Baseball On The Brain

Summary

Kennedy Saves the World – "Baseball On The Brain"

Episode Date: October 20, 2025
Host: Kennedy
Guest: Jimmy Faila

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Episode Overview

In this lively, freewheeling episode, Kennedy and comedian Jimmy Faila delve into the chaotic joys and frustrations of playoff baseball and American sports culture. The conversation playfully unpacks current postseason drama, deep-seated rivalries, fan behavior, and the ever-present hope (and despair) that defines fandom—especially for long-suffering Yankees and Mariners fans. As humor and sports banter mix, they riff on everything from "hater" moments to questionable stadium heckling, ending with a philosophical pivot on the need for a societal "timeout."

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mariners vs. Blue Jays: Playoff Anxiety and Schadenfreude

• Setting the Stage (00:16–01:50):
  • Jimmy and Kennedy joke about the Mariners’ chances against the Blue Jays, referencing fan rivalries and the Canadian sports environment:
    • Jimmy: "When you lose to the Blue Jays, as a Yankee fan, there's a part of you that wants to grudge F them and just watch them lose... So I was invested in that for about four games." (00:31)
    • They discuss the surprising intensity of Canadian sports fans:
      Jimmy: “Canada's sports fans are the biggest in the world. Do you know how many people have been beaten up at their events?” (01:01)
  • Kennedy jokes about Seattle's more laid-back style and their sporting identity shift:
    Kennedy: "Seattle is now a soccer city. It's not... it was a baseball city for a long time." (01:50)

2. Football Fandom and College Rivalries

• Kennedy celebrates a dream weekend for a UCLA fan:
  • Kennedy: "This was a great sports weekend because UCLA won and... USC lost to Notre Dame... That was like the best Sunday morning ever." (02:15)
• Both riff on the unique satisfaction of rooting against rivals—the joys of being a “hater” in sports:
  Jimmy: "Sometimes sports gives you a perfect opportunity to be a hater. And you had that this week." (02:50)

3. Dodgers Dominance & The Ohtani Spectacle

• They marvel at Shohei Ohtani’s historic performance:
  • Kennedy: "Ohtani just had the great, greatest game in the history of baseball." (03:17)
  • Jimmy: "Ohtani hits three homers in a game, pitches and strikes out ten batters. It's the greatest game ever played." (03:39)

4. MVP Debates and Fandom Philosophy

• A brief, honest appraisal of what motivates both fans and athletes:
  • Jimmy: "If you're the Yankees, it's supposed to be, you know, if you ain't first, you're last. We've had a lot of last. So I don't think the MVP is a consolation prize." (04:19)
• Kennedy considers the bittersweetness of a Mariners possible win: “If they do, then Cal Raleigh gets the MVP.” (03:55)

5. Blue Jays Fatigue, Yankees Misery, and Heckler Tales

• Jimmy details disappointment in both the Yankees’ play and their out-of-control hecklers:
  • Jimmy: "The right field hecklers at Yankee Stadium have been so drunk this postseason... they're just so belligerent that someone was requesting a very specific love act from the right fielder." (05:12, 05:34)
  • He describes the comedic yet cringeworthy stadium environment, closing:
    Jimmy: "I'm down on the Yankee fans. I'm obviously not a Blue Jay fan. I'm kind of just... I'm a sports orphan right now." (06:30–07:02)

6. Finding Meaning: Gambling & Hopeless Fandom

• Jimmy admits that gambling is now his main source of rooting interest:
  • Jimmy: "Well, now there's gambling. Gambling will give you something to root for... In terms of caring about a team right now, there's just nothing." (07:06)

7. Pain of Being a New York Giants Fan

• After a dismal Giants loss:
  • Kennedy: “They were up by 19 points in the fourth quarter. How do you do it?” (07:43)
  • Jimmy: "That's why we can't have nice things." (08:02)

