Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether JR Ritchie should want to keep the ball that was hit for a homer on his first major league pitch, José Soriano's season-starting hot streak, and the Yankees' new alternate uniforms, plus follow-ups on accidental challenges, player pecks on the cheek, jersey numbers, and Nolan McLean's apology, and a mini-Blast about the Rockies' historically hot start (compared to last year). Then (50:36) they take a break from interviewing octagenarian former players to interview a youthful, quadragenarian former player: former All-Star Brad Lidge. An infamous manager once proclaimed, "The closer is the closer because he's the closer." But what if the closer becomes an archaeologist? Ben and Meg talk to Lidge at length about his post-playing pivot to archaeology: what drew him to the field, how he's pursued a second profession (and how it differs from his first one), ancient Etruscans, misconceptions about archaeology, what he could learn from excavating a ballpark, discovering dice (note: not a gambling ad), discussing his career reinvention at cocktail parties, the pleasures and procedures of communing with the past, archaeology's moneyball, and much more, followed by his thoughts on fellow fastball-slider artist Mason Miller.
Audio intro: PJ Harding, "Effectively Wild Theme"Audio outro: Philip Bergman, "Effectively Wild Theme"Link to The Only Rule closer lineLink to line's EW wiki entryLink to Lidge's SABR bioLink to postseason saves leadersLink to best post-'88 RP seasonsLink to Pujols homerLink to 2008 WS victoryLink to EW Episode 2323Link to Wood's HRLink to Ritchie game storyLink to Yankees jerseys report 1Link to Yankees jerseys report 2Link to Yankees jerseys report 3Link to jersey number historyLink to Gilbert "catch"Link to Gilbert "catch" rulesLink to Vargas "accidental" challengeLink to Gonzales "accidental" challengeLink to Martin-Davis smoochLink to Soriano's six-start stretchesLink to Soriano's 2025 stretchLink to Soriano's 2026 stretchLink to exit velo responsibilityLink to Soriano article 1Link to Betteridge's law 1Link to Soriano article 2Link to follow-up McLean reportLink to fastest team improvements dataLink to 2018 archaeoLidgey articleLink to 2026 archaeoLidgey articleLink to Lidge Explorers ClubLink to Poggio Civitate wikiLink to Under the Tuscan Sun wikiLink to Etruscan civilization wikiLink to Roman Empire memeLink to Lidge's publicationsLink to Lidge's dice paperLink to North American dice article 1Link to North American dice article 2Link to Ben on Detectorists
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