Jesse Spector
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Articles by Jesse Spector
Three Cheers For The Mets
Before the 9th inning of Thursday’s Mets-Brewers winner-take-all game, I wondered, like I did after the 2022 season abruptly ended, what it was all year long that I had been watching. Every championship season across sports has some sort of inside joke, some kind of totem, some sort of rallying cry, some “signs” something special was afoot. The 2024 Mets certainly have had all those. But sometimes there are fake-outs. 2022 was Mark Canha Summer and Fogo de Chao and it ended with What the Fuck Fall.
Oops, All Mets!
Since Addy brought up the newsletter on the podcast, I figured I ought to write something. I’ve been struggling with what parameters to set for an Immaculate Grid-based series since the initial post, and all I’ve really been doing is filling a binder with each day’s puzzle, plus some others along the way. I realize that there don’t have to be rules: this is a space that I set up and I can do what I want here.
The Dale Sveum .009% Club
By Jesse Spector If you haven’t played Immaculate Grid, it’s a daily game that Brian Minter developed last year which has found a home at Sports Reference: you have nine guesses to fill nine squares with baseball players (or another sport’s athletes) based on who fits the category of a 3x3 grid’s columns and rows. You get one chance per day, but if you fill out a grid and want to play more, there’s always incognito mode or another browser.
Four winners in F1's first eight races
From Jesse: I was starting to get into a little groove writing again, trying some things in this space, and I’m sorry that I’ve been set back with some health woes — nothing that anyone needs to worry about, but enough to knock me off my game and also exact something of a mental toll. Absolutely nothing, however, can dampen my enthusiasm for this podcast, nor for Charles Leclerc’s victory in Monaco, which we celebrated on the podcast.
The Very Latest in Walk-Offs
Jim Northrup hit a walk-off home run on the day of The Concert for Bangladesh, which seven years later was supplanted by Lance Parrish as the latest in a game that the Tigers got a walk-off homer: two outs in the 16th inning. Detroit’s team record in this department still standing from 1978 sparked some curiosity. What is each major league team’s latest-in-a-game walk-off home run?
The Walk-Off For Bangladesh
We’re not going to re-live 1970 or 1973 at Madison Square Garden this spring, but the new We Can Pod It Out takes you back to MSG in 1971, when George Harrison and Friends played The Concert for Bangladesh on August 1. That day in Detroit, the Angels and Tigers played a marathon after Aurelio Rodriguez scored the tying run on an Eddie Fisher wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Vroom Vroom: Outside the Native Habitat of the Grit
On this Vroom Vroom episode, we continue dreaming about Adrian Newey coming to Ferrari, while Imola is coming up with updates on deck for the Scuderia. We're also enjoying the antics of last week's winner Lando Norris, as well as the food reviews that Denver Broncos part owner Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE did for the NFL team's schedule release video… …only for his own team to get cooked by the Chargers.
Pat Borders' non-Bulldog mentality
Pat Borders had a pretty nice baseball card in the 1989 Upper Deck set, but it’s not good enough to be a source for Wikipedia. Good for Wikipedia, because Borders was born on May 14, 1963 not in Lake Wales, Florida, but Columbus, Ohio. His family moved to Florida when he was a kid, and he went to high school there… and it seems likely that the front photo was taken about an hour’s drive from where he grew up, at spring training in Dunedin.
Vroom Vroom with Taylor Hagler
On the new Vroom Vroom podcast, we’re thrilled to welcome Taylor Hagler, the driver of the No. 77 Hyundai in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and the No. 19 Lamborghini in ADAC GT Masters, to talk about the differences racing in Europe and America, the similarities between auto racing and show jumping, and the challenge of making your way as a racer without generational wealth.
The Malört You Know
As I’m writing about a trip to Chicago, Chrystal and Colleen are podcasting about a Jewish catcher from New York on Dugout of History. I never made the majors or the spy services, but they are among the friends mentioned in the piece I’ve written, of course, and I’m so happy to produce their show and have it in this space. We’re gonna get back to posting here — I’m gonna get back to posting here — but not activate the paid subscriptions just yet.
Taylor Swift: The Dingers Tour
If Joey Votto needs a reason to give it a go in 2024 after being told by the Cincinnati Reds that his services are no longer required, there’s history out there for him to chase. On August 7, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Votto hit back-to-back homers against the Marlins. For the rookie, who hit 13 home runs this season, the dinger was the first of its kind. For the veteran Votto, the home run tied a record.
