Ben Lindbergh and The Ringer ’s Van Lathan banter about Van’s love of baseball, his origin story as a fan, how he got back into the sport, MLB’s resurgence in popularity, advanced stats questions, why the percentage of Black players in MLB fell, how average sports fans perceive MLB’s labor battle, and much more (warning: language). Then (1:25:38) Ben talks to Thomas Gilbert, author of Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America’s First Baseball Hero , about how Jim Creighton revolutionized ...
Jun 17, 2026
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball’s time to shine after the NBA/NHL seasons and a structural difference between basketball and baseball, Jacob Misiorowski achieving escape velocity and entering the deGrom Zone (and a change he’s made that may matter more than his increased speed), the impending posting of red-hot Teruaki Sato , the losers and losers of the Rafael Devers deal one year later, what the trade deadline will look like in this topsy-turvy season, and (42:55) what MLB s...
Jun 16, 2026•1 hr 35 min
Tarik Skubal is the latest athlete to return to play faster than anticipated thanks to a new surgical technique or technology. But there’s something even better than coming back more quickly from an injury: avoiding an injury in the first place. Can injury prevention be improved as much as injury treatment? In this themed episode, Ben Lindbergh talks to four guests about three potential ways to keep players healthy. First (5:14), Mariners biomechanist Cedric Attias joins to discuss how pitching ...
Jun 13, 2026•2 hr 19 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the listener response to their conversation with Adrian Chiles, newly minted major leaguer LuJames Groover , and a big Giants comeback (in defiance of the team’s historically walk-averse ways), then (21:25) answer listener emails about how long-term team outlooks factor into present-day disappointment levels, spectacle vs. analysis in closer-entrance pageantry, whether ump...
Jun 12, 2026•37 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the bunt’s rehabilitation and (17:49) the President publicly picking a side in MLB’s labor battle, then talk to two guests about falling in love with and learning about baseball as adults. First (32:35), beloved BBC presenter and The Guardian columnist Adrian Chiles breaks his baseball silence to expound on how he got bitten by the baseball bug, his long-distance Rays relationship, the loneliness of following baseball from afar, cross-sport comparisons, ...
Jun 10, 2026•2 hr 4 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani’ s career-year pace, how often his number of times on base has exceeded his times on base allowed in his two-way games, and his awards outlook, discuss Aaron Judge’ s injury and the wide-open AL MVP race, and then (1:06:39) Stat Blast about the most former catchers in one game, Brayan Bello ’s woes as a starter, clustering a team’s plate appearances in one in...
Jun 06, 2026•35 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the duality of Jo Adell’ s defense (after the FARTBAT low that followed his triple-robbery high), Spencer Arrighetti and MLB’s monthly player honors as the last bastion of old-school-stat-based awards, whether a team with a losing record could make the playoffs this season, Paul Goldschmidt’ s pleasing platoon role, how much credit the Brewers deserve for Kyle Harrison’ s success, Louis Varland’ s value, the Tigers’ rapid plummet out of contention, the t...
Jun 04, 2026•1 hr 50 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Fernando Tatis Jr.’ s first home run of the season, injuries to Munetaka Murakami and Craig Kimbrel , a crotch-related suspension precedent, the mystery of Julio Rodriguez’ s defense, Roki Sasaki’ s surge, the phenomenon of National Anthem standoffs, Carmen Mlodzinski’ s brief relief revolt, whether Victor Wembanyama would be a good pitcher, Aaron Ashby ’s weirdly winning ways, (1:04:19) whether the Brewers have somehow solved clutch hitting, and the pos...
Jun 02, 2026•1 hr 49 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Enhanced Games and whether they would watch a baseball league where PEDS were explicitly permitted, Abner Uribe ’s crotch-chop suspension, and (34:40) the most disappointing and surprising (in a positive way) teams of 2026, then (55:37) answer emails about raising a girl who likes baseball, how a salary cap would affect prices for fans, home runs on the first pitch of ...
May 30, 2026•35 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the initial CBA proposals by the MLBPA and MLB: some specific points of departure and alignment, whether we really learned anything about what each side wants or the likelihood of lost games, and what the rhetoric and rebuttals say about the PR battle to come. Then (50:08) they banter about whether baseball broadcasts could ever get good enough to endanger attendance, why ABS challenge rates haven’t closely correlated with batter quality, a difference between...
