In a special narrative episode of Effectively Wild , Ben Lindbergh traces the parallels between baseball’s latest sign-stealing crisis and an almost 60-year-old sign-stealing scandal that caused a comparable upheaval in the sport, drawing on archival clips, contemporary music, and interviews with author Paul Dickson and former major leaguers Eddie Robinson , Al Worthington , and Jay Hook to explore how illicit sign stealing starts, whether players can prevent it, and why it keeps recurring. Audi...
Feb 24, 2020•42 min
Will we see baseball’s sign stealers in court, or will attempts to take legal action be a suing and a miss? In a bonus episode of EW, Ben Lindbergh talks to sports-law expert Nathaniel Grow about the viability of and precedents for several lawsuits related to MLB’s ongoing sign-stealing scandal, as well as another case that could overturn teams’ traditional lack of liability for fan injuries sustained from foul balls. Audio intro : Lindisfarne, " Court in the Act " Audio outro : Frank Loesser, "...
Feb 22, 2020
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the AL/NL distribution of the season preview pods so far and a few notable numbers from the newly published FanGraphs playoff odds, then preview the 2020 Indians (8:11) with Sports Illustrated ’s T.J. Zuppe , and the 2020 Rangers (38:55) with The Athletic’s Levi Weaver . 2020 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG Audio intro : Della Mae, " The...
Feb 22, 2020•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about walk-off balks, a Zack Greinke oral history, and how teams will use the new 26th roster spot, break down the responses to a Jayson Stark survey of baseball insiders about the winter and upcoming season, and answer listener emails about players’ outspoken criticisms of the Astros’ sign-stealing and Rob Manfred’s response, and which transgressions might merit vacating a team’s title, plus a Stat Blast about the ultra-rare walk-off catcher’s interference. A...
Feb 20, 2020•1 hr 10 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest developments in the escalating player war of words over the Astros sign-stealing scandal, José Altuve ‘s alleged unfinished tattoo, Rob Manfred’s roundly criticized comments, Shohei Ohtani ’s new driver’s license, and a modest pay hike for minor leaguers. Then they preview the 2020 Braves (34:29) with From the Diamond host Grant McAuley , and the 2020 Phillies (1:13:37) with The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro . 2020 EW Season Preview Series AL B...
Feb 17, 2020•1 hr 47 min
In the third incarnation of a time-honored tradition that recurs every 500-ish episodes, Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Meg Rowley are joined by The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee and ex-EW cohost (and current Tampa Bay Rays “Analyst, Baseball Development”) Jeff Sullivan to draft assorted things that they like about baseball. Audio intro : Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack, " Something There " Audio outro : Jefferson Airplane, " And I Like It " Link to first draft episode Link to second draft episode Li...
Feb 15, 2020•1 hr 17 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about why the Astros sign-stealing scandal won’t go away, and the reception to the team’s first attempts to apologize. Then they preview the 2020 Angels (28:13) with The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya , and the 2020 Cardinals (1:03:49) with MLB.com’s Will Leitch . Lastly (1:37:15), Ben talks to FanGraphs’ Craig Edwards about Boston’s Mookie Betts Competitive Balance Tax myth, MLB’s reported 14-team playoff format idea, and the new three-batter-minimum rule (plus a p...
Feb 14, 2020•2 hr 8 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the remade Mookie Betts trade, the latest revelations about the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal (including “Codebreaker” and “the dark arts”), and the Mets’ failed sale to hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen. Then they preview the 2020 Cubs (46:13) with The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma , and the 2020 Diamondbacks (1:20:08) with The Arizona Republic ’s Nick Piecoro . 2020 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL...
Feb 10, 2020•1 hr 58 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about probability, the baseball significance of a Super Bowl comeback, and whether win expectancy stats are more useful for fans during or after a game (featuring a cameo from Meg Rowley, who sort of settles the debate). Then Ben and Sam preview the 2020 Padres with MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell (23:47), and the 2020 White Sox (58:32) with The Athletic’s James Fegan . 2020 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL ...
Feb 07, 2020
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley break down the three-team Mookie Betts blockbuster, analyzing the historic strangeness of a player as good and young as Mookie being moved, what it means for the Red Sox and Dodgers competitively and financially, how Red Sox fans must feel about Betts (and David Price ) being traded, why the Red Sox wanted to move Mookie and whether their reasons are sound, and what the Sox got back in Brusdar Graterol and Alex Verdugo (plus banter about the Twins’ acquisition of Ken...
Feb 05, 2020•1 hr 13 min
In the first installment of the eighth annual Effectively Wild season preview series, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller preview the 2020 Reds with The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans , and the 2020 Brewers (40:26) with The Athletic’s Derek VanRiper . 2020 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG Audio intro : Dispatch, " Begin Again " Audio interstitial : The Decemberists, " A Beginning Song " ...
