Podcast
Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner
Hosted by Toronto Star · EN
Longtime Toronto Blue Jays radio voice Mike Wilner hosts Deep Left Field, a baseball podcast from the Toronto Star. With great baseball coverage, opinion and analysis, Deep Left Field has everything you need to know about the Jays, specifically, and baseball in general.
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Episodes
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Can the Blue Jays turn it around as the trade deadline looms? DeMarlo Hale weighs in
3d ago01:04:10Tap to summarizeGuest: Blue Jays associate manager DeMarlo Hale This week in Deep Left Field, we check in with DeMarlo Hale to assess the second third of what continues to be a disappointing and frustrating Blue Jays season. The Jays won 25 of their first 54 games, then 24 of the next 54, so they head into the final third of the season (in which they're 1-0 so far) leaning heavily toward being sellers at the August 3 trade deadline. Hale talks about what's gone wrong, what can and can't be fixed, and what he's looking for from the team over the season's final third. Also, we dive into the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca for your thoughts on Kevin Gausman's potential exit, the effect of Bo Bichette's departure, the upcoming trade deadline and more!
Transcribe →Kevin Gausman's emotional reflections as the Jays spiral before the trade deadline
1w ago01:07:55Tap to summarizeGuest: Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman With the Jays' season spiraling, seemingly out of control, losing seven of their last eight games to fall 10 games under .500, it seems inevitable that they will be sellers at the August 3 trade deadline. Their most attractive commodity on the trade market is Kevin Gausman, and the five-year Blue Jay joins us for an honest, open and very emotional conversation as he deals with the potential that he has made his final start at home for the Jays. You might want to grab a tissue or two, Gausman certainly could have used some. As well, we take a deep dive into the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca for your questions, comments and thoughts, including ones about the upcoming deadline, the Jays' uninspiring play of late, the role of the front office in the swoon and the tragic passing of Duane Ward.
Transcribe →Unveiling Joe Carter's Statue, celebrating the '92-'93 Blue Jays champions and remembering Duane Ward
2w ago00:50:03Tap to summarizeGuests: Blue Jays World Series champions Tom Henke, Juan Guzman, Todd Stottlemyre In this special bonus episode of Deep Left Field, we take you to this past weekend's celebration of the Blue Jays 1992 and '93 World Series championship teams that culminated in the unveiling of a statue of Joe Carter in mid-leap after hitting the walk-off home run to win the '93 fall classic. This episode was supposed to be a happy one, catching up with a few Jays legends, but the tragic death of Duane Ward cast a pall over the weekend. We pay tribute to "Wardo," a great friend and iconic Blue Jay, and then share conversations from Saturday's media availability with pitchers Tom Henke, Juan Guzman and Todd Stottlemyre, who have five Jays World Series rings between them. Those conversations all took place before anyone knew that Ward had passed away.
Transcribe →Met's third base coach Tim Leiper, Venezuelan national team manager Omar Lopez and more
2w ago00:44:13Tap to summarizeGuests: New York Mets 3B coach Tim Leiper, Houston Astros bench coach Omar Lopez This week in Deep Left Field, we jump into the unofficial second half with a little international flair! Recorded during the annual all-star break Wilner Family Vacation - this time to Denmark and Sweden - we bring you Tim Leiper! The long-time third-base coach for Baseball Canada and first-base coach of the Blue Jays in the glory years of 2015-16 now makes his full-time home in Huntsville, Ontario. Also, we talk to Astros bench coach Omar Lopez, who managed Team Venezuela to an incredibly unexpected gold medal finish at the World Baseball Classic! The mailbag is always open at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!
Transcribe →Blue Jays Ernie Clement, John Schneider, DeMarlo Hale and Bowden Francis before the all-star break
3w ago01:10:16Tap to summarizeGuests: Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement, manager John Schneider, associate manager DeMarlo Hale, pitcher Bowden Francis This week in Deep Left Field, the Blue Jays are about to head into the all-star break and they'll be very well-represented at the midsummer classic. Ernie Clement was the American League's leading vote-getter and he joins us to talk about his upcoming trip to Philadelphia that will also include teammates Dylan Cease and Louis Varland. The entire Jays' coaching staff will be there as well, serving in the same role for the AL, and we talked to skipper John Schneider and his right-hand man, DeMarlo Hale, about going to the all-star game. Also, we're joined by rehabbing right-hander Bowden Francis, the last Blue Jays pitcher to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning before Cease did it in San Francisco on Wednesday. All that, plus the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!
