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Panel Questions

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Panelists, we have some questions for you from the week's news. Joel, baseball is back, and fans are celebrating by flooding back to the ballpark to finally do something they had to wait a whole year to do. What is it?

JOEL KIM BOOSTER: Eat a baseball hot dog.

SAGAL: No. I'll give you a hint. One of the most popular ways to do this is to throw trash cans at them.

KIM BOOSTER: Oh, my God. Heckle the other team.

SAGAL: Yeah, I'm going to give it to you, but it's specifically heckle the Astros.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)

SAGAL: And it's not just heckle them but throw trash cans at them.

KIM BOOSTER: That's so specific. Come on.

SAGAL: Well, if you were a baseball fan, you would have known that about two years ago, the team cheated their way to a World Series title, and they did it by banging on trash cans to signal the batters what pitch was coming.

KIM BOOSTER: Wow.

SAGAL: And they were kind of hoping, well, you know, with the pandemic and the shortened season last year, maybe people would forget about it. Dude, it's all we've thought about.

PAULA POUNDSTONE: I can probably tutor you on baseball knowledge because I remember when that happened years ago, they said that the Astros had stolen the signs from another team. And I thought it meant they took the logos off the walls.

SAGAL: You mean (laughter), they ran over and, like, stole the big C from Cleveland and the...

POUNDSTONE: Yeah.

SAGAL: ...The pair of socks from the Boston Red Sox?

POUNDSTONE: That's what I thought. I thought that for, like, a long time.

SAGAL: (Laughter).

POUNDSTONE: So I can probably help you, Joel.

KIM BOOSTER: As someone who's not invested in baseball, I have to say, the scheme sounds incredible. I think they should be applauded for figuring it out how to cheat that way. I mean, it sounds really smart.

SAGAL: Oh, it was pretty elaborate. It was extraordinary.

MAEVE HIGGINS: I agree. So, wait, they banged on the lids of trashcans, which is also - in Northern Ireland, that's how they used to signal the British army were coming.

KIM BOOSTER: Yeah. The more we're talking about this, the more it sounds like STOMP and the more I'm interested in baseball, OK?

(LAUGHTER)

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DOUG")

BILLY WEST: (As Doug Funnie, singing) Banging on the trash can. Banging on the street light.

ALICE PLAYTEN: (As Beebe Bluff, singing) Think big. Think big. Think big.

SAGAL: Coming up, our panelists get caught in our Bluff the Listener game. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to play. We'll be back in a minute with more WAIT, WAIT... DON'T TELL ME from NPR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.