Let's Get This Season Started

Theme music — brassy, organ meets trumpet, eight seconds, fades under.

CARLAFoul Territory — the podcast where we talk World League Baseball... and no perspectives are out of bounds.

CARLAWelcome back to Foul Territory. I'm Carla Streich. Alongside me as always is former professional baseball player, color commentator, and a man who has apparently been awake since four-thirty this morning because — and I'm quoting here — "he couldn't stop thinking about the Nicaragua rotation" —

RAZORSaberhagen, Carla. Twenty-three and six. A WHIP under one. You don't just sleep through that.

CARLA— Razor Shines, everybody.

RAZORLet's GO. It is finally, FINALLY time. The 2026 World League Baseball season is upon us and I have been waiting for this for a long time. A long time.

CARLAWe both have. This offseason felt like it lasted about six years.

RAZORAt least. I was starting to forget what a box score looked like.

CARLAI'm sure you managed.

RAZORI did not manage, Carla. I did not manage well at all.

CARLABefore we get into the teams — there has been some chatter coming out of spring training.

RAZORYeah. I don't even know where to start.

CARLAReports coming in from multiple camps — players taking pitches in situations where you'd absolutely expect them to be swinging away. Guys bunting. Just... bunting. Seemingly at random.

RAZORI saw a report — I'm not going to name the team — but there was a situation, late in a spring training game, runners on first and second, and the guy at the plate lays down a bunt. For a hit. Nobody on either side of it seemed to know quite how that happened.

CARLAAnd this wasn't an isolated incident.

RAZORNot even close. It was league-wide. And it almost felt like some of these guys were having trouble just... communicating with their players. Like something was getting lost between what the manager wanted and what the player was actually doing out there.

CARLAThat is a diplomatic way of putting it.

RAZORI try.

CARLAWell. It's spring training. You work the kinks out. By all accounts the camps closed in reasonable shape, so we are going to take everybody at their word that this is behind us and the real baseball starts now.

RAZORAgreed. Clean slate. Let's play ball.

CARLAThe official WLB pre-season predictions have been out for a bit. The headline prediction is that Chris Carpenter and the Nicaragua Crepe Wrappers take the championship. Iron Knob Explosions win the... division. And —

RAZORWait. Did you just say Iron Knob wins the division?

CARLAThat's what the report says.

RAZORWhat division?

CARLAThe —

RAZORThere are no divisions, Carla. There is one league. Eight teams. No divisions.

CARLA...You're right.

RAZORMaybe they meant the standings? Like, Iron Knob finishes first?

CARLAThat must be what they meant.

RAZORBecause there are no divisions.

CARLANoted. Moving on. The official report also predicts Brett Houlberg's Slap Daddys score the most runs in the league but finish just outside the championship conversation — and I'm quoting — "because Dickie Thon bats seventh."

RAZORI mean... they're not wrong about Dickie Thon.

CARLAJeff Burris and the Rick Astleys are predicted to finish third and, again quoting, "make every series uncomfortable." Garth Graham's Honey Badgers are called a surprise overachiever. And Chris Broyles and the Huanca Wankers are described as the team everyone should have been afraid of.

RAZORShould have been. Past tense. Already writing them off before the season starts. Interesting choice.

CARLAHuanca Wankers. Manager Chris Broyles. Draft grade A-minus. Pre-season odds four-to-one.

RAZORChris Broyles knew exactly what he was doing in that draft room. The middle infield on this team is just — it's almost unfair. Howard Johnson at short — .287, 36 home runs, 101 RBIs, OPS pushing .930. And then Ryne Sandberg at second — .290, 30 home runs. That's a middle infield that most teams would build their whole offense around and Broyles treats it like it's Tuesday.

CARLARobin Yount in center. .318, 21 home runs, 103 RBIs. Bo Jackson in left. 32 home runs, 105 RBIs.

RAZORBo knows, Carla.

CARLAThis offense is built to grind you down over 162 games. And then you get to the bullpen and Broyles has just... assembled six closers.

RAZORSix. Lee Smith. Dan Plesac. Mike Schooler. Randy Myers. Rick Aguilera. Tim Burke. Now — is that a deliberate strategic philosophy, or did something go slightly sideways in rounds twelve through eighteen?

CARLAThe official answer appears to be: philosophy.

RAZORI respect that. I just want to know which one of those six is actually closing games in October.

CARLAThe rotation concern is real. David Cone is good — but the draft analysis had him at 2.49 ERA and the raw numbers show something closer to 3.52.

RAZORThat's not a rounding error. That's a whole different pitcher. Six closers and a mystery ace. Only in the WLB.

CARLABottom line — are we buying the Wankers at four-to-one?

RAZORI think they're going to win a lot of baseball games. The rotation has to hold. But four-to-one feels right. Don't sleep on Huanca.