Transcribe →The Jays beat the Mets on Canada Day and we speak to Bo Bichette, Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty
Jul 201:13:02Tap to summarizeGuests: New York Mets infielder Bo Bichette, Blue Jays pitchers Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty, Jays bullpen coach Graham Johnson This week in Deep Left Field, we have our first-ever conversation with Bo Bichette while he's wearing a uniform other than the Blue Jays'. Drafted by the Jays in 2016, making it to the big leagues in 2019 and a Toronto mainstay and fan favourite ever since, Bichette belted a three-run home run off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series and then did not get the off-season interest from the Jays that he was looking for. He returned to Toronto as a New York Met this week and joins us to discuss his time here and his new start in Queens. Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher took time out from their busy schedules, leading the major leagues in pitching appearances and all, to join us in Deep Left Field, and so did their bullpen coach, Graham Johnson, otherwise known as the guy who slaps Louis Varland in the back awfully hard before the Jays' closer comes into each game. All that, plus the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!
Transcribe →The post .500 collapse: Blue Jays lose 6 straight in agonizing fashion
Jun 2900:36:26Tap to summarizeThe Blue Jays have lost six games in a row after finally reaching the .500 mark, each loss pretty much an agonizing repeat of the one before. Fall behind early, increase the deficit, rally late but still wind up losing, rinse and repeat. To suggest it's been a rough week for Jays' fans would be a massive understatement, and so we here in Deep Left Field had to put together an emergency bonus podcast to help get you through. The star of this show is you - your thoughts, comments, frustrations and venting received in the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca and on Bluesky @wilnerness.bsky.social. There's nothing to be happy about with the Jays right now, so let's talk about it!
Transcribe →Shane Bieber's return, Joey Loperfido's revenge and meet Luis Urias
Jun 2501:13:31Tap to summarizeGuests: Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber, infielder Luis Urias; Houston Astros outfielder Joey Loperfido This week in Deep Left Field, we talk to Shane Bieber after his first start of the season, coming almost three months after opening day. The former Cy Young award winner opens up about working his way back to full health and his disappointment in that first outing, with hopes for better in the second half. We're also joined by Joey Loperfido, a favourite in the Jays' 2025 clubhouse - and a great contributor when given the opportunity - who was traded back to the Astros this spring for Jesus Sanchez. As it turns out, we gave Loperfido the DLF bump, unfortunately for the Blue Jays. And we'll play "Meet The New Guy" with Luis Urias, who the Jays acquired from Arizona earlier in the week. The 29-year-old homered in his first game before making a huge base running blunder in his second. All that, plus a dip into the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!
Transcribe →Devon White, Lloyd Moseby, Stubby Clapp and more live from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction banquet
Jun 2200:53:31Tap to summarizeGuests: The living inductees from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 - Devon White, Stubby Clapp, Kate Psota, Bill Stoneman and Paul Runge, plus former Blue Jays centrefielder Lloyd Moseby and former Baseball Canada pitcher Steve Green and outfielder Jeremy Ware In this special bonus episode of Deep Left Field, we take you to St. Marys, Ontario, for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's induction weekend. We present a live recording of the annual pre-induction banquet, an intimate and informal discussion with all the inductees the night before the main event. You'll hear from the greatest centre-fielder in Blue Jays history, Devon White, accompanied by his predecessor at the position, Lloyd Moseby. Baseball Canada icon Stubby Clapp is joined by his ex-teammates Steve Green and Jeremy Ware. Arguably the greatest female player this country has ever produced, Kate Psota, joins us, and the evening wraps up with Bill Stoneman, who threw two no-hitters for the Montreal Expos, and Paul Runge, a 25-year National League umpire who brought the house down with a couple of great stories.
Transcribe →Max Scherzer on fatherhood, Chad Dallas' first big league win, plus CBHOF induction weekend
Jun 1801:09:25Tap to summarizeGuests: Blue Jays pitchers Max Scherzer and Chad Dallas; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame co-chair Cathy Landolt This week in Deep Left Field, we celebrate Fathers Day as well as the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's induction weekend. Of course, we'll tell you all about the Blue Jays "week that was" that moved them back into the final American League wild card spot, but we also chat with Max Scherzer - before the back spasms landed him back on the injured list - about being a father on and off the field. First and foremost to his four children, but also as the 19-year big-league veteran who serves as a father figure to his younger teammates. Chad Dallas, just recalled to the Jays this week, joins us to talk about his (so far) only big-league outing, in which he notched the win in his major-league debut, and also to share memories of his late father Tony, lost to ALS last year. On the weekend, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame will add six new inductees, including Blue Jays great Devon White and Baseball Canada icons Stubby Clapp and Kate Psota. We're joined by one of the co-chairs of the Hall's board of directors, Cathy Landolt, to fill us in on induction weekend. All that, plus a dip into the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!
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