Hold My Cutter
Former Big League Catcher, Michael Mckenry & long-time broadcaster, Greg Brown team up for a one-of-a-kind podcast centered around baseball & stogies. Fascinating in-person guests include present & former players, managers, broadcasters, writers & other personalities, from politics to pop culture. Laugh, learn & live a little! with "Hold My Cutter" Reviews '"'Hold My Cutter' is an absolute Smoke Show"…...Sports Podcast News. 'Hold My Cutter' CUTS to the chase & gets listeners engaged RIGHT OFF THE BAT" Podcaster National. "If there is a better Podcast out there, we haven't seen or heard it. Hands down, Brown & Mckenry are blazing new trails for the entire industry. I can't recommend, 'Hold My Cutter' enough!" Podcast Entertainment Weekly Magazine. Email: Holdmycutter@gmail.com
Episodes
Youth sports can be the best thing that happens to a kid or the loudest source of stress in a family. We’re joined by Dennis Biggs and Mark Rawls, two coaches who helped elevate the Gateway youth football program and who care more about the long game than the scoreboard. From the jump, they make it clear: winning cultures aren’t built by slogans. They’re built by adults who show up, do the unglamorous work, and earn...
A great title doesn’t always come from a brainstorming session. Sometimes it comes from a Tuesday night at Mario’s, a Pirates game on TV, and a buddy who grabs a pen, a bar napkin, and just knows the words. We’re posted up at The Drawing Room in Pittsburgh with Robbie A great title doesn’t always come from a brainstorming session. Sometimes it comes from a Tuesday night at Mario’s, a Pirates game on TV, and a buddy ...
Pittsburgh soccer is getting bigger, faster than the stadium can hold it. We’re joined by Rachel Williamson, GM of FNB Stadium, to unpack what it really takes to grow the Pittsburgh Riverhounds from a scrappy local club into a higher-division operation with a 15,000 seat future on the line. We dig into why sellouts matter, what a championship win changes in a market like Pittsburgh, and how “professional” is built t...
A five-run hole, a swaggering ace on the mound, and a clubhouse tired of almost. We sit down with Michael McHenry to relive April 14, 2013—an afternoon that turned a would-be stumble into a sweep and revealed how the Pirates’ identity had finally hardened into something playoff strong. McHenry takes us inside the arc from 2011–2012 foundation-building to a 2013 culture defined by shared leadership, sharper preparati...
Step into a hidden studio in western Pennsylvania and a sunlit shrine in Bradenton as we sit down with Pirates legend Steve Blass for a ride through memory, ritual, and the stories that make baseball feel like home. Steve opens up about retirement with Karen, the sanity of walking a quiet golf course, and the strict joy of a 4:30 happy hour that turns every day into a small celebration. The conversation moves with t...
A five-story landmark from 1856 just became Pittsburgh’s most intriguing clubhouse on the river. Its part rooftop restaurant, part private cigar lounge, part music venue, part distillery and much more. We step inside the Drawing Room to trace how a decrepit shell turned into a South Shore destination with a skyline overlook, historic structural beams saved from the past, and a culture obsessed with fit, not flash.
Ken Macha, former Pittsburgh Pirates player and seasoned baseball manager, takes us on a riveting journey through his extraordinary career. From his formative days as a bench coach with the Oakland Athletics to taking the helm as their manager, Ken shares the pivotal moments that shaped his approach to coaching and management. Alongside Greg Brown and co-host Michael McKenry, we dive into fascinating anecdotes from ...
What if the trait that decides who wins isn’t talent or likability, but an unshakable need to get better? We dive straight into the fire with Mike Berger—Pittsburgh native, catcher-turned-coach, and longtime executive—to redefine “makeup” as the raw drive that outlasts comfort, politics, and pain. It’s not a mood or a mantra; it’s doing the hard thing again tomorrow. We separate makeup from character and test that i...
What actually turns a struggling franchise into a contender? We dig into a people-first blueprint for the Pittsburgh Pirates that prioritizes player development, modern pitching, and a culture of humility and feedback over quick fixes. From the first conversation, the focus is clear: winning is hard everywhere, and sustainable success depends on great players supported by a smart, collaborative environment.
