The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 2: Rally Monkey's Tiny Uniform

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

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Jeremy is doing a pitch clock segment that exists sort of by itself outside of our show in a space where people insist on talking baseball. I'd like to talk about the baseball. I'd like to talk about just the American League East, not just the Rays, but the Orioles. But nobody else wants to talk baseball here. I don't have. The only baseball conversation I can get going is Joe Maurer is the Hall of Famer. That is where, that is where Stu Gotts and Greg Cody want to talk. So we are putting Jeremy alone with baseball

at the end of this hour. And if you want your baseball, it's going to be good baseball. The Yankees start every game by hitting four home runs and the Dodgers are scoring 17 runs a game mm-hmm and underachieving according to Billy you come for all the latest baseball news you stay for me whooping that ass in trivia right and that's of the best team in baseball the Padres are better and the Jets are not the Mets are not the best team in baseball I don't know why you would say the Mets are the best team in baseball. You're a Mets fan that doesn't know who their shortstop is or what he looks like.

When quizzed on Francisco Lindor, you're shown a picture of him and you're like, who that is. I mean, the Mets do have the best record in baseball, do they not? Do you think they're the best team in baseball? They're 21 and 10 right now. They're the best team in baseball. they not? Do you think they're the best team in baseball? They're 21 and 10 right now they're the best team in baseball. Tied with the Dodgers. Yeah. Is Lindor a Hall of Famer or a Hall of Famer? Hall of Famer. What does that mean? He's a Hall of Famer. I didn't understand. Not a Hall of Famer. I mean. Oh he's not, wait what? Okay. Hall of Famer. He's a mere Hall of Famer. Yeah. That mere Hall of Famer was something. Marginal first ballot.

Chris, are you aware of how much your father hates your hat? I know, yes, he does the thing with the upside down, yeah. He's also, he also doesn't like when hats are on backwards. Did that hat not come with directions? He's wearing it backwards. That's a good line, that's a good line. Not a good line. It is.

Put it on the poll at Levitard Show. Is it a good line to say to backward hat guy, did that cap not come with instructions? Yeah. That's another one your dad's been using for a long time. Since Ken Griffey Jr. was making, since the kid was making people mad at 19 years old, this Hall of Fame voter has been going, hey Ken Griffey, hey Junior, calling him Junior derisively, hey Junior, you mere Hall of Famer.

That cap, did it come with instructions? He's a Hall of Famer, Dad. What's the backward cap thing, the upside down thing? I don't know, man, it's just a trendy thing. I think it looks kinda cool. You know what would be a good trend for hats? Instead of the upside down declaration on the front there, wear the cap upside down. In other words, the dome of the cap goes on your head and the bill is up here.

Try that just for a second. See what that looks like on your head. Did the angels invent the rally cap? was that invented in college baseball who invented the inside out? Rally cap put it on the pole at lebatard show Did you know that the inside out baseball cap was known as a rally cap put it on the pole as well Do you know who invented the rally cap and going back to what we were talking about before, did you know that hands down was a horse racing term? It was the Mets in the 80s.

That's what I'm seeing here. There are some different reports, the Giants of the 70s. I'm seeing that it's the Giants of the 82 season that are credited with popularizing it. Popularizing it. I said that weird. Yeah, you did. Keep it moving. I don't remember them doing that, but okay, very good. 82 season that are credited with popularizing it Said that weird

And keep it moving. I don't remember them doing that but okay, very good I guess the angels are probably didn't I guess the angels had the rally monkey the rally monkey Yeah, but I think they accented the rally monkey with Rally cat he had a rally cap on that was also rallied. Did a monkey had a rally cap Did the monkey have a rally cap? I don't know I don't think he did, but I think other people were rallying around the rally monkey by having upside down caps. I do think though that Chris Cody is generally lacking more confidence than he usually does. And it's not just when he says of his fashion choices, I don't know, man.

It's just popular and people are doing it and so I'm doing it. We're champs, all right, this hat says champs. Why is it upside down though? I was on a high, I was at the team store and I was like, that thing says champs and I want that. See, nobody can explain that.

