Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a possible Rays franchise sale, the latest on Elly De La Cruz , Oneil Cruz , Sandy Alcantara , and Aaron Judge , Andrew Benintendi as the current face of replacement level, Nats manager Dave Martinez’s comments about coaches, and Clayton Kershaw ’s cap on Pride Night. Then (56:10) Ben brings back former guest, podcast host, and major leaguer Ross Stripling for an exit interview about his big league career, covering his greatest regrets and accomplishment...
Jun 19, 2025•2 hr 8 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the Rafael Devers trade in depth, covering why Boston made the move, the resulting fan frustration, and the Giants impact. Then (57:56) they cover bad news about Christian Montes De Oca , John Brebbia , and Johnny O’Brien before bantering about Shohei Ohtani’ s return to the mound, the Rays rotation, Charlie Morton ’s turnaround, Patrick Corbin , why the Astros are still good, Aaron Boone, and tennis-style boundary reviews. Audio intro : Beatwriter, “ Effecti...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 40 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Tarik Skubal dialing down his top-end fastball (and dominating nonetheless), Jazz Chisholm Jr.’ s self-described 70 percent effort level, Ronald Acuña Jr. hitting more and running less, whether the Blue Jays are getting what they wanted out of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , the debut of Jacob Misiorowski , Aaron Civale ’s trade request (and trade), whether it matters that the baseball is flying less far, and a correction about Barrys, plus listener emails (1:13...
Jun 14, 2025•1 hr 45 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about depictions of the pitch clock in popular media, how the lack of advancing visual fidelity in baseball broadcasts makes it harder to identify when clips come from (and other ways we might distinguish eras at a glance), Hunter Dobbins drama and why it’s harder than it used to be to fake a pro baseball career, a fan exchange program, and Jackson Jobe ’s surgery (with a Jacksons update), plus Stat Blasts (1:16:57) about the longest team streaks of one-run ou...
Jun 13, 2025•2 hr 2 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about good news and bad news for Ben’s recent Meet a Major Leaguer subject Christian Montes De Oca , Craig Kimbrel’ s short-lived return to Atlanta, the promotions of Roman Anthony and Jacob Misiorowski and a proposal for automatic call-ups, Denzel Clarke’ s incredible catch and extreme stat line (and the nature of quantifying defense), Jhonkensy Noel’ s offensive outage, two uncommon occurrences involving baseballs in strange places, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’ s mic’...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 38 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Spencer Strider ’s concerning performance, how he and Sandy Alcantara remind us that comebacks from elbow surgery aren’t automatic, and whether things are looking up for the White Sox on and off the field. Then (32:23) they bring on top-tier Patreon supporter John Thomas to banter about his background as an EW listener and baseball fan, answer listener emails (42:34) about the future of baseball’s historic cathedrals, whether sabermetrics inevitably prom...
Jun 07, 2025•2 hr 14 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Pete Alonso’ s performance since they marveled at his hot start, the return of Craig Kimbrel , Max Muncy’ s tale of two seasons, how hitters fare after LASIK, the Mets’ “secret sauce” against Shohei Ohtani , whether the Dodgers’ injury woes will hurt their capacity to recruit pitchers, Brandon Pfaadt’ s “yes hitter,” the latest step toward the challenge system, Eric Anthony ’s dad discovery and nature and nurture in player development, the underrated Wil...
Jun 06, 2025•1 hr 59 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Taylor Walls fulfilling a preseason podcast prediction by being ejected after tapping his helmet following a questionable call (and the many notifications Ben and Meg received from EW listeners), Luke Weaver’ s stretching injury, the Rockies’ purported improvement, the decline of the closer as bullpen protagonist, a miraculous softball-delivery dirt clod, an unfortunate instance of replay review, the LSU Shreveport Pilots’ undefeated college season, Jac ...
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 40 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the most exciting prospects who haven’t yet made the majors but should soon (including Jac Caglianone , Roman Anthony , Bubba Chandler , and Andrew Painter ), the struggles of once-ballyhooed trade targets Sandy Alcantara and Luis Robert Jr. , the recent rebounds of Emmanuel Clase and Devin Williams , the returns of Mike Trout , Ronald Acuña Jr. , and Spencer Strider , the differing trajectories of former Reds relievers Fernando Cruz and Alexis Díaz , th...
May 31, 2025•1 hr 33 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Rockies’ historic series losing streak and their rest-of-season projections, an Orioles fan’s decision to get the name of Trevor Rogers tattooed on his butt, a Patrick Corbin innings-eating update, draft prospect Jace LaViolette ’s dedication to staying in the lineup, the late-career struggles of Clayton Kershaw , Justin Verlander , and Max Scherzer , the Yankees’ shame about their rings commemorating their 2024 pennant, and more. Audio intro : Austi...
