Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Dee Gordon‘s walk rate, Jonathan Villar‘s daring baserunning, how much the “opener” has contributed to the Rays’ success, and Todd Frazier’s variation on the hidden-ball trick. Then they bring on FanGraphs writer Sheryl Ring (22:02) to discuss what the MLB Players Association hiring new lead negotiator Bruce Meyer might mean for the next round of collective bargaining, whether the Mets are committing insurance fraud by delaying the activation of David Wright, and the latest examples of (and possible solutions for) teams manipulating young players’ service time. Lastly, Ben and Jeff reflect and expand on their conversation with Sheryl and the future of MLB labor relations. Audio intro: Ben Kweller, "This is War" Audio interstitial: Neil Young, "Union Man" Audio outro: The Black Angels, "Manipulation" Link to video of Orioles baserunning play Link to video of Frazier’s “catch” Link to Sheryl’s article about Bruce Meyer Link to Sheryl’s article about the Mets Link to Sheryl’s article about the right of publicity Link to Sheryl’s article about whether catcher framing is cheating  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 Jeff Sullivan banter about Trevor Story‘s improvement, Brady Feigl vs. Brady Feigl, Joe West vs. Austin Davis and an information card, a Carter Capps update, the Mariners’ clubhouse brawl, the continued dominance of Edwin Diaz, the disconcerting pitching return of Shohei Ohtani, and Kyle Schwaber’s lack of clutchness this season, then answer emails about Jack Ryan’s fantasy advice, Alex Bregman as AL MVP, attendance and home-field advantage, the value of a pitcher who always produces the minimum quality start, velocity and the three true outcomes, unexpected team results vs. unexpected player results (and Greg Bird), the effects of fatigue, baseball with headsets, and the most pitchers used in a nine-inning shutout, plus a Stat Blast about Jacob deGrom’s splits by decision and hard-luck loser Eddie Smith. Audio intro: Jerry Garcia & David Grisman, "I Ain’t Never" Audio outro: Koufax, "Offering Advice" Link to Jeff’s post about Story Link to Levi’s Feigl tweet Link to scene from Jack Ryan Link to updated study about velocity and pitcher results Link to MGL’s first post about projections vs. surprising players Link to MGL’s second post about projections vs. surprising players Link to MGL’s third post about projections vs. surprising players Link to MGL’s post about player fatigue Link to Smith’s SABR bio  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 Jeff Sullivan banter about Matt Chapman‘s misleading error total, Tyler White and “cheap” home runs, Danny Hultzen, Aaron Nola, and the concept of “safe” players, the latest on Shohei Ohtani and Willians Astudillo, Jacob deGrom and the NL MVP race, a conditional trade followup, Magneuris Sierra and the woeful Marlins, Mike Foltynewicz‘s spit balk, Michael Lorenzen’s confusing foul ball, the Andrew McCutchen trade to the Yankees and the state of the Giants, belief in Kyle Freeland, a road-trip addendum, and a Yusmeiro Petit quote. Audio intro: Slothrust, "Trial & Error" Audio outro: Death Cab for Cutie, "We Looked Like Giants" Link to Tyler White’s walk-off Link to video of spit balk Link to Sam’s article about balks Link to Jeff’s Lorenzen post Link to Ben’s Freeland article Link to Jeff’s Freeland post Link to Petit article  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 Jeff Sullivan have a possibly premature discussion of whether Shohei Ohtani lived up to the preseason hype, then answer listener emails about the Angels’ historic record in two-run games, the last player who’ll be older than them, using expected offensive stats instead of actual ones in WAR, and David Robertson‘s far-fetched contract incentives, plus a Stat Blast about the teams that have played the highest and lowest percentages of their games against above-.500 opponents. Then (42:32) they bring on listener (and Episode 1169 guest) Michael Mountain to review his 36-day, 30-ballpark whirlwind tour, including the hurdles he cleared along the way and his reviews of his favorite and least favorite ballparks and ballpark foods. Lastly (1:12:18), Ben brings on Angelina, the artist behind the Twitter account “Acceptably Drawn Baseball,” to talk about how she started doing baseball doodles, how and why the account has caught on, how she produces the doodles, and how she got Rich Hill’s seal