They're turning the world upside down, the Panthers are. Is that the exact, but it's not just the Panthers. I mean, there's a lot of upside down. Oh no, it's a trend, yeah, like the Panthers are just the latest to jump in on it. A lot of people are doing upside down logos But what is the origin of that? What is the reason for it? Nobody can explain that. It's just different Greg That's it's fashion. Greg. That's all it is. Yeah, by the way quick quick note rally monkey did not have a rally cap But he had a tiny uniform The reason Chris is losing some confidence

at those two guns, I don't think that you might know this because we've talked to Chris Fowler and Boog Shambi about the legitimate ordeal it is to be one of these video game voices. They get paid a ton for being these video game voices, Chris Fowler and Boog Shambi, but all of a sudden you're playing Major League Baseball's the show, and Chris is in the batter's box with his player, and he's being heckled by Boog Shambi, a personal friend, while he plays video games.

And that voice, the voice that belongs in a cathedral, is something that shakes him while he's playing video games because it's not just The voice of baseball the voice of the show the voice of a video game. He's playing It's also a voice that's known Chris Cody since he was 11 and he's like criticizing my plate discipline I don't need to know boog that I swung at 80% of first pitches in this game. Okay, I'm aggressive This guy's throwing a lot of first pitch fastballs and I'm trying to jump, I mean, him and Chris Singleton just heckling me

about my lack of plate discipline. I've always been a little, Boog and I, like I've reached out to Boog, tried to book him and stuff, not the best, I've always questioned how Boog feels about me by the lack of responses I get from him. So this just is like piling on my insecurities with Boog now because now I'm like playing a video game,

he's just like, wow, this guy is swinging at everything. And I'm like, ah, this is mean. You think you got the Boog Shambi doesn't like me edition? I mean, it feels like it. It feels weighted. I don't hear this, I've played with my friends and they don't get the same heckles. Maybe they don't have the lack of discipline

that I do at the plate. You feel it more. Right. It's just, I feel like Boog hates me. What percentage of first texts does he answer of yours? I can look back, it's. That's not good? Yeah, not good.

How many texts have you sent him since he sent you a text? I don't know if he's ever responded. Really? Wow. I hope I have the right number. Wow. Yeah. 1-800-SHAMBY. That's less than Duncan Robinson.

Even Duncan Robinson has responded to you more than Boog ShamBY. That's less than Duncan Robinson. Even Duncan Robinson has responded to you more than Boog Shombie. That's true. Duncan Robinson. Greg Cody, by the way, just picked a last name that has six numbers in it. Who's counting? That is the man who voted for a first ballot Hall of Famer who said he couldn't remember whether he voted for a first ballot Hall of Famer who then a month after voting for the first ballot Hall of Famer said he had not voted for a first ballot Hall of Famer who then a month after voting for the first ballot Hall of Famer

said he had not voted for a first ballot Hall of Famer who wasn't a first ballot Hall of Famer. Technicality. Thatcher Dan. Exactly. A mere Hall of Famer. Izzy, can you tell me whether or not as somebody who loves basketball and loves South Florida basketball and has seen that the New York Knicks have not closed out a series at home

for their customers since 1999, a playoff series. I have seen in that series, Carl Anthony Towns take some shots that I'm gonna say five years ago, someone his size never would have taken. He has made all of those shots. He took a would have taken. He has made all of those shots. He took a half court three. He has made all of those shots and he can make the argument and not be wrong

that he's the best shooting big man that there has ever been. But if he takes one of those shots late and misses it from 30 feet because he's been getting very comfortable just floating around the perimeter. They're great when they go in. When they go in and they've been, they've gone in in the last few games and he's taking

shots from very far away. This is what they call a make or miss league, right? This is what they mean. You make them, you're a hero in New York, you miss them and they call you a coward in Minnesota. Like if he misses these shots, it's, oh, here goes Kat again, scared of the moment because he's taking long distance shots, which are bailout shots, let's be honest, right?

And he's making them now. Now he looks like a clutch player before, or if he misses them, it's, oh wow, what a bailout shot, what a terrible clutch player Kat is. It is, he has looked better, way better than he did in Minnesota, at least in these first couple of playoff games outside of the disappearing act he had in the first game.

