Yahoo Sports MLB: The Bandwagon

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Dust off the bobbleheads and display your hat collection. It’s time to hop on The Bandwagon. Join Yahoo Sports’ Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer for a weekly conversation about the rapidly evolving world of baseball. From the bullpen to the front office, Hannah delivers perspectives from inside MLB organizations, and Zach goes full moneyball to provide the analytics angle as they critically dissect the stories and topics guiding baseball each week. Closing out each show, they hop on a new bandwagon and tell you the team or player for whom you should abandon your hometown allegiance and become the ultimate fair-weather fan.

The Bandwagon premieres Tuesday, March 21st

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WBC injuries, an AL West race & the 2023 MLB Narratives Draft

For the very first episode of The Bandwagon, Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer get together to talk a little bit about the World Baseball Classic (mostly about the injuries to Edwin Diaz and José Altuve) before drafting their favorite narratives that they’d love to see during the 2023 MLB season. Finally, each one of them “bandwagons” for something new heading into the season.

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2023 MLB Season Preview: World Series matchups we want to see

The podcast kicks off with Hannah and Zach closing the book on spring training and telling some of their favorite stories that they never got to write about, including one possible advantage for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They also discuss the secret videos of prospects being told that they’ve made the opening day roster and why they like them so much.

While picking World Series matchups, Hannah goes with Mariners/Padres in the “every outcome is a good outcome” series and Zach picks a sequel to the Yankees/Mets Subway Series because baseball is more fun with a villain (or two) to root against.

Finally, they both bandwagon for some old pitchers in the upcoming season. Zach is watching and rooting for the future HOF pitchers that we’ll get to watch this year (Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer, Greinke) while Hannah has her eyes set on Johnny Cueto of the Miami Marlins.

00:45 Closing the book on Spring Training

04:30 Secret videos of prospects finding out they made the team

15:25 World Series matchups that we want to see

36:00 Bandwagon: HOF Pitchers

44:40 Bandwagon: Johnny Cueto

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New rules = more stolen bases, Rendon’s suspension & bandwagoning the (Devil) Rays

Hannah and Zach are back with their first episode since the start of the baseball season, leading to a fun conversation at the beginning of the episode about what each of them did for MLB Opening Day this year.

About a week into the season, they agree that the new rules have been a success in terms of speeding up the game and creating more small-ball. Specifically, teams are attempting steals at rates we haven’t seen in over a decade and succeeding at rates we haven’t seen since even longer ago. That’s good! Right?

Zach comes up with a fun game before he and Hannah discuss Anthony Rendon confronting a fan in Oakland and getting suspended as a result.

Before bandwagoning the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays, Hannah and Zach dive into the story of MLB pitchers being told to throw the first pitch of each at-bat right down the middle of the strike zone, explaining why it is probably a good idea and if we can expect more widespread adoption from the rest of the league.

00:30 what did you do for opening day?

04:20 A lot of stolen bases!

12:20 Zach’s Game: Did this happen in an Orioles/Rangers game?

19:50 Do We Care? Anthony Rendon fights a fan

24:15 We Were Wondering: Throwing pitches down the middle

43:00 The Bandwagon: Tampa Bay Rays

Links to stories mentioned in this episode:

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The Padres’ big spending explained, Oneil Cruz’s broken ankle & James Outman’s pet rock

The show kicks off with a conversation about artificial intelligence and the pope’s clothes, as many baseball podcasts do, before Hannah and Zach turn their attention to the momentarily-fun Pittsburgh Pirates who are now less fun following Oneil Cruz’s broken ankle.

Hannah and Zach then discuss Cardinals OF Tyler O’Neill getting called out by his manager for not hustling, wondering if that was a good or bad piece of managing and what comes next for the crowded St. Louis outfield.

This week, Hannah came up with a game regarding news stories we were discussing a year ago to see if they were impactful enough for Zach to remember them a year later.

