Diamonds & Scribes — Episode 03
Tim Wendel: The scrappy, chaotic, thrilling launch of Baseball Weekly
Diamonds & Scribes is a limited-series podcast produced by the Philadelphia Baseball Review, exploring the craft of baseball journalism through conversations with the writers who shaped it. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the reporting, storytelling, habits, instincts, and hard-earned wisdom that define great baseball writing.
When USA Today launched Baseball Weekly in 1991, the idea sounded bold but risky — at least to Tim Wendel, who had just lived through the collapse of The National. The difference this time was distribution: USA Today had reach, reputation, and visibility on every newsstand.
“That reassured me,” Wendel says. “If you can’t get the product out, nothing else matters.”
The timing helped. The Sporting News had just dropped its box scores, fantasy baseball was booming, and fans suddenly needed a national one-stop shop.
“Our thesis was simple: the fans are number one,” Wendel says. “You should be able to live anywhere and still know everything about your team.”
