Michael Clair: Sharing Baseball’s Global Stories

Welcome to Chatter Up presented by Extra Innings Travel. I am your host Shane Barklay and with me today is a very special guest, MLB.com writer and a friend of mine, Michael Claire. Michael, thank you for joining us.

Shane, thank you so much for for having me. As I said before we started, this is a it is a treat to always talk to you and see you. So, thank you.

Yes. Uh likewise. Um you're welcome. Uh Mike, for those who don't know him, you've probably read his stuff on MLB.com. He is the senior manager of storytelling and special projects at Major League Baseball. Uh which is a long way of saying a fantastic long way of saying [laughter] fantastic MLB.com writer. Uh he specializes in the global side of the game and has a real knack for capturing the human elements I must say and uh is one of my favorite writers on the baseball webs. Um but you're also not just on the baseball webs because you have a real hardcover book out now. You're real author. Real author.

Yes.

As of April of 2026, We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball, The Story of the Cinderella Chuck Republic, uh, World Baseball Classic Team, which is an awesome read. U, you can get it at michaelclair.com. Can't plug that enough. We'll [laughter] put it in the show notes. We'll also put in we'll also make sure that we put in a photo of our whole Honkball Week tour group last July when we last saw each other holding up your book after we bought it from you. Heard you talk about it which was awesome. I'm so glad we got to see each other in another strange corner of the baseball world. Uh so let's start there. How how awesome was Honkball week?

Oh my god. Honkball week was amazing and thank you for your your your tour group. Um what a group of baseball fans. It was a real pleasure uh to have them come out and and to meet everybody and to do it at this gorgeous field in Harlem where the the stroke waffle is fresh and hot and prepared when you order it and the baseball's incredible and the special honkball week beer is ice cold. Uh it was uh just I mean baseball is so special and the fact that uh you know it you the world seems big but when you're into international baseball you end up doing things like running into Shane Barklay at a baseball at a bookstore outside uh inside Harlem outside the stadium. Uh it's uh the world feels a little smaller a little bit better.

Hauntfall week is is a hidden gem for sure. Um, for those who don't know, it's a bianial tournament in Harlem. I say Harlem because that's how you can differentiate by sound between Harlem, New York and Harlem, Netherlands. And also has two A's if you're reading it. Um, but uh, I love Harlem. It's Harlem is one of my favorite cities in the world, honestly. It's just a beautiful place, historic. Um, and then they also have this awesome baseball tournament with national teams from around and it's just this awesome baseball festival. Uh you know, you're there, I'm there. These other international baseball travelers, Andy Brown, the artist, Tyler Mann, the broadcaster, these people who are kind of uh evangelists for the global game, seem to find their way to honkball week and and uh yeah, that was great to spend time and it made me made it a little easier to ask you to come on since we just saw each other. So, [laughter]

I'd do anything you ever ask. Uh yeah. Uh all right. But no, what what's amazing what's amazing about these tournaments is, you know, there's also all the locals who are there who are volunteering and they're the ones who make this happen, who are supporting baseball during the holasa, which is the the the Dutch baseball league. Like, so this is like a celebration also for them where they get to everybody comes out. If you are into baseball, everybody is there. The games are the best, the food is the best, but it really is like a celebration of the fact that we are a subculture that celebrates this sport that's often forgotten, overlooked. And one of the best things is also just meeting the the the local people there who are why this exists.

And Hong Poek has a bunch of its own unique celebrations and traditions. When there's a pitching change, everybody squats to this weird uh commercial jingle. The eighth inning, they sing a sad song about a a boy sending a note to his dead mother on a kite. That's that it's a sweet Caroline. Ba ba ba. You're singing about a a dead mom getting a note. Like, it's um it's it it's so fun to see baseball interpreted in so many different ways.

Well said. Well said. Yeah, they I appreciate you pointing out the volunteers and the hosts because it really is infectious. Like they love it. It's a labor of love. Um and it's a celebration for their local baseball community. You know, obviously baseball's a niche sport in the Netherlands just like everywhere in Europe. But the community is super tight and um it's really kind of a gathering point for all of European baseball. Um, which is, you know, I I love to go to places like that where um it's just a celebration of of the game and that like yeah, we're we're all we're all obsessive baseball freaks in our in our own ways and this is uh one of the the great meeting points.

Yes.

