Hey Riddle Riddle - Patreon Previerw #371: The Two Faces of Penguin Baseball w/ James Dugan

Episode Date: April 17, 2026

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Hax is back for its fifth and final season, and so is The Hacks podcast. Join the Hacks creators and showrunners, Lucia and Yellow, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky as they unpack the Emmy-winning comedy series. On each episode, hear stories from the set, what goes on in the writer's room, and how these beloved characters close out their final season. Watch Hax streaming exclusively on HBO Max and listen to The Hacks podcast on HBO Max, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every season of Penguin Baseball League

brings moments of great triumph and heartbreaking sadness. But too often, we as consumers of Penguin Baseball League get focused on the big picture and lose sight of the individual players. Today, we take you on a journey of exploration inside a player on the rise and a player down on his luck. Our story starts with Babe Flouf as he returns to his hometown.

No longer an all-star of the Penguin Baseball League as the new cryptids have replaced his once great talents. Then our story takes us to Yeti Barron. A Yeti very much on the rise. How do these two players, one, a penguin, two, a big monster thing from the woods or whatever, deal with the pressures put upon them and put upon their families from playing in the Penguin Baseball League? These are their stories I'll be with you in just one second Oh yeah

No worries, no special treatment For me I never never give special Let me get down for the ladder here I was just looking for a three-fourth bit Oh whoa whoa Oh my stars and straps Is that

No one could let me clean my glasses on my shirt No don't do the whole cleaning your glasses on your shirt Yeah it's me it's Babe Flu Well, my glasses weren't dirty. It's my eyes. It's not your eyes. I am Babe Fluff. I'm the person I think that you recognize.

Oh, it can't be. Is that? Is that? Let me get a little closer to squint real hard. Don't do this. If it isn't, the prodigal son returns. Hometown hero, Babe Fluff. Yeah, yeah.

These guys are just, they're just following me for a, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. What guy is? Let me clean my glasses. Don't do the thing. Don't do the thing. It's an obvious camera crew. There's a boom mic and a camera operator.

A tiny piece of glass. Babe. What brings you back to, is there some sort of statue raising going on in town today? Raising, like burning? Like an effigy? No, used in the most common way. Is that? Yeah, I guess, no, yes.

Raising. No, no. What's a better term than raising? I guess statue... Commemoration, maybe? Cutting? Ribbon. cutting a statue? I hate to break in. I know the boom mic operator isn't supposed to make himself

part of the story. But I think that erecting is a pretty solid word. Well, here's the thing, young man, is that was the first word that came to mind, but I know sometimes in a hardware store people want to make jokes about, you know, wood, erecting. And if you taps the sign, if you see here, I have a sign that says, no jokes about genitalia. Oh, okay, sorry, this is my first time in this town, and I know I'm not supposed to make myself part of the story. Your first time in, sorry, your first time in Gary, Indiana? It's my first time this side of the Mississippi, yeah. Well, let me hit the button.

We got a first time, no, no, no, no, I don't want this to be about me. Here we are welcoming you to Indiana. We're not doing it? Are we doing the musical number? Is someone here recently in Gary, Indiana, for the first time? I'm a... Yeah, no, I am, but really, please, just like, pretend I'm not here. The camera crew is, like, glaring at the sound guy.

No, no, no, no, no. This isn't about me. This isn't about me being here. This is a clear strike two for the sound guy. Isn't about you, you're clearly caked in makeup. You knew you were going to be on screen. No, lowering the boom mic down so he could, like, speak directly into it, so it's, like, sure to pick him up. Oh, he's got a type five.

This is not, this was not intentional. This is just my natural singing voice also. Ah, sorry, I'm just looking at myself in the mirror. You guys, I don't, I don't think I really like my clothes right now. I think I need a spring refresh. Oh, Aaron, what kind of stuff are you looking for? Yeah. Like, like stylish, timeless pieces, like maybe like a raincoat and like a cashmere,

like sweater that's like transitional from. winter to spring. Oh, Aaron, I would not wear a cashmere sweater over a raincoat. It's going to get absolutely ruined if there's rain. I'm putting it together. That's not what you meant. Okay. Aaron, have you heard about quince? Quince makes high quality everyday essentials using premium materials like 100% European linen and their insanely soft, flown-it, active wear fabric. They have linen pants and shirts that are lightweight, reasonable, and comfortable, basically the perfect layer for spring. The pants strike the right balance between laid back and refined, so you look put together without trying too hard.

