About this episode
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about players being in the sexiest shape of their lives, Rockies owner Dick Monfort’s comments about the Padres’ spending, and how Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy might affect the future of baseball broadcasting, then (28:09) discuss more ways in which baseball stands out from other sports. After that (35:35), they answer listener emails about misspelled Cy Young awards, why timeouts are called timeouts, “offensive environment” vs. “scoring environment” and “run environment,” scoring more runs for hitting a foul pole, rodeo-style “shark cages” in the outfield, how teams can quickly change their vibes, whether anyone will ever throw a 110-mph pitch, players excelling on certain surfaces, a team with unlimited 1.0 WAR players, how bigger bases could affect bang-bang plays, and an every -way Shohei Ohtani . They finish (1:40:29) with Stat Blasts about the newly retired Darren O’Day , the unusual reliever-to-starter conversion of Jeffrey Springs , and a Mike Hampton – Shawn Green matchup from the 2003 movie The Core , plus (2:08:56) a Past Blast from 1962. Audio intro : Tom Verlaine, “ Down on the Farm ” Audio outro : Bettie Serveert, “ Sundazed to the Core ” Link to Helfand tweet Link to Hayes tweet Link to Pratt tweet Link to Warne tweet Link to Ben on BSOHL Link to Hamels comeback blog Link to Monfort’s 2020 prediction Link to latest Monfort comments Link to Bloomberg on RSNs Link to BP on RSNs Link to Travis Sawchik on RSNs Link to Ben Clemens on RSNs Link to baseball exceptionalism wiki Link to sac fly definition Link to awards photos Link to Hoch tweet Link to timeouts story source Link to EW Episode 1381 Link to rodeo shark cage video Link to EW Episode 265 Link to 110-mph pitcher video Link to fastest recorded pitches Link to Ben on past FB speeds Link to yearly average pitch speeds Link to Baumann on artificial turf Link to Pinstripe Alley on bigger bases Link to Russell on defensive movers Link to THT on defensive movers Link to listener emails database Link to O’Day retirement tweet Link to O’Day Stathead query Link to Dave Brown at B-Ref bullpen Link to reliever-starter converts Link to Ben on Wright Link to the “Rule of 17” Link to FG on the Springs extension Link to Rays Pride Night story Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter Link to The Core wiki Link to story on the real core Link to The Core baseball scene Link to Green vs. Hampton H2H Link to 2004 Green vs. Hampton story Link to lopsided batter-pitcher matchups Link to ’99–’02 top position players Link to Randall Munroe on the shuttle Link to Higgins vs. Lawson H2H Link to Kenny Jackelen on Twitter Link to 1962 story source Link to B-Ref East-West Game account Link to David Lewis’s Twitter Link to David Lewis’s Substack Link to Kent on Survivor Link to L.A. Times on Kent Link to Kent’s salaries Sponsor Us on Patreon Facebook Group Twitter Account EW Subreddit Effectively Wild Wiki iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Get Our Merch! Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source