May 30, 2025•1 hr 34 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the new hardest-hit ball of the Statcast era, exit speeds across eras, Oneil Cruz vs. Elly De La Cruz , whether Tarik Skubal has gotten too good, Aaron Judge not feeling great at the plate, whether Rockies fans should boycott the team, how the (first) Juan Soto trade is working out for the Nationals, a Clay Holmes rotation conversion progress report, Jake Burger ’s minor league reset, a threat to Shea Langeliers’ A’s sprint speed lead, a dominant DH in D...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 41 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Rockies being so bad that mostly innocuous stories about them now seem like examples of organizational incompetence, a wild loss by a Rockies affiliate, and why recent terrible teams have been so bad, then (36:56) answer listener emails about catchers framing poorly on purpose, penalizing hitters when their bats make contact with catchers, whether the draft should be helping the worst teams more, and a potential sac-fly tactic in a walk-off situation...
May 24, 2025•1 hr 48 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Rich Hill ’s latest perfect game bid, whether the Tigers are as good as they’ve looked, Jared Jones’ elbow surgery and the Pirates’ offensive outage, Paul Skenes and whether lower arm slots will protect pitchers’ arms, Pete Crow-Armstrong and the players who’ve ascended to “main character” status this season, and more listener suggestions for what to call tandem home run robberies and homers that clear the fence due to defensive miscues. Audio intro : Gr...
May 23, 2025•1 hr 37 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Elly De La Cruz’ s unspectacular start to the season, the firing of Brandon Hyde and what it would take for them to blame a manager for a team’s disappointing season, the hubbub about Juan Soto ’s hustle, MLB’s announcement about Rivalry Weekend’s success, Kyle Schwarber and the lineage of non-Hall-of-Fame hitters who’ve appeared to have a chance at “magic number” milestones, MLB’s attempt to define the swing, the overwhelming array of Statcast stats, th...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 50 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about listener suggestions for terms for tandem home run robberies (and the opposite of home run robberies), whether it’s so O’sver in Baltimore, Jacob deGrom succeeding despite slightly less dominant stuff, and the realness of the rivalries in MLB’s inaugural “Rivalry Weekend,” then (48:46) answer listener emails about awarding hit by pitches based on location, not contact, which player actually “starts the scoring,” whether defenders should save the ball fro...
May 17, 2025•1 hr 49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Julio Rodríguez gifting a homer and then taking one away, two Red Sox outfielders teaming up to make a catch, home-run-robbery terminology, Conor Jackson and remembering some guys who were good for your fantasy team, pouring one out for the Austin Barnes Dodgers era, lopsided scores, and the A’s, then (55:30) discuss Pete Rose ’s reinstatement from the permanently ineligible list: why it happened, what it means, and what’s next. Audio intro : Kite Person...
May 16, 2025•1 hr 44 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about an expert’s stance on stretching, whether the White Sox were the funniest team for the new Pope to support, what Paul Skenes signing up for the WBC signifies, an optimistic take on the odds of a lost season, Bud Black’s firing and the dreaded “vote of confidence,” Roki Sasaki’ s struggles, a petty Shohei Ohtani , how opposing teams have handled Aaron Judge , a Javier Báez rebound, sliding mitts as fashion accessories, a real-time reaction to a Rich Hill ...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 47 min
Ben Lindbergh and Ben Clemens of FanGraphs banter about the latest positional drama regarding Rafael Devers , then discuss whether and why pitchers leaguewide are Yu Darvish -ing and Tyler Holton -ing—that is, throwing more pitch types, and varying their pitch types more based on batter handedness—before answering listener emails about home strike zones and combining bad teams to make a good team. Then (44:42) Ben continues the “baseball jobs” series by bringing on Adam Auer , major league dieti...
May 10, 2025•2 hr 30 min
It’s a baseball-book bonanza! Ben Lindbergh rounds up the authors of three new baseball books for conversations about their work and our relationships with the past. First he talks to John W. Miller about his biography of Earl Weaver, The Last Manager , Weaver’s wiring and sabermetric intuition, and the diminished role and reputation of managers. Then (48:16) he brings on Will Bardenwerper to discuss his book, Homestand , the contraction of the minor leagues, and baseball as a social bond. Final...
