The Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal isn’t good for Major League Baseball, but it certainly generates interest, opinion and content. Cadence13, a subdivision of Entercom’s RADIO.com is capitalizing on the interest by creating a podcast series focused on the Astros 2017 World Series-winning season.
According to Natalie Jarvey of The Hollywood Reporter, the project is part of a new sports documentary podcast franchise for Cadence13. Joining the Astros podcast as host will be Sports Illustrated writer Ben Reiter, along with producers Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons who co-created Slow Burn.
“The Astros of the 2010s were the most innovative organization in the history of sports,” Reiter said in a statement. Having previously wrote the book Astroball: The New Way to Win It All, Reiter is very familiar with the Houston Astros.
“As it turned out, the ‘new way to win it all’ involved factors that no one could have imagined — myself included,” Reiter added. “Cadence13, Prologue Projects, and Left/Right are the ideal partners with whom to reveal the full story of the Astros’ exhilarating rise and shocking fall.”
The podcast will look at sign stealing and organizational strategies that helped the Astros go from losing 100 games or more three years in a row from 2011-2013, to winning 100 games or more three straight years, with just a three-season gap in-between.
“We have long wanted to apply our narrative approach to a story that’s outside the world of politics,” said producer Leon Neyfakh. “The Astros saga is the perfect place for us to start — in addition to being populated by amazing characters, it forces you to ask yourself hard questions about the meaning of fairness, cheating and secrecy.”
“This is a story that everyone is talking about and partnering with Ben and Leon to deep dive on this scandal should give listeners the best insight and context possible,” Cadence13 content chief Chris Corcoran added. “We are thrilled to expand Cadence13’s powerful lineup of original documentary storytelling with this new franchise.”
The currently untitled podcast is planning to launch this summer, but according to The Hollywood Reporter a TV series adaptation of the podcast is also being developed. Reiter is said to be involved in the television project as well, along with Left/Right Productions.