But it's like, is this the transition to what we all thought Kat would be? Like is he starting to turn the corner? Well, you almost would have to, like if you are in multiple playoff series where you are somebody who is relied upon often, you're going to get past some of those nerves. Like, those things were obvious in Minnesota.

It wasn't just the shots that he was taking or wasn't taking, it was the fouls. He was constantly fouling and just terrible reach-ins and things that you realize maybe a first or second year player would do. He was doing in the postseason, not happening as much now as a New York Knick. Of course, he's gotten more tough and more. Not happening as much now as a New York Nick.

Of course he's gotten more toughened, more calloused by everything that's happened around him. I don't love the fact that people mock how he talks because I guarantee in his head that's something that is just, I mean he did an interview with me where he lowered his voice because he didn't want to be mocked. So I think you're just calloused, you're just toughened and he is now just playing a little bit more freely Let's get a couple of rounds in if they continue to win see how free he plays because I think the nerves will come back

You're being accused of something here by Stu gods Could have told the story without it Without what? You know referencing the fact that he interviewed Carl Anthony towns. I I could have told the story without it. Without what? You know, referencing the fact that he interviewed Carl Anthony Towns. I mean, he did lower his voice specifically while he was talking to me.

Good nugget there. The point that you're making, and I don't know that Greg or some other people in the audience know the point necessarily that you're making. Carl Anthony Towns, who's viewed as weak, Carl Anthony Towns, who's viewed as weak. I'm going to say that again just so that you understand what you're calling weak. Carl Anthony Towns, who is viewed as weak, just because Jimmy Butler says so, is someone who has a voice that isn't as masculine,

I'm putting that in quotes, as the rest of him. And he is mocked for it in a way that he's clearly insecure about. Think about that for a second, as Zion Williamson is worried about the internet talking about his weight and what we're doing to some of these people. Where Carl Anthony Townes is talking to, Townes, I keep taking the S-O-A,

is talking to Izzy and feels the name to change the way that he speaks Because of something that is happening that people are mocking Something he can't really change which is the sound of his voice I guess you can change it if you're forever talking in or trying to change it for is it in baritone Yeah, or talking the way that Roy does when Roy decides to sing But think about Paul Anthony Towns having to be careful about how he speaks to Izzy because of some insecurities

trying to wrap in a disguise. There was a post-game pressure last season with him and Anthony Towns, I believe in the post-season. Where? Who and Anthony Towns? Carl Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, excuse me. Couple of Anthony's cutting it up. Well done.

And somebody said after all that. And then Anthony Edwards mockingly said in the Carl Anthony Towns voice, after all that, and they kind of laughed about it together. And I looked at Carl Anthony Towns, and that dude was in hell. Like he had to just laugh off, ha ha ha, I get it, you're making fun of me,

that's funny, I sounded crazy. He doesn't sound crazy in his mind, he's just talking. But he has to like laugh about it, laugh it off. There was another player recently that just did an entire, a podcast guest, did an entire bit on, as Carl Anthony Towns in this, you know, super feminine voice. And it's just like, can't we, can't we talk about something else?

Like, do we have to make fun of the way this guy talks? Speaking of Anthony Edwards, a little jump off point. He's become my favorite player in the NBA, and I think the NBA needs him. More so than just being the face of the league more so than being the next young player It's like Pete the NBA needs a villain and it feels like Anthony Edwards can be that villain He's yelling at people in the crowd saying that his is bigger than theirs You know all the stuff that we hear from Anthony Edwards and then we have this from last night after extinguishing the Lakers, Luca, LeBron, the Blueprint, all that stuff.

This is him outside the Crypto.com arena for whatever reason, we don't know why he's walking where he's walking to. He has this to say about Lakers fans. Man this man. How y'all gonna be f***ing with me? I just sent y'all a s*** hole. Hey how they gonna do that?

I don't even talk a s*** man. I been talking s*** all week. Hey, all the angels said what they They be talking sh**, man. They been talking sh** all week. Hey, all the angels said what they say. Lakers in five. And then look, when we were about three-one, they said Lakers in seven. Throw the hair in the air. Hey, hey, hey, Ty, what is it? Hey, the good guy gonna die in this movie.

