Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Sports journalist Hannah Keyser and The Bandwagon podcast co-host Zach Crizer join Ben Lindbergh to discuss overlooked topics from 2023 for each MLB team. Topics include two brothers facing off at the major league level, Charlie Culberson's career shift to pitching, controversy surrounding the robo zone, Tigers claiming Tyler Holton, a friendship leading to a drunken tattoo offer, breakout performances in baseball, Giants players' obsession with a Filipino card game, and reflecting on the podcasting time. Happy New Year!

Guests: Jeeho Yoo discusses the response in South Korea to Jung Hoo Lee 이정후’s signing and Shin-Soo Choo 추신수’s retirement. Rob Fitts talks about trailblazing Japanese pitchers and the impact of Japanese players entering MLB earlier. The Last Out director, Sami Khan, shares the harrowing defections of three Cuban players and their effect on Cuban baseball.

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Ben Clemens conduct the 11th annual minor league free agent draft, selecting players for their rosters based on potential and past performance. They analyze the return of Joe Ross, Ricky Vinesco's development, and Ben Lively's signing. The hosts discuss their picks, highlighting players like Austin Adams and Armando Alvarez. They also discuss scouting reports, recent baseball news, and thank their Patreon supporters.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers' record-breaking signing, is discussed in this podcast. Topics include the impact on fan perceptions, the contract terms, and expectations for Yamamoto. The Dodgers' signing strategy, payroll decisions, and their approach to signing players are also explored. The podcast concludes with speculation on potential moves and future plans for the Dodgers.

The hosts discuss implementing a transaction freeze in MLB, answer listener emails about Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, and more. They explore tampering violations and the impact of switching fandom. The value of pep talks in baseball, Bobo Newsom's career, and the impact of the balanced schedule on attendance are also discussed.

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, Michael Baumann, Ben Clemens, and Chris Hanel discuss their bold preseason predictions from March, playing a fun game of 'College Baseball Player or U.S. Space Shuttle Astronaut' and bantering about the Braves' trades and the Diamondbacks re-signing Lourdes Gurriel Jr. They reflect on the accuracy of their predictions and make plans for even more daring ones in the future.

Shohei Ohtani's introductory press conference, Dodgers-Rays trade, Royals signings, Tigers adding Jack Flaherty, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, Rangers rotation, Buster Posey's comments, Stat Blast about minor league teammates, Andre Braugher baseball rec

Eric Longenhagen, FanGraphs lead prospect analyst, discusses players from Asian leagues enlivening the MLB free-agent market. He evaluates international players, talks about stylistic differences among leagues, and discusses Asian players who are still years away from MLB. They also discuss the challenges of evaluating players moving from one league to another and the impact of deferrals in baseball contracts.

Banter about implications of Shohei Ohtani's contract, MLB imbalance driven by cable bundle, Dodgers' future, media hang-wringing over false reports, and Tyler O'Neill trade

Shohei Ohtani, a professional baseball player, recently signed a $700 million deal with the Dodgers. The podcast covers every aspect of the news, including the unexpected size of the contract, comparing it to Messi's contract, the financial strategies of the Dodgers, concerns about medical examinations, the speculation surrounding Ohtani's destination, and the potential implications of his contract for the postseason. They also discuss the rumors and reports surrounding the signing, with a humorous touch.