Aaron, is that what you're going for? Yeah. Okay. Well, Aaron, also, you silly goose, the best part about Quince is that their prices are 50 to 60% less than similar brands. How? You're screaming at me. Aaron, please stop screaming. How?

Quince works directly with ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup. Everything is designed to last and it makes getting dressed easy. I have a purse from Quince that I have. have people stop me when I'm walking around L.A. to ask me where I get it because it looks very expensive, but it's not. It's going to last me years and years. I also have a ring from there that I love. They've got home stuff that's timeless and awesome, incredible rugs, curtains. They've got baby stuff. They've got baby stuff that I purchased. That's very cute.

So why don't you do yourself a favor and refresh your wardrobe with Quince? Go to quince.com slash riddle for free shipping and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada, too. Go to Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash riddle for free shipping and 365-day returns, Quince.com slash riddle. Aaron, you're wearing your purse. You should... Actually, you're pulling it off. And I look incredible. J-P-C, you know how Adel got turned into a boat and he's a boat now?

Got turned. Turned himself. Right. You know, got turned sounds like a witch did it. You're right. This time he elected to do it. Yes. Well, I just got back from his He went on his maiden voyage And I was the one in charge of hitting him

Really hard with champagne And I am exhausted Oh yeah, it really took a lot of cracks To get that bottle broken on him It didn't break at all right away It took like 18 minutes You know, first of all I had the opportunity to say that you look exhausted

And I didn't take it so points for me Aaron you should take a nap Oh, oh, in my helix mattress Oh, I forgot my midnight luxe. I've had it for years and I am obsessed with this mattress. I also love my Helix Midnight Lux. It's great for me as a side sleeper and it sleeps the same as when I bought it years ago. It's a mattress that truly has held up and stood the test of time.

Every time I have a dog sitter stay here, they ask me what my mattress is because they love it so much. And I go, you just got to take a quick little quiz, buddy. You got a Helix sleep? Take a quiz. They batch you with a mattress. And then also they have 120-night sleep trial in limited lifetime warning. So if you don't like it, that's okay, but you will. You'll love it. And I wonder, I know what you're thinking. How am I going to get this mattress? Well, it's free shipping and seamless delivery. Helix delivers your mattress right to your door with free shipping in the U.S., which is, I guess, bad news for Adel because I believe his boat. I almost said his boat, but it's just him. He's in international waters now.

Ah, so it doesn't count. I don't know what. Yes, plus with Helix sleep returns are easy. They have the rest happy with Helix. guarantee. You can rest easy with slimless returns and exchanges. They happy with Helix guarantee offers a risk-free customer-first experience designed to ensure you are completely satisfied with your new mattress. Plus, they are the most awarded mattress brand, tested and reviewed by experts like Forbes and Wired. Wow. Yeah, Aaron, look, I know you already have one, but you got to get another. All you got to do is go to Helixleep.com slash riddle for their spring savings event.

Now until April 16th, that is 20% off site wide. That's helixleep.com slash riddle for the spring savings event through April 16th, 20% off sitewide. helixleep.com slash riddle. Helixleep.com slash riddle. Adel is a boat now and I hit him so hard in the head with a champagne bottle. Helixleksleep.com slash riddle. I think hitting the head on a boat means something different. Yeah, I just, I'm just, I'm here for like a, if I could get a, the sign on the windows that wanted if I could get like an application for.

Are you? Are you kidding me? I'm sorry. To have Babe Fluf work at Dirk's hardware? Let me just grab a sign, rips it in half. Hyatt. Well, shit, I actually need three people. That was the one that says no jokes about genitalia.

Let me clean my glasses. You are. You are hired. Oh, my goodness me. I still remember and I still tell the tale of in 1987 when you were so young. Yeah, I guess I was probably. You must have been brand new to the ball and the egg and the batting the ball, the... Where's this going?

The bits and the bobs. And you went up to the plate and it was a rowdy game. and you hit it egg straight into the like the lights sort of like that Paul Newman movie What's that?

Would it be okay if we didn't talk about I hate to make myself part of this story I really really do hate to do that But I think you're talking about the natural Right? No no no glass got in everyone's eyes And it started to sting the sting Yeah okay

Because all the glass Because glass went everywhere I hate to do this but um And also if you're looking to hire anybody else that is just a natural baritone, I would, I'm available. Oh, let's, uh, could you please sing, won't you come home, Bill Bailey in, in C? Sure, in C.

Hey, hey, I hate to, I hate to. Oh, won't you come home, Bill Bailey. Bill Bailey, won't you come home? You're hired. Grab a sign, rip it in F. Wow, that's my driver's license. Yeah, I just, I'd prefer actually the whole thing with the PBL. It's, you know, I'm obviously not playing anymore.

And I would prefer if, um, just if I want to work here to work here, I don't want to, I don't want to make it about. Because I'm not really doing the, you know, Penguin Baseball League anymore. Oh, my goodness. What happened? Penguins can't really compete with all the big birds and, um. Oh. scary monsters from the ether or whatever. So it's, yeah.

Yeah, I loved it. It was great. It was fun while it lasted I had. You know, obviously I had some great times, a couple of really good years in the PBL. But it's, yeah, I'm trying to kind of close that chapter and start my new chapter. Yeah. Speaking of closing chapters and maybe starting new ones, and I really, really hate to break in here. But I was, I just want to show that I have a bit more range than just a boom mic operator here.

If you could just take a look at this, sliding a resume across the counter. Okay, let's see here. Where's the director of this? If you weren't my son, I would freak. Fuck out right now. So you can see that I have pretty big range. I can play doctors. Stop it.

I have played janitors. I was cast in the From Earth to the Moon series. I was a NASA intern. So all kinds of range, anything that you need. if you're casting. I also am not sure if you are a casting director. Well, we do have Plaster of Paris in the back. Got it. Oh, merrily, we go along. Was that a college prediction? Looking around for a sign to tap. Is there a sign to tap? Pluster of Paris? I guess he gets away with it.

Boom, boom, sir. Boom Jackson. What's your, what's your name? Boom Jackson? Oh, got it in one? Damn, that's a name. You could have played for the PBL with the name like Boom Jackson. That's a... And now I'm realizing I saw the name on the resume, and I thought maybe I just guessed it.

Full on, but no, let me turn it over here. Okay, I do see a... There's sort of a headshot, but it's in four quadrants. We have... We have a lab coat. We've got lab coat. We've got full clown makeup. Do you have hammers?

Hold on. Hey, shut up for a second. I got something important going on. Just take it. Just take it. Sorry, go ahead. No, yeah, my four quadrants. You can see I've got lab scientists slash doctor, unspecified there.

A full clown makeup in the second one over. If you go south from that, you're going to see me as a surfer. Okay, let me get out my compass. Directly west of that, you're going to see me dressed as like a, this is a spy at a formal function. Wow. Wow, like in true lies. Oh, you've seen it.

Yes, oh, it's my favorite movie. Nice, okay. Worn out the DVD, if that's possible. I am so, so sorry, I do not want to make this about me. Let me just fade back, and you and I can talk later. Oh, he's sort of tapping backwards. It's like a soft shoe. The camera kind of fade pants back because it was like hyper zoomed on the two of you,

and Babe Fluf is nowhere to be found. We have no idea where, we have no idea where Babe Flup is. Well, shit. One, two, three, four, hey, riddle riddles, glue crew. Listen to the rest of the episode now by starting your free seven-day trial at patreon.com slash hey riddle riddle. Hi, I am Mandy Moore. Sterling K. Brown. And I'm Chris Sullivan.

And we host the podcast, That Was Us, now on Head Gum. Each episode, we're going to go into a deep dive from our show, This Is Us. That's right. We're going to go episode by episode. We're also going to pepper in episodes with different guest stars and writers and characters and Casting directors. Are we going to cry? Yes.

A little bit. Are we going to laugh? A lot. A whole lot. That's what I'm hoping, man. Listen to that was us on your favorite podcast app or watch full video episodes on YouTube or Spotify. New episodes every Tuesday.