Are the scandals involving Cleveland Guardians’ pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, who suspiciously threw several pitches well out of the strike zone with the identical count of 0-0 on the leadoff hitter in the inning the result of satisfying bets for their own benefit? This podcast does not answer that question. Instead, it offers a simple solution for rendering these incidents as moot: ban legal gambling from the landscape of Major League Baseball, after “scraping to the bottom of the kettle” to eradicate such possibilities — for the integrity of the game and potential well-being of MLB players, who could be at the mercy of similar nefarious forces who fixed the 1919 World Series. Will MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred follow these recommendations? I wouldn’t bet on it.

Special guest appearance by Vern, our Briard puppy, who we adopted from our late son, Stuart. May he rest in peace.

In Memoriam: Stuart Mitchell Copley, January 4, 1989 – June 27, 2025.

Gus Sands vs. Roy Hobbs in The Natural

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www.byroncopley.com

Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin