Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the beginning of the 2022 division series preview series, rant about the reinstitution of the zombie runner, applaud the advent of the Ohtani Rule, follow up on a previous Stat Blast by recounting the most consecutive defensive plays a fielder has ever been involved in, and relate an unforgivable Scott Boras pun, then (35:59) bring on R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports to preview the 2022 season in the American League Central, team by team. Audio intro : Yo La ...
Mar 24, 2022•1 hr 47 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Reddit description of the podcast, the pleasures of watching spring training games, and the possibly excessive coffee consumption of White Sox DH Gavin Sheets , before discussing the last burst of big free-agent signings, including Carlos Correa ’s shocking contract with the Twins, Trevor Story to the Red Sox, Nick Castellanos to the Phillies, Jorge Soler to the Marlins, and Kenley Jansen to the Braves, plus musings on Michael Conforto as the last high...
Mar 22, 2022•1 hr 23 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about new details about Freddie Freeman and Kris Bryant ’s contracts, Stat Blast about players not touching the ball, and then (18:59) bring on Effectively Wild listener and Patreon supporter Kevin Brotzman to discuss being an Orioles fan and season-ticket holder and answer listener emails about whether Goodhart’s law will apply to WAR figures used in the new CBA, updating baseball terminology to be more inclusive, fans bragging about their teams’ titles, aban...
Mar 19, 2022•1 hr 26 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley continue to break down a busy, chaotic week in MLB by bantering about which was wilder, this week or the week leading up to the lockout, then breaking down the Rockies signing Kris Bryant , the Dodgers signing Freddie Freeman , the Blue Jays trading for Matt Chapman and the new AL East hierarchy, the Yankees re-signing Anthony Rizzo and largely confounding their fans, the Red Sox staying idle, Kyle Schwarber going to Philly and Zack Greinke returning to K.C., the Cub...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 18 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a packed few days of post-lockout action, including news about the zombie runner and a ball-strike challenge system, Fernando Tatis Jr.’ s fractured wrist and motorcycle mayhem, Pete Alonso ‘s close call, Mike Trout ’s vetoed position change, the Yankees and Mets potentially losing unvaxxed players in home games, and how nice it is to talk about non-lockout-related news. Then they discuss transactions, including the Braves’ bittersweet decision to move o...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 34 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Cardinals breaking the post-lockout free-agent signing seal, what the pre-Opening Day market will look like, day-after reflections on the new CBA (including an alternative term for tanking), the benefits and drawbacks of MLB broadcasts on streaming services, how Canadian vaccination policies could affect the Blue Jays, the advent of WARdle, weather splits at FanGraphs, the podcast’s season preview plans, why the international draft is subject to coll...
Mar 11, 2022•1 hr 26 min
After 99 days of lockout, the voice of the turtle speaks up, and the season is saved. Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley exuberantly respond to the news of a new CBA, breaking down the major on-field and off-field provisions in the deal and discussing the worst-cast scenario averted, the imminent prospect of spring training and Opening Day, the way the lockout was covered, what will happen next, and more. Audio intro : AC/DC, “ Play Ball ” Audio outro : Sam Cooke, “ Good Times ” Link to Jay Jaffe’s CB...
Mar 11, 2022•1 hr 14 min
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs author Dan Szymborski discuss the drawbacks and virtues of expanded playoffs, the ideal expanded-playoff format, and the biggest beneficiaries of playoff expansion in 2022, why the competitive balance tax functions as a soft cap and how MLB could actually promote competitive integrity, whether banning the shift is a bad idea and their general attitudes toward rules changes, the plight, projections, and possible destinations of Seiya Suzuki , free-agent de...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley answer listener emails about shortening the regular season, whether baserunners could tunnel under the basepaths, creating a fictional top prospect, whether umpires expanding and contracting the strike zone lengthens games, where the Hall of Fame should have been located, aesthetically pleasing pitching motions, and whether Statcast could improve the fan experience at the ballpark, plus a Stat Blast (1:02:54) about the minor league affiliates with the longest streaks...
Mar 05, 2022•1 hr 34 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by Evan Drellich , senior writer for The Athletic , to talk about the benefits and drawbacks of reporting from the scene of the CBA negotiations, the proper composition of photos of executives walking to meetings, not getting hoodwinked by sources, whether there really was optimism about a deal leading up to the MLB-imposed deadline for delaying the start of the season, whether MLB tried to sneak proposals past players overnight, whether the owners are try...
