28 | Unionizing Minor League Baseball and MLB Postseason with Tipping Pitches

Explicit content warning

10/08/21 • 83 min

It's October, which means postseason baseball! This week, Miguel had three guests on the podcast to talk playoff baseball and the topic of unionizing minor league baseball players. Miguel was excited to welcome Alex Bazeley and Bobby Wagner, who hosts one of our favorite podcasts, the Tipping Pitches Podcast (@tipping_pitches). Miguel was also joined on the podcast by comrade Justin Williams of the Redspin Sports Podcast.
First, Miguel asked Bobby and Alex about their podcast and what inspired them to start it. Miguel also asked Bobby and Alex about their "unionize the minor leagues" t-shirts and the National Question of Baseball:
What would it look like to nationalize the national pastime?
Additionally, Miguel, Justin, Alex, and Bobby drive deep (into left field) and discuss unionizing minor league baseball players, the #FairBall protest, the upcoming labor negotiations between the MLB owners and MLPA, and predict if the players and MLBPA will strike for the first time since 1994-95. Lastly, they discuss the MLB postseason and weigh in on who they think will be awarded the MVP and Cy Young for the NL and AL. Note: Originally recorded on October 1, 2021. Unfortunately, you already know the Blue Jays and Mariners didn't make it to October, and the Cardinals and Yankees lost the wild card. But it was still a great episode, and I suggest you listen, trust me.
Miguel gives you his Molotov MVPs for episode 28, minor league right-handed Pitcher Kieran Lovegrove, and the Jersey Shore BlueClaws and Brooklyn Cyclones, minor league players. Finally, Miguel ends the podcast with another Chicana/o Sports History segment. This week, he highlights current Mexican and Chicano Major League Baseball Players playing this October in the Postseason.

Miguel Garcia produced this episode. Sports As A Weapon is now part of the @Anticonquista Collective Network. Check out Anticonquista on YouTube and Instagram!
Be sure to listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music,

Miguel Garcia produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok!
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Previous Episode

27 | The NFL’s Racist Race-Norming and Brotherhood and Anti-Blackness in College Football with Dr. Tracie Canada

Miguel spoke to Dr. Tracie Canada (@tracie_canada) this week, a socio-cultural anthropologist and assistant professor at Notre Dame (Department of Anthropology and Africana Studies). Dr. Canada’s ethnographic research uses sport to theorize race, kinship and care, gender, and the performing body. Her work focuses on the lived experiences of Black football players. Dr. Canada is currently working on her first book, “Tackling the Everyday: Race, Family, and Nation in Big-Time College Football.”
First, Miguel asked Dr. Canada about her two recent articles, “The NFL’s Racist ‘Race Norming’ Is an Afterlife of Slavery” and “Brotherhood and Anti-Blackness in College Football.” Next, Dr. Canada explained the practice of race-norming and how the NFL used it against former players impacted by brain trauma during their playing career. Additionally, Miguel and Dr. Tracy Canada discuss the lawsuit by former NFL players Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport against the NFL, who accused the NFL of “explicitly and deliberately” discriminating against them and black players filing dementia-related claims.

Dr. Canada also explained how race-norming is an afterlife of slavery, and Miguel and Dr. Canada discussed how injuries and concussions are structurally crucial to the NFL as a business. Lastly, as one cultural anthropologist to another, Miguel asked Dr. Canada why Miami Dolphins rookie WR Jaylen Waddle’s draft-day press conference caught her attention and the difference between football teammates and football brothers. Note: Originally recorded on September 2, 2021.
Next, Miguel gives you his Molotov MVPs for episode 27, former NFL running back Najeh Davenport and former NFL linebacker Kevin Henry. Finally, Miguel ends the podcast with another Chicana/o Sports History segment. This week, he highlights the 2021 NFL Hall of Fame Inductee and the first Mexican/Chicano and Latino Head Coach to win a Super Bowl, Raiders legendary Head Coach Tom Flores!

Next Episode

29 | Enes Kanter, Sinophobia, and Anti-China Narratives in Sports with Danny Haiphong

We are back! Miguel welcomed Independent Journalist Danny Haiphong (@SpiritofHo) to discuss Enes Kanter, Sinophobia, and Anti-China Narratives in sports.
Danny Haiphong is an anti-imperialist independent journalist and researcher in the US. He is a contributing editor to the Black Agenda Report, co-host of the Left Lens, and co-editor of Friends of Socialist China.
Subscribe to Danny Haiphong’s Substack and Patreon.
First, Danny and Miguel discuss Enes Kanter's anti-China crusade, and Danny chronicles how Kanter is a member of the Gulen movement. The Gulen movement is a conservative Islamist Fraternal organization founded by Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, who fled to the US in 1998. Gulen currently resides on 25 acres of land in rural Pennsylvania, and the Turkish government considers Gulen a CIA asset.
Danny and Miguel also discuss the US Diplomatic Boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, fueled by the continued US claims of China committing Human Rights violations. However, the allegations originate from erroneous, right-wing sources connected to the US state department. Miguel also asked Danny about the importance of covering China from an anti-imperialist perspective and more!
Additionally, Miguel gives you his Molotov MVP for episode 29, LeBron James. The King responded to Enes Kanter’s criticism, and I enjoyed this segment. Lastly, Miguel gives you this episode's Chicano/Chicana sports history segment. Miguel highlights Ma Jin, a Chinese Diving Coach who has been the Head Coach of Mexico’s Olympic diving team since 2003.
Miguel Garcia produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is now part of the @Anticonquista Collective Media Network. Check out Anticonquista on YouTube and Instagram!
Be sure to listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,