FanGraphs Audio: Ben Cherington on the Pirates, Jake Eisenberg on His Radio Rise

Episode 974

On this week’s FanGraphs Audio, David Laurila talks to a major league general manager before introducing one of the game’s new radio voices.

• In the first half, David welcomes Ben Cherington, general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. We hear about how the Pirates are focusing on building instead of rebuilding, including how they are willing to innovate and try things while also studying other successful clubs. We also get insight on players like Daniel Vogelbach, David Bednar, Henry Davis, and Oneil Cruz, and manager Derek Shelton. Cherington also reflects on his Red Sox years, including when he and David spoke a decade ago, as well as some of the trades he made and challenges he faced. [2:42]
• In the second segment, David welcomes Jake Eisenberg, radio voice for the Triple-A Omaha Stormchasers, who has also called games for the Mets and Royals this season. We hear about his fast-moving career and the opportunities he has felt lucky enough to seize, as well as some of his adventures along the way. Eisenberg tells us about players like Brady Singer, Nick Pratto, and Vinnie Pasquantino before sharing stories about covering the Mets/Cardinals drama and getting lost at his own major league debut. [29:59]

To purchase a FanGraphs membership for yourself or as a gift, click here.

To donate to FanGraphs and help us keep things running, click here.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @dhhiggins on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximate 57 minute play time.)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS