Jeff Passan, Tim Brown and Mike Oz talk baseball in a weekly show that includes interviews, analysis and more. New episodes every Tuesday.
It's over! The Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night in Phoenix with a 5-0 shutout and etched their names into World Series lore.
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer report from their hotel rooms in Arizona after the jubilant and bear-soaked celebration of the Texas Rangers cementing their first World Series win in the team's history.
They chat about Game 5's epically tight pitching matchup (despite the epically not-tight final score), whether the Arizona Diamondbacks can rebound with more playoff appearances in the future, how Texas' roster-building strategy paid off and how much longer Bruce Bochy will manage the team after his mind-blowing fourth World Series win.
0:15 - Rangers defeat Diamondbacks in World Series on Wednesday night
11:45 - What's next for the D'Backs?
18:50 - What's next for the Rangers?
32:25 - Bruce Bochy's fourth and final World Series win?
38:40 - Goodbye to the 2023 season
🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer recap the ALCS and NLCS before previewing the World Series matchup between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
00:00 - Banter
01:20 - SF Giant hire Bob Melvin
18:15 - ALCS Recap
37:00 - NLCS Recap
45:35 - World Series preview
62:00 - Victory lap
Hannah and Zach kick off this episode of The Bandwagon by wondering if the World Series matchup tells the narrative story of the 2023 MLB season and then they try to come up with a catchy name for the series.
Before we dive deep into the playoffs, there’s some news! San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin is about to be named San Francisco Giants manager. It’s weird! Hannah and Zach talk about why it’s happening and what it will mean for the Padres and Giants going forward.
Hannah attended all of the ALCS games in Houston and Arlington, so she does her best to recap the series that saw the Texas Rangers defeat the Houston Astros in 7 games, including a detailed breakdown of the pitch that was thrown at Adolis Garcia and everything that happened after. Was the pitch intentional? There’s a lot of evidence that says it probably was!
Meanwhile, Zach attended all of the NLCS games in Philadelphia and Phoenix, so he recaps a strange series and attempts to explain how the Arizona Diamondbacks made an adjustment and stopped what looked like a playoff juggernaut in the Philadelphia Phillies.
Hannah and Zach then preview this World Series matchup, which is filled with exciting young players but lacking in star power, and tell neutral fans which team they should probably be rooting for.
Before the episode ends, we’ve got a clip for you from a past episode of The Bandwagon, when Hannah and Zach were talking about a couple of teams that they really liked at the start of the season: The Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
The ALCS & NLCS have both completed two games and, in keeping with this postseason's apparent theme, it hasn't really been close. The Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers are both up 2-0 on the Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros, respectively, and barring any major surprises, it's hard to see how they won't be facing each other in the World Series in one week's time.
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer are back to check in on these two series and take the temperature on a drama-less postseason. Before diving into the two championship series, they dive into a few news stories. First, the Miami Marlins "parting ways" with general manager Kim Ng, after she guided the team to their first postseason berth in years. They also chat about the Boston Red Sox seemingly being unable to fill their open GM role. They close out the news section rehashing Trevor May's choice words for Oakland A's owner John Fisher in which he opined, "sell the team, dude."
For the latter two thirds of the episode, Hannah & Zach look deeper in to the ALCS and NLCS. First, can the Diamondbacks stop the Phillies' bombardment of home runs? Zach also explains why some pitching decisions in Game 2 are potentially setting up Arizona for failure in Game 4.
On the ALCS side, Hannah talks about why Texas seems like the team of destiny, but also fears for Max Scherzer's first start in over a month in Wednesday night's game.
0:00 - Introduction
2:06 - Kim Ng "parts ways" with Miami Marlins
13:45 - Boston Red Sox having trouble with finding a new GM
18:35 - Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher gets slammed by retiring Trevor May
21:45 - Philadelphia Phillies up 2-0 over Arizona Diamondbacks in NLCS
36:45 - Texas Rangers up 2-0 over Houston Astros in ALCS
🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer are back for another episode of The Bandwagon, recapping three of the Division Series and digging into the drama between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves after game 3.
