's mitt can now handle that. Well, mostly. Most everyone remembers their first glove and their favorite glove, and some big leaguers go whole careers with only one glove, while others get a new glove every season. When Masyn Winn finally got a grip on his first career Rawlings Gold Glove Award, he won the 100th in Cardinals history. The Cardinals are the first big-league club to reach 100 Gold Gloves, and the team just behind them is the Baltimore Orioles, who of course used to be the St. Louis Browns. Four of the finest fielding third baseman in baseball history have called St. Louis' hot corner home -- most recently Nolan Arenado and Scott Rolen -- but the all-time leader in Gold Glove Awards at the position played in Baltimore. The all-time leader at shorstop is a Cardinal, Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, and Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina won three Platinum Glove Awards before anyone else won a second one. Stan Musial was the first to use a style of glove that he popularized and then, decades later, became even more popular for outfielders. Oh, and Rawlings is based in St. Louis. And, heck, the play that launched the Cardinals' World Series history was a tag at second, not a hit. And it was applied with a Bill Doak model glove made by Rawlings. Wheatley, one of the biggest champions of Browns history and a keeper of the St. Louis Browns' flame, considers that question about St. Louis and the deep roots of defense and comes to a compelling conclusion why.  More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  Both humbled by Brewers, Cardinals and Cubs clash for 1st time in series vital for hosts 29.05.2026 1h 12m

  As the longtime archrivals clash for the first time in 2026 with a weekend series at Busch Stadium, here is what the scuffling Cardinals and struggling Cubs share in common. They both got to this point thanks to the Brewers. The Cubs arrive in St. Louis fresh off ending a 10-game losing streak that yanked them from first place in the National League Central to last place, and the Cardinals slide home after being swept in Milwaukee. They've lost six of their past eight games against division foes. With both teams separated percentage points going into their first series of the season, this is a pivotal weekend for at least one of them. Patrick Mooney, longtime Cubs beat writer and senior writer at The Athletic, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss how the Cubs could go from the high highs of two 10-game winning streaks this season to the current questions at the end of a 10-game plummet. Along with BPIB host Derrick Goold, Monney discusses the Cubs' pitching injuries and limited depth, their center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, and the manager Craig Counsell and his sense of humor behind some stoic answers. For the Cardinals, this series is their first time back since "tarps off" and a chance to play in front of huge, lively crowds -- and sell them on returning. The writers also discuss what these longtime rivals, the Cubs and Cardinals, share in common. They're both chasing Milwaukee. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  Central Casting: What role will Cardinals play in making the division a real race? 22.05.2026 57m

  CINCINNATI -- The Cardinals continue a stretch of 12 consecutive games against National League Central rivals, and all five division teams will reach their 50th game of the season with a record at .500 or better. At least four will have winning records as the first third of the season comes to an end. But is there a real NL Central race? Post-Dispatch editor Nathan Mills joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the division and what each team needs to do to win the title. The Cubs and Brewers stand out. The Reds have intriguing talent. The Pirates have a wicked pitching staff. The Cardinals ... must continue to win at the margins, and there's a word that Goold gives to that: "Zero Defect."  Besides, the real race in the division may not be on the field at all. It could be in the dugout. If the Cardinals continue to play beyond expectations, manager Oli Marmol may present the best challenger in the division to Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy's three-peat as National League Manager of the Year. Also discussed on this episode: The method behind the six-inning starts from the Cardinals rotation. How to update classic pitching metrics for a modern starter. The invention, in real-time of Skyline Chili poutine. You're welcome. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  Tarps off! BPIB is back on: Have Cardinals found their voice as a contender? 19.05.2026 1h 10m

