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
Effectively Wild: Multisport Sabermetrics Exchange Basketball/Football Hockey/Cricket Golf/Tennis Soccer/Rugby Esports/Volleyball NASCAR/Cycling Diversity and Inclusion In the first installment of a special, seven-episode series on the past, present, and future of advanced analysis in non-baseball sports, Ben Lindbergh talks to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell about football (the American kind) and then ESPN’s Kevin Pelton about basketball (48:43), touching on the origins of sabermetrics-style analysis in e...
Dec 26, 2019
Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Meg Rowley discuss the signings of Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dallas Keuchel , the Blue Jays’ historic 2019 rotation, the depleted pitching market, MLB’s rising revenue and the continued strength of spending on free agents, Jake Odorizzi and the qualifying offer, Nick Senzel’ s switch to Scott Boras, and Rich Hill ’s arrest(!), then conduct the seventh annual Effectively Wild Minor League Free Agent Draft, selecting 10 minor league free agents each and competing to see whose...
Dec 24, 2019•1 hr 30 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about whether this year’s good free agents have actually gone to an unusual selection of teams and whether they believe in Wade Miley’ s supposed pitch-tipping, and then, in the third and final installment of a three-part series, discuss stories that they overlooked about 10 more teams in 2019, touching on the Mariners’ many players (especially Kyle Lewis ), the .300-hitting Hanser Alberto , Danny Santana’ s resurgence, the joy of Ji-Man Choi , career years fo...
Dec 20, 2019•1 hr 22 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Scott Boras’s mystifying goose metaphor and then, in the second installment of a three-part series, discuss stories that they overlooked about 10 more teams in 2019, touching on a Fernando Tatis Jr. fun fact and BABIP extremes, Ian Kinsler cursing, JD Hammer , Scott Kingery , and a Phillie Phanatic dispute, Mitch Keller and another kind of extreme BABIP, the Reds’ first-inning scoring, their double double-header, and Derek Dietrich , Tim Melville , Matt ...
Dec 19, 2019•1 hr 14 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Texas-Cleveland Corey Kluber trade, the Diamondbacks signing Madison Bumgarner , the fallout from both moves, and what Kluber and Bumgarner meant to their franchises, and then, in the first installment of a three-part series, discuss stories that they overlooked about 10 teams in 2019, touching on Mike Soroka , Corbin Burnes , Tommy Edman , Dillon Maples and Robel Garcia , Edwin Ríos and Kyle Garlick , Christian Walker , Mike Yastrzemski , Don Mattin...
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 20 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball’s busy week and the Giants and Marlins moving in their outfield fences, then discuss the Angels’ signing of Anthony Rendon , touching on Rendon’s greatness and similarity to Mike Trout , what the Angels still need to do to contend and their outlook for 2020, Shohei Ohtani ’s probable workload, the Dodgers’ relatively uneventful week, what this week’s activity tells us about baseball’s free-agent market, how to talk about opportunity cost with fr...
Dec 14, 2019•1 hr 18 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller debate the merits of a possible Mike Trout fun fact, banter about Nomar Mazara and the evolving definition of “slugger,” discuss the record Gerrit Cole contract and its implications for the Yankees, the battle to be the best team in baseball, the Dodgers and Angels without Cole, baseball’s competitive balance, Scott Boras, the perplexing free-agent market, and more. Then they review the last 16 of Bill James’s 30 recent suggestions for counteracting baseball’s slowin...
Dec 12, 2019•1 hr 58 min
