Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s 500th EW episode, the architectural concept of the “Thomasson,” a forthcoming HBO documentary about Barry Bonds , the rebound of Juan Soto , common misconceptions about WAR, the declines of Noah Syndergaard and Kris Bryant , the NL West, MLB broadcasting Padres games, an MLB-MLBPA ad deal, a rules update, Francisco Álvarez’ s defense, the return of Jordan Walker , Shohei Ohtani ’s bat grip, a slowdown in injuries, and a D-III team that wins with HB...
Jun 03, 2023•1 hr 53 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Pete Alonso ‘s, um, emergency swing, the activations (6:25) of four players ( Liam Hendriks , Michael Soroka , Paul Blackburn , and Royce Lewis ), the small leads in most divisions (12:03) and the leveling out of the league (A’s aside), José Abreu ‘s first homer “trot” of the season, and an umpire comment caught on a hot mic. Then (40:15) they answer a listener email about the ball’s liveliness and follow up on a few other email answers, bring on Rob Mai...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 45 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s prediction concerning the Padres’ and Rangers’ rest-of-season performance with runners in scoring position, then (14:08) answer listener emails about the ultimate Quadruple-A player, leaving runners on base for the opposing team, immaculate-inning edge cases, tanking for Shohei Ohtani , setting up a lifelong Google Alert for a player, the 2020 season’s impact on Hall of Fame cases, and Barry Bonds with an extra-short bat, followed by (1:12:43) Stat...
May 27, 2023•1 hr 50 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the major leagues’ sudden influx of 24-year-old right-handed pitchers with the surname “Miller,” the Rays’ surprisingly precarious position in the AL East (7:48), and the Cubs, the Brewers, and the state of the NL Central (12:45), before focusing their bat-resuscitating powers on Trea Turner (17:22), with almost immediate effect. Then they talk to David Raymond , the original Phillie Phanatic performer, Gritty co-conceiver, frequent team mascot consultan...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 33 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Yordan Alvarez kissing Martín Maldonado , Will Brennan’ s birdslaughter (12:33), the Guardians’ slow start (23:12), Madison Bumgarner ’s reported reluctance to alter his pitching approach (32:49), Mike Trout passing Ken Griffey Jr. in career Baseball-Reference WAR (45:56), whether the A’s will end up historically bad or rebound to being merely abysmal (1:03:38), the firing of A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper (1:21:17), and the Dodgers’ Pride Night debacle (1:...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 53 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up with additional details about the Cardinals’ cheeseburger phone, banter about the hot hitting of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Aaron Judge , answer listener emails (31:13) about home run rituals and the unwritten rules, a prophylactic procedure to prevent Tommy John surgery, whether a runner could be safe because of his beard, the percentage of players who could be on the same statistical list as a Hall of Famer, whether pitchers fan batters or vice versa, a rapid p...
May 20, 2023•1 hr 49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the sesame-seer Cardinals using a cheeseburger phone to predict home buns (er, runs) by hitters who are dialed in, the varying fortunes of three offseason big spenders (the Mets, Padres, and Rangers) and the stakes of their success, Kumar Rocker’ s Tommy John surgery, Dustin May’ s flexor strain, the proliferation of ranked prospects, Jackson Holliday , the Orioles’ infield future, and what it takes for tanking to be justified, the need for a Lab League ...
May 19, 2023•1 hr 52 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani’ s near-cycle and newly hot hitting on days when he’s pitched, the Cardinals reinstating Willson Contreras at catcher (and Zac Gallen ’s comments on the Cardinals Way), the Sean Murphy / William Contreras / Esteury Ruiz trade revisited, post-peak Christian Yelich and the breakout of Brent Rooker , the dominant Rays’ possible vulnerability, Aaron Judge peeking while at the plate, the verdict on the shift restrictions so far, the confounding ...
May 17, 2023•1 hr 38 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Akil Baddoo taking a baseball to the beans, broadcasters describing groin shots, and players deciding whether to wear cups. Then they compare a resurgent Joey Gallo and a slumping Andrew Benintendi (20:25), recall reliever Zack Littell ’s affinity for cruise ships (33:22), forecast MLB’s international future (37:22), consider the Dodgers’ secret Ugandan academy (47:06), discuss an update on MLB’s integration of Negro Leagues stats (1:13:40), and assess t...
May 13, 2023•1 hr 47 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s recovery from COVID and the belated release of the CBA, predict how well White Sox cast-off Jake Diekman will pitch for the Rays, discuss injuries to Luis Garcia , Max Fried , Tyler Mahle , and more pitchers and investigate forearm/flexor strains as potential precursors to Tommy John surgery, react to Jack Flaherty’ s comments about his diminished velocity, assess the state of the Astros’, Mets’, and Braves’ rotations, celebrate the call-up of Marl...
