EWFI
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up on a conversation about protective headgear for pitchers by discussing softball face masks, then banter about whether MLB necessarily needs a legalized sticky substance or a pre-tacked ball, and attempt to unpack a distressing message from “Tom” to “Caitlyn” on the video board at a Reds game. Then (37:47) they talk to ESPN reporter Dan Hajducky about a shocking week for the booming sports card industry, highlighted by Fanatics securing exclusive card licenses with MLB, the MLBPA, and other major leagues and unions, baseball institution Topps losing its strangehold on MLB cards and scuttling its plans to go public, and a record-breaking sale of a Honus Wagner T206 card.

Audio intro: Sweet, "Tom Tom Turnaround"
Audio interstitial: Lunchbox, "Tom, What’s Wrong?"
Audio outro: Boat, "Topps"

Link to FAQ about softball face masks
Link to list of softball face masks
Link to Columbia Missourian on face masks
Link to the OU Daily on face masks
Link to Columbia Daily Tribune on face masks
Link to The Oklahoman on face masks
Link to Kelly Barnhill tweet about face masks
Link to history of first batting helmets
Link to history of modern batting helmets
Link to video of Lynn ejection
Link to Rob Arthur on sticky stuff effects
Link to the L.A. Times on Olympic baseballs
Link to Reuters on Olympic baseballs
Link to first Caitlyn/Tom message
Link to second Caitlyn/Tom message
Link to Craig Goldstein on Caitlyn/Tom
Link to Ben on the Castellanos meme
Link to Dan’s Topps/Fanatics report
Link to WSJ Topps/Fanatics report
Link to Sportico on the Topps merger
Link to Dan on the T206 sale
Link to Emma Baccellieri on the card boom
Link to earlier EW card-boom interview
Link to Dan’s website

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531. NFC training camp storylines and takeaways