Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley break down the rest of the action from the Winter Meetings, including Arson Judge not signing with the Giants, Aaron Judge re-signing with the Yankees, the Padres missing out on Judge and Trea Turner, the Dodgers’ lack of interest in Carlos Correa, the Giants signing Mitch Haniger, the Cardinals signing Willson Contreras, the Cubs signing Jameson Taillon and Cody Bellinger, the going rate for mid-rotation starters, the Phillies signing Taijuan Walker and Matt Strahm, the secret to Dave Dombrowski’s owner cajoling, the Mets signing José Quintana, whether Steve Cohen has a spending limit, the Rangers signing Andrew Heaney, the Guardians signing Josh Bell, the Red Sox signing Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, and Masataka Yoshida, the first draft lottery, the podcast’s thirstiness, and more, plus a Past Blast from 1939. Audio intro: Eleventh Dream Day, “The Arsonist” Audio outro: Queen, “’39” Link to Manfred comments Link to more Manfred comments Link to Rob on competitive balance Link to Arson Judge saga Link to “the grink” tweet Link to Heyman “grink” tweet Link to Jay on Judge Link to Dan on Judge Link to Padres/Judge rumors Link to Rosenthal on Correa Link to Time feature on Judge Link to Ben Clemens on Haniger Link to Baumann on Contreras Link to Justin Choi on Taillon Link to qualifying offer decisions Link to Chris Gilligan on Bellinger Link to EW on Bellinger’s bat Link to Laurila on Walker Link to Walker tweet Link to FG post on Martin Link to SIS on Yoshida Link to Baumann on Bell Link to projected payrolls Link to draft lottery results Link to ChatGPT explainer Link to Rule 5 scouting reports Link to thirstiness tweet Link to Ohtani pillow Link to Insider baseballs report Link to 1939 story source Link to The Baseball Reliquary Link to Baseball Reliquary article Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

With Meg Rowley on the IL, Ben Lindbergh and FanGraphs author Dan Szymborski discuss the first batch of news from a busy Winter Meetings, including the big-money market as a whole, the blockbuster signings of Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Trea Turner, the outlooks for the Rangers, Dodgers, and Astros, the Padres’ interest in Turner and its implications for Fernando Tatis Jr., the genre of rumors about teams that tried to acquire players, the Brewers-Mariners trade involving Kolten Wong, Jesse Winker, and Abraham Toro, Brian Cashman re-upping with the Yankees, Bryan Reynolds demanding a trade from the Pirates, Fred McGriff’s election to the Hall of Fame, and more, plus postscript updates about late-breaking news/signings, followups, and a Past Blast from 1938. Audio intro: Jon Jacob, “Buffalo Killers” Audio outro: Parquet Courts, “This is Happening Now” Link to Rosenthal on the market Link to Dan on deGrom Link to Ben Clemens on deGrom Link to Baumann on Verlander Link to Heyman on deGrom Link to Heyman on Verlander Link to thread on old top starters Link to Jay on Turner Link to MLBTR on the Turner rumors Link to Baumann on the Brewers trade Link to tweet about Winker Link to Dipoto payroll comments Link to FG post on Martin Link to FG post on Estévez Link to Twitter thread on Estévez Link to Reynolds request Link to Jay on the committee Link to Jay on the HoF results Link to Dan’s Nats projections Link to Ben on forecasting chemistry Link to NBA trophy news Link to Lindsey on PitchCom Link to EW Episode 1577 Link to road-attendance sheet Link to Apstein on Boras Link to Boras EW episode Link to “Arson Judge” tweet Link to Insider baseballs report Link to 1938 story source Link to SABR on the 1938 Meetings Link to WWE belt story Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s daughter’s first steps, follow up on differentiating players with the same name, equipment replacements, and suggested recreational sports for Ben to play, and then discuss the Royals’ remade coaching staff (19:43), the career of the late, all-time-great Gaylord Perry (22:57), and the latest ESPN Crasnick/Rogers annual offseason MLB insiders survey (44:58), plus answers to listener emails (1:04:33) about an MLB awards ceremony, pitcher wins, and the Tigers’ rebuild, a Past Blast from 