This Week’s Lineup:
- The final (weird) numbers from 2026, and Nico Hoerner saves Paul’s bacon in real time
- Winning the West ain’t what it used to be
- A record year for ballpark stunt food
- Ted’s ballpark angel blesses him with great seats and unlimited ice cream
- Max Scherzer’s farewell
- Justin Verlander’s farewell, and Paul does his own 21-year look-back
Programming Note
With the regular season ending, Slap Hits will be going into hibernation. We hope you’ve enjoyed our series of non-urgent observations on a season in real-time.
Clear the Field will continue over the fall and winter with a bi-weekly story of sideways baseball history.
Next week: The “Rally Squirrel”
What’s This?
Every few weeks during the regular season, Ted and I cover whatever has delighted us from present-day baseball (or sometimes things even further afield) in a lightning round.
There will be news (of a kind), opinion, banter when we agree, and arguing when we don’t. We’re looking at items big and small, obscure or viral, we’re going quick, and we’re not stopping to fact-check.
Got a Slap Hit?
Send us an amusing, baseball adjacent item (interpretation is up to you) you’d like us to mention, bonus points for weird and obscure. Listen to a few episodes of “Slap Hits” and you’ll get the sense of what we like to cover, and it’s often things that don’t get covered elsewhere that delight us the most. If we use it, we’ll credit you for the submission during the show!
Email tips and suggestions to clearthefieldpod@gmail.com or leave a comment on Substack or YouTube.