May 12, 2023•1 hr 50 min
Ben Lindbergh talks to Will Leitch about the Cardinals’ horrendous start, their baffling decision to bar big free-agent addition Willson Contreras from catching, how Yadier Molina ’s legacy looms over the franchise, how Oli Marmol and John Mozeliak have handled the team’s struggles, how the rest of the season might go, and more, along with the Effectively Wild connection in Will’s new novel, The Time Has Come . Then (54:51) Ben talks to David Hrusovsky about wearing a SpongeBob costume to Guardi...
May 09, 2023•1 hr 59 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about more examples of players whose names describe what they do (like Colin Holderman ), the return of Justin Verlander , Juan Soto’ s overdue hot streak, Keynan Middleton calling out Carlos Correa , the difference between Craig Kimbrel’ s leverage and results, and how success lowers the boo threshold, then (16:22) react to excerpts from Ben’s conversation with an MLB exec about rules changes and strikeouts. After that (37:38), they bring on top-tier Patreon ...
May 05, 2023•2 hr 9 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about players being paid for on-field, in-game interviews, pitcher injuries and pitcher call-ups, how low Oakland’s attendance could go (and whether the team might bungle its move to Las Vegas), the NL West race, the AL East’s strength compared to the AL Central’s, which team invented the in-dugout home run ritual, whether the Angels should sign Gary Sánchez , Bryce Harper ’s return, the Marlins’ record in one-run games, Colin Holderman and nominative determin...
May 04, 2023•1 hr 25 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the podcast’s naming conventions, the EW reverse jinx boosting Byron Buxton , the stress of observing Jacob deGrom’ s high-wire act, Drew Maggi ’s first major league hit (off of Hobie Harris !), high-scoring, high-altitude baseball in Mexico City, MLB editing (and later restoring) an A’s highlight, White Sox fan unrest, Jazz Chisholm Jr. being mic’d up on a broadcast while batting, the standouts toward the top of the combined WAR leaderboard one month in...
May 01, 2023•1 hr 51 min
In the fourth incarnation of a time-honored tradition that recurs every 500-ish episodes, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by former co-hosts Sam Miller and Jeff Sullivan , and The Athletic ’s Grant Brisbee , to draft assorted things that they like about baseball, followed (1:37:06) by a Past Blast from 2000. Audio intro : Benny and the Jeffs, “ Effectively Wild ” Audio outro : Sam Miller, “ Effectively Wild Theme (Ken Maeda’s Nice ‘n’ Easy Remix) ” Link to Episode 500 Link to Episode 996...
Apr 29, 2023•1 hr 44 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Drew Maggi’ s major league debut and whether there should be a way for other journeyman minor leaguers to make the majors more easily, the story of short-lived Mariners mascot Spacey the Space Needle, the causes of a dramatic uptick in occurrences of catcher’s interference, Shohei Ohtani’ s anti-pitch-tipping prowess, Jordan Walker ’s demotion to the minors, the slow starts of the Cardinals and White Sox, and more, plus (1:17:03) a Past Blast from 1999 a...
Apr 28, 2023•1 hr 30 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a good time to be a Pirates fan, whether the red-hot Rays or the ice-cold A’s will regress more toward the mean over the rest of the season, Rob Manfred’s comments about A’s fans, Logan O’Hoppe’ s injury and Brandon Marsh ’s hot streak, whether Bryce Harper has Wolverine’s healing factor, a Byron Buxton catch-22, the Twins’ lack of stolen bases, rosin’s real effects, the early-season injury rate, and more. Then (1:00:20) they Stat Blast about the one pit...
Apr 26, 2023•1 hr 56 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the podcast’s semi-official new nickname for Yandy Díaz , what Mookie Betts playing shortstop says about the Dodgers, and Andrew McCutchen ’s hot start, then (15:29) answer emails about the Reds’ many mascots, why we stop at “Quadruple-A,” how good today’s 26th men would be if they traveled back in time, sticky stuff on a tacky ball, and whether MLB would ever privatize publicly accessible Statcast data, followed (47:48) by a Stat Blast about Ross Stripl...
Apr 23, 2023•1 hr 40 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the continued Yandy Díaz breakout and listeners’ suggestions for his new beef-related nickname, the greatness of post-peak Clayton Kershaw and the end of Diamondbacks Madison Bumgarner , the Oakland A’s (almost) officially leaving for Las Vegas, a Scott Boras metaphor about Juan Soto , Max Scherzer ’s sticky suspension, the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. , Rob Manfred’s comments about contract-length limitations, the Marlins walking back a Bartman promotio...
