Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Padres’ social-media accounts getting hacked, Scott Boras’ “volcano” comment, Hall of Fame voting results, and Jeff’s article about batting practice, then answer listener emails about team construction and the wild card, consistency and Carlos Santana, the baseball equivalents of football’s recent Super Bowl staples, the decline and comeback of four-man rotations, a knuckleball hitter, three Mike Trout hypotheticals, baseball owners opening their ...
Jan 26, 2018•1 hr 21 min
Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and ESPN’s Sam Miller conduct the fifth annual Effectively Wild Minor League Free Agent Draft, selecting 10 minor league free agents each and competing to see whose roster will accumulate the most combined major league playing time in 2018. Audio intro : Semisonic, " This Will Be My Year " Audio outro : Sloan, " Try to Make It " Link to MiLB FA list Link to EW contests and competitions spreadsheet iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Ou...
Jan 22, 2018•1 hr 9 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a few recent trade demands (or non-demands), then bring on Yahoo Sports MLB columnist Jeff Passan to talk about what’s behind baseball’s slow-moving labor market, who and/or what is to blame for the sport’s present economic stalemate, and what can be done to avert disaster. Lastly, Ben provides a brief addendum on baseball’s most and least productive names. Audio intro : Boat, " Jeff Fell Dream " Audio intro : The Simpsons, " Union Strike Song " Audio...
Jan 19, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan answer listener emails about rebuilding teams absorbing bad contracts, bad teams signing good players, an MLB amnesty clause, fans switching team allegiances, pitchers wearing jackets on the bases, how to maximize playing time with a limited number of hits, baseball on an Olympian schedule, how catchers could transition to a world with robot umps, and the effect of facing two pitchers simultaneously, plus a trio of Stat Blasts on the most valuable baseball names, ...
Jan 18, 2018•1 hr 10 min
Ben Lindbergh and a newly engaged Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s absence and return, Willson Contreras and Jon Lester, and the Astros’ and Giants’ ends of the Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen trades, respectively. Then they bring on FanGraphs writer Travis Sawchik to break down the Pirates’ past, present, and future, including their returns in the aforementioned trades, the ways in which baseball has caught up with the Pirates in the past few years, Pirates ownership continuing to cry poor, w...
Jan 17, 2018•1 hr
Ben Lindbergh talks to SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee about the Mets’ Jay Bruce signing and finding ways to engage with baseball and keep the content coming during an excruciatingly slow offseason, then brings on Forbes contributor David Seideman to talk about trends in baseball memorabilia collecting, the enduring appeal of historic relics and signatures, and the most unlikely finds and valuable discoveries in recent years. Audio intro : The Apples in Stereo, " Pine Away " Audio interstitial : Ocean...
Jan 12, 2018•57 min
Ben Lindbergh and outgoing FanGraphs Managing Editor Dave Cameron review Dave’s decision to retire from writing to take a job as an analyst in the San Diego Padres’ front office, discussing his personal and professional past and future and the past, present, and future of public and private baseball analysis. Audio intro : Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (Feat. Stevie Nicks), " Insider " Audio outro : Elvis Presley, " Padre " Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts iTunes Feed (Please rate and review ...
Jan 10, 2018•58 min
Ben Lindbergh and his Ringer MLB Show co-host Michael Baumann speculate about how the slow offseason will end, answer listener emails about sabermetrics and salary depression, sumo wrestling and the Hall of Fame, and baseball in winter weather, compare the careers of Omar Vizquel and Nomar Garciaparra, and analyze unorthodox new Padres relief pitcher Kazuhisa Makita. Then Michael makes a case for college baseball, and he and Ben talk to Justin Volman , founder and CEO of the Collegiate Baseball ...
Jan 08, 2018•1 hr 24 min
Ben Lindbergh talks to FanGraphs’ newest hire, Meg Rowley , about her transition to full-time baseball writing, becoming a professional writer after starting out in a very different occupation, and her gravitation toward increasingly less lucrative industries. Then Ben, Meg, and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell talk to Minnesota Twins Director of Baseball Operations Daniel Adler about Adler’s recent move from football front offices to a baseball front office and how the two sports differ in work culture, th...
Jan 06, 2018•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and former co-host Sam Miller of ESPN discuss what (if anything) future generations will remember about the 2017 season, then answer listener emails about an Albert Pujols hypothetical, preserving and valuing front-office secrets, whether keeping Bryce Harper would be worth carrying his brother, planning the perfect baseball-fan retirement, and whether baseball fields are shaped the way they should be, plus a Stat Blast about the sequel to Robert Gsellman’s no-swing season and an E...