8. From Sports to World Affairs: A Need for "Ice Cream"

• The mood pivots to a deep, humorous analogy between the state of sports fans and world politics:
  • Jimmy: "Politics. I think we just need to... let's go get ice cream... we've been on the playground too long and social media is the playground. No one's listening to themselves anymore." (09:06, 09:09)
• Kennedy recalls a childhood story about misunderstanding gestures, tying it back to the absurdity of maturity and public life. (09:14)

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Memorable Quotes

• Jimmy (on Canadian sports fans):
  "Canada's sports fans are the biggest in the world. Do you know how many people have been beaten up at their events?" (01:01)

• Kennedy (on the sports weekend):
  "Waking up with that realization that UCLA won and USC lost... my heart sings a triumphant song for the next few days." (02:28)

• Jimmy (on baseball heroics):
  "Ohtani hits three homers in a game, pitches and strikes out ten batters. It's the greatest game ever played. And all I keep thinking, how much money did he have bet on that game that he turned in that performance?" (03:39)

• Jimmy (describing Yankees fans):
  "Their hecklers are no longer giving them advantage because they're just so belligerent that someone was requesting a very specific love act from the right fielder." (05:34)

• Kennedy (philosophical summation):
  "We've been on the playground too long, and social media is the playground. No one's listening to themselves anymore." (09:09)

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Notable Moments with Timestamps

• [01:01] – Jimmy's rant on Canadian sports fans’ surprising aggression.
• [02:15] – Kennedy’s glee at an ideal college football result.
• [03:17–03:39] – Ohtani's legendary game receives breathless praise.
• [05:12–06:30] – Wild tales of Yankees’ hecklers and fan culture gone off the rails.
• [07:43–08:04] – Comic despair over the Giants blowing a huge lead.
• [09:06–09:09] – Kennedy and Jimmy liken cultural exhaustion to kids needing ice cream after too long on the playground.

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Closing Tone

With quick wit and salty banter, Kennedy and Faila capture the emotional rollercoaster of sports fandom while weaving in observations on society’s need for levity and perspective. The episode balances mock outrage, nostalgia, and social commentary, serving as a cathartic listen for anyone who's ever mourned a bad loss or just needed a laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign hello, and welcome to this episode of Kennedy Saves the World. Jimmy Feliz here with your sports bets for the week.

[B]

Jimmy, there it is. How about it?

[A]

Do you think the Mariners are going to beat the Toronto Blue Jays tonight?

[B]

I think they're going to beat them to the airport. Is there a rush to get out of there?

[A]

They had a great game five.

[B]

Man, I gotta tell you, when you lose to the Blue Jays, as a Yankee fan, there's a part of you that wants to grudge F them and watch them lose. So I was invested in that for about four games.

[A]

That's that. That has not been overridden yet.

[B]

Fair. But once the Mariners turned in the performance they did last night, I kind of lost faith because they got to win this game on the road.

[A]

Yeah. Now they got to go on the road.

[B]

And. And this is the thing. And a lot of people don't ever. We always talk. The cliche is like, oh, Canadians are so nice. They're all nice in Canada. Canada's sports fans are the biggest in the world. Do you know how many people have been beaten up at their events? Like badly beaten up and there.

[A]

But we don't have guns, eh?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. That's what happens. And so a lot of their fans are a holes and they don't win a lot. I mean, the last time this team won a playoff series prior to now is like the 90s. So the whole act like you've been there before thing isn't really a thing for them. And I don't think Canadian teams aren't.

[A]

Even good at hockey.

[B]

That's what I mean. They've won a Stanley cup in, you know, like 30 years. But I think the problem is for the Mariners. The Mariners play in a very. Is for as many jokes we talk about Seattle. Their sports runs are actually very laid back.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, and they're not beating you up in the parking lot. They're, you know, avoiding needles in the parking lot, if anything. So I think the Mariners are too soft to win in this environment, but I want them to, so I'm want.

[A]

Them to win as well.

[B]

But.

[A]

No, but you have to realize, like, Seattle is now a soccer city.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's not, you know, it was a baseball city for a long time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's, you know, they have their moments in football. God, I hate Pete Carroll.

[B]

I know.

[A]

He's not there anymore. It doesn't matter. He's still. He stained the organization.