Dan, that is the perfect villain for the NBA. The guy who can do anything, say anything he He wants kind of get away with anything you want if you look at some of the stuff That's in his personal life like he just runs the entire league at what 25 26 years old He's younger than that is we cannot do that after going five of 19 and oh of oh of 11 from three sure You simply cannot do that sure but what for 11 from three three, but what happened? Okay? What happened? They won? I if Rudy go bear was doing that last night. I'd be fine. Okay, if Julius Randall is doing it I'm fine You can not do it if you're Anthony Edwards after again going all for 11 from three

But that is the way or that is the way to celebrate when you take out an opponent on the road floor Just go outside just go outside and celebrate, give me all the tears right here. I didn't see a ton of security around him. Like, there could have been a lot of fans that went up to him. He just wanted all the smoke, and I love it. Well, I was just about to remark that it looked like the guy in the red shirt next to him had that bodyguard look about him. Like, he had a little entourage with him that was there for You know allowing him to be his boy. That's that the glasses on could be a bodyguard I mean, that's definitely security slash friend. He has a group of people around him as he should

He didn't have a group of people around him on any of those 11 threes and still missed them all. Yep 43 the game before play pretty good the game before that. Look, I'm not going to say he's not an obviously special player. I'm also not going to say that whatever it is that he is carrying in terms of attitude is much different and more refreshing than most people speak publicly on many of the things that he decides to be honest about, but the league is scared of him representing it in a way that is not quite Yanis friendly. Yeah, he's he's effectively telling everybody, hey, I'm going to grow up in front of your eyes.

I'm not going to hold back, not going to do it behind closed doors. Everything's going to get out there anyway. This is me. I'm not gonna hold back, not gonna do it behind closed doors, everything's gonna get out there anyway. This is me, I'm imperfect. I don't know how much he feels like he needs to improve personally or wants to improve personally, but I think the more he is out there and just puts himself out there and is vulnerable

and for whatever missteps he takes, somebody has to be critical of him, right? You can't just let him walk past and be like, hey, okay, because then he'll never mature. So yes, I think they're afraid, but I also think they're sort of confident that maybe he grows up and doesn't make any huge mistakes and this is the worst of Anthony Edwards.

It just feels like they wanted to do that with John Morant and then the gun stuff happened and then they kind of doubled down on that and then all the stuff with his dad happened. It's like, oh, that was supposed to be you. Hold on, let's just refocus over here to Anthony Emerson. Oh, but let's understand what it is that we're watching because when Greg Cody, for example,

is one of your customers, and he's used to sports and sports figures behaving a certain way, but basketball, specifically basketball, as a cultural symbol fashion symbol statement symbol of our guys are gonna do with their let's call it street credibility what Alan Iverson did which is use it to be so much different than everyone around you that people really appreciate the authenticity in a way that they feel differently about the way Grant Hill is doing it, for example.

Anthony Edwards, what he's doing is close to the line, and he's just being himself, on wherever it is that John Morant makes people uncomfortable. Allen Iverson had his tattoo scrubbed from a League magazine because they were trying to present something else. Anthony Edwards wandering around getting fined for saying my penis is bigger than yours and being just completely authentic and unvarnished, I would say, is something that's most appealing,

especially to young people. Especially when you're knocking out Jokic Game 7 in Denver, Luka and LeBron in Los Angeles and walking around their arena afterward making fun of them and then last year getting rid of Booker and KD and telling them like KD you're my hero and also bleep off that that is something that also has a danger that the league should want but also could be scared of as well

Dan did you see the Netflix special on the I don't know what they're calling themselves the the redeemed team or the dream to The next dream team the gold medal game Did you see in the first episode how Anthony Edwards was talking to former President Barack Obama? Like he was talking to him like me and Izzy would talk like yeah No, you, like whatever. Like completely normal, completely unaffected by the caliber of person that was in front of him. He's like, oh no, yeah, I'm him, that's cool.