of approval. Audio intro: Tegan and Sara, "Hype" Audio interstitial 1: Dave Rawlings Machine, "The Trip" Audio interstitial 2: The Kinks, "The Road" Audio outro: Bob Dylan, "Farewell, Angelina" Link to Michael’s road-trip itinerary Link to tweet about Hill endorsing his doodle Link to Ohtani/Trout doodle Link to buy Angelina a coffee  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 Jeff Sullivan banter about the surprising home run streak of Kendrys Morales, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, and the fluctuating state of the White Sox rebuild, an unusual Yankees save streak and the changing distribution of saves across the majors, and the Rays-Pirates Chris Archer trade in retrospect. Then (25:41) they bring on Rockies starter Kyle Freeland to discuss growing up rooting for the Rockies, the perils of pitching development and recovery at altitude, how he’s conquered Coors Field and put together one of the strongest seasons in franchise history, the adjustments he’s made this season, the secret to inducing weak contact, pitching in pennant races from the beginning of his career, whether Rockies pitchers are perceived unfairly, the benefits of being managed by former pitcher (and pitching coach) Bud Black, and more. Finally, Ben and Jeff review the interview, weigh the merits of strikeout guys vs. groundball guys, and forecast Freeland’s career, and Ben provides some updates and weighs in on the latest debate about Daniel Murphy’s homophobic comments from 2015. Audio intro: Bob Dylan, "Seven Days" Audio interstitial 1: Spooky Tooth, "Kyle" Audio interstitial 2: The Alan Parsons Project, "Standing on Higher Ground" Audio outro: The Smiths, "Accept Yourself" Link to Jay Jaffe’s post about Morales Link to list of pitchers who’ve induced the weakest contact Link to Freeland’s pitch selection by season Link to Whitney McIntosh article about Murphy’s comments  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 Jeff Sullivan banter about the returns of Mike Trout and Willians Astudillo, Astudillo’s new hobby, Jose Ramirez‘s power/speed combo, the NL Rookie of the Year race between Ronald Acuna, Juan Soto, Harrison Bader, and Brian Anderson, the decreasing incidence of stolen bases and sacrifice bunts, the Angels’ active offseason in retrospect, the Angels’ lack of playoff appearances with Trout vs. the Mariners’ lack of playoff appearances with Felix Hernandez, David Wright’s painful latest comeback attempt, and a Rich Hill (AKA Dick Mountain) anniversary, in addition to a deeper discussion about the role of randomness in baseball, what the standings “should” look like, and how luck, timing, and clutch hits are saving the season from the boring stretch run that some fans feared before the season. Audio intro: The Byrds, "Welcome Back Home" Audio outro: Dandy Livingstone, "There is a Mountain" Link to picture of Astudillo drawing his bow Link to Ben’s preseason piece about hope and faith Link to Jeff’s post about the Dodgers and Mariners Link to Marc Carig’s David Wright rehab article  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 Jeff Sullivan banter about a listener-created tool to determine the first big leaguer to be born after and the last big leaguer to be born before any given date, the waiver-claim process, the Nationals’ trades, disastrous season, and hazy outlook, the Cubs acquiring Daniel Murphy and the Rockies opting not to, the Mariners’ second annual Women in Baseball Night, and Michael Kopech‘s turnaround, plus listener emails about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s talent and future, adjusting stats for position players pitching, the disadvantage of hitting at altitude, Chris Davis with fewer fielders, and the cost to a team of an NL manager managing like an AL manager, plus Stat Blasts about the adjustments Mike Fiers has made in Oakland and the Cubs’ historic solo-homer streak. Audio intro: Koufax, "Younger Body" Audio outro: Poco, "Flyin’ Solo" Link to MLB Endcaps calculator Link to Jeff’s Murphy/Rockies post Link to Craig’s post about Vlad Jr. batting .400 Link to Jeff’s post about position players pitching Link to Sam’s post about position players pitching Link to Purple Row post about the Rockies’ home/road splits Link to Jeff’s post about the Coors Field hangover Link to Rob’s article about solo homers Link to Sheryl’s post about Davis vs. Palmeiro  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 Jeff Sullivan