Feb 03, 2020
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley recap and consider the implications of the latest and greatest analyses of the Astros’ banging scheme, which appear to show that the team’s cheating didn’t increase its offensive production in the aggregate. Then (20:08) they talk to the man who made that research possible, longtime Astros fan Tony Adams , about his epic effort to document the extent of the Astros’ banging scheme, what motivated him to spend weeks watching and listening to pitches from 2017 Astros ga...
Jan 31, 2020
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the “vibrathrob” episode, the Astros hiring Dusty Baker , Kris Bryant reportedly losing his service-time grievance, and Delmon Young raking in Australia, then answer listener emails about a disrespectful intro for Isiah Kiner-Falefa , teams patenting tactics, and the enduring legacy of Carlos Beltrán ’s NLCS-ending strikeout, plus Stat Blasts about intentional leadoff walks, plate appearances by Hall of Famers by franchise, and whether managers call for ...
Jan 30, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about umpire crew chiefs getting microphones for the 2020 season, the Reds signing Nick Castellanos and the small gaps between the top four teams in the NL Central, the Diamondbacks trading for Starling Marte and whether the Dodgers can be beaten in the NL West, and MLB getting sued over sign stealing, and then Sam makes the case for Andy Pettitte as a deserving Hall of Famer, prompting a discussion of the most challenging era in which to develop pitchers and ...
Jan 28, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mitch Haniger’ s excruciating-sounding injuries, how Mariners fans may feel about the Braves signing Félix Hernández , the winter of Nolan Arenado ’s discontent, where the Rockies went wrong, the oddness of being a baseball player, why Scott Boras believes Astros players shouldn’t apologize for stealing signs (and why he’s wrong), whether baseball could benefit from appointing an ombudsperson, and Rob Manfred’s recent comments about his second term as co...
Jan 24, 2020•1 hr 18 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller do a brief, spoiler-free followup on their Knives Out banter from the previous episode, then break down the elections of Derek Jeter and Larry Walker to the Hall of Fame, touching on the contrast between their voting trajectories, how and why Walker made it, the lone Jeter ballot holdout, the next sabermetric Cooperstown Cause célèbre, Scott Rolen vs. Omar Vizquel , the next few Hall of Fame ballots, and more. Then they banter about the Braves signing Marcell Ozuna a...
Jan 23, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the symbolism of the baseball in Knives Out (beware of slight spoilers from 4:17 to 10:32), follow up on a few reader suggestions about outside hires who could clean up the Astros, and discuss the latest developments in the sign-stealing scandal, then try to invent a new end-of-season baseball award that could catch on in an era of advanced stats and award saturation, plus a postscript on a baseball reference in an episode of Sex and the City . Audio int...
Jan 21, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller review a wild, rumor-filled Thursday in baseball, touching on Jessica Mendoza’s comments about Mike Fiers , the end of Carlos Beltrán ’s brief tenure as Mets manager, the Mets’ handling of his exit, the saga of not-Beltrán’s-niece, Twitter detectives following alleged leads about buzzers, Alex Bregman , and José Altuve , how efforts to document the banging scheme fueled the search for suspicious jerseys, MLB losing control of the sign-stealing narrative, comments on ...
Jan 18, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Red Sox firing Alex Cora , the Twins signing Josh Donaldson , an uptick in online player pettiness, fans taunting the visiting Astros, and a baseball-themed Jeopardy! clue. Then (22:30) Ben and Sam Miller banter about baseball fandom as a form of family bonding and the appeal of Remembering Some Guys and conclude by remembering something about each of the players who just appeared for the first time on the Hall of Fame ballot. Audio intro : The Walkm...
Jan 15, 2020•1 hr 41 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s report about the findings of the league’s investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing activities and the firings of Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch, touching on the appropriateness of the punishments, the new details revealed in the report, where the report fell short, why players weren’t suspended, the futures of the suspended personnel, the culpability of Luhnow, Hinch, Alex Cora, and Carlos Beltrán, when and why the sign stealing...
Jan 14, 2020
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about 2019’s non-playoff teams actually being the big buyers this winter, the six-player Rays-Cardinals trade involving Matthew Liberatore and José Martínez, working with friends, and the Mariners not making trades, then answer emails about what constitutes a blockbuster trade, the worst go-for-it trades, and whether it’s better for the fans of a losing World Series team to know that the victorious team illegally stole signs. Audio intro : Sister Sledge, " Blo...