1937 (1:31:11), and a postscript. Audio intro: Brendan Benson, “Spit it Out” Audio outro: Jim Noir, “JJC Sports” Link to Jeongeun Lee6 LPGA page Link to Bradley forgetting outs Link to The Athletic on Sweeney Link to Royals Review on Sweeney Link to Manfred statement on Perry Link to MLB.com’s Perry obit Link to Perry’s SABR bio Link to Perry’s book Link to Nate on pitcher hitting Link to Sam on pitcher hitting Link to Eno on old pitchers Link to 44+ pitchers by year Link to latest ESPN survey Link to Sam on the insiders Link to Russell on the shift Link to execs on rule changes Link to EW emails database Link to Smyth on qualifiers Link to Mains on qualifiers Link to Miller on qualifiers Link to awards dinner info Link to Poscast episode Link to 1937 story source Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter Link to MLBTR on Eflin Link to strike-zone EW episode Link to shuttlecock article Link to road-attendance sheet  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s latest former major leaguer Facebook friend recommendation and an important update (3:49) to the dictionary.com definition of “ghost runner,” then follow up (17:00) on a previous rumination on free-agent tours by touching on a Carlos Correa comment about playing in Minnesota, Eduardo Escobar’s deep-seated affection for Fogo de Chão, and the research the Red Sox did on Carl Crawford, before discussing (41:58) the most notable ways in which baseball is unique among sports (including a comparison of the number of balls used per contest), MLBPA leader Tony Clark’s reputation restoration (57:12), the latest Disney windfall for MLB owners, and Ben’s conditional desire to play more recreational sports (1:11:42), followed by a Stat Blast (1:27:05) on Shelby Miller-like career arcs and a Past Blast (1:41:15) from 1936. Audio intro: Fleetwood Mac, “Think About Me” Audio outro: David Schwartz, “Balls in the Air” Link to Bush’s book Link to old “ghost runner” page Link to new “ghost runner” page Link to “automatic runner” page Link to “imaginary runner” page Link to 2018 automatic runner story Link to other 2018 story Link to 2008 automatic runner story Link to Correa clip Link to 2018 Escobar story Link to 2019 Fogo study Link to Fogo video Link to Milwaukee Fogo story Link to 2022 Fogo story Link to DiComo Fogo tweet Link to Fogo locations Link to 2011 Crawford story Link to Crawford on Boston in 2014 Link to Crawford on Boston in 2017 Link to Crawford’s wiki Link to story about soccer balls Link to story about baseballs Link to story about foul balls Link to Chiarella story Link to other Chiarella story Link to story on golf balls Link to Evan on Clark Link to Evan on the subcommittee Link to story about Scherzer Link to CBA tick-tock Link to Marc on Clark Link to story about Latino players Link to thread on BAMTech deal Link to story on BAMTech deal Link to Seinfeld clip Link to Stat Blast data Link to Eno’s Stuff+ tweet Link to Donohue SABR bio Link to Campbell SABR bio Link to Kirby SABR bio Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter Link to 1936 story source Link to SABR on Shaughnessy Link to 1933 Buffalo article Link to 1933 Decatur article Link to 1933 Allentown article Link to 1933 IL standings Link to Shaughnessy Playoffs page Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their Thanksgivings, Joe Kelly’s comments (10:29) about free agents’ team visits being “outdated and cheesy,” the Astros signing José Abreu (30:25), and some standout totals (45:17) from the preliminary ZiPS-projected standings for 2023, plus Past Blasts (1:15:48) from 1935. Audio intro: The Shivas, “If I Could Choose” Audio outro: Redd Kross, “Choose to Play” Link to Kelly’s comments Link to “Avocado Factor” wiki Link to MLBTR FA predictions Link to FanGraphs FA predictions Link to previous EW Abreu episode Link to Kevin Goldstein on Abreu Link to MLBTR on the Sox and Abreu Link to MLBTR on Houston and Abreu Link to White Sox depth chart Link to job listing for The Freeze Link to tweet about The Freeze Link to Ringer pod with The Freeze Link to projected 2023 standings Link to post on Giants pinch-hitters Link to 2022 projections review Link to first Past Blast story Link to Dean Past Blast story Link to 1935 Giants