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Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Effectively Wild Episode 1069: A Real-Life Left-Handed Catcher

Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley

Baseball, Sports

4.72.7K Ratings

🗓️ 9 June 2017

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

EWFI

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an odd Neifi Perez appearance, John McCain’s Diamondbacks mention, EW’s August eclipse event, and a questionable fun fact, then talk to Janell Wheaton, a left-handed catcher for the Florida Gators Women’s College World Series team, about why baseball is biased against left-handed catchers (and why it shouldn’t be). Lastly, Ben banters (with himself) about an ankle-injury hypothesis.

Audio intro: Andrew Bird, "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left"
Audio interstitial: Sloan, "Left of Centre"
Audio outro: Julien Baker, "Sprained Ankle"

Link to paperback edition of The Only Rule Is It Has to Work
Link to photo of Janell Wheaton in her catcher’s crouch
Link to Janell’s Gators player page
Link to left-handed catcher articles

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Source

Transcript

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0:00.0

It's a nervous sick motion or the head to the left.

0:07.0

It's a nervous sick motion or the head to the left of the one.

0:13.0

The head to the left.

0:16.0

So exercise yourselves to your be-reft.

0:20.0

No, no.

0:23.0

It's a nervous sick motion or the head to the left of the other.

0:29.0

Hello and welcome to episode 1669 of Effectively Wild a Fangreft's baseball podcast,

0:36.0

brought to you by our Patreon supporters.

0:38.0

I am Jeff Sullivan of Fangreft's joined by Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer.

0:42.0

Hello Ben.

0:43.0

Hello.

0:44.0

On this podcast, I think we're both excited because we get to talk to an actual living, breathing, young, developing, left-handed catcher.

0:51.0

So we don't want to delay too much before we get to that because it turns out, yes, they should exist.

0:57.0

No, the theories against them aren't correct.

1:00.0

It is spoilers.

1:01.0

Yeah, I don't want to have any more details.

1:03.0

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to this because long-time listeners, no, I've always been fascinated by left-handed catchers.

1:09.0

And my great regret of my time with The Stompers is that I was not able to sign a left-handed catcher to play for our team and write about it in the book.

1:18.0

But they were hard to find.

1:19.0

I didn't know where to get a left-handed catcher because they don't really exist at that level.

1:23.0

But we have found one and we will be talking to her very soon.

1:27.0

Yeah, it turns out it's the fault of like the little league coaches and maybe the high school coaches.

...

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