Welcome in to Episode 45 – the Billy Jurges episode of this podcast. This is the 2nd time Billy Jurges has been a part of these episodes – in Episode 11 “October 6: The Ghosts (and Goats) of Baseball Past” I talked about Billy Jurges missed the 1932 season (and World Series) after being shot by a Chicago showgirl – which may have played into both Babe Ruth’s famed Called Shot and been part of the inspiration for Roy Hobbs in The Natural. It was one of my favorite episodes to do, so if you haven’t checked it out, I recommend it.

Since I last recorded, we got to see a series win in the Bronx, a thrilling Home Run Derby, Justin Steele pitch well in the All Star Game and the Cubs open the 2nd half in very “meh” fashion. This weekend against the Cardinals will go a long way towards determining whether the Cubs are buyers or sellers. For today, though, I have a very special guest – Greg Zumach from Northside Bound and the Cubs on Deck podcast. He and I had a really enjoyable conversation about all things MLB Draft – we talk about the Cubs picks, overall draft strategy and how he approaches getting to know so many players and breaking it all down for his audience. It’s a look behind the curtain today, beyond which Cub draftees might contribute down the line.