When the going gets tough, the tough start a baseball podcast. That sounds way better than the truth anyways of “when teetering on the brink of mentally breaking down, start a baseball podcast’.

My name is Scott Belford, I’m a professional Stand-up comedian and one half of the Walkoff Podcast. I’m a lifelong Toronto Blue Jays fan and completely obsessed with baseball but honestly pursuing any sort of career covering the sport didn’t occur to me until quite recently. The Walkoff turns 4 years old this July 6th and its inception came about for no other reason than when the pandemic hit, I could no longer make a living touring and performing because everything was shut down.

Adam Mac, my co-host and fellow comic, was on tour with me in March of 2020. We were in Regina Saskatchewan when the world started to shut down. We were sitting in a bar waiting for our comedy show to start when breaking news started to scroll across the TV’s in the room. “US declares state of national emergency” into “Tom Hanks Diagnosed with the Corona Virus” and then “NBA shuts season down immediately” which is when Adam turned to me and said “Should we get them to turn the TV’s off?”. We did have to be funny in 15 minutes as it seemed like the apocalypse was closing in around us.

Within days we had canceled the remainder of the tour and were sent home for two weeks.  We all know that two weeks turned into being shut down on and off for almost two years. Touring and making a living as a live entertainer became impossible. One of the things Adam Mac and I had bonded over while we on that tour before was a common love of the Toronto Blue Jays. He called me one afternoon late in May and proposed that “We start a Jays podcast to keep us sane until we can get back on the road”. This turned out to be a far more substantial endeavour than either of us imagined.

What started as a distraction from what felt like financial ruin soon turned into a passion. Both Adam and I couldn’t wait to talk the Blue Jays almost daily. We started reaching out to the prospects within the Jays minor league affiliates and having them on the show. We started having people from within the Jays Mental and High performance departments on the show. Looking back now, the guests we have had on the show blows my mind.  President of the Jays Mark Shapiro has joined us, former Manager John Gibbons came on the show, Danny Jansen, Tim Mayza, Davis Schneider and more active and former Jays players. We hit #1 baseball podcast in Canada on the apple chats numerous times in 2023.

When Crier media reached out to join their growing platform, giving us MLB accreditation and access to more players and events, the pairing seemed like a match made in heaven. The Walkoff’s content and standing within the baseball community will continue to grow as a member of the Crier family and we are so happy to be a part of it. The future is bright and there are big things on the horizon. Join the Walkoff’s grounds-crew as they bring you top quality Toronto Blue Jays content.