Podbit · Pardon My Take
Jordan Walker won the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby in front of a hostile Philadelphia crowd that was booing his every pitch taken. Making roughly $800,000 a year, he pocketed $1 million in prize money with an incredible late surge that left Schwarber and the Philly faithful stunned.
Where this was said
At 4:00 · chapter starts 0:00
The episode opens in earnest with Big Cat leading the All-Star Week autopsy. The Home Run Derby gets mostly positive reviews — Jordan Walker's late surge against Schwarber in a boo-heavy Philly crowd is called one of the more dramatic moments of any derby in recent memory [1] — Big Cat "Jordan Walker won the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby in front of a hostile Philadelphia crowd that was booing his every pitch taken. Making roughl…" 04:00 , and Walker's $1 million payday on an $800K salary gets a warm reception from the hosts. PFT's main gripe with the new format is the camera work — too many ultra-tight zooms and dynamic angles instead of stationary shots that let you watch the ball land — and he cites Buster Olney's numbers showing only 131 home runs were hit versus a 275-homer average under the old clock format. Max (a Phillies fan) defends Schwarber's performance while noting the NL managed only three hits total in the All-Star Game. The Sandlot tribute and Boys II Men performance get light ribbing before the conversation drifts to Ken Griffey Jr.'s current physique, Barry Bonds' surprise All-Star appearance, and an earnest pitch to get Bonds on the podcast as a long-overdue media moment. [2] — PFT Commenter "Buster Olney's stats show the new clock-free HR Derby produced 131 homers versus a 5-year average of 275 under the old format. But PFT argu…" 06:30
Under the new clock-free format, the 2026 HR Derby produced 131 home runs versus the 5-year average of 275 under the old clock format, though viewers felt they actually saw more because they could watch the ball land.
Buster Olney's stats show the new clock-free HR Derby produced 131 homers versus a 5-year average of 275 under the old format. But PFT argues the real improvement is simply being able to watch the ball land — treating it like an actual sport instead of a camera-cut highlight reel.
Jordan Walker won the 2026 HR Derby in Philadelphia, earning $1 million despite making around $800,000 salary, in a hostile crowd environment.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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