The Move Back the Pitcher’s Mound Edition
Slate’s sports podcast on the NFL draft, baseball rule changes, and leotards in gymnastics.
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Episode Notes
Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin welcome a trio of guests. Master Tesfatsion of Bleacher Report discusses the NFL draft. Ben Lindbergh of the Ringer explains why moving back the pitcher’s mound could help Major League Baseball restore balance to the game. And Rebecca Schuman talks about the leotard, the unitard, and the sexualization of female gymnasts.
• Support Hang Up and Listen by subscribing to Slate Plus.
• Follow Master Tesfatsion on Twitter and watch his Bleacher Report show, Untold Stories.
• Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated profiled quarterback Trey Lance, who was picked No. 3 by the San Francisco 49ers.
• In the Undefeated, Martenzie Johnson wrote that pre-draft doubts about Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, who is Black, were a sign that “the dog whistle is screeching.”
• Alex Kirshner wrote in Slate that criticism of Fields, who fell to No. 11 in the draft, was “akin to spending weeks searching for the smallest scratch on a diamond.”
• None of the 22 quarterbacks chosen in the first round between 2009 and 2016 remain with the team that selected them.
• Slate’s Nick Greene interviewed the Miami Dolphins fan who got to sit in NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s chair.
• Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is beefing with the team’s front office and could hold out for a trade.
• Follow Ben Lindbergh on Twitter and buy his books The Only Rule Is It Has to Work and The MVP Machine.
• Read Lindbergh’s story in the Ringer, “The Mound Is Too Damn Close.”
• With Major League Baseball’s approval, the independent Atlantic League will move the mound back one foot and use the “double hook” designated hitter rule.
• The Pioneer League will settle tie games with a Home Run Derby.
• Follow Rebecca Schuman on Twitter and read her Slate story, “Is This the End of the Leotard?”
Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Merchant of Menace:
Joel’s Merchant of Menace: Why high-school sports matter—especially for transgender girls.
On this week’s bonus segment, Joel and Stefan talk about what it feels like to once again attend a live sports event.
Podcast production and edit by Margaret Kelley and Jasmine Ellis.
You can email us at hangup@slate.com.
