Hello and welcome to the Anthropocene Reviewed, a podcast where we review different facets

of the Human-Centered Planet on a 5-star scale.

I'm John Green, and today I'll be reviewing CNN and a sporting melody known as The Yips.

I don't know much about either of these topics, but if I've learned anything from cable

news, it's that having a strong opinion is much more important than having an informed

one.

Okay, so the Yips.

On October 3rd of the year 2000, a 21-year-old pitcher named Rick Ankeel took the mound

for the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of a major league baseball playoff series.

It occurs to me that you may not know the rules of baseball, but for our purposes, all

you need to know is that broadly speaking, professional pitchers throw baseballs very

fast, like up to 100 miles an hour, and with astonishing accuracy.

Pictures who can consistently place their throws within a few square inches of space are often

said to have good control.

Rick Ankeel had great control.

He could put the ball wherever he wanted.

Even when he was in high school, the professional scouts would say, look at that kid's

control.

He's a machine.

But about a third of the way into that playoff game in 2000, Rick Ankeel threw a very low

pitch, so low that the catcher missed it, a phenomenon known as a wild pitch.

Ankeel had only thrown three wild pitches all season.

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