Ep. 424 (5/28/26): Special Returning Guest - Ken Powtak, Renowned Freelance Sports Writer

In this episode, Joey has the honor of being joined by Ken Powtak, a returning guest and a renowned freelance sports writer. To start, Powtak talks about how much of an honor it was to be one of 425 voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) who voted in the 2026 Hall of Fame election (0:21). Powtak explains why he only had Carlos Beltran on his ballot (1:40) and provides reasoning as to why he ultimately chose not to vote for Felix Hernandez or Dustin Pedroia (3:45). Joey and Ken question the chances of Alex Rodriguez ever making Cooperstown (5:17) and discuss why Pete Rose will likely never be elected into the Hall of Fame despite MLB commissioner Rob Manfred taking Rose off of the permanently ineligible list in 2025 (8:17). Following that, they transition to the Boston Red Sox and reflect on the decision to fire Alex Cora (12:35). They contemplate whether or not the Red Sox are capable of still being a playoff team in a weak American League (14:58) and foreshadow potential trades that the club can make (16:20). After that, Powtak provides updates about Roman Anthony's recovery from a lingering finger injury (18:52) and outlines the difficult expectations that the organization and fanbase placed upon him (20:25). They revisit the decision to trade Mookie Betts in 2020 (26:22) and try to predict what the future of baseball will look like after a presumptive lockout (31:20). During this segment, Powtak provides his opinion on recent changes in the game of baseball, such as the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System (36:54). They point out how baseball has adapted with many pitchers throwing well over 100 miles per hour (39:55) and also break down their opinions on analytics in sports (43:11). At the end, they switch over to the hardwood and ponder about the future of the Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum duo in Boston (50:50). They praise the New York Knicks for their dominance in the Eastern Conference (57:59) and preview the 2026 NBA Finals.