Mar 04, 2022•1 hr 1 min
In the hours immediately following MLB’s decision to cancel the first two series of the regular season, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by Ben’s colleagues from The Ringer and The Ringer MLB Show , Michael Baumann and Zach Kram , to recap the negotiations leading up to this week’s MLB-imposed deadlines, lament and lambast the owners’ self-interested stewardship of the sport, explain the queasy sensation of simultaneously rooting for and against baseball being played, and forecast how and...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a week of many meetings but no breakthroughs between MLB and the MLBPA, Liberty Media’s financial disclosures about the Braves’ profitability, the prospects of a labor deal before the owners’ deadline for starting the season on time, and more, then (25:22) talk to historian and author Kerry Yo Nakagawa, the founder and director of the non-profit Nisei Baseball Research Project, about the history of baseball in Japan, the development of baseball in the Ja...
Feb 26, 2022•1 hr 20 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen and national writer Kevin Goldstein for a FanGraphs Prospects Week discussion centered on the site’s Top 100 (or Top 114) prospects ranking, touching on the swift fall of MacKenzie Gore , the scarcity of pitchers toward the top of the list, whether there was a debate about the no. 1 prospect, the future of Adley Rutschman , the glut of catching prospects and how robo umps could affect the position, Oneil ...
Feb 25, 2022•1 hr 22 min
In an all-mailbag episode, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley answer listener emails about baseball with nine DH spots (and separate offensive and defensive units), baseball with eight lineup spots instead of a DH, a visual baseball rulebook, their favorite types of ballpark quirks, adjusting offensive stats for the behavior of the ball, an ethical question about preventing a Shohei Ohtani injury, anointing MLB’s biggest heel, bringing ultimate Frisbee’s self-officiating to baseball, posting the wrong...
Feb 22, 2022•1 hr 35 min
Inspired by the loophole-exposing chicanery of former player and manager Eddie “The Brat” Stanky , Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley draft 19 MLB rule changes that were solely or largely precipitated by one player, manager, coach, or owner. Audio intro : We Are Scientists, “ Rules Don’t Stop ” Audio outro : Pezband, “ Eddie’s Pals ” Link to A Game of Inches Link to A Game of Inches intro Link to King Kelly myth Link to archaic/obsolete rule changes Link to story about Chapman and new balls Link to mo...
Feb 19, 2022•1 hr 44 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s embarrassing use of a definite article, the latest non-developments in the MLB-MLBPA CBA discussions, the career and retirement of Ryan Zimmerman , a rejected extension offer to the new Nationals franchise player, Juan Soto , a digital recreation of Truist Park and what “the metaverse” means, the outcome of the Erik Kay trial, MLB aiming to downsize the minor leagues more, a baseball rule proposal known as “The Scramble,” and a listener email about...
Feb 18, 2022•1 hr 17 min
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Baseball Prospectus editor-in-chief Craig Goldstein discuss the owners’ latest CBA counterproposal, why analyzing Competitive Balance Tax surcharges isn’t exactly riveting, where the owners and players are still furthest apart, why the deadlock is about money—and not even that much money—more so than structural change, MLB’s argument for not paying minor leaguers during spring training, ethical consumption under capitalism, daydreaming about a better-run MLB, how a...
Feb 15, 2022•1 hr 21 min
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Joe Sheehan of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter discuss MLB’s approach to promoting sports betting and concerns about the integrity of games, then go over some of the most common misconceptions and flawed arguments about MLB labor relations, economics, and competitive balance (plus a postscript about listener nominations for potential MLB multisport players). Audio intro : Buffalo Springfield, “ Everybody’s Wrong ” Audio outro : The Resonars, “ The World is Wron...
Feb 11, 2022•1 hr 14 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball equivalents of a stat about the New York Nets’ former big three, review Rob Manfred’s comments to the press about the labor situation (with an emphasis on his assertion about MLB teams being bad investments), Stat Blast (29:05) about players who batted at the bottom of the order after hitting 300-plus homers, and (45:15) talk to Kenyon College economics professor Jaret Treber about what his and other economists’ research has revealed about the i...
Feb 11, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up on or banter about minor league free agent draftee reportedly Matt Shoemaker departing for the NPB, raising kids to root for one franchise, precedents for out-of-nowhere sports video game cover models, players nominated by listeners for the nickname “Three-and-Two,” the possible effects of MLB suspending drug testing during the lockout, and Mike Trout ’s endearing recent social media activity, then (39:00) draft the MLB players they would most want to see p...
