ESPN Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast
May 15th, 2009
Matthew Berry, Nate Ravitz, and Jay “Pod Vader” Soderberg win the fantasy podcasting game. Every week day during the baseball season they produce a high quality, fun, and informative podcast. It has become a staple of my day and something I rely on to get me through my cardio routine at the gym (when I go once a month). They do just as good of job with their Fantasy Focus Football Podcast. Each show is about 30 minutes long and uploaded sometime in the early afternoon.
Matthew Berry, aka The Talented Mr. Roto, made a name for himself by finding the right mix of fantasy analysis and entertainment/humor in his writing. Nate Ravitz has a similar sense of humor and does a great job hosting the show. They are heavily sarcastic and both playfully egotistical and self effacing. They regularly go into witty banter and silly tangents that keep the show light-hearted and easy listening. Poor Jay Soderberg, the producer, is the target of many of their jokes. They have a Jim Rome “Clone” thing going on with their avid listeners - their sense of humor and running jokes percolate into the listener emails they receive on the show. Listeners are offered numerous opportunities to participate in the show, such as naming segments or creating Podcast “Drops” (podcast soundbites). This creates a sense of community, which is a very impressive feat for a fantasy podcast.
There isn’t a great deal of fantasy analysis in the podcast, but I’d say there is just enough for a daily show. They usually get started by recapping the previous night’s games with a fantasy slant. They often play “The Name Game,” in which they compare one name to a series of similar players to determine who will be a better play that night or for the rest of the season. Closers are thoroughly covered, with daily debates and over/under bets made on total saves. Waiver Wire pickups are debated for a variety of league sizes. In another daily segment Nate reads and answers emailed questions from the listener base. When the two hosts completely disagree on something they often settle it with a “Board Bet.” The updates on running bets on HR totals, save totals, etc. are another very entertaining element of the show.
That is pretty much the gist of the show. If I could only have one fantasy podcast this would be the one. I do have one major complaint - Matthew and Nate both talk about Beverly Hills 90210 wayyyyyyyyyyy too much. Their 90210 trivial knowledge is legendary and it makes its way into EVERY show. This is one of those shows, like Grey’s Anatomy, that just upsets me at my core. I was assured by Matthew Berry in a heated drunken talk at a fantasy sports conference that the 90210 talk is not stopping anytime soon, so, whatever, I’ll live with it. Judging from the emails read on the show plenty of fans love 90210, which makes no sense at all to me for a sports loving crew. Maybe I’m in the minority.
Here is the link to subscribe to the Podcast. You can also find it in the iTunes lobby under Sports and Recreation. If it doesn’t appeal to you at first please try a few more episodes. The show definitely grows on you as you become more familiar with the personalities and the community elements. Enjoy!