On a very special episode of Tri-State at the Plate, Andy speaks to Brad Balukjian, author of the LA Times Best selling book 'The Wax Pack'. Brad's book takes readers on an 11,000 mile trek across the country in an attempt to meet all of the players from a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards. Brad talks about his life as a scientist, professor, and Duke alumni and how his life helped prepare him to write this book. At the 27:30 minute mark, he discusses specific elements of his book, so spoilers will be from that point on. From there he talks about Pittsburgh fan-favorites Lee Mazzilli and Richi ..read more

Could you have picked a better time to return to podcasting about baseball than right now? Probably. But the gang at Tri-State of Mind Baseball isn't going to let a lack of baseball stop them from podcasting about baseball. On this week's episode, Andy, Bob, and Jason talk about what baseball during a global pandemic might look like. Jason and Bob then recap the last three years of baseball in Cleveland and the complexity of the decisions that were made for a World Series contending team. Andy then analyzes the same time frame for the Pirates, which is an honest - and often heartbreaking - loo ..read more

On this week's episode, Bob, Andy, and Jason are all back together and starting off the episode by talking about the 2017 Hall of Fame vote. In the least controversial hot take possible, the trio decide that they're mostly just okay with the Hall of Fame. After that, Bob and Jason dig into the newest Cleveland Indian contract, which is full of fun surprises and belongs to former Toronto slugger Edwin Encarnacion. Then they discuss some Rule 5 draft action in Cleveland, Terry Francona's status as manager, Carlos Santana's future with the club, and finish up with a panic-stricken discu ..read more

Andy and Bob get together to talk about the Hall of Fame election of former Major League Baseball commissioner Allan Huber 'Bud' Selig. They discuss the legacy of the man who was in the commissioner's office during: the 1994 players strike that led to the cancellation of the World Series for only the second time in baseball history, the entirety of an era baseball that is now known as 'The Steroid Era', and an All-Star Game tie. He also was responsible for home field advantage during the World Series being awarded to the team that was in the league that won the All-Star Game, so there's that ..read more

On this week's episode, Andy and Bob lament their long absence from the podcast recording universe before talking about Major League Baseball's new collective bargaining agreement negotiations and the potential impact of a 26-man roster. Then they unwittingly create an advertisement for the Australian Baseball League and talk about how it can be viewed for free during the cold, winter months leading up to Spring Training. The duo then dig into the 2016 post season that was for the Cleveland Indians and talk about making trades using hindsight. Next, they look towards 2017 and beyond for the Pi ..read more

On this week's podcast, Andy and Bob first discuss Tim Tebow's improbable comeback attempt at playing professional baseball after a ten year layoff. After some partially biased discussion on Andy's part, Bob reminds everyone that Tim, by all accounts, is a nice guy. The podcast gets back on track when Bob talks about the Indians' recent successes on the field without Michael Brantley, good attendance at the Jake lately, Josh Tomlin's struggles, and his thoughts on trading Clint Frazier for Andrew Miller. Andy then talks about the Pirates' struggles and the slim margin for error that teams with ..read more

In a continuation of the trade deadline that was, Andy, Bob, and Jason dig into the four moves by the Pittsburgh Pirates this trade deadline: 1). The trading of relief pitcher Mark Melancon to the Washington Nationals 2). The trading of Jon Niese back to the New York Mets for reliever Antonio Bastardo 3). The trading of two players to be named later for the services of Yankees' starter Ivan Nova for two months and 4). The confusing trade of Francisco Liriano and his $17 million contract, outfield prospect Harold Ramirez, and catching prospect Reese McGuire to the Blue Jay for starter Drew Hutc ..read more

This week's episode is actually a two-for-one deal as there was so much trade deadline discussion, it had to be broken up into two episodes! In part one, Andy, Bob, and Jason talk about the feud between Billy Butler and Chris Gimenez before they dive right into the trade deadline that was for the Cleveland Indians' front office... to mostly positive reviews! The trio dissect the trading of super prospect Clint Frazier for Andrew Miller and how the trade affects the Indians' franchise. They then discuss the less-than-sexy, but statistically important trade for Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Brandon ..read more

On this week's podcast, Bob returns from his spiritual journey to the northeast to talk some baseball with Andy. The duo start the show talking about Chris Sale's Britney Spears-like meltdown in Chicago and what it says about him and the franchise. Andy then talks about Tyler Glasnow's shoulder and the state of pitching in Pittsburgh, Jonathon Niese's horrid season, and all of the trade rumors swirling around the Bucs. Bob dives into the current state of affairs in Cleveland and talks about the trade rumors surrounding the Tribe, as well as internal promotions of Clint Frazier and Bradley Zimm ..read more

Jason Ruggiero joins Andy Burdick this week as Bob and his wife head to the mighty northeast on a journey of self discovery. In his stead, the two catch up on all things baseball just in time for the All-Star Game. The duo open the podcast discussing their likes and dislikes of the All-Star festivities. Andy then digs into the Pirates recent stretch of play and learns that being mediocre sometimes is good enough. He talks about Pittsburgh's buying/selling options at the deadline, the success that farmhands Adam Frazier, Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl, and Tyler Glasnow have had in limit ..read more