May 09, 2025•2 hr 11 min
Ben Lindbergh brings on Brandon Uffner, an Orioles and Braves fan, to talk about his two teams’ slow starts to the season, his prescription for fixing them, how he came to root for them, managing his competing loyalties, and more. Then (36:01) he talks to Austin, a White Sox and Rockies fan, about both of his teams bottoming out and how that has or hasn’t affected his appetite for baseball. Finally, (1:04:59), Frequent Stat Blast Correspondent Ryan Nelson joins to deliver several Stat Blasts. Au...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 46 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mike Trout’ s latest injury, Pete Alonso ’s renaissance, a Daulton Varsho recovery catch, Andrés Muñoz the cat guy, and the called strike zone (sort of) shrinking. Then (40:49) they bring on top-tier Patreon supporter Carson Otter to talk about his background with baseball and the podcast, share his baseball-related work experience, and answer listener emails about home teams hiring umpires, the one Statcast stat about Babe Ruth they would want, and a wa...
May 03, 2025•1 hr 57 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the unexpected power of Meg’s Mariners (and Jorge Polanco , specifically), in contrast to the Rangers’ unexpectedly light-hitting lineup. They also discuss a Jackson Chourio comment about Julio Rodríguez , the long-awaited comeback of Lance McCullers Jr. and the thus-far-deflating comeback of Sandy Alcantara , the literally diminished Mookie Betts , Jose Altuve ’s self-knowledge, a Rockies theory, and the existence of Maverick Handley . Then (38:11) Meg ...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 58 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Roki Sasaki and the Dodgers’ bidets, baseball in The Last of Us , The Simpsons , and the (future) work of Lin-Manuel Miranda, walk-off groundouts, two possibly botched calls, Jesús Luzardo and how skilled teams are at evaluating medicals, a four-homer effort in a loss, the unexpectedly exciting NL West race, and Rob Manfred and Pete Rose , plus follow-ups on towering bat flips, players kissing, unequal leg lengths, and more. Audio intro : Alex Glossman a...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 46 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a new contender for the highest bat flip, meet major leaguers (14:28) Ryan Johnson and Alan Roden , and (48:35) answer listener emails about how different baseball would be if losses were free for fans and wins cost extra, whether the Rockies will finish in first before the Dodgers finish in last, whether umpires would stand somewhere else in a full-ABS situation, the record for career games pitched without a decision, catcher’s gear designed for a one-k...
Apr 26, 2025•1 hr 53 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about old-pitcher comebacks (or dropoffs), James Wood’ s inefficient excellence, Aaron Judge ’s potentially unparalleled peak, whether pitching to contact pays, a possible Paul Skenes change, a base-stealing update, private equity’s MLB plans, and Rob Manfred’s feelings on fandom. Audio intro : Tom Rhoads, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Guy Russo, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to Ella Black series Link to Ella Black event details Link to MLBTR on H...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr 27 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about EW’s Ella Black series and catch up on topics they missed during the week away from regular episodes, including: some struggling teams (including the Orioles and Braves), Cal Raleigh’ s (and David Rubenstein’s) bobbleheads, an Atlanta kerfuffle involving Brian Snitker, Ronald Acuña Jr. , and Jarred Kelenic , recent pitcher injuries, Pete Alonso’ s slugging and running, Juan Soto’ s lineup protection, a Dodgers trade rumor, hitters tapping their helmets, ...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 50 min
Ella Black was the first woman to write about baseball for a national publication—if her name was Ella Black, and if she was a woman. On Ella Black: Lost and Found , a three-part scripted series from Effectively Wild , Ben Lindbergh explores what we know about the enigmatic trailblazer and tries to solve some of the mysteries that have surrounded her ever since she debuted—and, just as suddenly, disappeared—in 1890. On Part 3, “Ella’s Legacy,” Ben reveals what he’s learned (and what we may never...
Apr 19, 2025•1 hr 43 min
Ella Black was the first woman to write about baseball for a national publication—if her name was Ella Black, and if she was a woman. On Ella Black: Lost and Found , a three-part scripted series from Effectively Wild , Ben Lindbergh explores what we know about the enigmatic trailblazer and tries to solve some of the mysteries that have surrounded her ever since she debuted—and, just as suddenly, disappeared—in 1890. On Part 2, “Ella’s Season,” Ben chronicles Ella’s coverage of baseball’s civil w...
Apr 16, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Ella Black was the first woman to write about baseball for a national publication—if her name was Ella Black, and if she was a woman. On Ella Black: Lost and Found , a three-part scripted series from Effectively Wild , Ben Lindbergh explores what we know about the enigmatic trailblazer and tries to solve some of the mysteries that have surrounded her ever since she debuted—and, just as suddenly, disappeared—in 1890. On Part 1, “Ella’s Legend,” Ben introduces Ella, explains the circumstances that...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the acceptable circumstances (if any) for a bobblehead of a team owner, the Grand Junction Jackalopes belatedly embracing their destiny as the “Chubs,” and more, then (29:35) review and discuss the Netflix documentary The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox , followed by a tease for an upcoming Effectively Wild scripted series and (1:26:37) follow-ups. Audio intro : El Warren, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “...
Apr 12, 2025
