We continue our series on “the glue guys” (and gals!) of the baseball world, people who aren’t players or a part of teams but who are important connectors and folks who amplify the joy of baseball for others.
Next up is Jim Christopher of the Let’s Get Two Podcast.
You can find Jim on Twitter @LetsGet2TheShow.
Now, let’s get to it!
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Good Men Project Sports:
When did you start doing what it is you do and why?
Let’s Get Two:
We launched Let’s Get Two about four years ago. We started planning, as part of our production company, Twitchy Dolphin Media about five years ago.
As for the why? That’s a longer row to hoe, as they say. I was born in Houston, TX and am a massive Astros fan. They, in many ways, were my first love. One I’m passing on to my grandson who was born in October of 2017. What a month that was! But I knew not much about the minor leagues outside of Bull Durham.
We’re about the beauty of the game, We’re not about hot takes, mocking people for their fandom or aiming for the lowest common denominator.
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While in the military, I met my wife who grew up a fan of the San Antonio Missions. While serving, we would escape to minor league parks whenever we could. While serving, baseball made being away from home easier. It was and is my happy place.
After the Army, I went to the University of Texas as Austin, studied film and started a film career. While playing a film festival, a buddy and I snuck out to a Tulsa Drillers game.
That was where the seed was planted that became what the show is today.
It’s become not just about the game, but also being my chance to see the country I love so much.
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GMP Sports:
What do you think you bring to the baseball fan-base – why has it been so successful?
Let’s Get Two:
That’s a question I don’t know the answer to! The show has been an evolving beast since we started it. From podcast to web series, we’ve always tweaking and improving.
As for why people like it, I am really stumped, but I think it comes down to two things: positivity and honesty.
We’re a positive show, a welcoming one. We don’t serve as gatekeepers when it comes to who can or can’t be a baseball fan. We’re about the beauty of the game, We’re not about hot takes, mocking people for their fandom or aiming for the lowest common denominator. Baseball is a beautiful game at all levels and it’s a big enough tent that everyone can join, whether you’re 8 or 80. We know the world sucks sometimes.
The show is about to go to 11! #OpeningDay is so close! #LetsGetTwo with a new format! New and favorite ballparks! And it all starts Tuesday in my hometown park of the @RRExpress ! The first of 28 parks this season! Let’s gooooooooo! To quote Jerry Maguire “Who’s coming with me?” pic.twitter.com/1YUdKDcDge
— James Christopher – ARFF/Let’s Get Two (@LetsGet2TheShow) March 31, 2022
We want to be the hour long break from that, almost like the Ted Lasso of sports shows.
As for honesty? Everyone on the show loves baseball and we share it, on our sleeve, without a hint of irony. Our best days are spent in a ballpark, in a community that loves their team and finding out what makes that community tick. And we just want the audience to come along for the ride, take a break out of their day..
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GMP Sports:
How do you do it? How much time do you put into it?
Let’s Get Two:
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
I like the moments between the action where you can have conversations that often seem so hard in real life, but flow out over a beer or some peanuts at a ballpark.
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For the beginning and after the baseball season, there is a ton of research, recording time and other parts of the show. We strive to have great production values on our work and take great pride in doing so.
During the season, it’s an even bigger animal. This year, I will take 13 trips to see 20 different ballparks all over the country. We shoot interviews, b roll, really trying to give a full snapshot of the team, the ballpark and the community.
It’s a lot of time to edit it all down, package into something that we think is consumable for an audience.
It’s probably a ten hour production process per weekly episode not counting the actual shooting time.
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GMP Sports:
What is your “real” job and how long have you been involved in the game of baseball?
Let’s Get Two:
My real job is in independent film. I’ve retired from filmmaking (unless someone wants to buy a script 🙂 ).
I currently run the popular Austin Revolution Film Festival. I also run the Film Program at St. Michael’s Catholic Academy. We take a holistic approach to film education with a focus on film studies and all levels of production. It means I get to spread more baseball love by teaching a Baseball in Cinema class every winter.
As for involvement with the game, I’d say 46 years.
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GMP Sports:
Why baseball for you? What is it about the game of baseball that you love? What makes it bigger than ‘just a game’ for you?
Let’s Get Two:
There is so much.
I’m the guy who gets romantic about baseball.
I love the anthem…the time I can reflect on my brothers and sisters I served with, including those who didn’t come home.