Well, I I want to talk more about the global game and and whatnot, but before we do, I just want to get one question just to start us off because anytime I meet someone who is a baseball professional, I'm always curious about how they got their start because undoubtedly there's many journalism majors or bloggers out there who would love to be sitting in your mana Manhattan um office tower right now getting paid to write about baseball. Um, so how did you get there?

Yeah, I mean, listen, I I I kick myself every day. I'm worried I'm gonna wake up one day and it's this is going to all have been a dream or or I'm in a coma somewhere. Um, I mean, listen, I I loved baseball as a kid. I was obsessed with baseball as a kid. I was terrible. I was such a bad player. So, um, I went to school for I was a creative writing major. I did standup comedy and I wrote sketches and plays and that's so I went out to LA and my plan was to do TV writing or film writing or acting and you can find me in uh a scene in house. I am a featured extra. I had to try out for the role. I did not do great the day of but they're like your role doesn't matter. We'll just move on. Uh I wrote some web series. I was in some really tiny films.

Um, but when I was out there, I started writing a baseball blog. That was my start is I'd left all my roommates and we used to watch baseball and talk baseball and uh I started a baseball blog largely just to replace that. Uh, it there was no I I never thought of baseball as a job because I loved it so much. It never crossed my mind that it that it could be a profession. But that started to take off. It was called Oldtime Family Baseball. There there might be some old heads uh that remember 15 years ago. It got a it got a little buzz.

Um so I started writing in the morning before work, lunch break from work, dinner after work. Um I would be at open mic, stand up open mics waiting to perform and writing like a joke article about Jose Guillian or something. So uh I started changing my priorities on what I wanted to do. Um, and I was very lucky. I I I got some freelance opportunities. I wrote for a couple articles for Baseball Perspectus. I joined the Platoon Advantage. I wrote for Sports on Earth. And on my third try to uh apply for Cut 4. I almost didn't do it because I never even heard back the first two times. I was like, "Fine, I'll do it one more time."

Uh, I got in thanks largely to Emma Span from Sports on Earth who who put in a a good word and she's she's still editing uh at the Athletic these days. Um, and that got me into MLB and my career has changed a lot since then obviously. You know, back then I was writing short form gith heavy joke pieces and now I'm, you know, writing about international baseball. But uh to me it's all the the same love and all the same passion. And uh yeah, believe me, every day I uh I I I feel pretty lucky to to be doing something I I I'm doing what I loved at 7 years old that I've loved my whole life. And that's a very lucky thing to to to be able to say.

I agree. I agree. So, so when was that was it a specific moment or an evolution towards the international side of the game that how did that become your specialty?

Yeah, so uh it was always an interest uh my wife is not a baseball fan at all. Um and early on in us dating uh I remember making her watch the 2009 WBC. So I have always enjoyed the World Baseball Classic. I don't think I but back then I didn't like I knew the World Baseball Classic happened. I got really into it. But like I that's that was the year Netherlands upset Dominican Republic and that was when I went wait there's baseball in the and it's good. And that was when honkball nobody like now I say honkball so often that when people react like what are you talking about? I go oh sorry honkball that's Dutch for baseball. But back then it was like it was like a meme for for Americans.

Um so I always liked it. At cut four, I would do a handful of pieces of and I I I don't think I ever delve too deeply into it, but I wrote about the German League and I wrote about games in the CPBL in in Taiwan. And um I always am fascinated by subcultures and uh international diplomacy almost, you know, the the the the language of baseball that that we share. But it was in 2022. I'd been working with the MLB Europe team a lot. It was the qualifiers and I was asked if I wanted to help run the World Baseball Classic website just, you know, make sure it's updated, make sure we've got some new stories there.

Um, and I said, "Well, I think we can I think we can do a little bit more." And I have I I dove in. Uh, the qualifiers went great. I said, "Let's do even more." People said, "Sure." We went to Prague and shot a documentary, one of three before 2023. Covered the Tokyo 2023 uh games for WBC. Went to Miami and knock on wood uh I I've been doing this now for for 4 years and I still have a lot of support here in the office and um you know it was one of those things when I first started I was like oh I might run out of stories and it's just one of those things so that every every story you uncover there's a treasure beneath that. Um and uh you know it's it's it's really special and uh it's it's something I I I just absolutely love.

If my memory serves me correctly, that 2022 qualifier in the van from the airport to the hotel was the first time I met you.

That's probably true. I know I met you there, but uh yeah.