Tomato Soup and Beef Carpaccio
Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Tomato Soup and Beef Carpaccio F1 Season Review Part 2 In Episode 7 of Casual Diehard, Addy, Britt, and Jesse ask Aaron Rodgers to please send his medical team to help Jasson Dominguez, the latest off-the-track drama shows why Mercedes is the Michigan of F1, and it’s time to look back at our preseason impressions as we review the seasons of the top seven drivers of the year.
Bowl Bingo (with Jason Kirk)
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Prime Time at the Midnight Yell
Britt, Jesse, Keelin, and Lily are here for Ferdie Schupp and the Great War, a game that got both coaches fired, the Liván Hernandez of college football, Grandpa Elvy, fantasy booking for Iowa in the B1G title game, cursed teams all around, lots of options for Texas A&M, and a warning for swimmers on the Florida coast.
We Needed Florida Man Energy
Nov 10 • 46M Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! In this episode… Baseball executives had a crappy time Addy’s broth (boil 4 cups of chicken soup with 2 cups of water, stir in sliced jalapeño to taste, 4-6 cloves of minced garlic, the juice of one lime, and simmer for 15 minutes) Jesse relearns soup history Britt hotboxes Vick’s Chales Leclerc reverse jinx?
They All Have 69 Plays
Here is the list of FBS teams to score exactly 69 points in a game, according to data from James Howell’s database: Michigan - 1986 (Illinois), 1975 (Northwestern), 1947 (Pitt), 1917 (Mount Union), 1914 (Case) Nebraska - 1997 (Oklahoma), 1990 (Missouri), 1983 (Colorado), 1978 (Indiana) Missouri - 2011 (Western Illinois), 2008 (Nevada), 1969 (Kansas), 1913 (Drury) Florida State - 2012 (Murray State), 2008 (Western Carolina), 1992 (Maryland) Georgia Tech - 2015 (Alcorn State), 2007 (Samford),...
So Many Jello Shots
Oct 27 • 57M Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.
No Context Willets Pod
Playoff-bound Iowa, you heard it here first. Punt to win. Also, we’ve got a new shirt to go with this episode, the Iowa PUNT tee!
Stew York Chili
Sep 29 • 31M Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! Sophie Ross is back on the show for her first WNBA game, as we chat on the street and subway following Game 2 of the semifinals. Naturally, we also talk about the Bengals, and you better believe there’s a future trip to that bar being planned.
Wake Forest's Hardcore Sapphic Phase
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Pod At The Park: Lindsey Boylan
A fun night at the ballpark, right before I had shoulder surgery the next day. As the week draws to a close, I can wiggle my right fingers, but the arm is still numb, so apologies that there’s not a real written accompaniment here. But that’s okay, it’s a podcast, and Lindsey is a great listen!
The Vibes Were Broken
Aug 31 • 1HR 5M Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! For reference, our episode in March was… Arizona Iced Tea Cans In A Microwave: The 2023 New York Mets Season In Review Jesse Spector, Addy Baird, and 1 other · Mar 18 Over before it began. At least we kind of knew all along? Welcome back Colleen to the show, and here is the picture of Mr. and Mrs. Met with the mascots who visited Queens this week.
College Gameday: Baku
Aug 25 • 1HR 24M Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! We’re back for more Vroom Vroom time with Addy, Britt, Jesse, and Lily, getting back into gear after F1’s summer break with an attempt to make an alignment chart for the boys in fast cars. As the discussion of our beloved Ferrari reveals, alignment is really more of a spectrum than trying to find the right box for everyone.
Project 84: Keith Atherton (529)
Last night is not the first time that the Mets have lost a game on a walk-off balk. Having it happen as a result of trouble with the radio communication between the pitcher and catcher, and without the pitcher throwing a pitch, is a new twist, but it has happened before. Twice, in fact. The first time was May 28, 1989, in a rematch of the previous year’s NLCS.
Pod At The Park: Chrystal O'Keefe
You may notice that the cover art for this episode is a picture of Jesse and Chrystal at the Mets-White Sox game, while the podcast is from the Yankees-Royals game. Simple explanation for that: one person, who regularly hosts this show, messed up the recording at the Mets game, and so joined Chrystal as she wrapped up her New York visit in the Bronx. It was fun.
Valtteri Has A Mullet Now, He's Sexy
Jul 21 • 1HR 23M Joey Langdon from the Sickos Committee rescues Jordan from Addy and Jesse's fandom guidance, and everyone tries to figure out just who the Yankees (current sad version) are in Formula One Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.