Jan 03, 2018•1 hr 5 min
In the first episode of 2018, Ben Lindbergh talks to Angels GM Billy Eppler about the Angels’ active offseason, touching on Eppler’s blueprint for building a team around Mike Trout, winning the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes and his plans for the potential two-way star, the Angels’ elite infield defense and Eppler’s run-prevention philosophy, signing and evaluating Zack Cozart, how much lineup balance matters, how to cobble together a bullpen on the cheap, the Angels’ watchability, why this winter’s ...
Jan 01, 2018•39 min
In the last episode of 2017, Ben Lindbergh and guests Joe Sheehan and Rany Jazayerli analyze the Rockies’ Wade Davis signing and offseason attempt to build a super-bullpen, then reprise an old exercise by picking (and dissecting) the teams they think will win the World Series in the next five years and the teams they think won’t make the playoffs in the next four years, discussing the future of rebuilding, the vast divide between baseball’s best and worst teams, and much more along the way. Audi...
Dec 30, 2017•1 hr 6 min
Ben Lindbergh and Steven Goldman answer listener emails about the best and worst times to write about baseball (and the most and least rewarding ways to do it), Nolan Ryan’s Cy Young Award goose egg, Trevor Hoffman vs. Corey Kluber and Hall of Fame standards for relievers, Brandon Belt vs. Eric Hosmer, gaming the luxury-tax rules, the feasibility of one team signing both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, combining the Marlins and Tigers into one competent team, the catching implications of institu...
Dec 28, 2017•1 hr 21 min
With Jeff Sullivan on vacation, Ben Lindbergh brings on The Ringer’s Deputy Editor (and Binge Mode co-host) Mallory Rubin to talk about the Orioles’ bleak, in-between offseason and her wishes concerning Manny Machado. Then Ben talks to The Ringer’s Zach Kram and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans about BBWAA Hall of Fame voting patterns, C. Trent’s latest ballot, and the future of Hall of Fame voting. Audio intro : Tennis, " Baltimore " Audio interstitial : Van Halen, " Ballot or the B...
Dec 27, 2017•58 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the perplexing potential end to Manny Machado trade rumors, then bring on former major leaguer and current fun-fact star/national treasure Johnny O’Brien to discuss his life and career with the Pirates, Cardinals, and Braves in the 1950s, becoming a reluctant two-way player (and experiencing immediate, surprising success), his signing by Branch Rickey, being a “bonus baby” and skipping the minor leagues, playing in the Harvey Haddix game, forming half...
Dec 22, 2017•1 hr 6 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter (and bantler, again) about what they’ve learned about antlers and antler-rubbed bats, the Evan Longoria trade, Derek Jeter’s town-hall event with Marlins fans, and Jeff’s breakout-player pick for 2018 (and breakout player-picking philosophy). Then they debut a new Stat Blast theme song by Jessie Barbour , do a Stat Blast about Matt Adams, Adam Lind, and a player who shouldn’t have switch hit, and answer listener emails about paying minor-league players, Jas...
Dec 21, 2017•1 hr 7 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter (and bantler?) about more Marlins trade requests, the Yankees’ outlook for 2018, antler-rubbing bats vs. bone-rubbing bats, and a scout quote about Shohei Ohtani, then discuss the financial implications of the weekend’s big Braves-Dodgers trade, the effects of the luxury tax, and the latest Manny Machado trade rumors. Audio intro : Midlake, " Chasing After Deer " Audio outro : The Tragically Hip, " The Luxury " Link to post about antler-rubbed bats iTunes F...
Dec 19, 2017•55 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Zack Cozart and Carlos Santana signings and the Matt Moore trade, then answer listener emails about when it makes sense to rebuild and how the second wild card has affected that calculus, Shohei Ohtani’s intel on other teams, the competitive futures of the Cubs, Yankees, and Dodgers, how a team could benefit from controlling the schedule, Oscar Robles and hitters with weird lines on 0-2 and 3-0, what “quality control” coaches do, a team with no co...
Dec 16, 2017•59 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s Winter Meetings experience and then discuss everything that did and didn’t go down while the baseball world was in Orlando, including the Reds’ published pitch to Shohei Ohtani, Ohtani’s injury status, the Marcell Ozuna, Stephen Piscotty, and Ian Kinsler trades (and the leveled-up Angels), Manny Machado trade rumors, and more. Audio intro : The Apples in Stereo, " Where We Meet " Audio outro : Macy Gray, " I Can’t Wait to Meetchu " iTunes Feed ...
Dec 16, 2017•49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss the Giancarlo Stanton trade’s impact on the Yankees, whether and why the Marlins are an embarrassment (and where they’ll go from here), the Orioles’ attitude toward international players, and the Hall of Fame admitting Alan Trammell and Jack Morris. Then they bring on listener Lazaro Rodriguez , a certified Marlins fan, to talk about his reaction to the Stanton trade and ask him to explain why he’s still a Marlins loyalist. Audio intro : The Minus 5, " Hea...