  Keep your shirts on, the Best Podcast in Baseball is back. And just in time, too. Good vibes have engulfed the Cardinals after returing from a successful swing through California to an eletrcic weekend at Busch Stadium, thanks to the fortuitous pairing of the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team, a walk-off win Friday night, and a mid-game revival Saturday against Kansas City. For several years, the host of the Best Podcast in Baseball has stumped and advocated for a change in the atmosphere at Busch -- from the need for a victory anthem to the idea of transplanting the supporter section from City SC to Busch, even for a weekend. Well, it's all happening. The students from SFA created that section organically, the Cardinals have adopted a victory anthem, and they're playing a style of baseball that is producing wins. Heck, they even have a home run prop. BPIB asks, have they found their voice as a contender? Host Derrick Goold, who misplaced his voice for several weeks, welcomes KMOX/104.1 FM star and BPIB fixture Kevin Wheeler discuss what elements of the Cardinals' success and the atmosphere at the ballpark has staying power. Also discussed: Wheeler suggests that the Cardinals have received produuction from Jordan Walker equivalent to a $40-milliion free-agent addition. Goold details his breakdown on the three types of statistics: narrative, qualitative, and predictive. And how each applies to discussing analytics for players, fans, and writers, and of course team executives, who camp out in the predictive category. The challenge of development when it comes to a character like Grogu as his big-screen debut approaches. This is the way BPIB returns More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  Should Cardinals' fast start to 2026 accelerate their long-range rebuild plans? 20.04.2026 1h 7m

  MIAMI -- Fresh off a sweep of the Astros in Houston, the Cardinals visit the Marlins with a tailwind of five consecutive wins and a fast start to their rebuild season. Does their early success suggest they'll outperform expectations in 2026, and if so should they accelerate their rebuild plans? That's the question that begins a conversation between 101 ESPN/WXOS host Brandon Kiley, of BK and Ferrario and the Redbird Report, and Best Podcast in Baseball host and baseball writer Derrick Goold. The Cardinals' rush to five games better than .500 this season is buoyed by defying some trends, such as their negative run differential and their undefeated record (5-0) in extra innings. Both indicate that the Cardinals will experience a correction. Still, they've played a crisp, opportunistic brand of baseball that can claim wins in April, and if they continue to outplay their projections how will that challenge the team's stated plan to focus on the longterm. Will the Cardinals keep their eye on the ball and make future-focused trades even if the club orbits .500? What message will they send fans if this team draws support for how it's playing, for how well it's playing? There are messages and actions that the Cardinals could in the months ahead that would find the balance between responding to the way the team has played now while not straying from their longer-range goals. Kiley and Goold discuss what that looks if the Cardinals just move their timeline up and what those moves look like.   More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  Cardinals TV's Dani Wexelman relishes baseball stories she's ready to tell in her new role 09.04.2026 34m

  WASHINGTON -- In a recent social media post, baseball broadcaster and reporter Dani Wexelman shared a photo of her interviewing Matthew Liberatore when he was a high schooler and juxtaposed it with a photo of her interviewing him this year as the Cardinals' opening day starter. That is a great illustration of the arc of Wexelman's career telling baseball stories, from the backfields of Jupiter, Florida, covering amateur baseball and rising talents to front and center now with Cardinals.TV to capture what the club hopes is a rising team. Wexelman joins Best Podcast in Baseball host Derrick Goold while both of them are in Washington, D.C., covering the Cardinals to discuss the start to the 2026 season as well as the path that brought Wexelman to Mizzou and the back this year as a prominent part of the Cardinals' broadcasts. They also discuss how Wexelman's experience covering amateur baseball for many years and being a national pundit looking at Major League Baseball through a broader lens informs what she plans to bring to telling stories during these Cardinals' "new era."  More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  Happy New Year! BPIB's preview of 2026 Cardinals comes out of left field 26.03.2026 57m

  What do the roster decisions made by the Cardinals ahead of opening day tell fans about their timetable to contend? Probably more than their letting on. The Best Podcast in Baseball returns from spring training and to its weekly format with a preview of the 2026 Cardinals season told through one position and how so many revealing aspects of the team radiate from it. Editor Nathan Mills joins baseball writer and BPIB host Derrick Goold on the even of opening day to discuss the many tendrils that extend from left field -- from the Cardinals' roster choices to the Cadinals' style of offense, from the Cardinals' need for power and plans for Lars Nootbaar to their debut of JJ Wetherholt and what that says about their next window to contend.  It all extends from left field. Just in time for the civic holiday known as opening day it's a brand new BPIB. Happy New Year, as we say in the press box. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold. 
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  Thomas Saggese flips the script with questions for BPIB and a new position for Cardinals 28.02.2026 51m