The game itself, there is so much ‘game within the game’ strategy going on.
More when I was a kid, but even today, I love that its a team game based on individual matchups. But I also love that its unique. Every park is different, every design special to the community that supports the team.
At the end of our first big leg of the Summer. Thank you to the teams that welcomed us in for a game or a look at the ballpark. The experience was pretty reaffirming and quieted some of the self doubt that comes with the show. Thanks for the support of #LetsGetTwo. 1325 Miles. pic.twitter.com/GBsBTK2D2v
— James Christopher – ARFF/Let’s Get Two (@LetsGet2TheShow) June 30, 2021
I like the moments between the action where you can have conversations that often seem so hard in real life, but flow out over a beer or some peanuts at a ballpark.
I love all of it.
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GMP Sports:
One thing about baseball that you would change and one thing that you would never change?
Let’s Get Two:
Off the field, I think the MLB needs to adopt a model similar to the NFL. I know salary cap is a dirty word, but the NFL has a cap that is tied to revenue so there is less deception on the owners who will hide their revenue so they don’t have to share with the players. We need it to be transparent, with the player salary tied to how well the sport is doing. The end result, and this might take a while, is a game like the NFL. True parity. All the teams marketed, getting the spotlight. So then, they don’t care who makes the Super Bowl. The ratings will be killer because the game is the draw.
I like that baseball is essentially a nice game. Get a hit, chat it up with the first baseman. The game is hard just by its nature and the season is long, so I like the civility.
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In the MLB, only 2-4 teams draw national ratings. It’s not just on the other 26 to somehow grow a national brand, but also on the league as a whole. ESPN will show as many Yankee/Sox games as they can and who can blame them? Astros/Rangers doesn’t draw nationally. Sox/Yankees does. Combine that with so many teams not spending and you have a product that can be hard to sell. A cap and a floor will be a good start in the long process of introducing the country to all the teams in the MLB and creating a sense of league wide parity.
On the field, this is where I become an old man. At the Major League level, it’s true outcome baseball. I miss the days of steals, hit and run, action on the bases in general. Part of the beauty of baseball is the sacrifice….giving up yourself for the betterment of the team. So yes, I miss the occasional bunt. Imagine how many games would have been different with the stupid ghost runner if someone…anyone….could lay a bunt down?
As for never changing? I like that baseball is essentially a nice game. Get a hit, chat it up with the first baseman. The game is hard just by its nature and the season is long, so I like the civility. I also love that there is no time limit. Everyone gets 27 outs. There is something uniquely democratic about that.
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GMP Sports:
Any ideas for what types of things baseball can do to better connect to its fans?
Let’s Get Two:
I see three huge problems there, but I think there are easy fixes.
One, yes, the MLB needs to embrace new methods of reaching new fans, especially those in under-privileged communities. Baseball is an expensive sport to play, so we’re missing out on generations of talented athletes who turn to other sports. So the MLB needs to find a way to reach them through community programs, out reach and encouraging the best you athletes to choose this game over football or basketball.
MLB needs to embrace new methods of reaching new fans, especially those in under-privileged communities. Baseball is an expensive sport to play, so we’re missing out on generations of talented athletes who turn to other sports.
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They also need to get with the times when it comes to TV deals. Blackouts that make no sense are killing the game, especially in a world with so much more content competing for eyeballs.
As it becomes a game less and less driven by ‘regular people’ attending games in the name of the wealthy and corporations, it only makes sense that you not restrict the method that the super-fans can watch the games.
The people buying gear to wear are the same people who can maybe attend 2-3 games a year. At least let them see the games without having to play ‘streaming service gymnastics.’
Finally, the MLB also needs to quit talking about pace of play and thinking it’s because left handed specialists exist. The game is slower because commercial breaks are longer. It feels longer to some because everyone is waiting around for a homer.
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GMP Sports:
For this Series, we are focusing on people like yourself who aren’t players or a part of teams but who are important connectors, people who amplify the joy of baseball for others.
If I asked you to name one or two of those people, who would you name and why?
Let’s Get Two:
Two people come to mind when I thought about this question: Erik Mertens is one of the best representations of the ‘heart’ of this game. Paul Caputo’s coverage of the minor league game through the branding is second to none.
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Photo Credit: Let’s Get Two Website (with permission)