The bulk of the episode centers around the San Diego Padres, who went from 27th in payroll to 3rd and are the talk around baseball. What should their expectations be? How long can they keep this up? Will it change how other small and mid-market teams think of their own spending? And why don’t billionaires spend more money on fun things?

We close the episode by skipping over the “dong bong” and talking about Dodgers rookie OF James Outman and his pet rock, Rocka.

Stories referenced in this episode:

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Tatis Jr. set to return, the Rays’ winning streak is over & a possum in Oakland

02:45 - Fernando Tatis Jr. set to return

07:00 - Juan Soto and the Padres lineup order

16:00 - Oakland’s possum & MLB animals

26:50 - The Rays winning streak is over (but did it mean anything?)

53:40 - Bandwagon: Toronto Blue Jays

67:10 - Mets, Angels calling up top prospects

Several players will be joining MLB teams in the coming week, including Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. and a couple of top prospects for the Mets and Angels. Hannah and Zach talk their way through that news while also spending quite a bit of time talking about MLB animals (thanks to the possum living in the A’s ballpark), the no-longer-streaking Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays, who have a very bright future ahead.

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The (Las Vegas?) A’s, promising young Pirates & Orioles’ team celebrations

00:45 - Pirates extend OF Bryan Reynolds

11:00 - Drew Smyly lost his perfect game after being tackled by his catcher

14:20 - Sticky stuff! Max Scherzer & David Cone

20:30 - HANNAH’S GAME: The 1st month of the MLB season

28:20 - DISCUSSION: The Oakland A’s buy land in Las Vegas

48:30 - BANDWAGON: Baltimore Orioles’ team celebrations

Hannah and Zach talk their way through some (surprisingly) good news for a Pittsburgh Pirates team that is seeing results from building a young core of solid players and extending them before catching up on Drew Smyly’s lost perfect game and the stickiness of rosin (as demonstrated by David Cone).

After the news, Hannah has come up with a game to show that April results are both valuable and not valuable at all. Zach is surprisingly good at it.

Dan Moore, who has recently written about the Oakland A’s pursuit of a stadium (both in the Bay Area and now in Las Vegas), joins the show and talks about the long journey it has been for fans of the team and where they might actually end up playing (long-term and short-term).

Finally, Zach decided this week to bandwagon the very fun team celebrations that the Baltimore Orioles have displayed this season. First, there was the “dong bong”. Now, they have unveiled “the sprinkler” for guys hitting doubles with men on base. This is wildly entertaining, every team should do it, and it’s just one more reason to watch the young Orioles team.

Referenced in this episode:

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Josh Gondelman hates the Yankees, Max Scherzer hates the rain & MLB’s sticky situation

Hannah and Zach talk about Bryce Harper’s very quick return to baseball after Tommy John surgery, Max Scherzer waiting for the rain to return from suspension, and baseball’s issue with sticky stuff before chatting with writer and comedian Josh Gondelman.

01:00 Bryce Harper’s return

09:30 Jacob deGrom to the IL

13:30 The near no-hitter that nobody saw

14:10 Aaron Judge to the IL

16:20 ZACH’S GAME: Scherzer & Verlander’s award-winning teammates

25:15 MLB’s sticky stuff enforcement

45:00 Josh Gondelman on the Red Sox / Yankees rivalry

56:30 BANDWAGON: Unionizing Baseball

The Bandwagon podcast starts off with Hannah and Zach talking about Bryce Harper returning to the Philadelphia Phillies just 160 days after Tommy John surgery, setting a new MLB record, and discuss how his legacy has changed over the course of his career.

They also discuss Jacob deGrom’s trip to the IL and how he reminds them of Punxsutawney Phil (yes, the groundhog) before discussing Aaron Judge’s injury and the New York Yankees’ faulty roster construction.

Zach is enamored with just how many Cy Young Award winners Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander have had as teammates, so he made a game out of it and Hannah has to try and weed out the fake ones from the real ones.