And this is what I'm saying about like sort of watching and him grow and the league being sort of on eggshells, maybe on pins and needles, but confident that he will grow because like what are we talking about here? What are the things that he's done? He's done the one thing where he sort of decided to videotape a line of what appeared to be gay men going into a club and saying,

what has the world come to, right? I think Tony had touched upon it earlier that there's a conversation, hey, he probably has too many kids from multiple women, if that's the case, I don't even know all the details there. That's, so, and then this personality thing where you're talking about, hey, my blank is bigger than yours.

Are these all things that we think somebody is going to continue to do as they grow into their late 20s and early 30s? Or are we saying, okay, we're putting the spotlight on him. He is authentically himself from the beginning, which is not what John Morant is. John Morant was a little bit more through some closed doors. You have to like figure out who he is.

Anthony Edwards is showing you who he is, and the league is basically saying, oh, we might be gritting our teeth through some of it, but we're confident he will mature past this. I would be skeptical of that maturity because you're rewarding the way he already is. He goes 0 for 11 from three, and he's walking around the Laker facility talking crap.

There aren't gonna be a lot of incentives to change immature behavior If it's just an occasional find that he can sell more sneakers with because he's dangerous and rebellious Which is why I'm saying you have to people have to be critical. They have to call him out on things I don't think this is one of those things to be critical of to go outside and be a man of the people Get you know with the's fans right there, that's just good old fashioned fun. Go 15 of 19 from the field. Hey Anthony Edwards, do it after a win

that you haven't gone over for 11 minutes. He cost them the game, but they won. How much do you think it kills Luca that Rudy Gobert took him out? Rudy Gobert absolutely killed in that game and Lucas sitting there holding his back like ah. The ghost of Rudy Gobert. Does Anthony have to tell me that he has a bigger penis?

Like I know he does, I get it buddy. How does he know as Izzy said? How does he know that? Well that's a good point. The guy who has to announce how big it is, you always question that guy and just how big it is. I think you do. Yeah. I think you do. I don't think you do and I would say that while Stu got says Correctly, I don't know. I don't know. He does know he knows he did in this particular case. He does know

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Join us at McDonald's for McHappy Day on Thursday, May 8th. Do good, feel good. A portion of food and beverage sales will support RMHC chapters and local children's charities across Canada. Don LeBretard. This guy comes in as the next Wayne Gretzky. His nicknames include The Chosen One and McJesus, okay? He's a great player, he scores a lot of goals,

he scores a ton of assists, but it hasn't translated to making Edmonton a powerhouse in the league. They're in the final. Stugats. What's your nickname for him? McOverrated. This is the Don LeVatar Show with the Stugats.

["The Stugats Show Theme. Welcome to the Pitch Clock. Here's the pitch, a two-part baseball segment combining a nostalgic baseball trivia game and an interview with an expert. This is the Pitch Clock. Another week, another Pitch Clock. Hi everybody, we're back. It's me, it's Chris, it's Taylor as always.

We'll get to our MLB expert coming up in just a moment. But Taylor, what is our trivia game for today? On April 11th, Jose Quintana of the Brewers made history when he beat the Diamondbacks and became the 24th pitcher in MLB history to get a win versus all 30 MLB teams. In front of you guys you have to guess the other 23 pitchers on that list and to help you guys out I gave you the initials of the pitcher, the team they won the game for, and the year they did it and it's three

strikes in your out format. Okay, we'll Love Chris go first. Of course we will Chris. Oh man. Hold on. This is like let me digest this first So wait, this is how this year that it happened Chris you're on the clock. All right. I'm on the clock now later 2002. All right. See now All right, and that's correct. How lighter is correct? Yeah. All right All right. I'll just go to the next one 2004 Yankees Kevin Brown Never just pinch stripes, it is Kevin Brown. Okay, I'm gonna go 2004 Curt Schilling. 2004 is Curt Schilling.