CARLAKnockemstiff Slap Daddys. Manager Brett Houlberg. Draft grade B-plus. Pre-season odds five-to-one.

RAZORHoulberg walked into that draft room and said: I am going to get the best offensive player available and I am going to build around him. And he got Kevin Mitchell.

CARLAKevin Mitchell. Left field. .291 average, .387 on-base, 47 home runs, 125 RBIs. OPS of 1.022. Best individual season stat line of anyone drafted in this entire league.

RAZORAnyone. By a distance. 47 and 125. That's not a baseball player, that's a natural disaster wearing a uniform.

CARLAFred McGriff at first — .269, 36 home runs. Bobby Bonilla at third. Ruben Sierra in right. Ken Griffey Junior in center.

RAZORKid Griffey. .264, 16 home runs — anyone who's watched him play knows those numbers are going in one direction only. The rotation is anchored by Nolan Ryan — 16 wins, 239 innings, 301 strikeouts. Jay Howell closing with a 1.58 ERA and 28 saves.

CARLANow. The roster curiosity.

RAZORDickie Thon.

CARLADickie Thon at shortstop.

RAZORI have nothing against Dickie Thon as a human being or as a baseball player. He's a professional. He shows up. But you have Kevin Mitchell hitting cleanup and Fred McGriff behind him and somewhere down in that lineup Dickie Thon is batting seventh and you just — you notice it. You notice the gap.

CARLAAlso thin at catcher. Houlberg's team is going to be must-watch baseball either way.

CARLARick Astleys. Manager Jeff Burris. Draft grade B-plus. Pre-season odds five-to-one.

RAZORJeff Burris sent a message when this team was announced. The message was "Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you down."

CARLAHe did.

RAZORI respect the commitment to the bit.

CARLAEric Davis in center — .281, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs. Danny Tartabull in right. Tim Raines in left. And Wade Boggs at third.

RAZORWade Boggs. .330 batting average. .430 on-base percentage. Three home runs.

CARLAFor the season.

RAZORThree home runs in a full season. Wade Boggs is the most pure "we win four to two and you'll like it" player in this entire league.

CARLAThe actual ace of this staff is Scott Garrelts. 2.28 ERA. NL ERA leader. 30 starts.

RAZORWho was drafted... as a bullpen arm.

CARLARound seven.

RAZORRound SEVEN. Jeff Burris drafted the best starting pitcher on his team in round seven because nobody was paying attention. That's either genius or an accident that became genius, and either way it worked. Dennis Eckersley closing — 1.56 ERA, 33 saves. Best closer drafted by anyone.

CARLAI think the Astleys are better than third. Garrelts alone gives them a weapon most teams don't have an answer for.

CARLAIron Knob Explosions. Manager Andrew Harris. Draft grade A. Pre-season odds three-to-one — the top-rated team.

RAZORAnd they earned it. Andrew Harris put together the most balanced roster in this draft. Every position, you go "okay, that works." It's almost annoying.

CARLARickey Henderson in left — .274, .411 on-base, 77 stolen bases. Will Clark at first — .333, 23 home runs, 111 RBIs. Tony Gwynn. Darryl Strawberry. Ozzie Smith.

RAZORAnd then the rotation. Orel Hershiser. 2.31 ERA. 256 innings. 15 and 15 — a pitcher who deserved so much better than he got. Chuck Finley at 2.57. Greg Maddux — 19 wins, 2.95 ERA. Bert Blyleven at 2.73. That is a legitimate top-four rotation.

CARLAMark Davis closing — 1.85 ERA, 44 saves. The roster curiosity here — Andrew Harris drafted two catchers AND two shortstops.

RAZORBenito Santiago and Lance Parrish. Ozzie Smith and Tony Fernandez. Both catchers are real players, both shortstops are real players. But you cannot play two catchers at the same time. That's just physics.

CARLATop pick to win it all. Are we buying?

RAZORThe rotation alone might carry them. Three-to-one feels right. This is a championship-caliber team.

CARLAFugging Honey Badgers. Manager Garth Graham. Pre-season odds nine-to-two. Draft grade B-plus.

RAZORGarth Graham does not care what your name is. He does not care if you're famous. He looks at the numbers and he drafts the numbers.

CARLAHis first pick — sixth in the draft — was Lonnie Smith.

RAZORLonnie Smith. .315 average. .415 on-base. 21 home runs, 79 RBIs. OPS of .948. Did everyone at the draft table look up when that name was called? Yes. Did some people chuckle? I'm told yes. Is Garth Graham going to have the last laugh? Quite possibly.

CARLAAlvin Davis at first — .305, .424 on-base, 21 home runs, 95 RBIs. Carlton Fisk catching. George Brett at third. Dwight Evans in right. The rotation is the most consistent top-to-bottom ERA of any staff in this league. Bruce Hurst at 2.69. Mike Moore at 2.61. Doug Drabek at 2.80. Kirk McCaskill at 2.93. Rick Reuschel at 2.94.

