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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Randy Arozarena making up with Cal Raleigh , the response to their announcement of the podcast’s new freemium model , whether they would try to issue the official first ball/strike challenge in MLB history, the challenge system vs. the pitch clock, several straggling WBC topics (the Team Italy espresso machine auction results, great TV ratings, a Team USA strawman, reframing the hierarchy of high-level baseball competition, projecting future WBCs, and a ...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley announce a new freemium model for the podcast: From now on, one of their three episodes a week will be available only to Patreon supporters . In this PSA, they lay out their reasons for making the change and explain how it will work. You can also read a written explanation here . Link to subscribe via Patreon Link to written announcement Sponsor Us on Patreon Give a Gift Subscription Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Effectively Wild Subreddit Effectively Wild Wiki App...
Ben, Meg, Michael Baumann, and Ben Clemens gather for their fourth annual preseason predictions game, making ten bold forecasts each about the 2026 MLB season. Topics include individual player achievements, surprising team outcomes, managerial changes, and even a unique fanfiction prediction, alongside a fun pre-game and discussion on Team Italy's espresso machine auction. Listeners are invited to vote on the likelihood of these predictions and participate in the scoring.
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs contributor Kiri Oler wrap up the World Baseball Classic, covering Venezuela’s triumph, Team USA’s slump and vibes, and the overall success of the tournament, plus thoughts on Mark DeRosa’s managing and Team USA’s future, the semifinal matchups, the bad calls against the Dominican Republic, the challenge system and pitches that are “too close to take,” the WBC vs. the World Series, when the next WBC should be, and much more. Audio intro : El Warren, “ Eff...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about MLB’s new experimental minor league rules, and the potential downsides of trying to skip straight to a desired on-field result, then complete the 14th annual season preview series by previewing the 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers (35:35) with The Athletic ’s Fabian Ardaya , and the 2026 Colorado Rockies (1:30:13) with Rockies Insider’s Patrick Lyons . 2026 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...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about speedster Braiden Ward’ s record spring, whether there’s a baseball equivalent of Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, and Paradise being a baseball show, then preview the 2026 Atlanta Braves (38:00) with From the Diamond’s Grant McAuley , and the 2026 Chicago White Sox (1:29:45) with Sox Machine’s James Fegan . 2026 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 ...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Team Italy’s triumphs (and good vibes) at the WBC, a tumultuous week for Team USA and Mark DeRosa, and where the tournament stands entering the quarterfinals, then preview the 2026 Philadelphia Phillies (39:21) with The Athletic ’s Matt Gelb , and the 2026 Los Angeles Angels (1:21:00) with The Athletic’ s Sam Blum , plus a postscript (2:09:08). 2026 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...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Cal Raleigh , Randy Arozarena , and WBC handshake etiquette, whether a mercy-rule-inducing dinger qualifies as a walk-off, whether a winning home team could voluntarily play the bottom of the ninth, MLB’s ban of the Brewers’ challenge-system system, why the MLBPA should defend Jurickson Profar and other players with positive PED tests, and Joe Sewell’ s indestructible bat, then preview the 2026 New York Mets (56:35) with The Athletic ’s Tim Britton , and...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Shohei Ohtani survey, early WBC action, Andrew McCutchen’ s new team, Payton Tolle’ s triple-digits t-shirt, ABS-driven changes to Alex Bregman’ s and Bo Naylor ’s listed heights, wonky player cards, why teams start spring training days so early, Dodgers pitching problems, and the prevalence of inventive slides, then preview the 2026 Seattle Mariners (50:22) with The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish , and the 2026 Miami Marlins (1:34:43) with MLB.com’s Chris...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Team USA’s pre-WBC warm-up games, follow up on spring training ballpark naming rights, and discuss Jurickson Profar’ s second PED suspension in as many seasons, then preview the 2026 New York Yankees (20:07) with The New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips , and the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals (59:53) with The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ’s Derrick Goold . 