The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Pitch Clock: The Classic Pitcher’s Duel

Episode Date: June 20, 2025

Jeremy and Chris go head-to-head in Taylor’s* Trivia, and the term “ball knower” is not used lightly. Plus, Fabian Ardaya covers the Dodgers for The Athletic and chats with Jeremy about Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound, the fallout from the Rafael Devers trade in both San Fransisco and Boston, and some aces in New York. *This week’s Taylor’s Trivia is hosted by Dan’s favorite Panthers fan, Ethan Budowsky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Proximo. Cuervo.com. Please drink responsibly. Cuervo. 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.

Hey, the pitch clock is back. Hi everybody. That's Chris. We don't have Taylor with us this week. He will be back. Taylor's not here, but we've swiftly replaced him with Taylor Swift. Ethan Badowski is going to be your trivia host this week. Ethan, are you mentally prepared for this challenge?

I'm very excited. I also do a Harry Carrey, by the way. Let's hear it. Hi, everybody. It's worse than Chris's. We will have our 2025 MLB expert coming up in just a moment. But Ethan, Taylor's Trivia, what do we got this week?

Boys, I'm looking at this sheet. Now is this, I wanna know. Taylor's done it again. Okay, this is Taylor created. This is not you getting the assignment. I trust this more now. This is Taylor created. This is just straight trivia.

We're gonna go back and forth. You will have a chance to steal if your opponent gets the question wrong. There are 10 questions. It'll be the most points at the end of the 10 questions. Now what I'm going to tell you is every answer to these questions is a rookie of the year. I'm going to start with Jeremy and then we're going to go to Chris. You're doing great so far.

So the first question. Thank you. In 2004, this Colorado Rocky pitcher became the only pitcher in history to hit a home run off of Hall of Famer, Greg Maddox. I think, I mean, there's only one obvious guess to this. I know you're up, so go. Yeah, I mean, there's only one. Don't take it, save it for me.

Ubaldo Jimenez? Oh wow, that was not what I was gonna say. That is not the correct answer. See, the guy that I'm thinking of, I think was like played in like the late 90s. Jimenez is the only Rockies pitcher that I can think of. So there's- I can thinking of I think was like played in like the late 90s. Jimenez is the only uh, Rockies pitcher that I can think of. So there's, I can think of a what I can think of a Rockies pitcher who was a really good hitter.

So I have a producer note in here from Taylor. Yeah. Want to get this in here in his major league debut on August 23rd, 2001. So this player hit a home run and toss a complete game shutout, becoming the first major leaguer to accomplish that feat. That would have been good to know before I guess. I did not know that this guy, I don't even imagine ever being good enough to throw a complete game no hitter, but I'm sure he just did.

I'm going to just go Mike Hampton. The answer was Jason Jennings. The answer was Jason Jennings. I think Jason Jennings came on this list months it. Jason Jennings. The answer was Jason Jennings. I think Jason Jennings was on this list months ago when we were like, it was like we were looking for some Rocky rookie. I think it was Rookie of the Year. It might have been the Rocky Rookie of the Year.

And we were just like, who the hell is that guy? Hey, Pitch Clock fans, find that and tell us what we got wrong with Jason Jennings last time. Yeah. Chris, you're up. In 1981, this player was the only player to ever win both rookie of the year and the Cy Young in the same season. In 81, obviously.

I mean, Nolan Ryan. Not Nolan Ryan. How did this 1981 come out of nowhere? There's no way. Is it Tom Seaver? Nolan Ryan made his major debut in 1966. It's not Tom Seaver. That's too late, too, yeah.

The answer is Fernando Valenzuela. Man, this is a nightmare. These are getting a little tough. All right, number three. The Mariners won back-to-back Rookie of the Years in 2000 and 2001. A reliever and an outfielder. You have to name both of them.

Yeah, I know. So Ichiro is the outfielder. Correct. You have to get them both to get it right, right? Yeah. He only pitched four seasons in the major league. So I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to say Felix Hernandez, even though that's wrong, because I just want something.

I can name a dip, but he wasn't a rookie there. He played other places and then went to Seattle. Eddie Gordado, I know I guessed similar. That's a fun one. Not Eddie Gordado. The answer is Kazuhiro Sasaki. We are struggling. I know we probably should have known Fernando Valenzuela.

That's on us. We're three questions in. There are no points on the board. I'm not sure this has ever happened before. You know what that means. Anyone's game. And our 2025 Major League Baseball Expert is here. We have Fabian Ardaya,

who covers the Dodgers for the athletic. And guys on this show, you know, if you listen normally, I try to highlight teams and players from maybe some smaller markets you're not paying attention to. We're focused on the big markets today. This has been a huge week in Major League Baseball for big market teams. And we're going to start with Fabian's Dodgers, who he covers because maybe the biggest story in baseball was Shohei Otani returning to the mound after the 50-50 season.