Fourth guess overall, I'm gonna go ahead and skip over to 2008, the Phillies JM, that's Jamie Moyer. Yeah, it is Jamie Moyer, who pitched until he was 49. Oh my God, I love him. Man, I is Jamie Moir who pitched until he was 49 Man, I want to go on a heat check really early here. I've got it. I got a couple that I feel like I'm gonna go 2010 Dodger with the initials VP Vincent a Padilla it is That was the first one I looked at this sheet I'm just like VP Vincent a what a pull you should have kept that for layer All right, I'm gonna go ahead

I'm gonna try to just stay in chronological order where I can but I'm just like VP, Vincent David. What a pull. You should have kept that for later. All right, I'm gonna go ahead. I'm gonna try to just stay in chronological order where I can, but I'm gonna skip. Ooh, I'm gonna go to 2010 San Francisco. I thought you were staying in order. Well, I skipped WW, I skipped RJ. I'm just where I can, you know? That shows you what I don't know.

Yeah, that's right. 2010 giant is Barry Zito. Of course it is. I'm gonna go more. I'm gonna go ones that are, you know, I'm going to, I'm going to learn from my last one. I'm going to go to one that I think you'll know. I'm going to go 2016 Cubs, JL, John Lester. I hate to say it. It's a strike. Wow. Oh, but I'm afraid to say my plan backfired.

I'll get a strike if I need to. 2016 Chicago Cubs. JL. Is that John Lackey? It is John Lackey Chris's plan immediately back. I don't like how we don't like the dismissive nod The Ethan was doing in here as soon as I said it. He's just like I think it's so funny I think it is so funny that you made the decision to say let me do the safe one got it wrong I don't remember John Lackey being a cuck. I thought that I would have bet my daughter, I would have bet my daughter's life. You could say you were lacking the knowledge.

Yeah. Now our 2025 MLB expert is here. And I'm really excited to welcome in Ryan Bass because not only is he a fellow UCF Knight, not only is he a fellow MLB in-game reporter for the Tampa Bay Rays, but Ryan, you also have a pretty amazing connection to this show.

So I'm gonna give you a second to endear yourself to the audience before we get to your analysis. Yeah, my connection goes all the way back to 2006 and 2007 when I interned at 790 The Ticket in South Florida. I am a Miami native. And so to have had the opportunity to shadow Dan, Mike Ryan, the shipping container back then, Jonathan Zaslow and Boog Shambi, George Sadano,

I interned for Israel Gutierrez, who is my personal mentor at the Miami Herald. So dude, I was pumped when you asked me to come on here. You know how proud I am of you being a fellow UCF Knight and the rise we've had in this business. And so genuinely excited my friend to talk some baseball. You're the man. Thank you for all of those kind words

that none of our audience wants to hear whatsoever. What they do want to hear about are Dan's Tampa Bay Rays because you are the in-game reporter for them. And they've been one of the hotter teams in baseball as of late. They had a nice series sweep over the San Diego Padres. So do me a favor. Let's, let's, let's tell people about this team. Who's worth watching, what's worth watching and why is the answer my favorite player in baseball right now? Chandler Simpson.

There's a reason the Rays were six and two since Chandler made his debut. And it's because he has that type of a game changer for this entire team. He's changed the dynamic. Uh, yes, this is a 500 ball club right now, but you look at what they're built on, you know, And it's because he has that type of a game changer for this entire team. He's changed the dynamic. Yes, this is a 500 ball club right now, but you look at what they're built on. You know, pitching and defense always leads the way and they've got some young talent that's come up here and had to fill in between Chandler Simpson. Cameron Meisner has been one Jake Mangum, who's on the injured list right now. You know, I think this team is capable of playing much better than 500 baseball.

But yeah, you mentioned it. Chandler Simpson is as advertised. He gets on base. and by the way, he could beat out an infield single by dropping a bunt down. It's almost guaranteed he's gonna end up at third in his scoring position. It's pretty incredible to watch this dude go to work. Let's talk about some sort of general team results here. When you look around Major League Baseball,

you look at the standings. Who's a team that has stood out to you as a surprise thus far through about a month of Major League Baseball? I really wanna talk positively here about a team that has stood out to you as a surprise thus far through about a month of Major League Baseball? I really want to talk positively here about a team that I don't think anybody expected at this point to be leading the American League Central and be one of the best teams in baseball and that's the Detroit Tigers. This team has been able to stay dominant, their pitching staff has led the way, they've

got a lot of guys on the injured list and yet they've had contributions up and down, not just in that lineup but in that starting rotation. And so let's see how they do on the road, right? They're only five and seven away from home. So I think that's going to be a big test for them. But I am pleasantly surprised with what we've seen from the Detroit Tigers in what should stack up to be a pretty competitive American League Central. With Javi Baez batting ninth as their everyday center fielder. So that's something if you're not paying attention to Major League Baseball that you just learned. Thank you for listening to the pitch clock.