Anthony Bourdain Rise From The Grave And Beat Henry Kissinger To Death With A Fish Challenge on Apple Podcasts
The Crack Team is real and the Crack Team song is real and Mr. Happy Crack is real. Mr. Happy Crack is real and was once photographed with Cardinals reliever Ray King (“The Gerund”) as the lefty wore a Mr. Happy Crack crop top. And you should read Jordan’s piece on Tim Wakefield and knuckleballs. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willetspen.substack.com/subscribe
Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! The Mets are still paying $1.19M each year to a guy who retired decades ago
Bobby Bonilla is still on the Mets’ payroll source: AP July 1 in baseball is Bobby Bonilla Day, when the Mets pay $1,193,248.20 to their former third baseman, who hasn’t set foot on a major league diamond since 2001, as part of a deferred payment plan. It’s a check the Mets have been cutting annually since 2011, and they will send a seven-figure sum to Bonilla, every July 1, through 2035. Thanks to that arrangement, a 57-year-old man stands to be one of baseball’s highest-paid players in 2020.
No Showtime On The L
Jun 28 • 25M Janice Scurio visits New York and chats on the subway with Jesse Spector after the Liberty's win over the Mystics, talking hoops, trains, baseball fandom, and Ellie the Elephant's dance moves Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.
Situationships with Anthropomorphic Baseballs
Jun 25 • 1HR 16M Or: Nobody Wants Clown Bones Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! In the spirit of the opening of this episode, the Rockies are trailing 23-0 in the fifth inning of a game as these words are written. By the time you read this, you may or may not know the final score. That’s not important. Whats important is that you stay away from , the Astros’ mascot, who is a creep.
Up In Smoke
Jun 8 • 1HR 15M New York City, our beloved Scuderia Ferrari, the Mets, even Jacob deGrom... it's all a dystopian nightmare for Addy, Britt, and Jesse to laugh to keep from crying about Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.
Wrath Month
Jun 1 • 1HR 1M Mark Canha saves the day Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! We had a lot to talk about in this episode that we recorded last night, a lot of negative feelings to get through about Baseball, because as much as we love the game, the institution… well, as Britt says, a big part of our podcast, in general, is about loving something that maybe doesn’t love you back.
The Alabama Truck Nuts League
This is the true story of seven strangers… actually, they’re not all strangers. Addy Baird and Britt Huber are on Willets Pod together often, and I’m not sure whether or not any of the other five people here know each other. Also, it’s not really a true story, it’s fantasy baseball. Except, it’s not fantasy baseball the way that you think about fantasy baseball.
Arizona Iced Tea Cans In A Microwave: The 2023 New York Mets Season In Review
Welcome to the party, Sickos of Summer. So long as you’re here, go check out The Sickos Sentinel. If you’ve already done that and have come here because you’re a fellow Sicko, hello (it’s specmotors from the Discord) and welcome to you, too! And check out our Discord, because, can you ever really have enough places to post? Anyway, you were promised a sports rabbit hole yesterday, and it is time to deliver on that promise.
Cleveland To Santa Clara County Pipeline Of Misery
Mar 3 • 1HR 1M Linda Surovich grapples with Patrick Kane's arrival in New York; on Willets Pod, it's Britt Huber, Abbey Mastracco, Janice Scurio, and Jesse Spector discovering the source of the Sharks' misery Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! By Linda Surovich As a sports fan, I once again have to reconcile with the fact that my favorite sports team does not care about me.
Go Birds? Go Birds!
I fell in love with my favorite football team while I was in college in Philadelphia. I’ve told the story before, but one part of the origin story that I didn’t include in my Paste piece six years ago. When the Sunderland fans celebrated Kevin Phillips’ extra-time winner in the League Cup round of 16, one of them ordered a Boddingtons.
Racing - Auto - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The star of Death of a Salesman on Broadway tells Deadspin about how he fell head over heels for the sport
We Can Pod It Out 10: Thank You Girl
Dec 16 • 4M Today's Pavilion goes from Starkville to Nashville, all over the world in between, and as expected, back in time Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! This weekend will be exciting because we’ll get to donate our first bunch of winter hats from our Hot Stove, Warm Welcome drive, as State Senator Jessica Ramos hosts a holiday lunch for newly-arrived families here in Queens.
