Skip to content
PMTPMT DB

Takes

Void
HankHank

Roman Anthony is a defensive liability for the Red Sox because everyone is successfully running on him in left field.

Roman Anthony, world baseball classic hero. But he has been, he's become a meme basically. If he can't, he just can't throw anyone out from left field. Everyone's just running on Roman. Shane tried to tell me he was great last year, but he was playing right field. Now he's playing left field... it's just not good.

Whether a player is a 'liability' is subjective, though defensive stats can provide some evidence over time.
Void
HankHank

I am not a fan of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system in baseball

I'm not a fan... I just don't understand why you even have umpires in the first place if you're gonna do the ABS thing. There's gonna be so many more [reviews] in baseball.

The take is a personal preference.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Aaron Judge is an absolute choke artist after his WBC performance

Aaron Judge just sucking yet again. And he's gonna get, he's gonna lose some pinstripes over this. I think that's only fair... absolute choke artist. Expected nothing else from him. And he delivered nothing.

Subjective opinion on Judge's 'clutch' gene, though Judge did strike out in a key moment in this fictional 2026 WBC scenario.
Void
HankHank

Aaron Judge is an absolute choke artist who delivered nothing for Team USA

Aaron Judge, like you knew he was striking out. And he did. He's an absolute joke, absolute choke artist. Expected nothing else from him and he delivered nothing.

This reflects the consensus opinion of the hosts following the game's outcome as described in the show.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Italian WBC team acts more 'American' than the actual Team USA

I feel like the Italian team is more American than the American team. The way that they're acting. They're loud, they're boisterous, they're arrogant, they're fun. That's what I want outta my American teams.

Subjective cultural and stylistic observation about team chemistry and celebration.
Void
HankHank

I am rooting for the Dominican Republic over Team USA in the WBC because they are more electric

The Dominican team is electric and I like to be entertained when I'm watching sports. This tournament's for entertainment. I want to watch more games with the Dominican Republic team. I want more. I'm rooting for the USA correctly, but I respect the hell out of the Dominican team.

This is a subjective rooting interest.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Team USA would have lost the gold medal game if they listened to Aaron Judge's speech

That was one of the worst speeches of all time. If they're, why don't put that out. If you're world ba baseball classic, don't put that out. I think they're trying to get a little bit of the buzz from the Olympics team. USA would've lost the gold medal game if, if if someone stood up and gave Aaron Judge's speech.

Subjective counterfactual comparison between baseball and hockey.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

A baseball player must reach 2,000 hits to be considered elite

I think most real seam heads would say like 2000 hits. If you get to 2000 hits, you're probably elite. ... if you get to 2000, that's the big number in baseball. Everyone talks about you gotta get to 2000 hits.

This is a subjective definition of 'elite'.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The MLB All-Star Game is the only one that still holds any relevance

The only Allstar game that's still cool or holds any relevance is the baseball Allstar game because you can still throw 99 and still try to hit a dong off someone.

Void
Big CatBig Cat

Low-budget MLB teams like the Pirates and Reds would just pocket a Dodgers-sized budget rather than spend it on players

For all the teams that cry poor, I really do wonder if you just could [give them the budget]. Snap your fingers and be like, 'Pirates, you have the budget that the Dodgers have. Reds, you have the budget that the Dodgers have.' I don't think any of those teams would actually spend the way the Dodgers do. They just take a profit. Which is bullshit.

This is a hypothetical about owner behavior and inherently subjective.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Kyle Tucker came up small and 'sucked' in the playoffs

Kyle Tucker did have the perfect spot in game five against the Brewers and had a perfect pitch to, to, to hit an extra base hitter or a home run. And he fucking did nothing with it. Came up so small... he sucked. He was hurt, but he sucked. No, no. Don't give him, don't give him an out. Yeah, he sucked. He was a pussy about it.

While Tucker did struggle in the postseason, the characterization of him 'sucking' and being a 'pussy' is a subjective insult.
Void
Alex RodriguezAlex Rodriguez

MLB is currently in the best place it's been in a decade

This is the best baseball it's been in 10 years. I think Rob Manfred has done an incredible job with the with the time clock, with the basis, I mean the pace of the game.

Subjective assessment of the sport's health, though viewership and pace of play metrics support his claim.
Void
Alex RodriguezAlex Rodriguez

My relationship with Derek Jeter is as good as it’s been in over 20 years because I finally grew up.

Our relationship is great. It is as good as it's been in I would say over 20 years. And, and part of it is Dan is me growing up, right? Like, I mean, and when I look back now I'm like, man, I must have been a very difficult guy to deal with.