May 29, 2026•1 hr 45 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Craig Kimbrel’ s new home, Colton Cowser’ s walk-offs, Chris Taylor’ s rapid retirement, unretirement, and re-retirement, whether the Mets should sell (and whom they could deal), the relative improvement of MLB’s worst teams, the Blue Jays’ (and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’ s) punchless contact, the historic hitting of this season’s MLB debutants, Gage Jump and the best-ever early returns for a draft class, whether the Athletics’ and Pirates’ production has be...
May 27, 2026•2 hr 8 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mason Miller ’s recent “struggles,” whether the Tigers will trade Tarik Skubal , and how different baseball would be if the Angels had traded Shohei Ohtani , plus (44:05) more than a dozen Stat Blasts. Audio intro : Beatwriter, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : PJ Harding, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to previous Miller banter 1 Link to previous Miller banter 2 L...
May 23, 2026•32 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the “tarps off” fan-shirtlessness trend sweeping MLB ballparks, early grand slams, inside-the-park home runs, and “little league home runs,” more sources of baseball embarrassment, Blake Snell’ s bone spurs (and the Dodgers’ perennial pitcher-injury issues), Gerrit Cole ’s return to the Yankees, Gio Urshela and other players who excelled for one team but struggled for others, updates on early-season sensation Joey Wiemer , John Brebbia , and this season’...
May 21, 2026•1 hr 49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether the Phillies’ surge would have happened the same way if Rob Thomson hadn’t been fired, discuss streaks that were snapped for the Mets and Rico Garcia , delight and dismay in John Kruk repeating a podcast talking point, try to determine the most embarrassing failure a player can suffer on the field, bemoan a missed opportunity for an ambidextrous pitching appearance, mark the promotion of Mariners prospect Colt Emerson , and then discuss which of ...
May 19, 2026•1 hr 46 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Ben cursed Shohei Ohtani ’s bat by predicting that Ohtani would win the Cy Young award but not the MVP award, whether Bobby Witt Jr. could win his first MVP award this season, the defensive transformation of Luis Arraez , and more, then (33:16) further interrogate what homoerotic celebrations say about baseball culture, discuss the latest ABS challenge mishaps, ans...
May 15, 2026•34 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest lima-bean-related revelations about Tarik Skubal’ s elbow surgery, the Giants’ censored synchronized thrust and the history of homoerotic celebrations in baseball, Coby Mayo’ s dog’s devotion, the Orioles’ rotation issues (and a Rico Garcia update), Atlanta’s unexpectedly productive DHs, Ben’s invisible baseball neighbor, and Konnor Griffin ’s glow-up, plus (1:12:33) a check-in on the hitters and pitchers who’ve over- or underperformed their p...
May 14, 2026•1 hr 47 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Spencer Jones facing an overclocked Jacob Misiorowski in Jones’s MLB debut, the distance from the mound to home plate when Ryan Waldschmidt is batting, Gage Workman’ s middle name, and Tarik Skubal ’s loose lima bean, then discuss the surprising Patrick Bailey trade—including takes on Bailey’s bat and framing value in the ABS era, the leadership of Buster Posey and Tony Vitello, Cleveland doubling down on the Austin Hedges catching model, and the virtues...
May 12, 2026•1 hr 53 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a report that Tarik Skubal’ s surgically cleaned-up elbow contained only a solitary “loose body,” why the NL now has the upper hand over the AL and whether the latter’s lackluster win-loss records matter, Meg’s thrilling, frustrating in-person Paul Skenes spectator experience, Kazuma Okamoto ’s move back in the box, and Rico Garcia’ s impressive .000 BABIP streak, plus a f...
May 08, 2026•39 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the late Ted Turner’s explanation for firing Bobby Cox, how MVP-caliber Mike Trout returned and whether a Trout trade is too much to hope for, Carlos Correa ’s season-ending injury and the outlook for the Astros, the offseason’s influx of free-agent retreads from NPB and/or the KBO, and a transparent plunking by Framber Valdez , then Stat Blast (1:25:43) about a Pirates scheduling quirk, an unlikely no. 9 batter, hitting-streak outliers, improbable power...
