Ignition switch: From sparking lineups with 'Leadoff Man' author to thawing a chilly Hot Stove

Ignition switch: From sparking lineups with 'Leadoff Man' author to thawing a chilly Hot Stove

From Best Podcast in Baseball by St. Louis Post-Dispatch

January 7, 2026 · 56 min · Season 13 · Episode 40

About this episode

The episode discusses the Cardinals, Rickey Henderson's impact on baseball, and the current state of the offseason trades.

A discussion the Cardinals and a chilly Hot Stove eventually ignites with this completely unrelated question: How far into your list of the best players in the history of Major League Baseball do you get before mentioning Rickey Henderson? He's the all-time leader in runs, he's the greatest leadoff hitter in the game's history, and he almost lapped everyone but Lou Brock when it comes to career stolen bases.  The name of the game is scoring runs, and few (if any) did it better than Henderson. That's part of the discussion with Matt Snyder, CBS sports writer and author of the new book, "The Leadoff Man: The history of, the evolution of, and fun with the greatest catalyst in sports." ( The book is available here .) In his book, Snyder chronicles the changing nature of the leadoff spot, from the speedy contact hitters of yore to the bashers and mashers of the modern game, from the tradition of putting infielder there regardless of their ability to get on base to the analytics of prioritizing the most at-bats for the player who makes the fewest outs. Henderson leads the way with a style of play that was both ahead of his peers and ahead of its time. At about the 23-minute mark…

More episodes of Best Podcast in Baseball

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Best Podcast in Baseball podcast page.