This is an assessment of a personal relationship.
Void
Clayton KershawClayton Kershaw

Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 game in the 2024 NLCS is the best game ever played in sports history

[Ohtani's game] might be the best game ever played, maybe in any sport... especially when you consider the NLCS, you know, it's like, it's in the playoffs, you know? Yeah. I think he might be right.

Subjective assessment of historical greatness.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Blue Jays' World Series loss is the worst loss of all time

I think that might be the worst loss of all time for the Blue Jays... the slow burn of the loss where if you're a Falcons fan and you're looking at 28 to three... those happen all in one game. This was 10 days where it just, and you had 3-2 going back home. It's just insane.

The Blue Jays' loss was historically unique and heartbreaking, but 'worst of all time' is inherently a matter of fan perspective.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Dodgers/Blue Jays 2025 World Series was one of the greatest ever

That was one of the greatest World series, like start to finish. ... every game had its own like little unique personality to it and was crazy. It, it was nuts.

This is a subjective evaluation of a sporting event.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Mark Walter might be the best owner in all of sports

This guy might be the best owner in all of sports because afterwards... Yamamoto was a good bet because of his age... He trusts the evaluations... I just tell them, yes. That's what an owner should do. He has really smart baseball people and he just says yes.

Subjective assessment of sports ownership quality.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The 18-inning game took more out of the Dodgers than the Blue Jays due to their age

They were saying that the 18 inning game took more out of the Dodgers than the Blue Jays because the Dodgers are considerably older of a team.

Whether fatigue from a specific game caused later losses is inherently subjective.
Void
MaxMax

The Blue Jays are playing free with nothing to lose compared to the pressured Dodgers

The Jays are in a great sweet spot right now. Very talented team. And they're playing free with nothing to lose.

Team psychology is a matter of opinion.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Shohei Ohtani might be the best athlete we will ever see in any sport

[Shohei Ohtani] is getting into the territory of one, he's somehow underpaid. Two, he might be the best athlete we ever watch, play any sport. It's getting into the Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, these territories where in 50 years you could see yourself saying, remember when we got to watch Shohei Ohtani.

Subjective comparison of athletes across eras and sports.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Brad Paisley is the Scott Foster of Major League Baseball because he is an 'extender' who sings the anthem before extra-inning games

I'm not a big Brad Paisley fan, but maybe I should be. He's the extender. He's like Scott Foster for Major League Baseball. [Every game he sings the national anthem before] went to extra innings. Game two in 2017 went 11, game three in 2018 went 18, game one in 2024 went 10, and this game went 18. Brad Paisley [sang] the national anthem before all those games.

The take is based on a humorous observation of extra-inning outcomes and is inherently subjective.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Dodger Stadium has a very cool vintage 1970s aura

I don't know, I was seeing some people say that there's a lack of aura in Los Angeles... at least just from personal experience, we went to that stadium. That stadium has Aura. Yeah. That stadium is cool as fuck. It's the worst place to get in and out of. But when you're in there, it has like a very cool vintage seventies type vibe.

Subjective opinion on stadium atmosphere.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Shohei Ohtani's three-home run and 10-strikeout game is the greatest individual performance in sports history.

I feel very comfortable saying that Shohei Ohtani hitting three home runs, pitching six shutout innings with 10 KS in an elimination game was the greatest single game performance I've ever seen a baseball player play. ... might have been the best game in the history of sports.

The event happened in the show's context, but its status as 'greatest' is subjective.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Baseball fans should blame their own cheap owners for not spending instead of being mad at the Dodgers.

We should be complaining about the Pirate's owner and the Red's owner and the, and the Rockies owner and all these owners that don't wanna spend a dollar. That's who should get the blame. Not the Dodgers. ... I'm done complaining about it. Blame your owner or not the Dodgers.

Subjective sports business philosophy.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Dodgers are essentially a collection of All-Stars that is unfair to the rest of the league

Dudes on dudes. That's what the Dodgers are. They just have dudes everywhere. They just hit home runs. ... It's crazy how good the Dodgers are. It's not fair. ... Like I want that, I want an owner who's just like, oh yeah, we, we already have a, a ton of dudes that are awesome. Let's just pay another dude a hundred, $200 million just to get even more awesome.

Void
Big CatBig Cat

Baseball teams should celebrate every playoff series win, regardless of prestige

I'm a big believer in celebrate everything. I know people get upset about it, but it's like the baseball season is so long you have to celebrate the ride. You don't know where your next celebration's gonna be. ... I'm a celebrate everything guy.

