Listen in on this Morning Joe conversation with three members of Red Sox Nation – Joe Scarborough, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle – as they unpack the stunning blockbuster trade in Major League Baseball that sent Boston Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. “Rafi is a terrific kid, but that’s the underline – the kid. He’s a child, a spoiled child, and the fact that he began disagreeing with the Red Sox front office when they made a trade for Alex Bregman, a much better defensive third baseman and a much better all-around ball player than Rafi. Rafi is one of the top ten hitters in Major League Baseball, but he’s no Alex Bregman offense and defense. So, I mean, that’s what happened there,” says Barnicle about his beloved Red Sox making a franchise-altering decision with their trade of Devers.
The future of MLB
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle as they discuss the future of major league baseball with New York Times investigative reporter Michael Schmidt who recently interviewed MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on a variety of topics including whether the players will go on strike next year when their collective bargaining period ends and the possibility of robot umpires. Find out more here.
MLB Opening Day is here!
On this MLB Opening Day, the Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mike Barnicle and Willie Geist shifts to a memorable June 1986 column by the late Richard Ben Cramer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, titled “What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now?” which provided an inside look into the life of baseball legend Ted Williams. “The Richard Ben Cramer piece captures Ted Williams in the winter of his life down in Islamorada, Florida, where he would go bone fishing all day long…He was supposedly the most expert caster that professional fishermen had ever seen….It’s a spectacular profile,” says Barnicle. Join the conversation here.
Jackie Robinson’s military career erased
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Jonathan Lemire, Jason Crow and Mike Barnicle as they discuss the Trump Administration’s efforts to erase diversity, equity and inclusion from the federal government, following a report that an article about baseball great Jackie Robinson’s military career in the Army has been removed from the Department of Defense’s website. “Jackie Robinson, that’s only one of many. There is an African American recipient of the Medal of Honor who has been removed from the records in the Pentagon, a recipient of the Medal of Honor. That’s not DEI. That’s courage under fire. That’s what it is,” says Barnicle about the Department of Defense removing acknowledgements of Black history under Trump’s DEI removal policy.
The Mets: “Electricity on the sidewalks”
“I’m not a native New Yorker. You know, I’m here three or four days a week each week. I am stunned at the electricity on the sidewalks and in the stores about the Mets, and about baseball in general, but specifically about the Mets. Last night, we were on a text chain, four or five other people during the game texting back and forth. The bases are loaded, and one of the text members, just a one-line text: ‘I feel a grand slam from Lindor.’ And boom. I mean, that’s the Mets’ season, and Francisco Lindor is symbolic of the Mets, I think. He’s a calming presence when you hear him interviewed, he’s a calming presence at the plate, and you just have a confidence and a joy in what he brings to the game each and every day,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire about the New York Mets having reached the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies due to Francisco Lindor hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning during the 2024 Major League Baseball playoffs.
Remembering Pete Rose
“I think he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but I think everything that he did, both positive and negative, ought to be put on the plaque. I mean, there are a few other people in the Hall of Fame, few other players who were not models of civilization or civility. Just recognize who Pete Rose was: he played 25 years, 25 years in the major leagues. He averaged 194 hits per season. He was a bad guy off the field. Let’s get that on the record; but he was a spectacular player, a spectacular player. And yeah, put him in the Hall of Fame, but put it on the plaque,” says Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire as they remember Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s hit king who then became an outcast for gambling on the game. Rose died at 83 years old, leaving behind a tainted legacy in baseball history.
Major MLB gambling investigation underway
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Jonathan Lemire, Pablo Torre and Mike Barnicle about the gambling and theft allegations surrounding Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter and close friend of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, after at least $4.5 million in wire transfers were reportedly sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation that is under federal investigation. “Major League Baseball and every baseball fan should really be praying that the greatest star that has appeared in the Major League Baseball stage maybe since Babe Ruth, Ohtani, did not bet on any games. That’s the hope here,” says Barnicle. Join the conversation here.
Team of Destiny?
Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle talk about the Texas Rangers mashing their way to the World Series in Houston, soundly defeating the Houston Astros 11-4 after piling on eight runs in the first four innings. “Yesterday was a key example of (manager Bruce) Bochy’s importance to the Rangers, Jonathan. In that he goes out and he hooks Max Scherzer off that mound in the third inning. And Scherzer, you could tell, was disturbed about being taken out; but you’re not going to fool with Bruce Bochy,” says Barnicle about the three-time World Series-winning manager who came out of retirement to manage the Rangers.
Opening Day!
MLB Open Day 2023 has arrived! ICYMI: Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Willie Geist, Theo Epstein and Mike Barnicle as they preview another season of Major League Baseball and the new rules changes. “It’s the start of the year. We have New Year’s Day, but Opening Day is the real start of the year….It’s wonderful being at the park, and I’ve looked forward to it for far too long—every year, and every year, every year, I say, this is the year,” says Barnicle as he roots for his beloved Boston Red Sox once again.
Catch me if you can
“He was a very good baseball player at Yale, very good baseball player at Yale, and I’ve got to tell you something else watching him and listening to him over the past four or five days, clips from Iowa and everything like that: Donald Trump is going to crush this guy,” says Morning Joe’s veteran columnist Mike Barnicle about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump while watching this clip that shows DeSantis playing catch during a Fox News interview. Join the conversation here.