Karl Ravech and Justin Musil sit down with former Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres slugger Ryan Klesko, a 1995 World Series champion now deeply involved in youth baseball through Perfect Game. Klesko opens up about his unusual path to the big leagues as a two-way player originally drafted as a left-handed pitcher, only shifting to hitting full-time after an elbow injury forced the issue. He shares why he still believes in playing multiple positions and multiple sports growing up, and digs into how player development works differently internationally than the club-ball-heavy model in the U.S., along with how shrinking college rosters have changed what it takes for a high schooler to look “college-ready.”

Ravvy and Justin also check in on the ongoing Brewers-Rays World Series, break down William Contreras’s standout defensive work, and close with a preview of next week’s episode with A.J. Hinch.

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On this episode of Dirt From the Dugout, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil wrap up their conversation with World Series champion Anthony Rizzo, digging into the origins of the Lovable Reunion podcast he launched with David Ross for the 10th anniversary of the Cubs’ 2016 championship, and the fan stories that still give him goosebumps a decade later. Rizzo breaks down what made manager Joe Maddon so effective at building genuine relationships with players, from asking about Rizzo’s wine order to giving Javier Báez the freedom just to be himself, and names the toughest pitchers he ever faced, including Marco Estrada and a healthy Stephen Strasburg.

He argues that elite changeups are an underrated skill young pitchers should prioritize over flashy breaking balls, and he shares the simplest piece of teammate advice he gives anyone entering a new clubhouse: say hello to everyone. Plus, a rapid-fire kitchen sink round covering the ball from the final out of the 2016 World Series, a behind-the-scenes Bill Murray moment on Saturday Night Live, running the Chicago Marathon, and who he’d take with the first pick in a draft of current players.

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On this episode of Dirt From the Dugout, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil welcome World Series champion and cancer survivor Anthony Rizzo, tracing his winding path from Parkland, Florida through a cancer diagnosis just one year after being drafted, two trades, and an eventual breakout in Chicago. Rizzo talks candidly about hitting his first real valley in travel ball during his junior year of high school, watching teammates like Hunter Strickland and Ryan Pressly transform from barely-throwing-90 prospects into dominant big leaguers, and why he believes today’s youth players are chasing advanced analytics before mastering the basics of fielding a ground ball or hitting a line drive off a tee.

He opens up about learning from teammates and opponents alike. He credits his relationship with hitting coach Victor Rodriguez and his daily at-bat breakdowns with Eric Hinske for shaping his approach at the plate. Rizzo also reflects on how beating cancer as an 18-year-old reframed every baseball struggle that followed, teaching him to find perspective and even enjoy the grind of a slump.

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On this episode of Dirt From the Dugout, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil wrap up their conversation with five-time World Series champion David Cone, digging into the paradox of “turning your brain off” on the mound which Cone argues the best pitchers have already done so much mental preparation that trusting your stuff in the moment just looks effortless. He opens up about why catchers, not fellow pitchers or hitters, gave him the most honest feedback throughout his career, and breaks down the delicate pitcher-catcher dynamic, including how Jorge Posada took it personally when Cone shook him off as a rookie catcher versus Joe Girardi’s total trust.

Cone tells the wild story of how a locker room blowup with David Wells over a blown bullpen game turned into one of his closest friendships, setting the stage for Wells’s perfect game two weeks later, and reflects on Ken Griffey Jr. as the toughest hitter he ever faced.

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On this episode of Dirt From the Dugout, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil welcome five-time World Series champion David Cone, one of just 55 players in MLB history to win that many rings. Cone traces his love of pitching back to backyard Wiffle ball with his brothers, where he first learned to spin a curveball while idolizing Luis Tiant’s unmistakable style during the 1975 World Series. He opens up about the mound presence and command that defined his career despite not having an overpowering frame, crediting a Little League mentor who pulled him aside as a kid and taught him how his on-mound tantrums were affecting his teammates.

Cone reflects on sharing Canada’s first World Series title with the Blue Jays as a midseason “hired gun,” the emotional moment he watched Joe Torre break down after the Yankees clinched a pennant during his brother’s heart transplant, and the “blank slate” mentality he learned from Bernie Williams about staying present at the plate.

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On this episode of Dirt From the Dugout, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil break down a loaded League Championship Series slate, with the Brewers-Dodgers NLCS set and the Rays waiting to find out their ALCS opponent after sweeping the Yankees. Musil, drawing on his own front-office experience as a strategic advisor to the Brewers’ scouting department, explains the organizational identity that’s carried Milwaukee through a historic run, while Ravech makes the case that the Dodgers’ financial edge shows up most in a seven-game series, where star-studded depth in the rotation and bullpen becomes nearly impossible to match. The two dig into why both the Brewers and Rays have found success buying low on players other teams gave up on and debate whether having a true horse like Jacob Misiorowski or Junior Caminero changes the calculus against a Dodgers team loaded with $20-30 million players at nearly every position.

They also preview the White Sox-Guardians decider and unpack MLB’s newest labor proposal, including a shortened 154-game season, seven-game Division Series, and the controversial idea of letting higher seeds choose their playoff opponents. Plus: whether it’s time for a change in the Yankees’ organization, and why neither host thinks Aaron Boone or Brian Cashman is the real problem.

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On this episode of Dirt From the Dugout, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil wrap up their conversation with 15-year MLB veteran Adam Ottavino, diving into the career-saving decision he made after a disastrous 2017 season. Ottavino tells the story of building his own pitching lab in a former shoe store in Harlem owned by his father-in-law, training alone in the middle of the night with a high-speed camera and a Rapsodo unit to rebuild his delivery and commit fully to his slider after a Dodger Stadium meltdown nearly got him sent to the minors. He traces the longer arc of learning to trust his own feel over organizational instruction, from the Cardinals trying to overhaul his delivery in the minors to finally rebuilding his entire arsenal around the slider once he reached Colorado with nothing left to lose. Ottavino also opens up about why he never wanted to stop playing, what it felt like to love even the mundane parts of being a big leaguer, and the wild story behind a Buck Showalter autographed ball sitting in his office that predicted the Yankees' 1996 World Series win.

Plus, a rapid-fire kitchen sink round covering his last meal in New York City, his three desert-island artists, and the one thing he'd ban from every MLB clubhouse.

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On this episode of Dirt From the Dugout, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil welcome former big-league reliever Adam Ottavino, who pitched for the Rockies, Yankees, Mets, and more over a 15-year career. Ottavino breaks down just how unhittable modern pitching has become, pointing to the explosion in repertoire size, pitch design, and sheer volume of arms hitters now face. He traces his own path from a Brooklyn kid obsessed with emulating big leaguers in Wiffle ball games to a late physical bloomer who got DH'd for as a high school freshman second baseman, through the growth spurt at 15 that finally let his skill catch up to his body.

Ottavino opens up about the mentors and tough-love coaches who shaped him, the advice that convinced him to turn down signing out of high school in favor of Northeastern, and how playing up against older, more advanced competition in New York's travel ball scene toughened him for the grind ahead.

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