Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Aaron Judge having been teammates with both Taylor Ward and Tyler Wade , a revelation about the late-season health of Elly De La Cruz , and the hidden value of multiposition players such as Mauricio Dubón , then (38:22) answer listener emails about the terms “baseball lifer” and “double-barrel action,” when bases-loaded situations are separate, how to count innings, a weird double play, how to classify switch-hitters, non-switch-hitters who should consid...
Nov 22, 2025•1 hr 40 min
Ben, Meg, Michael Baumann, Ben Clemens, and Chris Hanel congregate to review the results of the 2025 minor league free agent draft (11:45) and recap their 40 bold preseason predictions (19:01), following quick games of “2025 College World Series Starting Pitching Matchup or First Amendment Supreme Court Case” (2:58) and “Cedar Rapids Kernel or Character in the Star Wars Universe” (7:42). Audio intro : The Shirey Brothers, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Daniel Leckie, “ Effectively Wild...
Nov 21, 2025•1 hr 37 min
Ben and Meg banter about the benefits of baseball supporting longer careers than some other sports (inspired by LeBron James becoming the first NBA player to make it to a 23rd season), the Mariners re-signing Josh Naylor , four free agents accepting qualifying offers, the Orioles and Angels swapping Grayson Rodriguez and Taylor Ward , whether teams will find/develop the next Kyle Hendricks , MLB’s unveiling of its new/old broadcast partners, and some news about the WPBL. Audio intro : Alex Ferri...
Nov 20, 2025•1 hr 43 min
Ben and Meg banter about Based Boras vs. Borscht Belt Boras and a few corny quips they overlooked, then discuss end-of-season awards ( Aaron Judge vs. Cal Raleigh , Paul Skenes vs. Cristopher Sánchez , Skenes as a paid pitchman, José Ramírez MVP shares, Shohei Ohtani ’s dog vs. Judge’s dogs, repetition among award winners, groupthink among voters, WAR preference, bringing back old-school awards, and more) before touching on the news that Padres ownership is exploring a sale. Then (1:13:43) Micha...
Nov 15, 2025•1 hr 49 min
Ben and Meg banter about a hotel-lobby shrine to Addison Barger and Scott Boras wordplay at the GM meetings, Stat Blast (25:50) about Paul DePodesta’s comeback, POBO percentage, postseason questions, and Mike Greenwell , and (1:01:07) conduct the 11th annual free agent contract over/under draft, plus a Boras postscript. Audio intro : Beatwriter, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “ Effectively Wild Theme (Pedantic) ” Link to Barger story Link to Marriot...
Nov 13, 2025•1 hr 39 min
Ben and Meg break down the federal indictment of Emmanuel Clase and Luis L. Ortiz , including the documentary and statistical evidence of their alleged pitch-fixing, the implications for the sport and sports gambling, the unanswered questions, the dark comedy, and more (plus a real-time reaction to an MLB betting reform and an answer to an email about parenting in the age of ubiquitous sports-betting ads). Audio intro : Ted O., “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Jonathan Crymes, “ Effectiv...
Nov 11, 2025•1 hr 49 min
Ben and Meg banter about the Rockies reportedly hiring Paul DePodesta as their new head of baseball operations, another managerial hiring, MLB’s World Series ratings bonanza, the resurgence of the splitter, the Royals extending Salvador Perez , and more. Then (44:30) they bring on Ben Clemens to discuss his ranking of this offseason’s top 50 free agents, the strengths and weaknesses of the class as a whole, some notable free agents from Kyle Tucker on down, players he’s high/low on, and how the ...
Nov 07, 2025•1 hr 38 min
Ben and Meg banter about the slightly shorter-than-usual duration of the offseason, how big the WBC will be, and a few managerial hirings. After that (41:53), they talk to FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen about Munetaka Murakami and this offseason’s most promising free agents from international leagues, what we’ve learned about Roki Sasaki and the factors that predict MLB success for NPB/KBO players, and MLB’s winter moratorium on amateur scouting. Audio intro : Philip Bergman, “...
Nov 05, 2025•1 hr 35 min
Ben and Meg banter about all the highlights of World Series Game 7, with a side of World Series Game 6, break down the appeal of the now-completed postseason, and discuss what teams might take away from the success of 2025’s pennant winners. Audio intro : Guy Russo, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Sean .P, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to Ben’s post-G7 story Link to cWPA data Link to Dan S. on the Dodgers Link to Neil Paine on the Dodgers Link to Passan on Yamamoto/Rojas Link to Tango...
Nov 04, 2025
Ben and Meg banter about Trey Yesavage’ s performance in World Series Game 5, whether he’s already provided a career’s worth of value to Toronto, his current prospect ranking, and his future, plus Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’ s steady postseason production vs. Shohei Ohtani’ s clustered postseason production, covering the regular season like we cover the postseason, why the Dodgers’ bats have gone cold, Teoscar Hernández’ s outfielding, Mookie Betts’ future at shortstop, what the World Series says abo...