Dec 11, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss all the implications of the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani signing, including its impact on the franchise’s short- and long-term outlook, the Ohtani-Trout tag team, the Albert Pujols conundrum at DH, and where Ohtani’s trade value ranks. Then they assess the suffering of the finalists that lost out on Ohtani and banter about Giancarlo Stanton’s trade rejections, the Mariners’ trade for Dee Gordon, the Cubs’ signing of Tyler Chatwood, Brian Cashman’s extension, and ...
Dec 09, 2017•58 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a baseball earthquake in Cleveland and the Miles Mikolas and Mike Minor signings, debunk myths about NPB pitchers and Pud Galvin, and answer listener emails about Shohei Ohtani and Chief Wahoo, Ohtani loopholes, Jerry Dipoto trading his way to Ohtani, the DH and Ohtani, free-agent players prioritizing factors other than money, how the Tigers could win the 2018 World Series, Jose Altuve’s high batting averages, “hit by pitches” vs. “hits by pitch,” pay...
Dec 07, 2017•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the latest Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani news, speculate about why some teams reportedly didn’t try to sign Ohtani, and discuss the Yankees’ surprising hiring of Aaron Boone. Then they bring on former (and future?) MLB pitcher and current Fukuoka Softbank Hawks closer Dennis Sarfate , the 36-year-old reigning MVP of Japan’s Pacific League, to talk about his transition from marginal major leaguer to record-setting NPB star, how he adapted to a re...
Dec 05, 2017•1 hr 10 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo, Shohei Ohtani’s true two-way prospects (look, there’s no other news), MLB’s extraordinarily slow November, and trampoline pitching, then talk to volcanologist Erik Klemetti about how baseball would weather volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and other fascinating but terrifying geologic events. Audio intro : Miniature Tigers, " Tell it to the Volcano " Audio interstitial : Eleanor Friedberger, " Early Earthquake " Audio outro : Elf Po...
Dec 01, 2017•1 hr 3 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter, as always, about Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as the slow start to the offseason and baseball takeaways from news about basketball and football. Then they look for players who performed better in team losses, talk about two twins, and answer listener emails about the most valuable memo writer, robot bloggers, Stanton’s opt-out clause, two Ohtani hypotheticals, Mike Trout’s defensive position and spot in the batting order, Steve Matz’s futur...
Nov 30, 2017•1 hr 18 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a slow week in baseball and the likely effects of MLB’s impending pitch clock, then talk to former front-office executive (and former FanGraphs writer) Tony Blengino about how baseball brain trusts could and should be crafting their responses to the seven questions that Shohei Ohtani’s agent recently sent to teams. Audio intro : The Tokens, " Please Write " Audio interstitial : Randy Newman, " Memo to My Son " Audio outro : Fleetwood Mac, " Homework "...
Nov 28, 2017•52 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan profess their thanks for each other, answer listener emails about the 1890s Orioles’ field manipulations, the importance of Carlos Beltran to the 2017 Astros, and how free-agent auctions would work, then welcome researcher Peter Gorton and director Paul Irmiter to talk about little-known Negro Leagues legend and scouting pioneer John Donaldson, their efforts to uncover Donaldson’s stats, and their forthcoming Donaldson documentary, 39 Seconds . Audio intro : The A...
Nov 24, 2017•55 min
After an abnormally busy baseball news day, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Aaron Judge’s shoulder surgery, Joe Morgan’s letter about steroids and the Hall of Fame, the Shohei Ohtani posting agreement, and MLB’s severe sanctions against the Atlanta Braves, then welcome listener Mike Juntunen to help them answer emails from other listeners about a Miguel Cabrera contract clause, the Hall of Fame cases of Omar Vizquel and Joey Votto, what would most amaze a time-traveling baseball fan...
Nov 22, 2017•1 hr 16 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Shohei Otani “deadline” and Braves prospect Ronald Acuna, then bring on FanGraphs managing editor Dave Cameron to discuss a dispute about WAR and valuing players between Bill James and sabermetric stat sites, the evolution of awards (and Hall of Fame) voting, why Dave expects certain teams to dictate the way the winter unfolds, and the free agents he sees as notable bargains or busts. Audio intro : Waxahatchee, " Misery Over Dispute " Audio intersti...
Nov 21, 2017•1 hr 10 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Gabe Kapler’s prospects as Phillies manager, Aaron Judge’s hard hitting, various end-of-season awards results, MLB’s baseball-studying committee, and Shohei Ohtani’s value to AL and NL teams and the difficulty of gaming the CBA to sign him, then answer listener emails about an Ohtani sign-and-trade, homegrown value vs. free-agent value, intentional walks in the automatic-IBB era, the best games to time travel to, and an odd three-way trade. Audio intr...
Nov 17, 2017•1 hr 6 min
