Perfect Game saw the light first, before Mo Vaughn saw it.
The former Boston Red Sox first baseman wasn’t sold on the idea initially, and he’ll be the first to admit it.
“I think they saw the light first before I saw it,” Vaughn told Awful Announcing about his new podcast venture with Perfect Game. “To be honest, I wasn’t very sure about it, because for my whole life, a microphone in front of my face — we’re deflecting, we’re not trying to make waves. Talking less is always better.”
On Thursday, Perfect Game announced the launch of MVP: The Mo Vaughn Podcast, a weekly show that pairs Vaughn with ESPN Radio’s Brendan Tobin. It’s another entry in the crowded former-athlete podcast space — the company also produces Jeff Francoeur’s Pure Athlete podcast — but Vaughn’s partnership with Perfect Game rather than a traditional sports media company signals a different approach. Perfect Game has been expanding its media presence in recent years and will now do so with Vaughn, who is making his first foray into sports media.
For Vaughn, the podcast isn’t just about adding to the crowded baseball media landscape. It’s more personal than that.
“There’s not a lot of guys that get a chance to end their career the way they want to,” Vaughn explained. “They don’t get a chance to express what they want — a lot of things are written. Not everybody’s going to be Derek Jeter or Cal Ripken, Jr., or George Brett or some of these guys that were able to stay in the same uniform, and produce, and win a World Series, and go out on their own terms.”
That’s the reality most former players face, including Vaughn. The “Hit Dog” was a fan favorite in Boston, but like virtually every big leaguer not named Jeter, his career didn’t end exactly as scripted.
“I think the podcast is good therapy, it’s good thought,” he said. “It’s a chance to talk about some of the things that might not have been said. You get to speak your piece one last time on what your feelings are, what the reality is.”
The evolution from media-averse player to podcast host wasn’t immediate. Vaughn admits his early attempts were rough, but the preparation side eventually clicked.
“I had to learn that it was good to talk,” he said. “It was good to express. And once I got going on my interviews, I started doing background. I’m home, I’m taking notes on my guests. I want to know certain information.”
The guest list includes David Ortiz and Nomar Garciaparra, but his conversation with 91-year-old former commissioner Bud Selig shows what separates this from typical former-player podcasts. Vaughn defending Selig isn’t exactly what you’d expect from most ex-players.
“When you’re a player, you’re sitting there going, what is the Commissioner doing? What is his job?” Vaughn said. “Being in business, I can sit down and understand how hard it is to be a commissioner. I think the guy gets a bad rap.”
Vaughn spent years in real estate after his career ended, so he understands the business side better than most former players.
“This guy created so many things between the wild card, the expansion, realignment,” Vaughn said of Selig. “Everybody just tries to remember steroids. This guy was good.”
That business perspective, combined with his current role at Perfect Game and coaching experience, gives him different angles to work from. He recently coached at the Perfect Game All-American Classic, working with 62 high school All-Americans.
“The amount of knowledge that I could give them on the field, off the field, successes, failures, I could bring a lot to the game,” he said. “On the business side, what to look for being a professional, how to handle yourself — the whole host of things I could talk about.”
Working with today’s young players has shown him that some things haven’t changed much, even with all the modern analytics and technology.
“Some of the same questions that I get from all players is understanding the game inside the game at home plate,” he said. “Everybody just thinks there’s just one game. There’s many games we got to play as hitters to be successful.”
Vaughn’s pitch is straightforward: authenticity over manufactured controversy. He’s not interested in creating drama or taking cheap shots at today’s players. The approach feels genuine, which is probably why Perfect Game saw something worth investing in.
“You get the reality, you get the inside track of what’s going on without me giving up information that can hurt anybody,” Vaughn said. “I’m going to try to bring people that can talk about the game on a level where people can really understand what baseball is about.”
MVP: The Mo Vaughn Podcast premieres Thursday with new episodes dropping weekly at 5 a.m. ET across all major podcast platforms. Episodes will also air on PerfectGame.TV and the PGTV app.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.