RAZORFive starters. All under three. Not one of them is a superstar name. Every single one will take the ball and give you seven innings and not embarrass you. That's how you win a pennant race in September when everyone else's rotation is falling apart.

CARLAAnd then the bullpen. Jeff Montgomery — ERA 1.37. Bill Landrum at 1.67. Lee Lancaster at 1.36. Larry Andersen at 1.54.

RAZORFour relievers. All under two. All of them. Garth Graham built a bullpen that is going to quietly suffocate the life out of opposing offenses.

CARLAThe roster curiosity — four first basemen. Alvin Davis. Mark McGwire. John Kruk. And additional depth.

RAZORGarth. Buddy. I love what you're doing. But there is one first base bag on the diamond and you have drafted enough first basemen to field your own intrasquad game at the position. Do not sleep on the Honey Badgers. Seriously.

CARLANicaragua Crepe Wrappers. Manager Chris Carpenter — goes by Carp. Draft grade A. Pre-season odds five-to-two. The official prediction is that Carp wins the whole thing.

RAZOR

Low whistle.

CARLAPick number one overall — Bret Saberhagen.

RAZOR1989 Cy Young Award winner. Twenty-three wins. Six losses. ERA of 2.16. WHIP of 0.96. 262 innings. Carp built a cathedral on top of him.

CARLARoger Clemens behind Saberhagen. Mark Langston at 2.74. Ed Whitson at 2.66. Bob Welch at 3.00. And then Jimmy Key in round 27. Two closers — Tom Henke at 1.92 ERA, 20 saves. Gregg Olson at 1.69, 27 saves.

RAZORTwo elite closers. Cal Ripken at short, Don Mattingly at first, Roberto Alomar at second, Kirby Puckett in center — .339, .379 on-base, 85 RBIs —

CARLAThe roster curiosity — Tony Pena at catcher. .655 OPS.

RAZORThat is a liability. In a lineup this constructed, Tony Pena's bat is a real hole. It will come up. It will matter in a long series.

CARLAThe official report says Carp wins it all. Are we buying?

RAZORSaberhagen and Clemens in the same rotation. Two elite closers. Kirby Puckett. I'm not going to argue with that prediction. I think that series goes seven games and somebody needs a very stiff drink at the end of it.

CARLAAnd now — because the league requires eight teams and we are professionals —

RAZOR

Suppressing a laugh.

CARLA— we will briefly acknowledge the existence of the PC Beach Hurricanes and the Oak Ridge Nukes. PC Beach Hurricanes. Harold Reynolds at second base — 613 at-bats. Zero home runs.

RAZORZero.

CARLADave Schmidt starting. 5.69 ERA.

RAZORHe takes the ball, I'll give him that.

CARLAOak Ridge Nukes. Doyle Alexander — six wins, eighteen losses, 223 innings pitched.

RAZORTwo hundred and twenty-three innings. He just kept going out there. You have to respect that kind of commitment to a difficult situation.

CARLAWe wish them well.

RAZORWe genuinely do.

CARLAFinal thoughts. Bold predictions. You first.

RAZORNicaragua wins the championship — I'm not going to be contrarian, Saberhagen is just that good. But here's my bold call: the Honey Badgers finish with more wins than anyone in this league expects. Garth Graham has built something nobody is talking about and that bullpen is going to be the story of the second half. Mark it down.

CARLAMy prediction: Iron Knob gives Nicaragua the hardest time. That rotation matchup is the series I want to see. And I think the Rick Astleys finish higher than third. Garrelts at 2.28 is too good to be a surprise all season.

Phone rings — slightly old-fashioned, the kind of ring that belongs to someone with a landline and no plans to change that.

CARLAOh. Oh, we have a caller. You're on Foul Territory.

MELCarla! Razor! Mel Kowalski here — listen, I have been going over these batter profiles and I need to talk about the Honey Badgers' lineup construction because if you look at Alvin Davis's on-base percentage against right-handed pitching specifically —

CARLAMel — Mel, I am so sorry —

MEL— because the numbers suggest that Garth may have actually UNDER-valued —

CARLAMel, we are completely out of time, we have to wrap —

MEL— I'm just saying the platoon splits alone —

RAZORMel, we love you, we will pick this up —

CARLANext time, Mel, we promise —

MEL— I'll call back —

CARLAWe know you will, Mel.

Click. Brief silence.

RAZORHe's going to call back within the hour.

CARLAHe absolutely is. That is going to do it for this episode of Foul Territory. I'm Carla Streich. He is Razor Shines. The 2026 World League Baseball season is here and we could not be happier about it.

RAZORLet's play some ball.

CARLAFoul Territory — because somebody has to say what the official broadcast won't.