Oct 31, 2025•1 hr 40 min
Ben and Meg banter about Magic Johnson’s Game 5 preview, Game 4 observations, belated Game 2 takes on Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Jonas Brothers, Addison Barger’ s sleepovers and doppelgangers, David Popkins’ impact on the Jays, another Cal Raleigh award win, Bryce Harper ’s hurt feelings, and more. Audio intro : Luke Lillard, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Jimmy Kramer, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to Magic tweet Link to Stephen A. clip Link to “catbird seat” Link to Paine’s researc...
Oct 30, 2025•1 hr 31 min
Ben and Meg banter about and draft their favorite 18 moments (one for each inning!) from an endlessly entertaining, and almost just plain endless, World Series Game 3. Audio intro : Grant Brisbee, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Alex Glossman and Ali Breneman, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to Ben on Game 3 Link to Laurila on Game 3 Link to Baumann on Game 3 Link to Andrews on Game 3 Link to Clemens on Game 3 Link to Wegner’s Umpire Scorecard Link to Barger/Schneider story Link to Verd...
Oct 29, 2025•1 hr 47 min
Ben and Meg banter about Ben’s trip to a World Series-obsessed city, whether Game 1 of a best-of-seven series can be “must-win,” the Jays-as-underdogs narrative, the global audience for the matchup, and a few factors they’re following throughout the series, before reacting to two California clubs’ managerial hirings: the Angels’ choice of Kurt Suzuki and the Giants’ choice of Tony Vitello (plus a postgame postscript). Audio intro : Gabriel-Ernest, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Philip ...
Oct 25, 2025•1 hr 45 min
Meg Rowley and guest co-host Ben Clemens of FanGraphs discuss the conclusion of the ALCS, including Dan Wilson ’s decision to the turn to Eduard Bazardo to face George Springer with runners on in the seventh rather than bring in a higher-leverage reliever like Andrés Muñoz . Then they preview the upcoming World Series between the Blue Jays and the Dodgers, highlighting a few matchups they think might prove to be important in determining the winner. Audio intro : Justin Peters, “ Effectively Wild...
Oct 23, 2025•1 hr 18 min
In the hours before an ill-fated (for the Mariners) ALCS Game 7, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the state of Meg’s fan feelings and the highlights, lowlights, managerial moves, and more from Games 5 and 6. Then they discuss Shohei Ohtani ’s instantly legendary NLCS Game 4 performance (plus postscript). Audio intro : Kite Person, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Ted O., “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to sign up for Patreon Link to Little reasoning Link to Ben on the Ohtani Gam...
Oct 21, 2025•1 hr 34 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about ALCS Game 4 and NLCS Game 3, with an emphasis on Max Scherzer’ s must-win mentality and why his hyped-up mound and start-day demeanor stops just short of scanning as too intense, the Dodgers’ likeability (or lack thereof), and repetitive promos. Then (as Meg sporadically exclaims about the beginning of ALCS Game 5), they discuss how the Tigers should approach Tarik Skubal’ s contractual/financial future, followed by a postscript featuring snippets of rea...
Oct 18, 2025•1 hr 37 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the effect of road dominance on the postseason spectator experience and discuss NLCS Game 2 and ALCS Game 3, touching on Yoshinobu Yamamoto ’s throwback complete game, the historic playoff production of Kiké Hernández , the less surprising excellence of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , a budding Dodgers backlash, pitcher usage when a team is trailing, how to handle Humpy, and much more. Then (1:16:22) they answer listener emails about the ethics of October rootin...
Oct 17, 2025•1 hr 45 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley revisit Meg’s experience of Mariners-Tigers ALDS Game 5 and recap the first few games of the Championship Series round, touching on postseason broadcast booths, the Mariners’ mauling of the Blue Jays in Toronto, Pat Murphy’s burnishing of the Brewers’ underdog image, broader narrative-building about the Brewers-Dodgers series, whether the Dodgers intentionally took it easy during the regular season, the GIDP heard ’round the world, starters moonlighting as relievers,...
Oct 15, 2025•1 hr 38 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley announce their playoff livestream plans and then break down Game 4 of the Phillies-Dodgers NLDS, including their musings on Orion Kerkering ’s game-ending error and the events that preceded it, whether baseball would be better or worse without its tragic on-field figures, the Phillies’ future, and the intimidating Dodgers. Then, after a few thoughts on the Brewers and Cubs, they banter about baseball’s culture of pitch-tipping paranoia (53:29), the effects of high-te...
Oct 11, 2025•1 hr 37 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the rampant overuse of the phrase “must-win game,” denying late timeouts, the Blue Jays’ victory over the Yankees, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , a Yankees postmortem, Aaron Judge’ s partial postseason redemption, the athletic (and managerial) highlights and lowlights of the other ALDS and the two NLDSes, the swan song of October Clayton Kershaw , postseason sacrifice bunting, Bryce Harper ’s thoughts on childbirth, and more. Audio intro : Alex Glossman and Ali...
