New rules = more stolen bases, Rendon’s suspension & bandwagoning the (Devil) Rays

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 fan24:15 We Were Wondering: Throwing pitches down the middle43:00 The Bandwagon: Tampa Bay RaysLinks to stories mentioned in this episode:Hannah’s Opening Day observations in NYZach on stolen base surgeAnthony Rendon suspendedHannah & Zach on throwing it down the middleHannah on how robot umps will change catchingCheck out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports PodcastsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.