Feb 09, 2022•1 hr 22 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest lockout stalemate and how to decide where to lay blame, a changing of the umpirial guard in which Joe West (finally) leaves and John Libka enters, and whether there could be an MLB equivalent of the NFL’s current tanking scandal, then answer listener emails about watching baseball during the playoffs, whether to raise a child to root for the Yankees or Red Sox, the root of Hall of Fame culture, the criteria for becoming a baseball cover model,...
Feb 05, 2022•1 hr 32 min
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs writer Dan Szymborski briefly set aside the lockout blues to discuss the current state of rosters and projected standings, touching on how the talent still available via free agency compares to previous offseasons at the same stage, how the division races stack up today, the weakest-projected team positions, the best-projected players, the teams that have the most and least to do when the transaction freeze finally thaws, and much more. Audio intro : The ...
Feb 04, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley ask their audience how to handle their team preview podcast series with the resolution of the lockout still in doubt, then banter about Shohei Ohtani becoming the cover model for MLB The Show 22 , “Big Boss” Tsuyoshi Shinjo pioneering a new model of major league manager for the Nippon Ham Fighters, and the alternate-timeline MLB career of former Expos draftee Tom Brady. Then (44:19) they discuss what would be covered in an “Eleventh Inning” of Ken Burns’s Baseball if...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 16 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about one of Ben’s most laborious baseball-writing experiences, answer listener emails about playing MLB games at minor league affiliates’ parks, how scouting reports affect the times-through-the-order penalty, and what they would do if they discovered that Roberto Clemente had been credited with one hit too many, share a Stat Blast (36:20) about times when the best hitters in each league (and best pitchers in each league) played in the same city, and then (46...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 17 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about FanGraphs adding fancy “photograph” technology and whether Dick Monfort is any better at collective bargaining than he is at running the Rockies, then discuss the pioneering lives and careers of 2022 Hall of Fame inductees/honorees Bud Fowler and Jack Graney and Graney’s dog mascot Larry, with detours into Yankees mascot Dandy, whether dogs are eligible for the Mascot Hall of Fame and, yes, whether bat boys and bat girls violate child labor laws. Audio i...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the election of David Ortiz , the ballot banishments of Barry Bonds , Roger Clemens , and Curt Schilling , and the rest of the Hall of Fame voting results (including Scott Rolen ’s auspicious surge), react to reports about the latest labor talks (with an emphasis on the problems with using public WAR metrics to determine pre-arbitration bonuses), wonder why the Giants avoided the Kevin Gausman market, marvel at the virtues of throwing fastballs right dow...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 27 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the demise of the Rays’ two-city, split-season scheme, Carlos Correa hiring Scott Boras as his agent, and Brandon Gomes of the Dodgers becoming the latest ex-player to ascend to GM, then (31:18) talk about numerous listener nominations of baseball events that predated the podcast that would have made great fodder for Effectively Wild, before closing with a Stat Blast (1:05:20) about the biggest intra-season gaps between Triple-A and MLB performance (plus...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 24 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley lean into the lockout by exploring two antecedents to today’s MLB labor stalemate. First, they banter with Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated about whether the Hall of Fame Vote Tracker has helped or hurt Hall of Fame conversations, then talk to Emma about the Players’ League, a short-lived but groundbreaking 19th-century rival to the National League that was founded by and for players, touching on the origins of the reserve clause, the Players’ League’s rapid ri...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 32 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley reconnect with former cohost Sam Miller to discuss what he’s been up to since he stopped working for ESPN in December 2020, how the 2021 Giants rekindled his fandom, the pros and cons of paying attention to projections, what (if anything) he’s missed about covering baseball professionally, his plans for the future, the virtues of trying new things, doing dishes, and more. Audio intro : Donovan, “ Skip-A-Long Sam ” Audio outro : Ohio Players, “ Here Today and Gone Tom...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs writer Ben Clemens banter about a few details of MLB’s latest labor proposal to the players, the conclusion of and possible confounding factors behind a Bill James study about how switching teams affects a player’s chances of Hall of Fame induction, another historic hire of a woman in baseball, and a prospective “Lab League” logo, then (22:52) extend a cherished podcast tradition by conducting the ninth annual Effectively Wild Minor League Free Agent Draf...
Jan 15, 2022•1 hr 19 min