00:00 - Introduction
00:50 - Phillies / Braves drama
14:10 - Diamondbacks sweep the Dodgers
26:20 - Rangers sweep the Orioles
35:20 - Astros defeat the Twins
43:00 - Our favorite playoff storylines
On this episode of The Bandwagon, Hannah and Zach start off by digging deep into the very silly drama between Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies and Orlando Arcia of the Atlanta Braves. Why was this a big deal? And what should the Braves have done in response?
We then go series-by-series recapping the division series, starting with a surprising sweep by the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Los Angeles Dodgers. This leads to a longer conversation about teams not being accurately defined by their regular season record, especially in the case of the Dodgers, who fell apart at exactly the wrong time.
Speaking of teams that are outperforming their regular season record, the Texas Rangers swept the Baltimore Orioles! Zach has a theory as to why their bullpen is turning into less of a weakness in the postseason than it was in the regular season, and he also has an interesting comparison that might make them a bigger contender to win it all that many would think.
In the way of the Rangers is the Houston Astros, who are headed for their 7th straight ALCS after defeating a young and talented Minnesota Twins team. Just like every year, the Astros seem inevitable, but there is reason to believe that the Rangers have just as strong a chance at winning that series as the Astros do.
Finally, Hannah and Zach identify their favorite playoff storylines from the Rangers, Astros and Diamondbacks and explain which teams they’re pulling for and why.
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer break down the news of New York Mets GM Billy Eppler resigning before recapping what happened in the Wild Card round of the MLB Playoffs and previewing each of the four division series that start tomorrow.
00:00 - Banter
04:20 - Mets GM Billy Eppler resigns
08:30 - Wild Card round recap
18:25 - PREVIEW: Minnesota Twins vs. Houston Astros
24:45 - PREVIEW: Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles
36:50 - PREVIEW: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
45:35 - PREVIEW: Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves
Yahoo Sports MLB writers Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer are back with another episode of The Bandwagon to help recap what happened in the Wild Card round of the 2023 MLB Playoffs, but first they spend some time talking about Billy Eppler’s sudden resignation from the New York Mets and speculate a little on the investigation the league is doing into him and the team.
Hannah and Zach go through each of the sweeps that happened in the Wild Card round and tell you their quick thoughts on each one, including why the Toronto Blue Jays are the new Minnesota Twins, before diving into previews for each of the four Division Series.
The Minnesota Twins actually do have a chance against the juggernaut Houston Astros, and neutral observers will likely be tuning in to see if they can pull off the upset.
The Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles are each back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but they took very different paths to get here and they are both built in very different ways. Can the Rangers keep hitting HRs when the Orioles (and Camden Yards) are built to suppress them?
The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the same position the San Diego Padres were last year: Finishing 2nd in the NL West with a chance to knock off the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs. If they do it, it’ll be because the Dodgers’ pitching situation is a bit unstable. And if the Dodgers make it all the way to a World Series, there’s a chance that their ace could walk away into retirement this offseason.
Finally, the series we’ve all been waiting for. The World Series that baseball fans deserve is going to happen between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. Hannah and Zach explain why this series will be so good, who neutral observers should be rooting for, and tell you which team they think is going to win (and why).
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer go through all four of the MLB Wild Card series and tell you what the series is going to be about and which team neutral fans should be rooting for.
03:05 - SF Giants fire Gabe Kepler
08:10 - NY Mets fire Buck Showalter
18:55 - Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins
26:55 Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays
38:45 Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies
46:50 Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers
On this episode of The Bandwagon, Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer break down the early managerial changes with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, one of which makes sense and the other one very much does not.
After that, Zach and Hannah go series-by-series with a preview of each matchup. Find out why Zach thinks the Blue Jays and Twins could be the most interesting and entertaining of these matchups, and find out why Hannah is about to become bulletin board material in the Miami Marlins clubhouse.
For each series, they explain what the motif will be, which team neutral observers should root for (and why), and give predictions as to which team will advance to the divisional round of the 2023 MLB Playoffs.
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
In the last regular season episode of The Bandwagon, Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer talk about the NL MVP race and try to make sense of the wild AL West.
04:15 - Ronald Acuna joins 40-40 club
12:50 - AL West
15:55 - Rangers
26:40 - Mariners
33:20 - Blue Jays
For the last regular season episode of The Bandwagon, Hannah and Zach dig in on the incredible season Atlanta Braves OF Ronald Acuña Jr. is having. Not only is he the 5th MLB player to get 40 HRs and 40 steals in the same season, he’s made his own 40-60 club and is working his way towards 40-70.
After that, they try to make sense of an AL West race that is very much still up in the air, partially because the Texas Rangers have once again caught fire. Could it be because of standout rookie OF Evan Carter?
The Seattle Mariners are currently on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, but they’ll have plenty of chances to get back in between now and the end of the season. Unfortunately, they haven’t been playing very well since the calendar turned to September. Could Cal “Big Dumper” Raleigh be their key to finding playoff success again this season?
Finally, the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t in the AL West, but they’re fighting off teams from that division for one of the last AL Wild Card spots. How good are the Blue Jays? A better question might be how good can they be in the playoffs. Are we looking at a repeat of the 2022 Phillies?
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Before bandwagoning the leaders of the AL West and NL Central, Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer go through all of the MLB news of the week, including Shohei Ohtani’s sudden disappearance and infighting between the manager and front office of the San Diego Padres.
00:55 - Shohei Ohtani to the IL
08:00 - Red Sox fire Chaim Bloom
16:00 - New Rays stadium
16:55 - Padres internal drama
40:20 - BANDWAGON: Astros
53:35 - BANDWAGON: Brewers
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer are back with another playoff preview episode of The Bandwagon, kicking off this one with the story of Shohei Ohtani’s locker being emptied before the Angels put their star pitcher/designated hitter on the injured list for the rest of the season. (NOTE: This was recorded before the confirmation that Ohtani has had a procedure done on his elbow.)
The Boston Red Sox fired Chaim Bloom for doing the exact thing that he was hired to do, which was reduce payroll and build up the team’s farm system. Zach and Hannah how much of Bloom’s fate was sealed when he traded Mookie Betts after taking the job.
The Tampa Bay Rays seem confident that they’re getting a new stadium built by 2028…in the same place where their current stadium sits, which seems like it would solve few of their issues with drawing fans to the ballpark.
The San Diego Padres are watching a very disappointing season come to a close and all of baseball is wondering where it all went wrong. Now we’re seeing articles blaming A.J. Preller and Manny Machado, while Bob Melvin wonders if he’s about to be fired. Where did it go wrong for the Padres and how can they fix it? Should they run back the same group next season?
The playoff bandwagons continue, this time with the last two potential division winners. The Houston Astros (Hannah’s bandwagon) and the Milwaukee Brewers (Zach’s bandwagon) are completely different, but both teams are headed for the postseason and both teams are loaded with interesting talent, not to mention a couple of highly-regarded managers.
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer go through the MLB news of the week, including a new man in charge of the New York Mets, while also previewing two more teams that are likely to be in the MLB playoffs (the Phillies & Rays).
15:00 George Kirby
25:40 BANDWAGON: Philadelphia Phillies
40:15 BANDWAGON: Tampa Bay Rays
51:40 BREAKING: Mets hire David Stearns
Before getting into the big topics of this episode, Hannah and Zach talk about visiting their childhood homes, the 90s movie Little Big League and the Brewers’ “failed” no-hitter. It’s a lot. And it leads us into a conversation about George Kirby, who has been getting crushed by former players and media alike for saying that he didn’t want to pitch the 7th inning of a recent game.