Yeah, I remember there was a friendly bearded guy [laughter] and and and uh and you had known about Japan Ball and we hit it off and—

And I'll say because yeah, it had been on my list of uh I still haven't had a chance to get to her, but I've been a subscriber to the to the newsletter for years and years before we ever met because back then it was something I always wanted to do.

Yeah. Yeah. And that that qualifier was unreal, of course. Um and and it springboarded a lot for you. So, um yeah, why don't you talk a little bit about that, just kind of that first qualifier and and what it led to.

Yeah. So, I show up, I miss the first couple days because I have to cover a home run derby event, a home run derby X event in Korea. Incredible. And I'm with Mike Griffin, the former Czech Republic manager. And this is my first time covering this. I wrote a short preview. You know, I'm trying to do research online before I go out. I I don't know a ton. I mean, I look back at some of that early international coverage and I had a I had a lot of I had a lot to learn. I had a lot to learn. I was doing my best, but I had a a lot to learn. And I get to this field uh Armen Wolf Arena. Armen Wolf Arena in in Reagansburg. Gorgeous, gorgeous town, UNESCO village. Um the 900year-old sausage shack right on the river is unreal.

Um, but I've never covered international baseball before. I've never covered I don't think I've ever covered a tournament before really. Um, talking to the Czech players later, they were like, "Yeah, we thought you were just some weird fan wandering around on the field before the games." You know, I'm trying to get some interviews and I'm I'm learning as I go and I'm introducing myself to managers for the first time. And you know, I thanks to Mike Griffin who I we literally stood in a uh in like the the work space, the office work space in Inchan outside of Seoul in Korea where the airport is. And I'm holding the roster and I'm having him go through the names and I'm mispronouncing all of them, but I'm like, you know, tell me what do I need to know? Who are the guys to know?

So, I thought I'll go this tournament. Germany, Great Britain, Spain, those are probably the favorites. The Czech team is really cool. Well, I'll write a story about, you know, there's this firefighter who's a pitcher. And I didn't learn until I got there that the manager was a neurologist. But I thought I I'll, you know, I'll write a story about this, but uh that'll be the end.

And then the checks go. They upset Spain. Martin Schneider, who'd only pitched like a dozen innings that year, was supposed to be a reliever, throws six and a third, something like that, against Spain, shuts them down. Um, and everybody starts to fall in love with this check team. So in the winter we go over a documentary crew from MLB goes over to Prague and we go to we see practices. We go to the players jobs. We go to Martin Schneider's firehouse in Olamotes. We go to Pavl Hadim's neurology office in Bernau. Arie Debauy's school where he's a geography and PE teacher in Bernau. Um Pedro Zimma and Lucasheri uh their office is in Prague. And we go to practice and we meet them and that is when I learn largely what makes this team so special.

They're born and developed in the Czech Republic. There has never been a nation that has developed the same way the checks has. There's never been a European team reach the WBC level with a background like the checks. You know, we see Great Britain and Italy often use a lot of um quote unquote passport players. The Netherlands is able to pull from Curisowl, Dutch Antills, Aruba, you know, more baseballriich regions. Um, and the Czech Republic was a USSR nation. So, it was baseball was not embraced in the in the 70s and '80s. The only reason it was allowed to be played at all was thanks to Cuba and Fidel Castro and the fact that he loved baseball.

So, I I learn about these guys' lives and I learn about the dedication they have to baseball, the sacrifices they have made. I feel like I use the word sacrifice too often. It's the title of the book, but it's like that's why it's the title of the book. But the the the sheer sacrifices, the vacation time, the family time, the all these guys hang out with each other all day because they're with each other. Like that's that's their lives is baseball. Um and I learned about, you know, the pride they take in the baseball.

Voytomen told me this in um Japan when I first met him for the first time. Uh and he he briefly was in the Angels system and played in the College World Series for uh you NC State, I believe. Um could be wrong on the college. Um but uh he said, you know, I understand why this is a great story for you guys, uh day jobs and we're playing the World Baseball Classic, but to us, we're professionals. We carry ourselves like professionals. We have the pride of professionals. We have the talent of professionals. And um that was something I I I've kept in mind.

And I've been so lucky. Covered the checks 2022. The Prague documentary was with them in Tokyo. Uh then I was back in Bernau for the European Championship they hosted, which at the time set records for European Championship attendance. Um was back with was with them in Korea before this last World Baseball Classic and then was back in Tokyo one one more time. And then this summer after the book came out, made sure to get players copies. I was I was in Prague. But if you if you told me 14 years ago when I started MLB that um I would be in Czech Republic once and it was for baseball, I I don't know if I would have would have believed you.

