Sources Tell Jeff Passan

Jeff Passan asked all 30 MLB owners for an interview about baseball's looming labor war. He got 30 nos. So he answers the biggest questions himself — the ones ownership won't touch on the record.

MLB is pushing for its first salary cap in over 30 years, and the MLBPA has called the league's proposal "the worst system for players in any of the major sports — and it's not close." With the CBA set to expire and a lockout looking more likely by the week, Jeff breaks down what a cap would actually fix, who benefits, and why a full season could disappear in 2027 the way one did in hockey in 2004-05.

Along the way: a hard look at the Dodgers' payroll and luxury tax spending compared to the rest of the league, the legal nuclear options both sides are sitting on, the ghost of 1994, and how close baseball is to a shutdown nobody in charge wants to talk about.

Five questions. Zero owners willing to answer them. One very real chance the game stops.
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MLB expansion is on the horizon. So who gets a team?

Jeff Passan is joined by representatives from six cities hoping to land an MLB team — Montreal, Nashville, Portland, Salt Lake City, Raleigh and Orlando — and gives each of them the chance to make their case. Why is their city ready for Major League Baseball? What would a new team look like? And which pitch is the most convincing?

Six cities. A limited number of spots. Let the expansion pitches begin.

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September is one of the most special times on the baseball calendar. For players grinding away in the minor leagues, it’s a month when anything can happen — and the dream of reaching the big leagues can suddenly feel a whole lot closer.

This week, I’m celebrating September baseball through three remarkable stories: John Paciorek, who went 3-for-3 in his only MLB game and finished with a perfect 1.000 batting average; Brian Jeroloman, who was called up by the Blue Jays in 2011 but never got into a major league game; and Matt Buschmann, who joins me to share his own unforgettable September baseball story.

Three very different journeys — and a reminder of the hope and possibility that September brings to baseball.
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On this episode of Sources Tell Jeff Passan, Jeff is joined by financial fraud expert and whistleblower Tom Gober for a deep dive into the complicated financial web surrounding Dodgers owner Mark Walter, Guggenheim, and the insurance companies connected to the purchase and operation of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

How were insurance companies used to help finance the purchase of the Dodgers? Why do Mark Walter’s insurance companies own the Dodgers’ television contract? And how did a franchise that emerged from bankruptcy become a multibillion-dollar powerhouse?

Gober breaks down how potential financial-crime cases are built, when affiliated investments begin raising regulatory concerns, the role of the NAIC, and how reinsurance factors into the Dodgers’ financial structure. Plus, the red flag settlement from 2012, where the profits ultimately go, the biggest potential concern for Walter’s lawyers, and who could ultimately be held responsible.

TIMECODES:

0:00 Welcome to Sources Tell Jeff Passan

0:25 Dodgers Owner Mark Walter's Billion-Dollar Insurance Scandal

4:25 Tom Gober Joins Sources Tell Jeff Passan

5:35 How Mark Walter Used Insurance Companies To Buy The Dodgers

7:12 How Cases Are Built With Potential Financial Crimes

8:55 The Complicated Web Of Guggenheim's Holdings

11:03 When Affiliated Investments Become Problematic

12:45 Investment Threshold That Causes The NAIC To Start Asking Questions

16:36 How Does Something Like This Happen?

18:25 The Game-Changing Dodgers Television Contract

23:37 Why Do Mark Walter's Insurance Companies Own The Dodgers TV Contract?

26:30 How The Dodgers Went From Bankrupt To Billions

32:15 Wall Street's Stance On The Matter

36:30 What Is Reinsurance And How Does It Involve The Dodgers?

48:05 More Insight Into The Mark Walter-Dodgers Situation

50:05 Biggest Concern For Mark Walter’s Lawyer

52:25 Profits Go To The Dodgers And Their Owners

56:17 Who’s To Blame?
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On this episode of Sources Tell Jeff Passan, newly discovered footage captures baseball legends Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr on a fishing trip, talking—and debating—the art of the baseball swing.

Jeff is joined by Joey Votto, who idolized Williams and studied The Science of Hitting, along with the Executive Director of the Ted Williams Foundation and a friend and former security guard of Ted’s.

Together, they watch this remarkable footage and break down Ted’s thoughts on hitting, his approach to the swing, and what it’s like to hear one of baseball’s greatest hitters talk about his craft in such a candid setting.

A rare glimpse of baseball history that has to be seen.
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