May 07, 2026•1 hr 51 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the late John Sterling , fan affection for local broadcasters, and whether any broadcast institutions don’t inspire such attachment, then banter about Anthony Volpe’ s demotion, Tarik Skubal’ s elbow injury, the Mets’ decision to stand by Carlos Mendoza, dramatically different results in back-to-back Reds-Pirates games, Riley O’Brien ’s success, Nick Kurtz , Roy Cullenbine , and prolific walk-drawers with unimpressive power, whether framing and challenging sk...
May 06, 2026•1 hr 56 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing is the new reigning redass of MLB, and the first in-depth he-said, they-said mud-slinging about Craig Breslow and Boston’s coaching cull. Then (35:19) they Stat Blast about the longest streaks of series wins and non-losses to start a season (or at any point in a season), lapping the league in run differential, and batterymates who wer...
May 01, 2026•35 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Vinnie Pasquantino’ s new espresso machine, how the Phillies’ firing of Rob Thomson compares to Boston’s coaching overhaul and how Thomson’s dismissal both does and doesn’t make sense, Mason Miller’ s “slump,” Shohei Ohtani’ s WAR distribution, Max Scherzer’ s major league last gasp, Travis Bazzana’ s debut, and how the Mexican League’s Diablos Rojos have handled high altitude. Then (55:48) they talk to Jason Benetti , TV voice of the Tigers and new lead...
Apr 30, 2026•1 hr 54 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Red Sox suddenly sweeping their coaching staff clean, projected contenders off to even worse starts than the Sox, MLB offense in Mexico City, a double ball-strike challenge, Kyle Harrison as the new Quinn Priester , and Kevin McGonigle out-phenoming Konnor Griffin , then Stat Blast (38:37) about Brandon Phillips and major league afterlives, teams hitting for the homer cycle in a single inning, and individual net five-homer games. Then (53:38) they ta...
Apr 28, 2026•1 hr 39 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . 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 t...
Apr 25, 2026•45 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about vagueposting screenshots of Baseball Savant percentiles, a Ron Darling comment during the Mets’ 12th consecutive loss about why pitchers shouldn’t apologize to batters for throwing inside, team-level changes in pitch usage and results this season, why MLB partly escaped the NBA’s tanking epidemic, why relievers are struggling so far, baseball parallels to track’s quest to produce lighter shoes, and an EW listener meetup tool (password: EW2026), then Stat...
Apr 23, 2026•1 hr 49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Scott Boras talking turkey, a heartwarming player-fan interaction, two more unintentional challenges, the depths of the Mets’ predicament after their 11-game losing streak, whether Munetaka Murakami can keep up his hot, extreme start, whether hitters should stop swinging against Mason Miller , whether government regulation can improve sports streaming, and the nature of on-base streaks, then Stat Blast (1:32:34) about NL and AL Central standings oddities...
Apr 21, 2026•1 hr 59 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about another accidental challenge and listener-suggested alternatives to the head/helmet tap, the implications of the Padres’ reported sale for a record price, Mike Trout’ s resurgence and Jordan Walker ’s surge, a Stat Blast about one-man lineups, stoic responses to getting drilled by line drives, loud stadium noise, listener emails about extensions and the next CBA, tuning in...
Apr 18, 2026•31 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Kevin McGonigle’ s new contract and whether pre-arbitration extensions are still team-friendly, Tatsuya Imai ’s adjustment period, MLB’s average four-seam fastball velo nearing 95 mph, a new frontier in catcher’s interference calls, and whether a new challenge signal should replace the head/helmet tap, then (1:21:02) Stat Blast about a historic scoring day, games in which the score most often matched the inning, homering against all other teams while pla...
Apr 16, 2026•1 hr 41 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners actually sort of sacrificing Humpy, the historically compressed standings at the start of the season, top prospects (and veteran relievers) pushing for promotions, the solution to a Kutter Crawford mystery, a faux-froyo con, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’ s rules confusion, Cade Winquest’ s quest, and more. Then (57:18) they talk to Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick about Jackie Robinson Day, the importance of telling stories about Bl...
Apr 14, 2026•1 hr 44 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon . Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the bad omen of a broken bat on an Ichiro Suzuki statue, whether Mason Miller is, at this moment, the best pitcher ever on a batter-per-batter basis, and how to label atypical pitches, then Stat Blast (30:00) about team promotional giveaways, age and debut gaps among MLB brothers, and switch-hitters who hit higher in the lineup from one side. Then (47:58) Ben talks to 88-y...
Apr 11, 2026•30 min
