Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Cardinals, the Nationals, and the NL’s increasingly interesting playoff races, the pluses and minuses of expanded September rosters, a caveat about time-traveling to see Mike Trout’s final game, and Justin Verlander’s third no-hitter and the role of health in determining pitchers’ careers, then discuss the significance of five fun (and not-so-fun) facts: Oakland’s history of slow starts and fast finishes; Cleveland’s performance against good and bad teams, Buster Posey’s second-half swoons and the veteran stars having the most disappointing seasons; the Marlins’ attendance and baseball’s future as a remote viewing experience; and the Tigers’ lack of above-average hitters and the entertainment value of terrible teams (plus an update on Aristides Aquino and facts about fastest starts). Audio intro: The Resonars, "Three Times Around" Audio outro: John Doe and The Sadies, "The Cold Hard Facts of Life" Link to Glanville on expanded rosters Link to Sam on Stallings Link to Sam on Statcast no-hitters Link to article about Verlander’s low point Link to Sam’s power rankings contributions Link to Max Marchi on who’s ahead of whom Link to Neil Paine on the terrible Tigers Link to Aquino story Link to Sam on Bellinger Link to Sam on Yelich Link to Ben on knuckleballs Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about GPS, resisting the urge to take the bait on bad takes, and the debate about access for broadcasters who double as team personnel, answer listener emails about not replacing broken bats, earning/working walks, and players with underutilized skills, and close with a discussion of Félix Hernández’s future and some podcast metacommentary (plus a postscript about another unintended consequence of mercy rules). Audio intro: Tame Impala, "Be Above it" Audio outro: Pete Townshend, "You’re So Clever" Link to Meg on the 12-minute game Link to Marc on double-duty broadcasters Link to article about broken bats Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about whether they would take a time machine into baseball’s future, Yu Darvish’s midseason makeover and ability to pick up new pitches, then answer listener emails about whether the warning track should be widened, players having the second halves of Hall of Fame careers, and a robot ump challenge system, plus a Stat Blast about the most common stolen base totals for players with lengthy careers. Audio intro: Matthew Sweet, "Time Machine" Audio outro: Sleater-Kinney, "The Future is Here" Link to Sam on the baseball time machine Link to Sam on Bellinger’s homers Link to article on Darvish’s knuckle-curve Link to article on Darvish’s midseason turnaround Link to Glanville on the warning track Link to Ben on Cruz Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about what GPS directions have to do with analytics-averse managers, MLB’s black and white uniforms fiasco on Players Weekend, Sam’s takeaways from his trip to see a former podcast guest’s game in the Southern California Vintage Base Ball League, a philosophy professor’s quest to establish that the tie goes to the runner and a complaint about replay review, and whether Lance Lynn’s career year and the ascendance of data-driven development suggest that players who re-sign with the same team will no longer outperform players who depart to play for a different team. Audio intro: The Inbreds, "My Favorite Satellite" Audio outro: PUP, "Bare Hands" Link to column about MLB and Players Weekend Link to podcast episode about vintage baseball Link to Southern California Vintage Base Ball League website Link to article about Ted Cohen’s quest to make ties go to the runner Link to audio recording of the essay “There Are No Ties at First Base” Link to Matt Swartz’s earliest research about other people’s players Link to Matt’s most recent research about other people’s players Link to Zach Kram on trading top prospects Link to Michael Baumann on Lance Lynn Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about beer and the mercy rule, a 12-minute game finish at Fenway, whether baseball players have high job satisfaction, compelling playoff races and especially lucky and unlucky contending teams, robot ump implications (including measuring player heights, determining the shape of the zone, and preserving receivers’ sense of self-worth), and the Angels’ unorthodox rotation and the future of pitching staffs and Shohei Ohtani. Audio intro: The Beths, "Happy Unhappy" Audio outro: Derek and the Dominos, "Tell the Truth" Link to Freaks and Geeks beer scene Link to happiness study Link to cluster luck rankings Link to USA Today Atlantic League article Link to Baseball America Atlantic League article Link to Baseball Prospectus Atlantic League article Link to info on online dating and height Link to study on sock height and the strike zone Link to Ben on Kratz and catchers making noise Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, and the most compelling playoff races remaining, introduce the new Effectively Wild listener email archive, then answer emails about whether a team in a three-team race suffers or benefits when its opponents play each other, whether home runs hit off of position players should be valued lower than others and whether an MLB mercy rule is a good idea, whether players should