Is This A Great Game, Or What?

Mike Monaco is a teammate of Tim Kurkjian at ESPN and also calls Boston Red Sox games. What a team to be a part of in 2026! We start with a lot of Todd Frazier love (and impressions) because we all just love this guy so, so much. The Little League World Series will be starting up soon, and both Mike and Tim have called games there together. That means amazing memories in Williamsport, PA.
The first game these two broadcasters called together, they weren’t even in the same room! We hear all about how that went. Where did Mike get his broadcasting start? Well, you might be surprised to hear that broadcasting wasn’t actually his dream when he entered Notre Dame, but that clearly changed very quickly. He called games in the Cape League, so naturally, Jeff did some deep diving to find a question from someone in Mike’s past.
Mike grew up a Red Sox fan, and we hear about the players he loved growing up, including Mo Vaughn, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. They say, “Don’t meet your heroes,” but we disagree — and so would Mike Monaco. We also had to ask him about the red-hot Red Sox, who have completely turned things around. Mike has a message for Red Sox fans, too: He believes they are the best fans in the world.
Mike is a friend of the show and a member of the family, and we are so glad to have him with us — and with YOU! Thank you so much for listening or watching, and as always, thanks for being a part of our family!
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On Jeff Kurkjian’s 33rd birthday, we get Tim and Jeff TOGETHER! How special is that? And as if that weren’t enough to celebrate, it’s also Jeff’s daughter’s third birthday, so there’s plenty of celebrating to go around.
But nobody is celebrating more than Red Sox fans right now… even if their winning streak came to a rather strange ending.
Max Scherzer enters a top-10 list—big ups to him! However, Tim is rather bummed to see one of his favorites OUT of it. Jordan Walker finally breaks the curse. Matt Olson joins an exclusive club. Chase Utley gets honored, and Mike Krukow gets some love from Hall of Famer Tim Kurkjian.
The Tigers are really good—and they’re having a lot of fun doing it, piling up runs in shutout games. Miles Mikolas might just be a new favorite pitcher. Plus, we always seem to have a Shohei note!
We also spin The Wheel of Kurkjian, thanks to all of your suggestions—and there are a LOT of them.
We know we have a lot of new family members joining the show, so we want to give you a big WELCOME! Remember, we don’t do things like all the other baseball shows. Sure, we’ll give you what’s going on around the game, but we also want you to love baseball the way father-son duos do.
Get to know us. Become part of the family by following wherever you listen!
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The Red Sox are red hot, the Tigers are one of the most fun teams in baseball, and Pete Crow-Armstrong left us completely baffled with his latest hot take. We cover all of it in this episode of Is This A Great Game, Or What? But first, Tim shares his latest travel woes, Jeff celebrates an impending birthday, and we answer the question: What exactly is an "Alfonseca?" It couldn't be more perfect for this show.
Our Quirkjians feature plenty of Q's—not questions, but names. Winns and Wynns? That's exactly the kind of baseball quirk we love. Then we compare the Phillies' newest addition, Luis Arraez, with Nick Kurtz, and the contrast between the two is absolutely wild.
On This Date in Baseball History, Tim revisits perhaps the one number that still haunts him to this day—a moment he'll never live down. We also look back at the legendary Tony Gwynn, whose incredible ability to make contact and get on base feels even more remarkable in today's strikeout-heavy era.
For our Alphabest, the letter "T" belongs to a current position player who is a first-ballot Hall of Famer without question. And in 3 Cards In The (Wherever We Find Them), we actually pulled a manager card—a rarity that made for a fun surprise.
Happy early birthday to Jeff and his daughter, McKinley! Thanks for listening, thanks for watching, and as always, thanks for being a part of our family.
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We've got Tim Kurkjian's immediate reactions to one of the wildest trade deadlines in recent memory. The Tarik Skubal news may be a few days old, but it was easily the biggest story of the weekend. Plus, the Red Sox somehow landed Adley Rutschman from their division rival, the Orioles—still hard to believe. We break down all the biggest moves, including the Cubs, Guardians, Rays, and more.
Tim joins us from ESPN headquarters in Bristol, squeezing us in between appearances on Baseball Tonight, SportsCenter, and Buster Olney's podcast. The fact that he still finds time for our little show is something we never take for granted.
With so much trade deadline buzz, don't forget to go back and check out our conversation with Jim Bowden. His perspective as a former general manager provides a unique behind-the-scenes look at what the trade deadline is really like.
We also want to invite you to a very special event on August 22 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. We'll be hosting an afternoon of great baseball conversation to benefit Michael Brown, a young father living with ALS who has become a close friend of our family. Our goal is to help Michael and his family get the support they need, and we'd love to see you there. If you're in the Philadelphia area—or just looking for a great reason to make a summer trip—join us at the SunnyBrook Ballroom. Get your tickets here: souljoels.com/shop/tickets/anightwithtimkurkjian/
Thanks so much for listening and watching. As always, thank you for being a part of our family!
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HAPPY TRADE DEADLINE! We are celebrating by bringing in Jim Bowden, friend and former General Manager of the Reds and Nationals. He is also the host of GM Territory with HIS son. I mean, come on, how perfect is it to interview him about that given what our show is all about!
His best stories come out including Ken Griffey Jr., Deion Sanders, Ryan Zimmerman and more. His very first year as a GM, well let’s not talk about it, but he has many years of amazing deadlines to talk about!
What ended up being a highlight was the chat about Frank Robinson. What an amazing man. What he had to say about Andruw Jones, now a Hall of Famer, will give you chills. Again, hopefully you laughed and learned in this episode. Our goal is to always tap into something going on in the game and nothing is more exciting than August 3rd, THE TRADE DEADLINE!
We appreciate you watching/listening and as always, thanks for being a part of our family!
Use our code for 10% off your next order of MLB tickets on SeatGeek*: seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TERRITORY10 Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount
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