Amazing. Yeah, I I would love I know we could fill up a whole season of podcast getting into the story. So I'll tell everyone to read the book. Michaelclair.com get the book. Um but so you mentioned just in that answer you you've been to Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Germany amongst many other places. If if you could take one passionate baseball fan who views baseball as America's pastime and and you say, "Hey, look, there's this whole other side, where would you take that person to experience the magic of global baseball?"

Wow. Okay. Um, that is such a that is such a good an uh good question. Okay, Japan is the first one. That's I think the most obvious one. It is where baseball really is the national sport. You know, you America it right now if you were to think what is the sport of America? It's American football. I I think baseball because it's every day it really does still have a grip on this country. But um Japan it is baseball. Baseball is everywhere.

And what's really interesting about Japan beyond just the love of baseball is the experience of baseball is a little different, but it also it's very cross-cultural. So the Owendon, which is the Japanese cheering sections, if you've never heard them before, you might say this is kind of similar to like a college football song. That's because it's from college football. The Owen Don begins because in 1905, Wasada University comes to America, does a tour playing American colleges to learn and come back. You know, the same way baseball development everywhere kind of happens. Uh, but they see the Stanford marching bands and they think, "This is really cool. We should do that."

So when you listen to the Owen Don, next time Otani comes up for Samurai Japan, listen and think if I was to take American marching band music and interpret it through a Eastern Japanese lens, how would it sound? And it it's probably what you're going to hear. Tao drums and horns and and the chants. And so you even see the the um like the the the experience itself is interpreted from the American version and changed and obviously the the players are are on the whole smaller. I mean Otani towers over everybody but so you see lower velocity but that's why there's more breaking pitches. Every guy seems to have six or seven different pitches they can throw and there's more breaking balls and there's more small balls. So, Japan is this incredible um example of baseball flourishing elsewhere and how that gets interpreted.

Uh if I was going to say somewhere else, I do want to say Czech Republic actually. You know, I was thinking, do I want to say honkball week? That's incredible. I unfortunately have not seen baseball in Italy yet. Germany baseball's great there, but Czech Republic, some of it is, you know, I think American soccer fans might see this, especially if they go to soccer bars where they try and make everything sort of the English soccer experience with the songs and the food and the beer.

Um, some of it is, you know, you can get uh well, the hot dog, the the Parak Va Riku, which I'm mispronouncing. I apologize to the Czech listeners, is the hot is the American style hot dog, but it comes in like a little baguette that's hollowed out. They put the hot dog in, then they spray the ketchup and mustard in. So, you're getting an American style hot dog, but even that is interpreted through a uh sort of Czech lens, but then there's also Czech food. And you have, you know, you have elements of American baseball culture that's being shared because to go see baseball sometimes is to do something like outside of your culture. And then there's the things that's like, well, this is just how we do things in the Czech Republic and therefore why would we change it even though it's baseball?

So, uh, I would say if if you want to see global baseball, you want to see the place where it can't be bigger, it's the biggest it is, but you also want to see it where it is a subculture. And how does that subculture interpret the game in different ways?

One of one of the reasons why I think that seeing a baseball game or just a sporting event in general is one of the best ways I'd say the best way to experience new culture is because you have this kind of consistent familiar platform and then it's a great context to judge all the things that are different and and uh what you're said I actually didn't know that about the Waseda University and that's it just reminds me of like and of course the Japanese just like hamburger and whiskey and men's fashion. They take the American and Western thing and just make it way better.

Yeah. I mean, I'm wearing I'm wearing Japanese jeans right now. Uh when I go to Japan, I I love it cuz I I honestly do some of my favorite Americana shopping, but it's it's better and cooler than than than we do it here. You obviously you run baseball tourism, so obviously I would imagine part of the reason you do the tours where you do them, but I what what is your answer if you were to take someone uh to to a game to see it interpreted differently?

Yeah, I mean that's like picking your favorite child. [laughter] I mean I will say like the premise of what I do is I take people to those places. Like if I had five places to answer that question, they would be where we go on our tours. Japan and Korea, which actually are quite different once you get to know both of them. Um even though from the outside perspective, it might look similar. Uh the Dominican Republic, I mean there's just that's like kind of the soul of baseball I feel like they're in. And um and then these places like Honk Ball, which you already went in depth, the Alaska Midnight Sun game has a really similar vibe to Honkball. These baseball festival type places. I mean, honestly, I just went to a Portland Pickles game.

