Click play in the embedded podcast to listen to The Racing Presidents' interview with Chuck Todd and click here to subscribe to the podcast.
Chuck Todd has a long list of political bona fides: moderator of Meet the Press, political director for NBC News, former chief White House correspondent for NBC, and more. But, if you want to stir his voice, bring up baseball.
Todd grew up in Miami as a Los Angeles Dodgers fan. He would head to Dodgertown in Vero Beach as a kid, and was reared on the idea Koufax and Robinson were the thing. He went from one major city lacking a major-league team to another when he came to Washington. His time without a home team changed, of course, in 2005 when the Montreal Expos were turned into the Washington Nationals. Finally having a team in his town split his patronage among the Dodgers and Nationals, leading him to purchase season tickets to the latter after jumping on board during the team’s unexpected run in 2005. He's been a fervent supporter since.
Which is why Todd joined The Racing Presidents podcast for a 30-minute talk about baseball in the nation’s capital. Nationals baseball is a family happening in Todd’s house. They watch games together at night, the MLB Network show “Quick Pitch” is on in the morning, and Todd’s son is an ardent Max Scherzer fan.
“There is no better feeling in the world than coming home and being able to turn on the TV and go right to a baseball game when I get home,” Todd said. “Baseball, to me, is the soundtrack of my life.”
So, where to begin a podcast with that background? From the start. Todd takes us through how a bet with cases of Jack Daniels on the line (not for him, but his father) helped start his baseball interest, what he’s made of baseball in the District and how his emotions are managed when he watches. Todd, like many, can be flabbergasted by certain decisions when it comes to bullpen usage.
Washington Nationals
He’s also concerned about the sport’s inability to draw the interest of young fans -- those in his house notwithstanding.
But he is optimistic about the 2019 edition of the Nationals, comparing their depth and roster structure to that of the Dodgers, Astros and Red Sox. His positive view on the coming season even spawned a possible slogan for 2019:
“Let’s not screw this up.”
Take a listen.
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