November 28, 2011

BP Unfiltered

Talkin' Cooperstown on Clubhouse Confidential

by Jay Jaffe

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It gives me great pleasure to announce that I'll be debuting on MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential on Tuesday at 5:30 PM Eastern. For the uninitiated, Clubhouse Confidential is a cutting-edge attempt to put advanced statistics in the television spotlight, using them not only to analyze the day's big news but to explore some of the perennial controversies which often pit statheads against the mainstream. The show debuted earlier this month — Derek Carty gave an early review — and from the point of its inception, those of us at Baseball Prospectus had reason to hope we'd get into the mix, particularly since host Brian Kenny regularly featured BP alums Joe Sheehan and Keith Law during his days at ESPN; Sheehan has already become a regular guest on the new show. A couple of weeks ago, their producers reached out, and I auditioned last week. Maybe the tie was the key.

I'll be discussing the top names on the Hall of Fame's Golden Era ballot for a "Cooperstown Justice" segment, guys like Ron Santo and Gil Hodges who are staples of my annual JAWS review (see here for my full writeup). The spot should run about four minutes, so I'll have to work on being concise, something that anyone who has waded through my 3,500-word pieces on the topic knows doesn't come naturally to me.

In any event, this isn't the first time I've done a spot on TV, but it's one that fills me with pride, as I am delighted to represent BP in this new venue. As I said last year when I gained entry into the BBWAA, I'm standing on the shoulders of giants in reaching this plateau, and I'm hopeful that my fellow Prospectapotamuses can follow in my wake.

p.s. Follow Clubhouse Confidential online at @CHConfidential for the daily rundown of guests and topics. You can also ask Brian a question that might be answered in the "Touching Base" segment at the end of each show.