The Real Voices of the Game Productions · David Dagostino

Episode 1973 Kaat's Korner hosted by HOF Jim Kaat with Dave Dagostino

April 1, 2026·54 min·5 clips

Hall of Famer Jim Kaat argues the automatic ball-strike system publicly embarrasses umpires by critiquing their calls.

Episode 1973 starts comfortably. Dave D'Agostino thanks a subscriber base now over 247,000 and notes that the network is heard in 148 countries. The room feels familiar from the jump. He tees up replays, Mark Wiedemeyer, the head baseball coaches at Boston College and Duke, and the Hall of Famer's return before the conversation settles into baseball itself. Nobody is rushing it. The talk has the feel of memory, clubhouse habits, and the small annoyance of trying to find the game like a normal fan. The Yankees become the running example. Ten outlets for one game sounds useful until it starts to feel ridiculous. Revenue is the thread underneath. Rob Manfred is called a friend and gets credit for making money for owners, but the worry is where that chase ends. Gambling is the hard part. The episode makes the comparison plainly: if baseball can build around gambling partnerships, why would steroid advertising be off the table? That lands because the old rule against gambling or consorting with gamblers sits here as one of baseball's firmest lines. Bill White, Joe Madden, and Faye Vincent come up through memory, tied to knowledge, leadership, friendship, and the new math of owning a franchise. The mood is warm, but it is not sleepy. Dave gives the hour room, then closes with a joke about fans finding the game on their own streaming devices. He sounds glad Jim is back. What sticks is an old baseball man's request that somebody care about fans as much as the money.

As heard by us

A warm, unrushed look at baseball's business drift, told by people who have lived long enough to notice.

Episode 1973 opens with Jim Cott back on the mic and a quick nod to the show's subscriber count before widening into baseball's bigger pressures: gambling partnerships, the spread of broadcast outlets, and who is looking out for fans.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

When you want a Hall of Famer's baseball conversation about gambling, media clutter, and what franchise values are doing in the modern game.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Real Voices of the Game Productions