2026 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...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about corporate naming rights of spring training ballparks vs. MLB parks, and potential unwritten rules surrounding the challenge system, then (47:03) preview the World Baseball Classic with MLB.com’s Michael Clair , touching on the big and unsung stories of the WBC, whether the interest level will increase again, how often the WBC should be held, and more, as well as Michael’s WBC-inspired book, We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball . Audio intro : Ted O., “ Ef...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mets pitching prospect Ryan Lambert’ s consumption of copious quantities of raw eggs, then preview the 2026 Chicago Cubs (27:15) with The Athletic’ s Sahadev Sharma , and the 2026 Cleveland Guardians (1:17:46) with The Athletic ’s Zack Meisel , plus a postscript. 2026 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 : Grant Brisbee, “ Effecti...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Konnor Griffin’ s openness to an extension with the Pirates and a weird Wilyer Abreu check-swing broken bat, then preview the 2026 Boston Red Sox (20:00) with The Boston Globe’ s Alex Speier , and the 2026 Cincinnati Reds (1:08:36) with The Athletic ’s C. Trent Rosecrans . 2026 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 : Kite Person, “...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a player with legs like a centaur, a knuckleballer’s sore subject, Arte Moreno’s thoughts on whether winning matters to fans, a response from the barback who gave free drinks to a fellow listener, and a new perspective on Tony Clark’s reportedly inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law. Then (45:17) they talk to Maxfield Lane and Owen Riley of Oyster Analytics about the challenge system’s tactical considerations and when it does and doesn’t make...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a video of Brandon Marsh’ s hair-wetting, the Phillies’ latest therapy, the Red Sox “home whites” non-disparagement saga, a former team exec’s proposals to promote competitive balance, and the best candidates among MLB players to pit against each other in a “Who ya got?” debate, then preview the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays (55:43) with The Athletic ’s Mitch Bannon , and the 2026 Tampa Bay Rays (1:42:53) with MLB.com’s Adam Berry . 2026 EW Season Preview Serie...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a generous podcast listener, Bruce Meyer’s elevation to interim executive director of the MLBPA, his framing of the sport’s competitive challenges, media messaging vis-à-vis the owners’ and players’ potential responsibility for missed games in 2027, and the creep of pitch-calling from the dugout, then preview the 2026 Detroit Tigers (53:35) with The Athletic ’s Cody Stavenhagen , and the 2026 Athletics (1:31:28) with A’s on SI’s Jason Burke . 2026 EW Sea...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about recent signings and injuries pertaining to teams whose seasons they’ve recently previewed, the Diamondbacks re-signing Zac Gallen and the thrilling resolution of the free-agent-contract over/under draft, the winter of Bryce Harper’ s discontent, Harper and Manny Machado’ s comments about the Dodgers’ spending, Max Muncy’ s extension, the worsening of the allegations against Emmanuel Clase , new details about the challenge system, Mike Trout ’s impending ...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about hamate fractures and other deflating spring training injury announcements, Zack Wheeler’ s preserved rib, Chris Getz and Luisangel Acuña , a profusion of salary cap coverage, and more, and then preview the 2026 Baltimore Orioles (38:50) with The Baltimore Banner ’s Andy Kostka , and the 2026 San Diego Padres (1:27:28) with MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell . 2026 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI ...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about new (and encouraging) details about MLB.TV registration, Justin Verlander returning to the Tigers, the rites of spring training, and the Rafael Devers trade in retrospect, before previewing the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers (20:50) with The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ’s Curt Hogg , and the 2026 Texas Rangers (1:08:28) with MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry . 2026 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 C...