Unreal. Unreal.

And it really had a similar vibe to the Honk Ball week and Midnight Sun game vibe. And I love going to those sorts of places.

Um I I agree. Like if I if you really had to make me pick one, I'd say Japan. I mean, largely because Japan is just I would say maybe the best country in the world to travel to, sports aside. Then when you add the baseball layer on top of it, you add the current, you know, fever over Shi Otani and it's just yeah, nothing really can beat Japan. It's it's an amazing amazing place. The food, the infrastructure, the hospitality, all of it. All of it.

So yeah, one thing that's really interesting to me because I know Japanese fans are so passionate is nobody keeps score. And I would have thought that that would have been something that would have worked, you know. You just I have gone to specialty Japanese um stationery stores, you know, and and brought uh souvenirs back for for friends and family from there. So, if anything, I would have thought, oh, people who keep score, they're going to but no, like it's just that is a American and again it's it's not many, you know, depending on where you are and where you're sitting. I city Field has a lot of people keeping score. The guy I go to games with most, former cut four writer, he keeps score now. Um, but I would have thought keeping score would have been a big part of the experience there. And it's not. It's not. If you see someone keeping score, it's because they are looking to do something like we do in America. That is not typically part of the the experience there.

Well, how can you keep score when you're playing percussion at the same time? [laughter] Can you do that?

Well, that's yeah, the the guys out in the outfield obviously can't, but if you're not sitting in the outfield, you could uh you could, you know, sometimes like I see guys who are are not into Owen and Don and you know, people still kind of like clap along or I see I remember one time this guy who had like a stack of beer cups that kept getting higher and higher, but he was playing percussion with his beer cups. I thought that was kind of fun. Cool thing about—

Yeah. Uh, I was just going to say Korea, it's the whole half of the stadium that's doing the cheers. It's there's no Owen Don. It's just—

Yeah, it's everyone, which is one of the big differences. Um, and you've got that capo with the dancers and like I I've only seen games at uh LG and um uh which is uh the Soul Stadium. I'm Jamil. Is that it?

Jam. Yeah.

And then also the national team. Um but yeah, it's the the the cheering is it's and Chinese Taipei, you know, the the the Taiwan band and the so like it you can't just—

Yes. Cheering the the the cheer squads are a part of Asian baseball, but each place has its own version of what that that cheering is. And I think that's so cool.

Yes, totally. So you have a tendency to make friends wherever you go. Um, what is it you think about baseball specifically that lends itself to, you know, crossing cultural barriers, crossing language barriers, and bringing people together?

That is a really good question. It's actually something I've I think a lot about when I'm just staring off into the distance. And one thing I wonder is if you are a baseball person outside of America, do you English is largely the language of baseball largely and there's some things even in like Japanese where they are taking the you know sort of the English word and you know um sort of interpreting it. So, I sometimes wonder if as an American it's easiest to make those connections because of baseball, because there's some sort of inherent Americanness to the game. Um, you know, it's why it was part of postw World War II diplomacy in Germany and Italy was you can't have democracy without baseball.

But I think it's it's largely uh the failure. It is a game of failure. So, it is a game where you cannot get too high. You cannot get too low. You have to comp compartmentalize it. Obviously, here in the States, you play every day, but in in Europe, you play on the weekend. So, you can't necessarily say, well, it's like a day job and you're sure you're a star center fielder, but you're waking up and going to the office every day.

Um, I do think it is it is the failure and it is a sport predicated on failure. I think it is that you are an individual and this is something Vinnie Pascantino said after Italy lost in the semi-finals of the WBC when he was asked you know what would you tell Italian youth about baseball he said you know you are an individual and you're doing it on your own but as part of a team so you know my day-to-day life I have to make all my choices and they're up to me but I hope to do them well for my spouse or my friends or my community or my co-workers.

Like so I think there's just elements of the game itself that lend itself to helping to connect where we love this game and we can start and that's the entry point but the things that make you love baseball I think make it easier to then talk about other things because you come from from uh you know where where you value baseball and and the way you see the world because of baseball.

It also helps that the game has a pace. So, when I'm in the press box, I can have a conversation that lasts three innings and we stop talking and write notes down or hey, sorry, I've got a story to write about this play that happened. Okay, my story's up. What were we saying? I don't know. Do what do do you have an answer for that? What what do you think?