Anywho, I have a strike. There's a strike on Chris Cody through four rounds. We have one strike on your back Chris. I'll go the next year. No, no same year 2016 Nationals MS Max Scherzer. It is Max Scherzer. And in that starterzer and in that start he had 20 strikeouts Wow, wow That's impressive fun fact. Um

I'll I'll stay in this general area of time and say that the 2015 San Francisco Giants TH is that Tim Hudson? It is Tim Hudson. I had that written down too. I just got scared after the Lester thing. Yeah, I get it. We're really working through this list and there's a couple of initials here that I am panicking. 2021 Yankees, Garrett Cole. It is Garrett Cole up against the Astros.

I'll go ahead and go one year previous or one slot previous to that. It's 2019, it's the Houston Astros with the initials CG that's that great against the Royals correct I'm gonna go 2017 twins BC Bartolo Cologne it is Bartolome and I am rattled things are that John Lester thing is that's just that's painful right there ah okay I'm gonna go ahead and say that the 2012 pirate is AJ Burnett. That's it. I had that written down. I was saving that one.

It is AJ Burnett. Okay, cool. Against the Marlins too, I believe. Thank goodness. Man, we're down to, I only have one more that I feel like. That you feel good about? Actually two. I'm going to go 2024 Cardinal LL Lance Lynn.

Yeah, it has to be. It is Lance Lynn. That's one of the ones I just wrote down. Oh boy. I'm just, to think out loud here, the 2023 and 2024 selections that are there, I can't understand why I don't know who they are. I think I know the Brave.

Because obviously I should know who they are. The Brave is gonna come to me at some point, but the 2023 Met is bothering me. But I'm gonna go ahead. The JV, there's multiple, there's two JV. All right, so I know the other one. I think I know the other one and I'll go there first. Oh damn it, now as I said it out loud.

2010 New York Yankees JV, is that Javi Vasquez? Yeah, that has to be. It is Javi. Javi Vasquez, awesome. I'll go with the 2024 one. I mean, that's just the initials of a starter they have. I don't know this guy's that he's won against every team. I'll go Charlie Morton.

Braves. It is Charlie Morton. Yeah. Who is off to a dreadful start this season. The Rockies are presently on pace for 24 wins this major league season. Ryan, what in the world is going on with the Rockies? They right now are on pace.

If they maintain, right? If they keep this current 143 winning percentage, they will reach 20 wins mid September. The Mets have 20 wins right now. And it doesn't get any easier for them. 45 of the remaining 134 games left this season are against teams that currently have losing records. That's 34% of their remaining schedule.

So they're going to be playing some really high quality baseball teams the rest of the way. I don't know how they recover from this. I hate in sports in any sense. When we see guys that we know are elite at what they do, start to struggle at that thing. And right now, relievers around major league baseball,

particularly closers, are really struggling. And I wanna highlight a couple of them. Emmanuel Classe, who we talked about several times last year on the pitch clock, if not for Tarek Schubel, could have been potentially the Cy Young as a Cleveland Guardian closer. And then there's Devin Williams, who was the big acquisition for the Yankees as a

reliever this off season. What's going on with these closers? Is there something there or, you know, are we going to be looking back at this episode of the pitch clock at the end of this season and be going, what, what were you worried about? Look, I think especially in high leverage roles like these relievers have, we relievers have, have been in, there are guys that are going to struggle. When you look at the overall advanced metrics of some of these guys, especially Devin

Williams, you look at his two big pitches, right? When you look at the four seamer and the change up, the four seamer guys are batting 462 against this year. That has been one of his best pitches strategically over his career. Same thing with the change up. That has been a huge weapon for him, and hitters are hitting 273 against it. So his two pitches right now are getting hit pretty hard.