We Can Pod It Out 8: There's A Place
Continuing the project that I referenced in yesterday’s Pavilion, I was looking to see who coached Centre College from 1938-41, and thus had young assistant DeWitt Weaver on staff. Instead, I found Centre president Dr. Milton Moreland’s carrot cake recipe. This project also took me last night to 1959 in South Dakota, and another Sports Illustrated piece, this one by Roy Terrell, “Normalcy In A Small World.” Fellow fans of the Sickos Committee, which of course you are… …will enjoy diving into this.
We Can Pod It Out 7: Do You Want To Know A Secret
I’m doing some research that doesn’t directly involve — at least not yet — Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Conzelman, the last man to coach the Cardinals to an NFL championship, back when they were the Chicago Cardinals, in 1947. and player/coach (he missed the second half of the season as a player after hurting his knee in a win over the New York Yankees) for the 1928 champion Providence Steam Roller.
We Can Pod It Out 6: Misery
Dec 12 • 6M In today's Pavilion, remembering Grant Wahl and appreciating Lionel Messi Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! I never had the fortune of meeting Grant Wahl in person, but count me among the vast community whom he went out of his way to help when he didn’t have to, and I want to note that he’s part of the reason Willets Pen exists today.
We Can Pod It Out 2: PS I Love You
Editor’s note: Starting tomorrow, We Can Pod It Out episodes will come out on their own, regularly scheduled. As you likely can tell from this post going out late on Tuesday night, we’re (I’m) still a little bit behind on organization and whatnot, but the good news is that Roger and Andrew have recorded several episodes already, so we’ve got regular content lined up.
Not A Football Podcast 13: Aubie Hits That Uncanny Valley
Before we begin today, a promise was made during this podcast episode to share the Gilbert Gottfried Hollywood Squares incident, so here it is… By Roger Cormier I believe it is accepted knowledge that the NFL RedZone Channel is the greatest invention in the history of the universe. Since its inception in 2009, it's rarely steered us wrong, which was why their mistake this past Sunday was so jarring.
Not A Football Podcast 12: Breaking News From Waffle House
Nov 24 • 36M We're thankful for Lane Kiffin, who always gives us something to talk about, such as the possible "sources" behind all that talk that the Ole Miss coach will be leaving for Auburn after the Egg Bowl Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.
The 38 Most Fun World Cup Names
The 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup starts on Sunday, somehow. While I've seen a decent share of Premier, Europa, and Champions League action over the last four years, I've done so at a bit of a distance. It would be on television as background music while I was very much online (before the pandemic sometimes I'd ride my exercise bike). So I couldn't truly provide a World Cup preview proper.
We're with the bands
If you’ve been here all along, you may have forgotten about The Flushing Review, and that’s fine, because there haven’t been any actual posts yet. Something that I’m adjusting to with Willets Pen is that it’s not frantic. I can put ideas aside and actually come back to them later. The pace is slower than I’m used to after 20 years in daily print media… but that’s also the point. Likewise, the Willets Pen version of Project ShaqBox has thus far had one entry, by Tim Ryder at the end of September.
Who Ya Gonna Call?
We’ve lowered subscription costs for our Substack because the paywall is more about having the ability to do different kinds of creative work in a supportive environment of subscribers than it’s about making money. We do like making money, though, and we have a shop for that, full of cool stuff, and you can get 10% off this week with the code SELLTHETEAMHAL. Put yourself in Brian Cashman’s shoes.
Lane's Secret Presents Not A Football Podcast 7: Tenn Out Of Tenn, No Notes
Oct 19 • 55M Britt, Jesse, and Keelin revel in the downing of both the Crimson Tide and the Neyland Stadium goalpost, even if Vol success leads to some nausea and Vol nausea leads to Alabama questioning God Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Guarantee you'll have the time of your life! This week’s episode of Not A Football Podcast is presented by Lane’s Secret.
Willets Pod 20: Mercury Out Of Gatorade
Oct 6 • 44M Allison returns to educate us about cranberry bogs and spiders, Addy delights in Jeff McNeil's batting title, and Jesse needs a jacket to wear to Game 1 Open in playerListen on ); Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.
It's Bad, But It's Not That Bad
By Roger Cormier To quote Chris Bassitt from all the way back in April – sweet, glorious, April – it's bad, and everyone knows it. All the Mets had to do was win one of the three games in Atlanta against the racist baseball team to be in decent shape to win the division and avoid an entire round of playoffs. In that next-to-worst case scenario, New York would have had the tiebreaker, giving them essentially a one-game advantage with three to play. But one win seemed like asking for too little.
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