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 33 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether a remedy for former Yankees slugger Moose Skowron might help current Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton , Cody Bellinger’ s rebound and ovation violation, Domingo Germán’ s sticky start, Juan Soto’ s pitch-clock problem, Bryce Harper , hitting machines, and the future of minor-league rehab stints, whether Yandy Díaz’ s “Ground Beef” nickname no longer applies, the reduced drag of the baseball and the overall offensive environment this season, the ...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 59 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about an NPB matchup between Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki , those aces’ current talent levels and MLB futures, how velocity has climbed in NPB compared to MLB, and how stealing bases seems to be the one thing Shohei Ohtani (and, for that matter, Mike Trout ) can’t do. Then (18:52) they follow up on earlier conversations about Cast Away , playing baseball on top of a tall building, and a pitcher who throws an unhittable pitch, discuss partial runs (26:53)...
Apr 15, 2023•1 hr 59 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the hot start by Jarred Kelenic and when to believe in a breakout, Jo Adell and the mystery of quadruple-A players, the odds of no Marlin hitting for the cycle until Luis Arraez did it this week, the Rays’ record-tying 13th straight win, new reports about new rules, and more. Then (51:12) they answer listener emails about the best urban, non-ballpark setting for baseball, the MLB player they would most want to be stranded with on a desert island (with a ...
Apr 14, 2023•1 hr 35 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a wave of injuries around MLB, affecting Oneil Cruz , Adam Duvall , Ian Anderson , and several other players, the Rays’ undefeated start, the hot starts of James Outman , Miguel Vargas , and Jason Heyward , the sensual stance of J.D. Davis , silly team celebrations, the Rocket City Trash Pandas’ no-hit loss, a downturn in pitch spin, the lack of a downturn in position player pitching, pickoff attempts and game theory, running out the clock on an intentio...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 43 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Star Wars emergency and (5:17) an nVenue Apple odds update, then (8:57) answer listener emails about how good a team has to be to convince people that it’s cheating, a hypothetical Mike Trout ultimatum about Shohei Ohtani , whether MLB would ban a real-life Sidd Finch, whether not having to bat makes pitchers more likely to hit batters, which teams will have the most and fewest pitch-clock violations, clock-defeating schemes using baseballs and beach b...
Apr 08, 2023•1 hr 49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Ben should apply for a full-time job covering Shohei Ohtani , MLB seeking a pitch-clock sponsor, the brilliance of Sandy Alcantara , clock violations leading to ejections, post-Opening Day call-ups for top prospects (most notably Grayson Rodriguez ), Alcantara compared to Jacob deGrom , the feud between Tyler O’Neill and Oli Marmol, whether teams in last place will stay there, early playoff odds changes, neither overreacting nor underreacting to ...
Apr 07, 2023•1 hr 28 min
Ben Lindbergh and Noah Woodward of the newsletter The Advance Scout discuss Noah’s front-office career, the impact of the MLB rules changes on pace/time of game, the running game, and hitting and defense so far, how players may adapt, the questions Ben and Noah still have about the rules’ long-term effects, Rob Manfred’s characterization of analytics as “an arms race to nowhere,” and more. Then (1:00:26) Ben brings on LJ Rader of the Twitter/Instagram account Art But Make It Sports to explain ho...
Apr 04, 2023•1 hr 59 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the joy of Opening Day and other news, including early reactions to the new rules, Rob Manfred’s comments about the ball-strike challenge system, Aaron Judge ’s first homer, the Angels’ Tungsten Arm game, a good/bad Hunter Renfroe no-look catch, a Taylor Ward name mix-up, the Giants’ latest new left fielder, a Cristian Pache press release, Buck Martinez, George Santos’s message for the Mets, the minor league CBA, an on-field proposal gone wrong (but also...
Apr 01, 2023•2 hr 9 min
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs authors Michael Baumann and Ben Clemens play “SEC Baseball Player vs. Figure Involved in the Lincoln Assassination,” banter about two umpire faux pas (3:45) and MLB’s tweaks to replay reviewing (9:45), and then (17:32) each make 10 predictions about baseball in 2023 to be voted on by listeners , followed (1:40:16) by two Past Blasts from 1987. Audio intro : Ian Phillips, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : The Baseball Project, “ All Future and No Pa...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 51 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about prospects who have ( Jordan Walker , Anthony Volpe ) and haven’t ( Grayson Rodriguez , Brett Baty ) made Opening Day rosters and MLB’s player-centric PSAs about the new rules, then complete their 2023 season preview series by discussing the Atlanta Braves (15:07) with Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game, and the Colorado Rockies (53:50) with Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette , plus a Past Blast from 1986 (1:26:07), trivia answers (1:30:00), a Stat Blas...
Mar 28, 2023•1 hr 49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the advisability of suspending the pitch clock in certain high-stakes situations, some last-minute spring-training tweaks to the clock’s operation, and MLB’s marketing campaign about the new rules, then continue their 2023 season preview series by discussing the San Diego Padres (30:15) with AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, and the Cincinnati Reds (1:15:40) with C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic , plus a Past Blast from 1985 (1:54:31), trivia answers (1:59:57),...
Mar 24, 2023