Void
Jeff PassanJeff Passan

The Dodgers vs. Brewers series is a proxy war for the future of baseball's economic system

This is not just the Brewers versus the Dodgers. This is the future of baseball as we know it in a proxy war because whoever ends up winning this series, the other side will use this when the MLB goes to a lockout and fights for a salary cap.

Postseason outcomes are frequently used as talking points in CBA negotiations.
Void
Jeff PassanJeff Passan

The Philadelphia Phillies' current core is at a dead end and needs a major shakeup

The Phillies like, could be in a very transitional phase at this point because this current incarnation of them guys just has failed. Like they have not been able to win a championship. They've gone backward or, or been stagnant every year. And at some point you just gotta change the mix in the room.

The Phillies entered a period of roster re-evaluation but the core largely remained for the following season, though results continued to vary.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Mariners win over the Tigers in the ALDS was fueled by the 'Vibe Shift' of Humpy the Salmon winning his first race

This win goes as much to their stadium management crew as it does to the team on the field. Because T-Mobile Park was a dead zone. And then they did a second Salmon race... and Humpy the Salmon, a mascot who'd never won... his record was 0 and 162... Humpy won. Vibe shift entirely. Next inning, Mariners win.

The causality between a mascot race and an MLB playoff result is inherently mystical and cannot be verified.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Aaron Boone doesn't actually do anything for the Yankees besides chew on things

I don't really know what Aaron Boone does with that team besides just like chews. He just chews stuff. Yeah, he's like a dog. If you leave him alone, he, and there's something in front of him, he will pick it up in his mouth and he will chew it. But outside of that, I don't know what his day-to-day is.

Subjective opinion about a coach's value.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Statcast measurements for home run distances are a lie

Stack Cast said [the Aaron Judge home run went] like 473. I don't believe that for a second. ... When they say like 373 feet on their like internal measurement system, there's no way that was only 373 feet, right? No, I don't believe any of that.

This is a subjective opinion on the accuracy of tracking technology, which cannot be definitively proven wrong without independent data.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Cheating in baseball is legal as long as it doesn't involve electronics or batteries

Cheating in baseball is legal except if you use electronics. That's my, that's my rule. Like use electronics then at that, if a battery is involved, then that's against the rules.

The MLB rulebook does prohibit sign-stealing via electronic means, but 'cheating' is generally illegal in all forms; PFT is making a satirical point about the culture of the sport.
Void
MaxMax

Rob Thomson is coaching the Phillies like a loser

Rob Thompson is coaching like a loser. ... His reasoning for Aaron Nola is that he's a, he's a big time pitcher. Ranger Suarez is a big time pitcher. Pitch your best guys. ... it's the momentum that, that just really pissed me off. Is that it was the first time the stadium was feeling something and just ride it. Just ride it.

Whether a manager 'coached like a loser' is subjective, though the Phillies' eventual exit or success in the 2025 postseason would provide context.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Yankees should not celebrate a wild card win

I don't think that the Yankees should celebrate winning a wild card round... I think every other team can do it. You're the New York Yankees. You're supposed to be the Yankees. The standard shouldn't just be winning a wild card series.

Subjective take on sports fandom etiquette and team standards.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Tigers' series win erased the memory of the Guardians' historic 15.5-game comeback

Did the Tigers just erase that entire 15 and a half game comeback? I unfortunately think yes... when you lose then to the Tigers in three games, that's brutal. You caught them to then get the right to lose to them at home. You kept them alive to allow them to embarrass you.

Inherently subjective take on how fans remember a season.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Cubs should always play afternoon playoff games and the Phillies should always play night games

I have a take about the Cubs games. I think the playoffs, whenever possible the Cubs should play afternoon games. And the Phillies should play night games... Because Wrigley Field looks awesome. Especially like in the sunset... the stadium is perfect for Twilight. And then Philly, the SEC environment... it works at the bank.

Subjective aesthetic preference.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Guardians' historic comeback to win the AL Central will embolden bad GMs to never give up on a season

The fact that [the Guardians] won the AL Central now emboldens every general manager... because when they're 15 and a half games back, they'll be like, 'We're still in this. Remember the Guardians?'

This is an observation on front office psychology and 'copycat' league behavior.
Void
HankHank

Teams should only celebrate clinching the division, not the Wild Card or DS

Clinching the playoffs is absolutely celebration worthy... I think when you win the wild card division series, it's like, this should be business as usual. Like we are, we're here now to win a championship. Let's focus on that.

