FanGraphs Audio: Jeff Passan on International Amateur Signings

Episode 992

This week on the show, we welcome one of the biggest names in baseball writing to talk about a court case with big implications for the sport before our newest full-time hire makes his podcast debut.

• To begin, Eric Longenhagen is joined by Jeff Passan, ESPN writer and author of The Arm, to discuss the pair of teenage prospects who have sued the Los Angeles Angeles in a Dominican Republic court, alleging that the organization reneged on verbal agreements to sign them. Eric and Jeff are familiar with how flawed the current international amateur system can be, and they consider what kinds of sweeping changes and regulations could arrive as the result of the case. We also hear about censoring yourself on-air, the potentially playoff-bound Seattle Mariners, minor league unionization, baseball’s new rule changes, and teams that seem to be especially focused on making contact at the plate. [4:42]
• After that, Ben Clemens welcomes Michael Baumann to the website and to the podcast. Michael wastes no time sharing why he thinks college baseball is worth your time, offering a rant about the evils of golf, and issuing a challenge to Eric to meet him in The Octagon. The duo also chat about how it can be a little intimidating to write for the FanGraphs readership compared to a single-team site. Finally, the pair discuss Christian Walker, who Ben recently wrote about and who Michael shares an alma mater with. The Diamondbacks first baseman is quietly having a great season thanks to strong defense and his ability to hit the ball pretty darn hard. [1:01:46]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 90 minute play time.)

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