Last year, he's now back on the Hill and Fabian was there to witness it. So, so Fabian, how did Shohei look? How does this impact the Dodgers season long term? And maybe most importantly, how insane is it in general? Just to have this guy back on the mound after the offensive production we've seen the last couple of years.

Having back on the mound, especially the way the last like 22, 23 or so days sort of came together where it seemed like the Dodgers were kind of kicking the can on his rehab as long as possible. And then goes in starts facing hitters and then after three simulated games he's like I'm ready to go I want to pitch in games you're sort of seeing a rehab assignment in front of 50,000 people and uh last night I think obviously like the the final stat line is not the most like eye popping or anything like that. He allowed a run, gave up two hits, didn't strike anyone out,

but I think it was everything the Dodgers could have asked for and probably a little bit more in terms of the stuff. I think they weren't expecting to see a hundred in there. I'm sure they knew it was possibly in there down the line, but I don't think they expected that in his first inning back and he hit a hundred a couple of times. Obviously the off speed stuff looked sharp. The command was in and out,

but it was better than you'd expect for a guy coming off a second major elbow surgery. So I think the Dodgers kind of came away with it, really encouraged. And then obviously he goes back out there as the DH and gets two hits in the game, including bringing home a couple of runs. So that's just a day in the life for Shohei Otani, I guess. It is a day in the life for Shohei Otani, I guess.

It is a day in the life for Shohei Otani, the most freakish player that we have ever or will ever see more likely than not in Major League Baseball. The idea that he's out there throwing 100 off his second Tommy John when down here, we're witnessing Sandy Alcantara and what it takes to try to come back

from Tommy John surgery. It's pretty remarkable. But let's stick with that division in the NL West because the Giants made the big splash of the season, probably gonna end up being the biggest trade of the year, regardless of what happens at the trade deadline. They trade for Rafael Devers from the Red Sox. And we'll get into sort of the Red Sox mess

in just a moment, but from the Dodgers perspective, you've got Buster Posey at the helm, a team that's playing spectacular baseball, they might just be the story of this season. So what is your view here? What does this mean for the Giants? I think it legitimizes them really. And it's hard to like really say it carefully

without like sort of like talking down on what they've accomplished because what they've accomplished is obviously, I mean, they pushed the Dodgers to this point. There was a stretch this past weekend where they were tied for first place and that's a testament to them, what they've built, what their pitching staff has done. But you kept looking at that lineup and say, all right, do they have enough bats to really hang around? And now I would argue they do, especially if they can get Matt Chapman back healthy.

If Patrick Bailey, when it comes to healthy, can start to turn around offensively a little bit, then you're looking at a pretty deep Giants lineup. You're looking at a bullpen that's really good. You're looking at starting pitching stuff that's really good. You've seen that formula work well at that ballpark before and Devers is kind of fits exactly what they need. Obviously there's a lot of questions about like where he fits, where is he going to play, but at the end of the day, like that left-handed bat is going to play even at Oracle Park.

And that's kind of exactly what they needed. Obviously there's some recent questions long-term about how the contract sort of ages and everything like that. But if you're the Giants right now and you've swung a mist, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Shohei Otani over the years, like you needed a big bat in that ballpark and they finally got one. All right, number four, here we go.

The Athletics won back to back rookie of the years in 2004 and 2005, a shortstop and a reliever. I'm gonna go Miguel Tejada and Keith Folk. Those are both incorrect. Jeremy, I'm going to go over to you. Yeah, this is the issue now. Tejada was on the 2002 Moneyball A's that we talked about recently.

I'm going to say the answers are Bobby Crosby and Houston Street. Wow. Did I get it? Unbelievable. Let's go. Nice job, Jeremy We've got one on the board this 1997 rookie of the year also won comeback player of the year in 2006 when he was a member of an NL West team. Yeah, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna guess

I'm just gonna and I don't think it's right. I'm gonna guess Craig Council. That is incorrect. Cord goes over to you. You were thinking Diamondback's Craig Council? Yeah, I was. He might've been, I know he was there earlier. I just figured maybe there was a chance there was an injury and you know, he came back after that.

This is a name you should be able to get. The name that I have in my head for some reason, I don't think one rookie of the year or comeback player of the year. No, it's just, Richard, really. That is incorrect. The answer is Nomar. Nomar, really?

Through five rounds. This is a struggle. It's a one nothing. There is one point on the board. One nothing, Jeremy leads an absolute pitchers duel going on right now. This one goes to Chris Cody. This 2010 Rookie of the Year also won

Comeback Player of the Year in 2012 when he was a member of an NL West team. NL West should absolutely be able to get this. I get what Taylor's doing with this. I'm getting really hard. Yeah, it's really hard. It is really hard. I know Ethan thinks it's easy when you can look at the answers Yeah, but this is not it's not as easy as it feels I know there's a lot of people now who've been who they've been like tweeting at me and DMing me that they play trivia Along with us. I'm fascinated to see this week how fans are doing

James Loney not James Loney Jeremy. It's over to you. Oh man So there's two names that came and there's, so there's two names that came in. There's three names that came into my head. But I'm gonna go with the one that has been most relevant as of recently. Buster Posey. Nailed it. Let's go. This 1991 Rookie of the Year also led Major League Baseball in errors in 1999 when he developed the Yips for an AL East team.

