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 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

 Effectively Wild Wiki

 Get Our Merch!

 Email Us: [email protected]