What if the true edge in baseball isn’t in a spreadsheet but in a heartbeat? We sit down with baseball lifer Mike Berger to unpack a scouting philosophy built on live looks, instincts, and the human elements analytics can’t quite capture. From the moment a prospect’s poise surfaces under pressure to the quiet ways chemistry binds a clubhouse, Berger explains why the best scouts either agree with the model—or beat it...
The door opens, a little face lights up, and suddenly the turbulence was worth it. That’s the spirit of this homecoming to Pittsburgh—a night where gratitude, memory, and the roar of a standing crowd all met before the first pitch. We revisit the moments that nearly cracked the helmet armor: spotting Maria in the suite, feeling the ovation swell, and trying to keep an at-bat alive while the heart races faster than a...
A first-round pick, a hometown heart, and a league in flux. We sit down with Kevin Orie to unpack a career shaped by grit, timing, and the unforgiving glare of Wrigley Field. From kicking rocks out of infields in Pittsburgh to a private tryout at Wrigley where he sprinted the bases after BP on instinct, Kevin’s story tracks the highs and hard lessons of a young player dropped into a franchise starving for a solution...
Brian O'Neill's journey from surviving a near-death experience to becoming one of Pittsburgh's most beloved columnists reads like a chapter from a novel – except every word is true.
At 23, O'Neill was sucked through a storm drain pipe during a flash flood in Danville, Virginia, an experience he recounts with both terror and humor. "I honestly thought God was going to kill me in a s...
Jonathan Mayo didn't set out to become baseball's prospect guru, but after more than two decades covering future stars before anyone knows their names, he's become the voice baseball fans trust to identify tomorrow's talent.
In this revealing conversation, Mayo takes us behind the curtain of baseball talent evaluation, sharing how his journey from newspaper journalism to MLB.com transfor...
What drives someone to walk away from a stable career to chase their dream? Joanne Harrop did exactly that, leaving behind a decade in office equipment sales to pursue her passion for sports writing. With remarkable determination, she offered to write for free for local publications until finally breaking through as the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's first full-time female sports reporter in 1997.
Sitting...
Mike "Spanky" LaValliere pulls no punches as he takes us behind home plate for a candid look at baseball through a catcher's eyes. From his days with the Cardinals to becoming a Gold Glove winner and fan favorite with the Pittsburgh Pirates, LaValliere's journey reveals the hidden complexities of one of baseball's most demanding positions.
With refreshing honesty, Spanky tackles the...
What happens when the players break? Dr. Pat DeMeo takes us into the sacred space of the Pittsburgh Pirates' trainer's room at LECOM Park to reveal the hidden world of Major League Baseball medicine.
Growing up as a Yankees fan in 1960s New York, DeMeo never imagined he'd one day become the Pirates' medical director and head of orthopedic surgery at Allegheny Health Network. With remarka...
Baseball journeys rarely follow a straight path, and Sean Casey's story proves just how winding and meaningful that road can be. The man known as "The Mayor" opens up about the Pittsburgh mentors who shaped his career long before he reached the majors, revealing the profound impact of figures like Joe Ringel and Frank Porco who believed in him when college scouts weren't calling.
In this...
"Is there any chance you might have polio?" That unforgettable question from Terry Francona to Sean Casey after getting thrown out twice in two days perfectly captures the essence of baseball culture—where humor transforms frustration and builds lasting relationships.
Sean "The Mayor" Casey joins us for a captivating conversation that feels like sitting in the dugout with one of baseball...
Unearthed: Forgotten Baseball Heroes and Their Unmarked Graves
When Brendan Schuster discovered that Honus Wagner was buried just 15 minutes from his home, he never imagined this curiosity would evolve into a profound mission to honor forgotten baseball heroes. In this deeply moving episode, we journey with Brendan through Pittsburgh's cemeteries as he uncovers the unmarked graves of Negro League players who sha...
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