Jan 11, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the latest revelations about Red Sox sign-stealing, MLB’s impending punishment of the Astros, and long-term sign-stealing solutions, then answer listener emails about banning executives, the offseason coverage of the Cubs and White Sox and what it means to win the winter, why bench players aren’t displayed in box scores, the merits of MLB’s approach to instituting an automated strike zone, and what makes errors and misplays memorable, plus a Stat Blast a...
Jan 10, 2020
Ben Lindbergh and a slightly light-headed Sam Miller banter about baseball and vomit and 2019 World Series Game 7 losing pitcher Will Harris signing with the Nationals, then attempt to predict what baseball will look like in the 2020s, touching on the most celebrated retirements, how high the strikeout rate will rise, how many games will be played, which tactics will come to the fore, what the most notable trends of the decade may be, whether baseball will get better or worse, and more. Audio in...
Jan 07, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Effectively Wild: Multisport Sabermetrics Exchange Basketball/Football Hockey/Cricket Golf/Tennis Soccer/Rugby Esports/Volleyball NASCAR/Cycling Diversity and Inclusion In the final (for now) installment of a special, seven-episode series on the past, present, and future of advanced analysis in non-baseball sports, Ben Lindbergh talks to sabermetric pioneer Sherri Nichols about her trailblazing work in baseball analysis and then data scientist and sports entrepreneur Tiffany Kelly (41:02) about ...
Jan 03, 2020•1 hr 23 min
Effectively Wild: Multisport Sabermetrics Exchange Basketball/Football Hockey/Cricket Golf/Tennis Soccer/Rugby Esports/Volleyball NASCAR/Cycling Diversity and Inclusion In the sixth installment of a special, seven-episode series on the past, present, and future of advanced analysis in non-baseball sports, Ben Lindbergh talks to Motorsports Analytics founder and The Athletic writer David Smith about NASCAR and then former Garmin-Sharp and Team Sky analyst Robby Ketchell about cycling (47:48), tou...
Jan 02, 2020•1 hr 30 min
Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Meg Rowley banter about Kohl Stewart signing with the Orioles, another convoluted Scott Boras quote, and a few of the things Sam learned in 2019 (including Candlestick Park’s “Cardiac Hill,” the sound of Hideki Matsui ’s swing, and the disturbing story of “Toothpick” Sam Jones ), then discuss what the most defining/enduring baseball memory of 2019 will be. Audio intro : The Proper Ornaments, " Memories " Audio outro : Uncle Tupelo, " That Year " Link to Sam on what...
Dec 31, 2019•1 hr 26 min
Effectively Wild: Multisport Sabermetrics Exchange Basketball/Football Hockey/Cricket Golf/Tennis Soccer/Rugby Esports/Volleyball NASCAR/Cycling Diversity and Inclusion In the fifth installment of a special, seven-episode series on the past, present, and future of advanced analysis in non-baseball sports, Ben Lindbergh talks to ESports One Head of Esports Data Science Tim Sevenhuysen about esports and then Volleymetrics founder Giuseppe Vinci about volleyball (43:25), touching on the origins of ...
Dec 30, 2019•1 hr 16 min
Effectively Wild: Multisport Sabermetrics Exchange Basketball/Football Hockey/Cricket Golf/Tennis Soccer/Rugby Esports/Volleyball NASCAR/Cycling Diversity and Inclusion In the fourth installment of a special, seven-episode series on the past, present, and future of advanced analysis in non-baseball sports, Ben Lindbergh talks to StatsBomb managing editor Mike L. Goodman about soccer and then professor and soccer/rugby analyst Dr. Bill Gerrard about rugby (27:20), touching on the origins of saber...
Dec 29, 2019
Effectively Wild: Multisport Sabermetrics Exchange Basketball/Football Hockey/Cricket Golf/Tennis Soccer/Rugby Esports/Volleyball NASCAR/Cycling Diversity and Inclusion In the third installment of a special, seven-episode series on the past, present, and future of advanced analysis in non-baseball sports, Ben Lindbergh talks to Tennis Abstract founder Jeff Sackmann about tennis and then Every Shot Counts author Mark Broadie about golf (39:17), touching on the origins of sabermetrics-style analys...
Dec 28, 2019•1 hr 15 min
Effectively Wild: Multisport Sabermetrics Exchange Basketball/Football Hockey/Cricket Golf/Tennis Soccer/Rugby Esports/Volleyball NASCAR/Cycling Diversity and Inclusion In the second installment of a special, seven-episode series on the past, present, and future of advanced analysis in non-baseball sports, Ben Lindbergh talks to Evolving-Hockey.com’s Josh and Luke Younggren about hockey and then writer, commentator, and team analyst Jarrod Kimber about cricket (57:13), touching on the origins of...
Dec 27, 2019•1 hr 53 min