Purely a subjective view on sports etiquette.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Shohei Ohtani should be eliminated from MVP consideration after giving up five runs to the Rockies

Shohei [Ohtani] got rocked and he got hit by a line drive... he hit into a triple play, five runs against the Rockies. Those two things should eliminate you from the MVP.

Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

MLB realignment and getting rid of the American and National Leagues would be a mistake

Shut the fuck up. Get the fuck out of my clubhouse, Rob [Manfred]... I actually think they should do the opposite. They should get rid of Interleague play... Dial it back, but don't get rid of the leagues. That would be a mistake.

This is a subjective opinion on league structure.
Void
HankHank

MLB cannot let Shohei Ohtani win MVP because of the gambling and real estate controversies

I mean it, you can't, if you're the MLB, you can't have Shohei Ohtani with all these controversies being the base of your league. The gambling one, yeah, maybe blame it on the interpreter. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... we're about to give this guy his fourth MVP in five years? MLB writers really need to do like justice here because they are the keepers of the game.

While he won the award in 2024, this take is an opinion on what 'should' happen rather than a pure prediction, though it was proven wrong by the actual result if taken as a prediction.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

MLB should stop doing experimental stadium games and just do Field of Dreams every year

Why not just do it at Field of Dreams every single year. ... This is such a situation where like baseball had a really cool thing that White Sox Yankees game was insane. And why not just go back there and do it?

Subjective opinion on league scheduling and marketing strategy.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Pollad family are jerks who don't care about the Minnesota Twins winning

The Twins just trading their entire team and just being shitty ownership that needs to change. ... The Pollad family. Fuck you guys. Jim Pollad, Jerk. Carl Pollad, Jerk. Jim's son Joe, Jerk. ... Putting out a team where all you're trying to do is get to the playoffs a little bit and never actually go for it, that's bullshit.

Subjective evaluation of ownership intent and quality.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Chicago Cubs' 2025 trade deadline was a disaster with no clear plan.

Cubs Trade deadline recap... They got no plan. They got a bunch of rental arms. A super utility man. Which I like that. That's cool... But it feels like Kyle Tucker will not be resigned. The Cubs had, they, they traded a prospect, a really good pro prospect in Cam Smith for Kyle Tucker... And then they did nothing at the trade deadline. And they're holding onto prospects and then they're probably not gonna sign Kyle Tucker... it's a disaster.

Whether the Cubs' 2025 trade deadline was a 'disaster with no clear plan' is a subjective evaluation of front office strategy.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The only way the Cubs can make their deadline right is by re-signing Kyle Schwarber in free agency.

The only way they can make it right is if they bring back Kyle Schwarber. I decided on that. I'm gonna start putting the pressure on that. 'cause he's a free agent.

This is a subjective claim about fan satisfaction/team management strategy.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

I am officially back in on the San Diego Padres as World Series contenders.

I might be back in on the Padres. I feel like it's every time a year for me when I start thinking about the Padres and I was thinking about 'em today. Great bull[pen]. They had maybe the best bullpen last year and their bullpen's better.

Subjective confidence in a team's potential performance.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Bryce Harper is right that players are willing to lose a whole season over a salary cap.

He's right-ish... [Manfred] is pitching the salary cap right to the players circumventing the MLBPA. And it's their job to hear from the owners and then take that to the rank and file players. And then Harper's like, 'If you're gonna say that, get the fuck out.' Bryce Harper is right. Bryce is right about this... He can afford to lose 162 games. The guys at the top can afford to lose 162 games.

The willingness of the union to strike over a cap is a theoretical labor position that only gets tested during actual negotiations.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Baltimore Orioles have the best color scheme and logo in all of baseball

Orioles sneaky have like the best color scheme in baseball... and logo.

This is an inherently subjective opinion on team branding.
Void
HankHank

The walk-off catcher's interference rule is a stupid rule

I mean there's no, there's not much Hot Seat. It's just a stupid rule... Lost on walk off catcher's interference. Second time it's ever happened in MLB history. First time since 1971. The problem was the catcher just stuck it... It was technically letter of the law catcher's interference.

Rule validity is inherently subjective, though it is a codified MLB rule.
Void
MaxMax

I have no confidence in the Phillies right now

I, I, I'm, I'm tuned in. I watch every game. It's just, I, it's, I don't know. They're frustrating squad... Dude, I just don't have a lot of confidence in this, in this team right now.

This is a subjective emotional state for a fan, though the Phillies were highly successful in the 2024 season.

Search

Search takes, episodes, and speakers