AI Summary
5 min read“Ultimately you remember the good more than the bad,” Baker Mayfield said when asked about facing his old team, the Cleveland Browns. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was diplomatic, even noting the Browns organization is “a very different building” now. But Ben Maller wasn’t buying it. On this episode of The Ben Maller Show, the host unpacked Mayfield’s comments as a classic case of a player sticking to talking points — “akin to a divorce guy complimenting his ex-wife’s meatloaf,” Maller said — before pivoting to a broader discussion about revisionist history, the Hall of Fame voting process, and the dysfunction of the New York Mets, a franchise he described as fundamentally broken despite spending over a billion dollars on three star players.
The Baker Mayfield Revenge Narrative and Revisionist History
Maller took aim at what he called a “steaming bowl of revisionist history gumbo” — the growing narrative that the Browns made a tragic mistake by letting Baker Mayfield leave. A current Buccaneers assistant, Ken Zampese — who was also a Browns assistant during Mayfield’s tenure — claimed Cleveland failed to develop and support the quarterback. Maller found this galling: “You cannot stand inside the factory and complain about the defective manufacturing when you were one of the people that was running the equipment.”
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What you'll learn
- 1 (06:08) **Baker Mayfield’s Revenge Narrative vs. the Browns** - Ben introduces the Buccaneers-Browns matchup as a “revenge opportunity” for Baker Mayfield and plays his diplomatic quote about remembering “the good more than the bad.”
- 2 (10:04) **Ken Zampese Blames the Browns for Baker’s Failure** - The Buccaneers’ offensive assistant says Cleveland failed to develop Baker Mayfield after drafting him first overall.
- 3 (14:39) **Pro Football Hall of Fame Shrinkage and Belichick Snub** - The Hall of Fame selection committee downsizes from 50 to 28 members, reportedly as retribution for Bill Belichick not making first-ballot induction.
- 4 (24:47) **Pete Alonso’s Curtain Call and Sean Manaea’s Complaint** - Ben recounts how Orioles slugger Pete Alonso got a curtain call from Mets fans at Citi Field, which Mets pitcher Sean Manaea called “crazy.”
- 5 (27:23) **Mets Fans’ Democracy at Work** - Ben argues that the curtain call was “democracy at work,” with fans rewarding Pete Alonso for his 264 home runs in Queens while punishing GM David Stearns for letting him go.
- 6 (33:21) **The Billion-Dollar Blunder in the Outfield** - Ben describes a play where Mets stars Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette all converged on a routine pop-up and let it drop for a double.
- 7 (37:37) **Rafael Devers Trade Rumors and Hollow Stats** - Ben reports that the Giants expect to keep Rafael Devers despite trade speculation, but he remains skeptical.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Big Ben talks about Tampa QB Baker Mayfield saying he remembers the good more than the bad from his time with the Browns, the outrage from Mets players over Mets fans giving Pete Alonso a standing ovation, Benny vs. The Penny TNF Edition, #AskBen, and more!
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