banter about Clayton Kershaw’s resurgence and opt-out odds, the state of the playoff races, the Mariners’ balk-off weekend win, an unusual aspect of the 2008 CC Sabathia trade, the impending free agency of Nelson Cruz, and Ben’s article about the 1993 Athletics’ platoon-starter experiment, a precursor to the current Rays’ “opener” strategy. Then (25:09) they bring on Death Cab for Cutie singer/songwriter/guitarist (and Effectively Wild listener/composer) Ben Gibbard to talk about his band’s new album, Thank You for Today, as well as the Mariners’ season and the AL West race, how he got into baseball analysis, his favorite storylines of the season, watching the playoffs while on tour, ballparks as concert venues, singing the National Anthem, batting stances vs. singing stances, the aging curve for musicians vs. the aging curve for athletes, meeting casual music fans, being in the best shape of his life, the value of changing musical lineups, and more. Audio intro: Death Cab for Cutie, "Gold Rush" Audio interstitial: Death Cab for Cutie, "When We Drive" Audio outro: Death Cab for Cutie, "60 & Punk" Link to Mariners’ balk-off win Link to 2008 trade-deadline retrospective Link to Ben’s article on the 1993 A’s Link to Ben Gibbard’s National Anthem performance Link to Death Cab’s new album Link to Death Cab’s upcoming concerts  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 Jeff Sullivan banter about Ben’s introduction to climbing, a Mets-Phillies blowout, Scott Kingery‘s slow pitches, Jacob deGrom‘s run support, Jose Ureña‘s suspension and how to punish hit by pitches, the Rangers’ odd triple play and the 2002 debut of Ron Wright, Matt Kemp‘s slump, and an umpire’s rapid reaction, then answer listener emails about Mike Trout’s value if he couldn’t slide, the ethics of using strategy in Little League, Kevin Gausman and the decline of pitching from the stretch, making rental-trade returns contingent on what happens after the trade, how to trade up from nothing to something (Dwight Schrute-style), and the job security of established GMs like Brian Cashman, plus a Stat Blast about the humidor-equipped Chase Field and teams that hit the ball harder at home or on the road. Audio intro: Aretha Franklin, "Think" Audio outro: Aretha Franklin, "Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" Link to Andrew McCutchen’s brawl recap Link to Scott Kingery’s slow pitch Link to Andrew Dominijanni’s slowest-possible-pitch trajectories Link to Mike Fast on the slowest possible pitch Link to Levi Weaver on the Rangers’ triple play Link to umpire bat-flip GIF Link to Jeff on the new Chase Field Link to Mike Petriello on Minute Maid Park Link to Jeff on the disappearing windup Link to Marc Carig on the Yankees’ clubhouse culture Link to Dan Szymborski on the decline of Kemp  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, Jeff Sullivan, and writer Rachael McDaniel banter about a Scott Boras quote about Bryce Harper, the hot streaks of Matt Carpenter and Ronald Acuña, an Ender Inciarte comment, aging in relation to baseball players, the cold streak of Luis Severino, and a possible old example of groundskeeping gamesmanship. Then (24:22) they bring on former major-league outfielder and current MLB Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean to talk about his evolving role at MLB, counseling former minor leaguer David Denson on coming out, MLB’s ongoing response to the discoveries of ugly old tweets by Josh Hader, Sean Newcomb, and Trea Turner, how fans should treat those players, why their tweets weren’t grounds for discipline, how hurtful attitudes evolve, the positives that can come from a bad situation, how clubhouse discourse has improved over time, baseball as a unifier, the Yankees’ standing in the queer community, the importance of pride nights and other inclusive initiatives, and more. Finally (1:09:57), Ben, Jeff, and Rachael reflect on the conversation with Bean and forecast the future, and Ben berates Jose Ureña for his hit by pitch. Audio intro: The Decemberists, "The Engine Driver" Audio interstitial 1: The Monkees, "Words" Audio interstitial 2: Beach House, "Better Times" Audio outro: The Isley Brothers, "The Pride (Part 1)" Link to Jeff’s Carpenter post Link to Matt Trueblood on Acuña’s evolution Link to Zach Crizer on prospect promotions Link to Mike Petriello on Severino Link to Rachael on acceptance and baseball  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