Honestly, I agree 100% with you. I mean, the second part I was going to say timelessness. We do. There is a clock in baseball now, but still the rhythm of the game I um my friend Anna Dtoaso from baseball bucket list um she always talks about how the pace of the game like you go to a game of course some people do take scoring they're locked in but even myself [clears throat] as someone who loves baseball works in baseball if I'm going to a game with people I'm going there to share in conversation and and um kind of the interaction and the pace of the game definitely lends itself to it but I more important is that [clears throat] first part you talked about. It's a quirky game. Um there there's a lot of unique things about it.

Like you said, it's nine individuals with one-on-one matchups, but you have to play as a team. It's like it's really unique and I think indicative of how unique and quirky baseball is is I've recently was tasked with sitting and watching a game as someone who doesn't know baseball. And I was like, I couldn't I couldn't I I would need a season to explain it to them, you know, like the most fundamental aspects of it are hard to explain because it's not just like, you know, throw the ball in the net, kick the ball or run the ball to the end zone. Like it's it's really specific and it draws a certain personality type.

Um, and then those people then have these things in common. So when you meet someone else, like you know you have whatever it is that draws you to baseball, especially when you're abroad, right? You're in the Czech Republic where you really have to be drawn to those unique aspects of the game, whatever they are, whether it's the physical aspects, the strategy, etc. I if you're into a European person or any non-traditional baseball country and you love baseball, that means that you and I have a lot of things in common because we're both drawn to the same thing. And uh you know I I think it'd be you could write a whole book about you know what those different aspects are but I think that anyone who loves baseball has their reasons why and there's a pretty strong overlapping ven diagram of that.

Yeah I just watched Diamond Diplomacy uh the new movie from uh uh Euro Rome Ror.

Erico Gamo ROR. Yeah. Euro R.

Yes. Rico Ror. Thank you. Uh really good film. Uh, I can't remember if this quote is in the film or not, but it's I I saw this quote at the Yakyu exhibit um in uh the Hall of Fame and watching the movie made me remember it, but it was uh between I'm going to paraphrase between two nations that love baseball there is no um difference that cannot be settled in the spirit of sportsmanship.

And uh it's uh yeah, like you know, obviously that's talking a uh a little bit bigger than just making friends out there, but it's like if we can if we can start on the same page with baseball, uh we can we can get along pretty pretty easily. And obviously sport is community and soccer in some ways can do the same thing. Baseball is such a unique uniquely challenging game and a unique way to enjoy it from a variety of angles that it yeah if once you meet the baseball people you're you're you're set. So it's uh it's it's it's pretty magical.

Totally. Um I'm glad you mentioned Diamond Diplomacy. I actually haven't seen it yet. I've been supporting it for like five years. I've interviewed Euro. Uh, but you know, it's only being screened at theaters and it just keeps not aligning. Uh, we'll have to put that one in the show notes, too, for anyone listening. See if it's screening near you.

Um, yes. Fantastic. I am I am doing an event with her Saturday the 22nd. I don't know when this is going to air. Um, but uh since I was doing an event, I was like, "Please, can I see the movie so uh we we can talk together?" So, I was uh I I I I pul I pulled some strings to be able to to be able to watch them.

There we go. All right. Well, I this was awesome. I we covered a lot. It covered t our themes, which are the the global nature of baseball, the unifying powers of baseball. I think we covered those very thoroughly, and you're the right guy to talk about it. So, yeah, thank you so much. This is super fun. And and um now, let's transition to our showand tell segment. Uh this is a segment uh where I ask our guests to bring uh an item that demonstrates those those themes which I mentioned and and I'll bring I bring one too. It's partly to uh just spark conversation and partly to justify having all the baseball stuff in my house so I can share it. Um so I don't know what you have. What do you have for us today?

Yeah. So I was supposed to have two things. So first um I'll have what I do have with me. Uh this is a team-signed uh Czech Republic baseball from the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Long before there was a book, there was not even the plan of a book. Um but this to me is just really special. It's all the all the guys on the team signed it. Uh it was just um just just really special. I'd spent so much time with them. I'd I'd covered them in the tournament. Uh, and this this was just shipped to me when I placed an order for uh a bunch of check baseball cards. Uh, they they popped this in here as a as a little gift. Um, and it just it just means a ton uh to to have formed that connection with them and that we had formed this bond.