Speaking of Max Scherzer, he’s still serving a suspension for using “sticky stuff” to help him pitch. It’s a sticky issue and one with no obvious solution, so Hannah and Zach try their best to talk through the situation and what MLB is trying to do to solve for it.

Writer and comedian Josh Gondelman joins the podcast to talk about loving the Boston Red Sox, hating the New York Yankees and the importance of unionizing for minor-league players and (maybe) MLB front offices.

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

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Contreras vs. Cardinals, Juan Soto’s trip to the pet store & Craig Goldstein defends umpires

This week on the Bandwagon, Hannah and Zach try and figure out how Juan Soto ended up in a Petco for his calendar shoot, explore the already tumultuous relationship between Willson Contreras and the Cardinals, and chat with Craig Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus about appreciating umpires.

00:40 Juan Soto & the fish tank

06:11 Cardinals-Wilson Contreras situation

20:00 GAME: Actually Angels or Tungsten Arm O’Doyle?

27:15 New MLB Rules / State of Play

43:15 BANDWAGON: Umpire! (feat. Craig Goldstein)

This week’s Bandwagon starts with a bang, with Hannah and Zach going deep to try and figure out how Juan Soto ended up getting his picture taken in a Petco near a fish tank for his “Padres Puppies Calendar”.

They then discuss the news of the week, which is the St. Louis Cardinals moving newly-acquired catcher Willson Contreras to the outfield and then deciding they’d rather teach him how to play catcher instead. It’s all very weird and is another bad look for the Cardinals in the midst of a bad season.

It was Hannah’s turn to come up with a game and she showed up with “Actually Angels or Tungsten Arm O’Doyle?” This game is meant to show off Zach’s memory and also the greatness of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout (while the Los Angeles Angels struggle to win games).

A little more than a month into the regular season, Hannah and Zach look into the numbers to see if the new rules have had a huge impact on MLB and what that impact might be. Stick around for Hannah’s own ideas for new MLB rules, they’re very outside-the-box.

Finally, Baseball Prospectus Editor-in-Chief Craig Goldstein joins the show and bandwagons for umpires. Yes, baseball’s cops. Craig says they’re better than they get credit for and that we should be empowering them instead of tearing them down. It’s a controversial take, but one with some merit.

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

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Aaron Judge’s side-eye, AL East supremacy & bandwagoning Zac Gallen

Hannah and Zach go through the news of the day, including Aaron Judge looking sideways during an at-bat and causing controversy in the process, before playing a game and then discussing how great the entire AL East has been so far this season.

01:30 Aaron Judge’s side-eye

14:05 Wilson Contreras is catching again

14:20 A’s buy (other) land in Las Vegas

16:45 ZACH’S GAME: Non-Shortstops that have played shortstop

25:40 AL East supremacy

30:15 Baltimore Orioles’ Bird Bath Splash Zone

37:00 Is it too easy to win the AL Central?

41:00 AL East predictions

44:35 BANDWAGON: Zac Gallen

49:30 What we’re watching this weekend

Hannah and Zach kick off the podcast by addressing the storm that Hannah walked into last night when she posted a gif of Aaron Judge looking out the side of his eye during an at-bat that ended in the HR. Was it cheating? What was he doing?

They quickly skip over the news of Wilson Contreras moving back to catcher and mostly dismiss the news about the Oakland A’s purchasing yet another plot of land in Las Vegas that could potentially be their future home.

Zach is intrigued by Mookie Betts playing SS for the Los Angeles Dodgers, so he quizzes Hannah on some famous non-shortstops that have played the position in the majors.

The AL East is really good. There’s an argument that the entire division is better than even the best team in the AL Central. As such, Hannah and Zach try to talk their way through the division but get distracted by “Mr. Splash” and the Baltimore Orioles’ Bird Bath Splash Zone.

Finally, Hannah’s bandwagon this week hits close to home. South Jersey’s own Zac Gallen has been bandwagoning himself, and is even better this season after being great last year, so Hannah is jumping on board and hoping that this is another Sandy Alcantara-like season in the works.

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.