The MLB playoffs are right around the corner, which means Hannah and Zach are about halfway through previewing every single team that is going to make it to the postseason.
With the NL Central and the AL West still very much up in the air, we decided to go with the two teams most likely to get a Wild Card spot: the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Phillies are a lot like Mario Kart, according to Zach, and you’ll have to listen to figure out why. They also have great vibes and a superstar player in Bryce Harper that seems very determined to get his first World Series ring.
The Rays, on the other hand, are a fun and talented team that has lost some of its star power, a lot of its good vibes and most of its great starting pitching. But Tyler Glasgow is still there!
Finally, before we wrap the podcast, Hannah and Zach react to the breaking news that the New York Mets have hired David Stearns from the Milwaukee Brewers (and formerly from the Houston Astros) as their President of Baseball Operations to oversee Billy Eppler’s front office.
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer bandwagon a couple of more playoff-bound teams, this time focusing on the Twins and Orioles, but not before they break down the news of Julio Urías’ arrest and Shohei Ohtani’s photo day body double.
00:00 Banter
06:30 Shohei Ohtani
23:30 Dodgers SP Julio Urías arrested
33:25 BANDWAGON: Minnesota Twins
49:30 BANDWAGON: Baltimore Orioles
On this episode of The Bandwagon, Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer had to start with the two biggest stories in baseball.
First, Shohei Ohtani’s agent spoke with the media about the superstar’s torn UCL and tried his best to rebuild some of the value lost to injury on the free agent market. This led to speculation as to why Ohtani doesn’t speak to the media, but that conversation quickly gets derailed as we go through the story of Angels’ “photo day” and the team using a body double in place of Ohtani.
The other team in Los Angeles is also having a bad time, as Julio Urías was once again arrested for domestic violence and might never pitch again for the Dodgers (or in MLB, for that matter). We go through some of baseball’s history in dealing with domestic violence to help predict the future.
In our continuing preview of the 2023 MLB Playoffs, Hannah tells listeners why they should be rooting for the Minnesota Twins in the postseason. They have good pitching, as well as some really fun players that can’t seem to stay healthy. If they manage some luck on the health side, they could be dangerous in October.
Zach picked the Baltimore Orioles to bandwagon, a team that is so young and inexperienced that they don’t know how to lose. They’re doing it a bit different from other teams around the league, but history says they might just be the next Houston Astros.
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer go through all of the news in a busy week for baseball before starting their team-by-team MLB playoffs preview with the two best teams in the National League: the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers.
02:00 Shohei Ohtani torn UCL
14:00 Julio Rodriguez is on a tear
26:00 GAME: Best player on a bad team
35:00 BANDWAGON: Atlanta Braves
44:00 BANDWAGON: Los Angeles Dodgers
55:30 Who would win? Braves vs. Dodgers
Hannah and Zach start off this episode of the podcast talking about Shohei Ohtani’s torn UCL, a likely 2nd Tommy John surgery, and what it all means for his future and free agency in the upcoming offseason.
They then move on to the Seattle Mariners, who have caught fire and overtaken the AL West, and young phenom Julio Rodriguez. He’s on fire right now and the M’s are now in a much better position that they were even a year ago.
Hannah came up with a game where she quizzes Zach on who the best player on some of baseball’s worst teams are. The answers are surprising but, as per usual, Zach gets most of them right.
As a way to preview the upcoming playoffs, Hannah and Zach are each bandwagoning for teams that are going to be in. The two teams with the easiest path to win their divisions right now are the Atlanta Braves, who have one of the best young players in baseball in Ronald Acuña Jr., and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who might have one even better in Mookie Betts.
After discussing the teams themselves, Hannah and Zach wonder which team would win in a playoff series (and maybe in their regular season series later this week).
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
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