And when you look at Emmanuel Classe, I thought it was crazy. He has given up almost twice as many earned runs so far this year than he did all of last year. So just kind of crazy to see what has kind of happened from that relief standpoint. But I venture to say, Jeremy, when we look back into the end of the season, these guys will have it figured out and they'll be back in their respective roles. Final question for you.

So here we go. I think I've decided that here on the pitch clock, I want to start focusing on stardom around the game to take something from the Lonely Island podcast with Seth Meyers, where those guys are talking about what they refer to as a golden era in SNL, which was, you know, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler and Fred Armisen and Bill Hader and all of them. I think we're in a golden era of stardom and Major League Baseball.

This week, I have two names for you. They're pretty obvious names within stardom. Paul Skeens, Aaron Judge. Pick the guy you want to and let's roll. Picking between the two. It's tough for me, but I'm going to go with a guy who, who I get a chance to see up close and personal many a times, you know, being a silent reporter for the race and Aaron judge, right? The numbers are, are mind boggling, stupid to hit four Oh five at where he's at right now,

to be the best hitter in the world. His strikeout rate, his chase rate, his two strike batting average are all at career best levels. He has neutralized what had been his biggest weakness and that was strikes down and away in the zone. This year on strikes down and away in the zone he's hitting 381 as an average and his slugging is 524. He has neutralized what had been his biggest weakness and he is turning that into a strength. If he can consistently do what he's doing now, he might go down as if not the greatest hitter in all of baseball, you know, top five for sure. He's going to go down certainly as one of the greatest right handed hitters of

all time. And to know that we're witness witnessing that while on the other coast, we have maybe the greatest baseball player who's ever lived in Shohei Otani. It's a great time for it. And you can watch the Tampa Bay Rays with Ryan as their in-game reporter, follow him on social media. Thank you very much for joining us on the Pitch Clock. Let's get back to our game.

Oh, I realized who that one is. Okay, that works out better. I hate you. So I'm going to go ahead and go 2012 Cleveland, Derek Lowe. It is Derek Lowe. I'm just going to guess Randy Johnson. Oh, nine. Did he play for the Giants?

Like, did he play for the Giants? That's him. It's a big unit. It's Randy Johnson. Yeah. I was like. We avoided it the whole time. I was just no.

I can't believe this. All right. Man, I really want to get not Woodrow Wilson with the San Diego Padres. I feel like I would remember a WW, right? That's not what I'm not. I'm just gonna go ahead and get the one that I know here. The 2023 New York Met is Justin Verlander.

It is Justin Verlander. Chris, you're up here. Damn it. I have no idea, I don't have a guess. Wandy Rodriguez is the only person I keep thinking because his name starts with W. Wandy Wadwigas. Wandy Wadwigas.

Wandy Wadwigas. I give up. It is not Wandy Wadwigas. So that is your second strike. I'm also kinda where you're at. Like I keep wanting to say Cliff Lee with a K. I swear to God, that's what I was just joking I was about to make.

2015 brewer, like is that- Cliff Lee with a K. Oh, it's not him though. Pass. I'm gonna put Jeremy's official guess as Cliff Lee with a K for the brewer. Thank you. Incorrect.

All right, good. Thank you for putting Cliff Lee. So you have one strike, I have two. So I just need to pull one out of my pocket Yeah, you can foul one off I'm going to say that the DH from Washington in 2013 is Daniel Holland it's not Daniel Holland and that's gonna be Chris Cody's third strike. Thank God for a second pass I pass I can't I don't know any of these

For a second he had me worried because it is a Daniel Dan Harran. Oh Wow Dan hair and Taylor, can you tell us the other three not as gettable the Ranger in 2004 was Terry Mulholland. Oh, shot. The 2006 Padres, Woody Williams. No, that one never. Never heard of that person. And then 2015, the Milwaukee Brewer, Kyle Loesch. Oh, damn it! Taylor, this was a good game.

And guess what? It's another victory for your boys. So mad. I'm pretty excited. Hey, another pitch clock next week. We'll see you then