Pujols and Yadi Enter the Cardinals Hall of Fame | Talking About Birds 238

Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina went into the Cardinals Hall of Fame together, and Nate and Ben get appropriately misty about a pairing we'll probably never see again. Then they celebrate the young core carrying September — Thomas Saggese's breakout, Leo Bernal's Yadi vibes, and another Josh Baez feat of strength — plus Mason Miller's absurd reliever season and why relievers deserve their own award. Also: a deeply important debate about eating horse, Ben's 24-hour LARP-themed endurance race, Elly De La Cruz spurning the Reds, the Mets getting mad at their own fans, and a round of Who Is This Guy? ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Opening bit: cleared the low bar of expectations 00:31 Efficacy and the phrases we love 01:56 A movie's not good unless it has a horse in it 03:08 Would you eat horse? The Paris horse butcher 04:42 "For you, Nathan, is a free sandwich" 07:56 Mustard vs. barbecue sauce 09:50 Ben's 24-hour endurance race 12:22 This year's race theme: LARPing 13:59 You don't need friends to LARP 16:39 The Cardinals cling on at 75-77 17:36 The red-hot Padres and Fernando Tatis 18:26 Mason Miller's absurd reliever season 20:15 Should relievers get their own award? 21:33 Aroldis Chapman is chasing 500 saves 23:04 The Cardinals win close and lose close 25:32 The Hall of Fame class: Pujols, Yadi, and Bill 25:58 Why induct Bill Sherdel this year? 28:16 Pujols goes in as a Cardinal 29:49 Remembering how dominant Albert was 32:01 Nobody runs on Yadi 33:19 Yadi is a first-ballot Hall of Famer 34:58 Does Yadi's presence explain the pitching? 36:41 September's best Cardinals: Saggese, Bernal, Baez 37:26 Thomas Saggese is finally breaking out 39:55 Saggese as the right-handed super-utility 41:17 Ramón Urías gets DFA'd 43:14 Leo Bernal keeps looking like the guy 44:36 The first catcher to give real Yadi vibes 47:38 Bernal as the 2027 starting catcher 48:06 Josh Baez's one-knee near-homer 50:45 Winn and Wetherholt return from the IL 52:20 JJ's push for 20 homers and Rookie of the Year 53:35 Arizona Fall League roster and the Double-A kids 56:41 Patreon / Birdscord / socials 58:49 Series preview: the Nationals come to town 01:00:30 The Curtis Mead / Connelly Early trade 01:03:06 Series preview: the Pirates and Paul Skenes 01:04:44 Win out or chase a draft pick? 01:06:37 League news: Elly De La Cruz spurns the Reds 01:09:43 Pete Alonso, the Mets, and mad fans 01:13:18 Ohtani hits the IL — will he pitch again? 01:15:56 Game: Who Is This Guy? 01:21:29 Outro 🔗 Links Patreon & Birdscord: Patreon: talkingaboutbirds Website & merch: https://talkingaboutbirds.com Crossonym: https://crossonym.com Voicemail / text: (848) 48-BIRDS — (848) 482-4737 Email: [email protected] Bluesky / Instagram / TikTok: @talkingaboutbirds Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737) Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds #stlcards #cardinals #mlb #stlcardinals #cardinalsnation #baseball #albertpujols #yadiermolina #baseballpodcast