  JUPITER, Fla. -- Thomas Saggese has questions for the host of the Best Podcast in Baseball. Moments after finishing his first ever start in center field for the Cardinals, Saggese joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to talk about the transition to a new position and how much work he wants there before playing it in the regular season. But that's not all. Through the years, Saggese has often shifted interviews to ask great questions he has about history, statistics, and specifically voting for the MVP, other awards, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was invited on the podcast so he could flip the script and ask those questions as part of a conversation. What follows is a deep dive into the decisions that go with a ballot, whether it's the MVP ballot or the Hall of Fame. The conversation explores how measuring a player with statistics contrasts with how a player measures themselves. Saggese talks about how he values batting average but avoids looking at it, and how when he's thinking about hitting he's seeking feel. Goold wonders what the reaction would be if he explained his votes for MVP and Hall of Fame by saying it just "felt right." And yet there's more common ground between statistics measuring a players production, especially as they evolve, and how a player works for that production. The podcast was recorded outside the Cardinals' new spring training facility, where construction continues. You'll hear it. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 14th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.
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  BPIB Season No. 14 premieres with Cardinals spring training roundtable 16.02.2026 44m

  JUPITER, Fla. -- On the even of the Cardinals opening their full-squad workouts for spring training, four reporters covering the camp gather at a table nearby the brand new complex to discuss the bran new questions facing a club in a rebuild. Best Podcast in Baseball begins its 14th season as the leading podcast about the Cardinals and baseball in St. Louis with host Derrick Goold joined by KMOV/Channel 4 sports anchor Tamar Sher and two St. Louis Post-Dispatch colleagues, baseball writer Daniel Guerrero and columnist Benjamin Hochman for a roundtable discussion about what spring means and what spring must prove for the Cardinals. The group discusses the players with the most opportunity this spring, the people facing the most pressure this spring, the player most likely to make the most of this spring, and also just how to judge a team that is departing from the franchise's historical pursuit of the next pennant to something more nebulous -- the next core. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.
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  The big deal: What have Cardinals added with all of this subtraction? 07.02.2026 1h

  The Cardinals' winter of accumulation climaxed with the trade many months in the making: They moved All-Star utility fielder Brendan Donovan in a three-team trade to Seattle and received a windfall that included two of the Mariners' top-10 prospects and two draft picks, one each from the Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays. So, it's time to take stock. What did all of this subtraction actually add to the Cardinals? Back from a brief winter vacation, the Best Podcast in Baseball returns to discuss exactly that. Post-Dispatch editor Nathan Mills joins BPIB host and baseball writer Derrick Goold to explore the ramifications of the Donovan deal and much more on the eve of spring training. The podcast also explores whether the Cardinals should prioritize a contract extension for manager Oli Marmol, what the bigger benefit is for the two draft picks acquired, and what to take from the Cardinals' rise to No. 2 in Baseball America's farm rankings. It wasn't just prospects the Cardinals added this winter. They've got a bigger scouting apparatus -- they call it an acquisitions department -- and they're going to see how big and how soon that pays off.  More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.
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  A melancholy end to what could have been for Cardinals and Nolan Arenado 15.01.2026 1h 7m

  If you sensed some melancholy from both the Cardinals as they announced trading a Hall of Fame-caliber player to Arizona and also from that player, Nolan Arenado, as he described feeling "in the way" where once he expected to retire, that's fair. There was that disappointment on both sides as what could have been came to an end. In a brand new episode of the Best Podcast in Baseball, St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold and editor Nathan Mills discuss the conclusion of a trade more than a year in the making and potentially a streak that stretches back more than a century. For more than 100 consecutive years, without pause, the Cardinals have had a Hall of Fame player or manager in uniform with the team, and that streak could end with 2025. Or, it will be a young player who has yet to emerge as an All-Star who we'll discover in hindsight continued it. The Cardinals reach their annual Winter Warm-up after trading their third namebrand All-Star of the offseason and facing a difficult task of selling a team to a fan base that already had a record-low appetite for purchasing tickets. The pulse of the fans will be on display during the weekend Warm-up, but less clear is how the Cardinals will promote their future and what jerseys will fans be able to purchase. Mills and Goold discuss that and more, like who takes over at third base for the Cardinals and who should take over at third to excite the fans. The podcast concludes with one things fans can look forward to doing in 2026 and how that one thing, voting Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina into the team's Hall of Fame, can be used to create an event that will thrill Cardinals Nation as well give the current Cardinals a feel of what the ballpark is like at its best. Halls of various fames become a recurring theme of the podcast, allowing Goold to note there may not be a Hall of Fame at his high school but he can totally brag about being in class with a future astronaut, Jack Fischer. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.
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  Ignition switch: From sparking lineups with 'Leadoff Man' author to thawing a chilly Hot Stove 08.01.2026 55m