[B]

He did.

[A]

They have a Trojan quarterback now.

[B]

A Trojan. And you can't get behind that Absolutely not. Sam Darnold. Don't worry.

[A]

Okay. I just quickly. I know we do talk about sports a lot, but I just have to say this was a great sports weekend because UCLA won and probably it looked like they were going to give up the game to Maryland, and they. They won in the end. And USC lost to Notre Dame. That game is so important to them, and they lost. And it was like. That was like the best Sunday morning ever. Waking up with that realization that UCLA won and USC loss doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, like my. My heart sings a triumphant song for the next few days.

[B]

Sometimes sports gives you a perfect opportunity to be a hater. And you had that this week.

[A]

Yes, I did.

[B]

And I'm happy for you. I don't know that I have that in this Blue Jay situation. I don't know that any of the things I could hate against you know what I mean? Like right now.

[A]

Yeah, but you want to see Toronto go up against the Dodgers.

[B]

No, but I, like, this is the thing. Okay. I think anybody's getting killed by the Dodgers. The Dodgers are hot.

[A]

So good.

[B]

Ohtani just had the great, greatest game in the history of baseball.

[A]

The greatest performance in the history of baseball.

[B]

Well, we always say Reggie Jackson is called Mr. October because he hit three home runs in a World Series game. Mom Donnie just did that in the clinch. Series clinching game. Not of the World Series, but of the. The nlcs.

[A]

Not Mom, Donnie.

[B]

Oh, Ohtani. It's on my brain.

[A]

Oh, my God. I was like, what did Mom Donnie do?

[B]

I hate so many Zoran Otani. Zoran Ohtani hits three homers in a game, pitches and strikes out 10 battles. It's the greatest game ever played. And all I keep thinking, how much money did he have bet on that game that he turned in that performance?

[A]

Let me ask you this. Do you not want the Mariners to win? Because if they do, then Cal Raleigh gets the mvp.

[B]

Yeah, no, there's that, too. Listen, man, I know because this is my thing. We know, Judge from coming within 30ft of his security at a Yankee event. Okay? So we know him. He really, at his core, wants to win the World Series really bad.

[A]

That's the only way he's ever going.

[B]

To be a real Yankee. And knowing he doesn't. And knowing he doesn't care about the MVP that much and shouldn't is why we don't care. You know, if you're the Yankees, it's supposed to be, you know, if you ain't first, you're last. And We've had a lot of last. So I don't think the MVP is a consolation prize. I don't need that for him. So I would let Cal Raleigh get his mvp. That doesn't bother me. The problem is if the Mariners play the Dodgers, I don't really care, you know, it'd be nice for the Mariners because they've never won one before. The Dodgers out there, little dynasty, that's. I don't really care, you know? Yeah, I know. And I like a Dodger dog, but I would, if I'm rooting against anybody, if I have anybody left to hate on, it is the Blue Jays.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So there's that. So that's where I find. That's the sad state of affairs for me on this.

[A]

Let's grudge F them tonight and let them lose. Let them lose at home. Game 7. I want it to be as painful as possible. And extra innings.

[B]

That would be funny.

[A]

Oh, that'd be great.

[B]

If they can knock out. Especially after what they subjected me and Lincoln to at Yankee Stadium. Because the Yankees lost. They got eliminated by the Blue Jays and like, it wasn't a good game. It wasn't like they got blown out. It was just not a good game. It was just like nothing happened. But, like two runs trickled in and the Yankees couldn't hit. And the right field hecklers at Yankee Stadium have been so drunk this postseason.

[A]

That's what you said.

[B]

I know, but that game would get, like, vulgar and they're not fun destructively heckling. So this is what happened, okay. To the extent that I can. And that's the problem for the Yankees right now, is their hecklers are no longer giving them advantage because they're just so belligerent that someone was requesting a very specific love act from the right fielder. So he was asking the right fielder to perform the kind of acts, you know.

[A]

Was it a foot massage?

[B]

I mean, if. If you were to measure it. No, it was an 11 inch massage. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I can. But stick with me, okay?

