Summary[]
Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and writer Rachael McDaniel banter about a Scott Boras quote about Bryce Harper, the hot streaks of Matt Carpenter and Ronald Acuña, an Ender Inciarte comment, aging in relation to baseball players, the cold streak of Luis Severino, and a possible old example of groundskeeping gamesmanship. Then (24:22) they bring on former major-league outfielder and current MLB Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean to talk about his evolving role at MLB, counseling former minor leaguer David Denson on coming out, MLB’s ongoing response to the discoveries of ugly old tweets by Josh Hader, Sean Newcomb, and Trea Turner, how fans should treat those players, why their tweets weren’t grounds for discipline, how hurtful attitudes evolve, the positives that can come from a bad situation, how clubhouse discourse has improved over time, baseball as a unifier, the Yankees’ standing in the queer community, the importance of pride nights and other inclusive initiatives, and more. Finally (1:09:57), Ben, Jeff, and Rachael reflect on the conversation with Bean and forecast the future, and Ben berates Jose Ureña for his hit by pitch.
Topics[]
- Billy Bean’s job description
- Journey of an LGBTQ player
- Accountability process
- How should fans react to players
- Progress
- Pride nights
- Other inclusion ideas
- Recap of interview
- A study on LGBTQ highschoolers
- Will this be an issue going forward
Interstitials[]
- The Monkees, "Words"
- Beach House, "Better Times"
Banter[]
- Scott Boras quote
- Ronald Acuna
- Ozzie Albies
- Matt Carpenter
- Luis Severino
- Lack of Blue Jay's in the news
- Follow up on groundskeeper gamesmanship in episode 1256
- Ben lights up Jose Urena
Notes[]
- “It just invites criticism and mockery, as evidence here" - Jeff
- Luis Severino had a first half ERA of 2.31, in the second half his ERA is 7.96.
- Billy Bean is against the idea of “scrubbing” an account, because it doesn't solve any issues.
Links[]
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/effectively-wild-episode-1257-being-baseball-ambassadors/
Link to Jeff’s Carpenter post
Link to Matt Trueblood on Acuña’s evolution
Link to Zach Crizer on prospect promotions
Link to Mike Petriello on Severino
Link to Rachael on acceptance and baseball