Oct 10, 2025•1 hr 44 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s recovery from illness and her ongoing emotional distress as a postseason spectator, then share their takeaways from the first two games of each ALDS and the first game of each NLDS. After that (51:15), Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie joins to talk about how he’s handling postseason stress, his thoughts on the Mariners season and playoff performance so far, the team he would root for if he weren’t an M’s fan, and whether he’d write a Mariners vic...
Oct 07, 2025•1 hr 40 min
Ben Lindbergh brings on Michael Baumann, who immediately makes Ben regret it by subjecting him to a lyrical ode to Effectively Wild inspired by the Taylor Swift song “Wood.” Then they play “College Baseball Player or Make and Model of Car?” before recapping the three decisive Game 3s of the wild card round (with an emphasis on the absurdity of the Guardians’ immediate elimination after their historic AL Central comeback, a bad call on Xander Bogaerts , the heroics of Cam Schlittler and Ryan McMa...
Oct 04, 2025•1 hr 50 min
Ben Lindbergh brings on Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer of The Bandwagon to banter in a hopefully not-immediately-dated way about the first two days of playoff action, including the Dodgers dispatching the Reds, Dave Roberts using “Strategy,” Aaron Boone’s perceived mismanaging, the flamethrowing Mason Miller and a playoff-pitch-speed conundrum, and more, plus conversation about how teams with byes are trying to stay ready, the league’s many managerial openings, whether running the Rockies is a go...
Oct 02, 2025•1 hr 52 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their plans for playoff livestreams and an MLB attendance announcement, then recap the highlights of the last weekend of the regular season and discuss what excites them about the playoffs. Along the way, they rank the collapses of the Astros, Tigers, and Mets and banter about trade-deadline do-overs, playoff-clinching walk-offs, Game 162 incentives, whether tiebreakers are fairer than tiebreaker games, a smart save by a first-base coach, the scariest Oc...
Sep 30, 2025
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners clinching the AL West, the benefits and drawbacks of MVP debates, the power of great players to enhance a season for spectators, the Cardinals’ and Giants’ reciprocal eliminations, the near-extinction of the 200-inning pitcher, the Nationals’ new head of baseball ops, and how predictive a track record of adept drafting is. Then (53:15) they answer listener emails about whether a player could/should ever challenge a ball/strike call that went...
Sep 26, 2025•1 hr 50 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the delights of the last week of the regular season, the Dodgers’ bullpen problems, and what kind of compromise the challenge system is, then (43:09) answer listener emails about where the warning track extends, the easiest day at the office for a batter, a player who exclusively hits one single per game, whether MLB front offices are Bayesian or frequentist, the relative strength of the AL and NL, and ticky-tack tags, plus (1:37:08) a postscript. Audio ...
Sep 25, 2025
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the standings and stakes of an unexpectedly wild last week of the regular season, whether there’s such as a thing as a playoff team that can’t make a deep run, why Cal Raleigh is the player of the year regardless of whether he wins MVP, whether it still makes sense to say that fan-favorite players will never have to buy a meal/drink in their team’s city, the unique celebrations of Pirates pitcher Dauri Moreta , the official arrival of the ABS challenge s...
Sep 24, 2025•1 hr 37 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about 2025’s record number of 25-25 players and whether the current power/speed version of the sport is rendered any less impressive by its recent rule-change origins, the historic pre/post-All-Star break splits of Julio Rodríguez and whether the Mariners can help him become less of an extreme slow starter/fast finisher (phrasing?), the lockstep seasons (and recent slumps) of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ceddanne Rafaela , the impending retirement (and on/off-field...
Sep 19, 2025•1 hr 32 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the state of the wild cards and whether the pennant races have been more exciting than forecasted despite the lack of actual changes in the playoff field, Cal Raleigh’ s latest exploits, Geraldo Perdomo’ s quiet excellence, the Orioles’ 2026 outlook, the Dodgers’ rotation and bullpen, Shohei Ohtani’ s playoff role(s), the bouncebacks of Mookie Betts and George Springer , Yordan Alvarez ’s ankle, James Wood and Spencer Jones slumps, season-ending schedule...
Sep 18, 2025•1 hr 38 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s reaction to the Mariners moving into first place in the AL West (at least temporarily), Jac Caglianone and the Royals’ woeful corner-outfield offense, whether major leaguers have gotten better at sliding, and an unjust byproduct of the zombie runner. Then (50:43) they bring on baseball researcher and Sports Reference designer Adam Darowski to discuss Robinson Canó ’s 4000th professional hit and Adam’s work on the 4000 hits club. Audio intro : Andy ...
Sep 16, 2025•1 hr 27 min