[A]

Kind of throat scratcher than the doggy dog.

[B]

Oh, man. So the point is, and if you came to this podcast, to us too, for decency, we're not the bad guys. We're not the bad guys here.

[A]

You're the problem.

[B]

Stick with me.

[A]

Trying to save your world, you win. Great.

[B]

There was a guy just yelling for nine innings that he wanted the right fielder to do something to him. Okay. For nine innings. And in the ninth inning, after the thousandth time, he yelled it. A child goes yeah, Smurf his Smurfy were like, what is even happening here? I know. So I'm down on the Yankee fans. I'm obviously not a Blue Jay fan. I'm kind of just. I'm an. I'm a sports orphan right now. I'm a sports orphan.

[A]

I hate. I hate to see this postseason apathy set in, Jim.

[B]

Well, now there's gambling. Gambling will give you something to root for. I'm not telling you, like, I'm lost and I'm sad. I probably have two bets into the dog track right now in Opelica, Alabama. I gotta check my phone after this. But in terms of caring about a team right now, there's just nothing. No, it's willing country. Watch it live at noon Eastern Monday through Thursday@fox news.com or on the Fox News YouTube channel. And don't miss the show. Listen and follow the podcast five days a week at foxnewspodcasts.com or wherever you download your favorite podcasts.

[A]

Well, you've always got the New York Giants.

[B]

Hey, they blew an 18 point lead with 6:19 points. How do you do that?

[A]

They were up by 19 points in the fourth quarter. How do you do it?

[B]

Man, that was unreal.

[A]

And I was like, oh, this is so exciting. The Giants are going to win one. Yay.

[B]

I know. Everything was looking up. The Broncos, they were a good team. We can build on this. Till we can't. Unbelievable.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

That's why we can't have nice things.

[A]

No. We can't even have peace in Gaza now.

[B]

Which is such a great segue from sports. But let's try to make this work. Okay. Do you know when Pee Wee Herman crashes his bike and he looks up at the kids and goes, I meant to do that. Let's talk about Gaza. Like, we meant to. Like, we meant for this to come up during our rambling about football and scatological takes on the jets and Giants and Zoron Ohtani. That happened. I said that.

[A]

Marital acts.

[B]

And that's even. That's the full. That's the full circle thing. So Gaza. Right. Hamas is actually killing the people we were protesting to protect over here. Isn't that happening?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So, like. No, I think we just need a timeout. You know when the kids are on the playground too long.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it goes from everybody's. It's the greatest day of their life. They're all playing hide and seek, and then they're out in the sun for too long, and you realize, like, they're fighting. He said, I was it. I'm not it. And they're crying and screaming, and you go like, let's go get ice cream.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I think politics. I think we just need to. Let's go get ice cream.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We've been on the playground too long, and social media is the playground. No one's listening to themselves anymore.

[A]

One of the first times I ever got in trouble as a kid. You know, I have two older brothers, and one of my brothers told me it was a really funny thing to put your hands in your pockets, and then you ask someone if they want to see the birdie, and then you show them your middle finger. And so. And I did that to a bunch of kids on the playground. I eventually did that to a teacher. And so my mom got a call. And so my mom comes up to me and was like, were you flipping the bird? And I took it literally. Like, was I actually touching, like, a robin or a pigeon? And I said, absolutely not. Like, what kind of a person do you take me for? I didn't know that's what this was, but I was doing. I was like, hey, you want to see bird?

[B]

So are you telling me that my cam counselor who asked me if I wanted to pet the dragon didn't actually have a dragon to show me?

[A]

I think your cam counselor is now the fan who is heckling the right fielder in Jakey's case.

[B]

But, I mean, long story short, I was right to say no. Okay. Thank you.

[A]

Thank God.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

Thank God for agents. All right, well, I think we've saved the world plenty this time around. This has been Kennedy saves the World, along with Jimmy Faila and the other formerly employed people here. I'm Kennedy. Listen ad free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple podcasts and Amazon prime. Members can listen to this show ad free on the Amazon Music Apple.