  A discussion the Cardinals and a chilly Hot Stove eventually ignites with this completely unrelated question: How far into your list of the best players in the history of Major League Baseball do you get before mentioning Rickey Henderson? He's the all-time leader in runs, he's the greatest leadoff hitter in the game's history, and he almost lapped everyone but Lou Brock when it comes to career stolen bases.  The name of the game is scoring runs, and few (if any) did it better than Henderson. That's part of the discussion with Matt Snyder, CBS sports writer and author of the new book, "The Leadoff Man: The history of, the evolution of, and fun with the greatest catalyst in sports." (The book is available here.) In his book, Snyder chronicles the changing nature of the leadoff spot, from the speedy contact hitters of yore to the bashers and mashers of the modern game, from the tradition of putting infielder there regardless of their ability to get on base to the analytics of prioritizing the most at-bats for the player who makes the fewest outs. Henderson leads the way with a style of play that was both ahead of his peers and ahead of its time. At about the 23-minute mark, the conversation speeds from leading men to discussing the current offseason and the Cardinals' willingness to trade their leadoff man, Brendan Donovan. The Hot Stove has been sluggish, even stagnant. And that prompts an impromptu suggestion for how to spur deals during the winter meetings with tools already present in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. No cap needed. Although talk about a cap is going to dominate the next 11 months, and that is where the podcast hurries toward its conclusion by describing how it's not the tycoon-like Dodgers that signal the lack of competitive balance and economic concerns about the game. The Cardinals could be the canary. To which, Snyder flips the question: How deep into a list of the most recognizable baseball teams does one get before naming the Cardinals? More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.
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  Cardinals counterintuitive holiday shopping list could leave a hole in tradition 24.12.2025 48m

  There should be ballads written about Willson Contreras' brief time with the Cardinals. From his arrival as the All-Star eager for the challenge of following Yadier Molina, to that weird week when he took fly balls in left field and stopped catching, to the injuries and fractures and ultimately his move to first base, out from behind home plate without skipping a beat at the plate. Contreras brought both joy and fury to the Cardinals' lineup and clubhouse, and at some point his absence will be felt by the teammates who remain. But he won't be a alone. In a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball, recorded on Christmas Eve, Post-Dispatch editor Nathan Mills and baseball writer Derrick Goold discuss the Cardinals' counterintuitive shopping list for the holidays and what is missing from it and possibly from the clubhouse during his reboot of an organization. The Cardinals traded a starter (Sonny Gray) only to sign a starter (Dustin May) a few weeks later; they traded a right-handed bat from the middle of the order (Contreras) only to suggest a few hours later that they would now look for a right-handed bat to add to the roster. The Cardinals are swapping All-Stars for pitching depth and then looking to replace those veterans with players on shorter-term deals or with more control and less cost. What's missing from those moves is the leadership and experience that the Cardinals have long championed as part of their continuity, as part of their identity as a club. And more trades ahead could mean the departure of Brendan Donovan, who personifies the way the Cardinals like to play and be in the clubhouse; JoJo Romreo, the seasoned reliever in the bullpen; and Nolan Arenado, the future Hall of Famer and Gold Glove-cornerstone at third.  Mills and Goold discuss what happens when a young group of players isn't inheriting expectations but tasked with trying to grow them. More Post-Dispatch podcasts.  Please consider subscribing. In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.