The second object, which I'm praying I left at home. I remember putting it in my bag. I must have been thinking about something else. This was just sent to me by uh Kinton Bay. Uh I'm mispronouncing his last name. Many apologies. He is the manager of the W Huskys in the French Division One. They last year with MLB Europe, we went out and shot a documentary with them. And so I've stayed in touch. They won the championship. They're the best team in France.

Teams don't get rings in in Europe. He specifically went out. He goes out. He makes championship rings. So, I'll I'll send you photos, but the the championship ring has their record on the side. Has the two teams they beat in the playoffs written on the inside. It's got gems, the one Huskies logo right there. Um, and uh I obviously don't deserve it at all. I did nothing. I just went there and um but it's very cool and just another sign of like, you know, in America when you win a championship, you get a ring. So, he's trying to bring a little of that. And he he played baseball in the States a little. Um and uh so yeah, I hopefully if that's at home, I've got some photos I'll have to share. I'm sad it's not here right now, but it's uh that's that's a really really cool thing that uh that I that I have now.

Cool. I look forward to seeing the photos and I'm got my fingers crossed. I'm sure it's right there by your door, so—

It better be. It better be.

Yeah, let's not stress. That's a conversation, sir. That's that's really cool.

All right. Well, my item, it's a little bit on theme in multiple ways. So, it's also a 2023 World Baseball Classic Ball.

Nice.

This one has a footprint on it. That is my son Brooks. Tiny little footprint there. And uh Michael, I hope I'm it's okay to say this, but you and your wife are expecting in a couple months. So, I knew you could appreciate that. And I highly recommend you do it. And it's 2026, so you can hopefully get your hands on a WBC ball and as long as your child doesn't arrive like two months late, I think think that you'll be in the same year.

Um, this one this uh someone suggest one of our tour guests actually suggested this to me. I've seen it on Instagram and stuff, other people doing it since then, but my son was born in April 2023. I just worked the WBC and uh he wasn't supposed to come till August, so it was quite a shocker. I did not realize that when I was leaving Miami that I'd be having a child real soon. He was very very small. Brooks, who I should say is uh inspired uh his name is inspired by Brooks Robinson. Um he was born at 24 weeks, one pound 10 o and that's why his foot is that tiny. And uh it I think that it actually isn't even doesn't even tell the whole story because like this is probably proportional to maybe a slightly bigger baby, but he was very very small. Uh it was a very scary time, but uh he's a happy, healthy three-year-old now in all is good.

Um and uh yeah, so I wanted to bring that to give you the idea. Hopefully your baby stays in the whole time and then has a really big footprint that fills up that whole side panel. Um, but yeah, I'm super excited for for you and your wife and I appreciate a chance to uh to show off that ball. It's one of my my proud baseball items.

That is so cool. I am going to hit you up for uh what's the best ink to use cuz I very much want to do this now and uh I will be doing this now. So that is so cool. Thank you for sharing that.

Yeah, you're welcome. And and we had talked in in Netherlands. I if you need all your travel strollers, travel baby situations, I got you because I want to see you taking your kid around the world just like I've been doing. And uh well, I'll just answer your question right now about the ink and stuff. Just let the nurses at the hospital do it. They do this stuff all day long. That's what we did.

Oh, bring it to the hospital. Oh my. Okay. Yeah, I got to go get one now.

Because they have to do those footprints all the time. So, um yeah, that's the way to that's the way to go.

All right. Amazing. I'm that's I'm I'm I'm adding to my wife's go bag right [laughter] up.

Yes, exactly.

All right. Well, uh [clears throat] Michael Claire, thank you so much for coming on. This was a lot of fun. Um everyone, michaelclair.com, get the book. Follow him on MLB.com. Um, for those of you uh listening at home, if you liked this episode, uh please follow us and subscribe uh or subscribe to us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, subscribe um or sorry, follow us on social media, all the channels, extra innings.com to subscribe to our newsletter to learn about our international baseball tours, which I'm still counting on you, Mike, to join one of. Well, we did run into each other. I want you to come on our trip. Dominican Republic. Let's make it happen.

Uh I wanted, you know, I wanted to do Dominican this year and uh this uh this this damn baby just wants to show up at the time like 3 weeks before uh you're supposed to head out. So, [laughter] it'll happen one day.

Yeah. So, one day. Uh yeah. Thank you all for listening. Thank you, Mike, for joining us. It was awesome [music] talking to you. And uh I will see you at the ballpark.