earn WAR for helping other players, whether fouling off a pitch down the middle can coincide with a good swing, and the most pitcher wins in a season against a single opponent in the divisional era, plus a Stat Blast about Shooty Babitt, Troy Neel, and the shortest careers by players who received Rookie of the Year votes. Audio intro: The Walkmen, "Postcards From Tiny Islands" Audio outro: Blondie, "Island of Lost Souls" Link to Ben on letting Ohtani play two-way Link to EW email archive Link to Jay on position player pitching Link to Sam on hitters facing position player pitchers Link to Boone on the mercy rule Link to Lucas on the mercy rule Link to Rosenthal on Martinez Link to story on Cleveland pitchers and Bauer Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller bring on White Sox play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti to banter about sharing the broadcast booth with Bill Walton, Mike Schur, and Mike O’Brien over the weekend and what the success of the experiment says about the future of broadcasting. Then Ben and Sam mull a one-of-a-kind dropped third strike on Scooter Gennett, MLB’s homer rate reaching an even higher level and the inflationary effect on fun facts, and what the ongoing MLB youth movement tells us about when Mike Trout will no longer be the best player in baseball. Audio intro: Stephen Stills, "Change Partners" Audio outro: Math and Physics Club, "Broadcasting Waves" Link to article on Walton’s TV commentary Link to GIF of Gennett play Link to Baumann on Galvis in 2016 Link to Ben on the ball and the steroid era Link to Ben on young hitters Link to story on aging curves for phenoms Link to story on offensive variance by era Link to Ben on baseball’s caliber of play Link to article about Kershaw being deposed as best pitcher Link to article about Bellinger’s swing change Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Bryce Harper’s clutchness and how he’s perceived by fans, Clayton Kershaw’s resurgence, and Mickey Callaway’s comments about analytics, then answer listener emails about the same player batting twice and playing two positions, whether Byron Buxton’s defense has hidden value, career WAR vs. career counting stats, whether players could call balls and strikes better than umpires, and the umpire replacement level in the age of computer-called strike zones, plus Stat Blasts about pitchers whom Mike Trout has faced only once and the Cubs’ extreme home/road split, and a postscript about the Angels’ historic .500-ness and how hitter aging curves have changed. Audio intro: Courtney Barnett, "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence" Audio outro: Dave Mason, "We Just Disagree" Link to Sam on Harper Link to Craig on Harper Link to Ben Clemens on Kershaw Link to Callaway’s comments Link to story on the Metrodome’s ventilation system Link to Chuck Klosterman basketball story Link to player eyesight story Link to Ben on young hitters Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about how Gleyber Torres’s ownership of the Orioles and Aristides Aquino’s home-run spree are emblematic of 2019, fun facts about players’ accomplishments in their first X games, home-run fun facts and the juiced ball, Juan Soto vs. Ronald Acuña, Jr., two recent Scott Boras quotes, the Dodgers’ near-record extra-base-hits game, and Jeff Mathis’s offensive ineptitude and defensive prowess, then discuss an ESPN oral history of the 1994 strike, touching on whether the sport would have survived the extensive use of replacement players, the change in media coverage of baseball labor issues, what the biggest loss would be if the rest of the 2019 season were canceled, and more. Audio intro: Chance The Rapper, "Juice" Audio outro: The Rock*A*Teens, "Pretty Thoughts Strike Down the Band" Link to story on Torres and the Orioles Link to Ben on breakout batters Link to Jay Jaffe on Aquino Link to C. Trent Rosecrans on Aquino’s swing change Link to list of players with most batting runs through age 20 Link to Sam on Scioscia, Mathis, and Napoli Link to Sam on Scioscia and defense again Link to R.J. Anderson on Jeff Mathis’s game-calling Link to worst offensive careers (min. 2500 PA) Link to worst offensive single seasons (min. 200 PA) Link to Tim Kurkjian’s oral history of the strike Link to Ben on Lords of the Realm Link to the book Baseball’s Power Shift Link to Emma Baccellieri on players’ social media advocacy Link to Evan Drellich’s oral history of the strike Link to Bryan Curtis on the liberalization of sportswriting Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

In the third episode of Effectively Wild recorded live at Saber Seminar in Boston, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk to Boston Globe sportswriter Alex Speier, author of the new book Homegrown: How the Red Sox Built a Champion From the Ground Up, about Boston’s championship core, the twists and turns of player development, why clubhouse chemistry is so unpredictable, player development before big data, how scouting and player development machines break, the future importance of player development, what’s next for the Red Sox, and more. Audio intro: Derek and the Dominoes, "Keep on Growing" Audio outro: Jason Isbell, "Grown" Link to Saber Seminar site Link to Alex’s book Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source