Meg Rowley shares her euphoric reaction to the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win, while Ben Lindbergh largely listens and occasionally interjects with bits of baseball commentary. Then (29:14) they discuss Buck Martinez’ s retirement, Terrance Gore’ s untimely death, and a purported catching super-prospect, before previewing the 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates (44:23) with Roundtable Sports’ John Perrotto , and the 2026 Minnesota Twins (1:25:07) with The Athletic ’s Aaron Gleeman . 2026 EW Season Preview Series ...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the new, ESPN-ified process for signing up for MLB.TV, Stat Blast (12:28) about the long-sought, newfound pitching prowess of the WBC’s Team USA superteam, and then (34:31) preview the 2026 San Francisco Giants with The Athletic’ s Grant Brisbee , and the 2026 Kansas City Royals (1:20:20) with MLB.com’s Anne Rogers . 2026 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...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about MLB player chatbots, an Addison Barger giveaway, Tarik Skubal’ s big arbitration win, the Tigers signing Framber Valdez , and a rough week for sports media, then (36:29) begin the 14th annual EW season preview series by discussing the 2026 Houston Astros with The Athletic’ s Chandler Rome , and the 2026 Arizona Diamondbacks (1:25:35) with The Arizona Republic ’s Nick Piecoro , followed (1:54:53) by a postscript. 2026 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW A...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about MLB owners avoiding the Epstein files, preview the season preview series, bemoan the insurance issues preventing some stars from playing in the WBC, and break down the Luis Arraez and Eugenio Suárez signings, the Brendan Donovan trade, the latest White Sox moves, and their major takeaways from the release of the 2026 playoff odds. Then (1:22:00) Ben brings on historian Richard Hershberger to discuss the 150th anniversary of the National League’s founding...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the oddly timed end of Derek Falvey’s rein as POBOth for the Twins, Jacob Wilson ’s extension and the promising but lopsided A’s, pillow contracts vs. trampoline contracts, which teams have had the most frustrating offseasons, dark-horse-candidate teams for 2026, and listener responses to their previous discussion of a Fellowship of the Ring baseball team. Audio intro : Daniel Leckie, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Ted O., “ Effectively Wild Th...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their coming deliverance from a slow baseball news period, spring training as a spectator experience, and how the prelude to Opening Day has changed, then (12:43) answer emails about the many meanings of “back end” in baseball, an outfielder who repels batted balls, whether all rule violations constitute cheating, a playoff team composed of spoilers, and which positions the members of the Fellowship of the Ring would play, followed (1:16:01) by a Stat Bl...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley share their responses—and the baseball world’s response—to the events of this month in Minnesota. Then (17:26) they banter about deboned Carlos Rodón , the latest pseudoscientific pursuits of Bryce Harper (and Mike Trout ?), and the Giants signing Harrison Bader , before (48:06) discussing José Ramírez’ s new extension with the Guardians, Andrew McCutchen ’s quarrel with the Pirates, and what teams and star players owe to each other, if anything. Finally (1:26:22), t...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the MacKenzie Gore trade, the trajectories of the Rangers and Nationals since their respective World Series victories, and why the White Sox signed Seranthony Domínguez . Then (29:38) they bring on baseball buds Brent Rooker and Vinnie Pasquantino for a wide-ranging conversation about their scrapped podcasting plans, the Royals remodeling Kauffman Stadium, how Sutter Health Park played, the good and bad of bat-speed training, the challenge system, Brent’...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the best point in the podcast at which to talk transactions, how a salary cap would affect the kind of conversations we have about baseball (based on the way we discuss other sports), the notion that a particular signing would drive owners to pursue a salary cap, and (25:09) whether a fielder’s proclivity for diving catches tells us anything about how good he is (inspired by the belief that Andruw Jones never had to dive). Then (44:32) they break down th...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ha-Seong Kim and the perils of slipping on ice, the contrasting retirement comments of Mookie Betts and Rich Hill , more on the Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette signings, Goodhart’s law and baseball stats, the late Wilbur Wood , and the latest trends in Hall of Fame voting. Audio intro : Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “ Effectively Wild Theme (Pedantic) ” Audio outro : Sam Chess, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to Kim story Link to MLBTR on Kim Link to ...
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a flurry of transactions and a three-team-trade dilemma, then break down the J.T. Realmuto , Bo Bichette , and Kyle Tucker deals, plus talk of baseball economics and Emmanuel Clase ’s roosters. Audio intro : Moon Hound, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Nate Emerson, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to FG post on Castro Link to MLBTR on three-team trade Link to Passan on Tucker Link to Passan on three-team trade Link to two buttons meme Link to Pas...