Thank God. Chuck Knoblack. I thought that was my turn. My turn. That was Jeremy's turn and he is correct. 3-0, which means as we get to question eight. I knew that one. Chris, not only Chris needs to shut you out. Yeah. All right. Let's move to the Red Sox side of things now when it comes to that Rafael Devers trade.

And it seems like things generally for a team that's hanging in there in a playoff race are just a bit of a mess right now in Boston. So what's your outlook on how the Red Sox handled this situation with Devers and what things look like for them moving forward? There is a world where you kind of look back on the trades like, all right, that actually made some sense to get off that contract to like long-term. You're kind of in a position where you don't have to worry about the guy who's

potentially a DH for the rest of his contract. And there is a world where that is the case, but I think you have to look at it in the grander scheme of things. Look at the last five years, not just with this front office, but with this ownership group. And a lot of it obviously was back to the Mookie Betts trade. What has happened to that 2018 team that won the World Series since then? You've traded Mookie Betts, you've let Xander Bogarts walk, you've sort of traded Chris Dale only to have him

win the SIO in the next year and now you've traded Rafael Devers and it just seems like there's something off with the Red Sox at this point. It seems like especially, obviously I don't think Devers is necessarily blameless in this situation, but clearly something was not communicated well to him. You're making a commitment to the player. Yes. With the financials, but also in it's a relationship at that point,

you're, there's a back and forth. There's a special back and forth that happens when you give a guy that kind of big contract Devers. Obviously voiced where he was. I think it made more sense baseball wise for Alex Bregman to be the third baseman, but there is a better way to communicate that, especially if you're looking at Craig Bresla, who's the guy who's a former player. You would think we kind of understand the dynamics at play there. The irony is you go from one former player running a team

to another in Buster Posey and clearly someone who at least to this point has done a better job of communicating with his players what the goal is for them. And when you look back and now see that the three position players you named, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogarts, and Rafael Devers, all in the NL West, all anchoring separate lineups. It's pretty unbelievable for Boston fans. It's time to highlight our star of the week here on the Pitch Clock. We're always giving our analysts a couple of different stars

and then giving them the choice of who to highlight. So we're gonna stick with the major markets. We've done it out west, we've done it with Boston. It's time to head to New York. Two pitchers, each leading their respective leagues in ERA as starters right now. Kodai Senga with the Mets, Max Fried with the Yankees. Who stands out to you that we want to highlight

here on the pitch clock? Going into this winter, I'll admit I was kind of with the low man on Fried, just kind of understanding the injury history there. Like if the guy kind of comes up with some sort of forearm thing every single year, that's gonna raise some red flags for me. Obviously the Yankees, after losing out on Soto,

they really kind of, you kind of look at what they did since then and everything kind of has worked out. He obviously has kind of anchored that rotation, especially without Garrett Cole there. And he's been everything the Yankees could have asked for. So I'm gonna go with Max Fried. You gotta go with Max Fried and he'll be a huge piece of whether or not we can ultimately see a repeat World Series matchup

between those Yankees and the team Fabian covers here, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fabian, thank you so much for joining us. You can follow him at, by Fabian Ardya on Instagram, at Fabian Ardya on Twitter. Fabian, thank you so much. Hopefully we'll have you back sometime soon, maybe as we head toward that inevitable World Series rematch.

Thank you and let's get back to our trivia again. So if Chris loses here we can just run through the next couple and call it a day. So question number eight. This one goes to Chris. This 1998 Rookie of the year also led the National League in strikeouts in 2003 when he was a member of an NL Central team Chris Carpenter no man over to you Jeremy carry would carry would be the answer it had to be carried with a mark Ryan for all game a for nothing I for nothing I got how impressive I was rattled after the 1981 question And did your day? Can you give us the last couple questions and those even this one?

You should be able to could have been able to get because it involves the Marlins 1996 rookie of the year outfielder went on to win his only World Series with the Marlins in 2003 The answer is Todd Hollinsworth nice and number 10 the 1997 rookie of the year infielder went on to win his only World Series with the st. Louis Cardinals in 2006 recent Hall of Fame inductee Scott Rowland Wow All right, well We were not quite rolling today, huh? No, I won't say so. But that's okay. We'll get it next time.

I got a victory and that's all that matters. All that ultimately matters is that I won this game. So we'll see you next week on the Pitch Clock. ["Pitch Clock Theme"]