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 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:

• west-preview-can-the-padres-overtake-the-dodgers-whats-next-for-giants-diamondbacks-and-then-theres-the-rockies-174901675.html">Zach and Hannah on Padres as division titans
• explains-the-padres-monster-manny-machado-extension-a-team-owners-commitment-to-winning-with-fans-in-mind-200216825.html">Zach on how Peter Seidler’s spending has increased enthusiasm around Padres 
• lie-that-encapsulates-the-lockout-rob-manfred-says-mlb-teams-are-bad-investments-160109626.html">Hannah on MLB teams being good investments
• gratification-how-the-phillies-finally-turned-one-of-baseballs-longest-rebuilds-into-a-trip-to-the-world-series-030923323.html">Hannah on a team owner who uses his passion for baseball as a reason to spend
• phillies-are-dave-dombrowski-5th-world-series-team-should-more-teams-play-his-version-of-moneyball-190955595-190955897.html">Zach on the Phillies’ star-laden approach and winning in October

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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:

• the-value-of-a-captain-233129385.html">Hannah’s Opening Day observations in NY
• mlb-opening-day-what-if-baseball-is-faster-in-more-ways-than-one-051601746.html">Zach on stolen base surge
• 3b-anthony-rendon-has-suspension-reduced-to-4-games-for-physical-confrontation-with-as-fan-010530594.html">Anthony Rendon suspended
• the-not-so-subtle-art-of-chucking-it-right-down-the-middle-is-helping-mlb-pitchers-get-ahead-213941943.html">Hannah & Zach on throwing it down the middle
• do-robo-umps-challenge-system-mean-for-catchers-some-coaches-are-concerned-005531648.html">Hannah on how robot umps will change catching

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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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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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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.

Subscribe now to hear The Bandwagon on Tuesday, March 21st.

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Frank Schwab gives you his best 5 wagers heading into the 2022 NFL football season.

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Ariel Epstein knows that everyone is looking for sleeper picks right now before NFL training camps start up, and she’s got two potential division winners that she likes for their chances and their odds.

Listen to find out why she would put her money on the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals to win the AFC East and NFC West, respectively.

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The PGA heads to Scotland this week and Pamela Maldonado targets an old friend of the pod, Will Zalatoris.

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We hope you had a great 4th of July weekend. Minty Bets takes a look at her favorite AFC futures. Can the Titans win the AFC South?

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