story source Link to SABR on the 1935 Cubs Link to Cubs vs. umpire source Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter Link to @MrSugarPenis story Link to NYT tweet about it  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh convenes a roundtable of hitting analysts—Robert Orr from Baseball Prospectus, Esteban Rivera from FanGraphs, and Ryan Parker, formerly of Baseball Prospectus and the Los Angeles Angels—to diagnose the problems with free agent Cody Bellinger’s much-diminished bat and recommend how to revive it. They also discuss their approaches to analyzing hitting, coachability, the differences between public and private hitting analysis, the importance of mashing mistakes, the Angels, and more. Then (1:15:03) Ben closes with a Past Blast from 1934 and a few followups about Bellinger, tweets, and assists on strikeouts. Audio intro: Wednesday, “Cody’s Only” Audio outro: The Killers, “Cody” Link to Dan Szymborski on Bellinger Link to story on Bellinger’s shoulder Link to story on Bellinger’s leg Link to Chris Gilligan on Bellinger Link to Ken Rosenthal on Bellinger Link to Prospects Live on Bellinger Link to Bellinger vs. Musgrove K Link to Versalles SABR bio Link to SwingGraphs Link to SwingGraphs data Link to Esteban on Acuña Link to Esteban on vertical bat angle Link to Robert on crushing cookies Link to Rosenthal on Angels moves Link to Joon Lee on the Angels system Link to EW with Clay Bellinger Link to 1934 story source Link to Biele article series Link to story on Ella Black Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter Link to MLBTR on Harper’s TJ Link to Blue Jays tweet Link to Canseco at Vice Link to Canseco on time travel Link to assists story 1 Link to assists story 2 Link to assists story 3 Link to assists story 4  Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about omissions from their Baseball Twitter draft, a few transactions (including the Kyle Lewis trade, the Gio Urshela trade, and multiple shortstop swaps), the Angels acquiring average players, the Dodgers non-tendering Cody Bellinger, the Phillies extending Dave Dombrowski, the new BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot and Ben’s ballot decision, a series of sports-betting investigations, a college-baseball trailblazer, comeback players of the year, and more, plus Stat Blasts (54:28) about Aaron Judge and intra-team WAR gaps, the most unique players put out, consecutive innings with double plays, and the timing of game-winning runs, a Past Blast (1:04:06) from 1933, and an Angels postscript. Audio intro: Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, “Angels” Audio outro: Mimi Roman, “Never Ramble, Never Gamble, Never Roam” Link to Heyman tweet Link to Baer tweet Link to Nightengale tweet Link to Bautista tweet Link to Justin Choi on Lewis Link to Baumann on shortswaps Link to MLBTR on Dombrowski Link to MLBTR on Bellinger Link to Jay on the BBWAA ballot Link to Jay on the committee ballot Link to EW on Ben’s ballot last year Link to NYT sports-betting thread Link to NYT sports-betting article 1 Link to NYT sports-betting article 2 Link to NYT sports-betting article 3 Link to NYT sports-betting article 4 Link to Olivia Pichardo news Link to comeback players story Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter Link to WAR-gap Stat Blast data Link to putouts Stat Blast data Link to game-winning-runs data Link to Rob Mains on comebacks Link to 1933 story source Link to SABR on Browns ownership Link to MLB.com on the Browns Link to SABR on Jackie in Montreal Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter Link to MLBTR on the Renfroe trade Link to tweet about Renfroe and Trout  Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

With the future of Twitter uncertain, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley welcome Craig Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz of Fox Sports and Céspedes Family BBQ to draft the best tweets and traditions from more than a decade of content on Baseball Twitter (plus a Past Blast from 1932). (Warning/preview: Prepare for somewhat saltier language than usual.) Audio intro: The Rentals, “Elon Musk is Making Me Sad” Audio outro: Sparks, “Here Comes Bob” Link to list of some tweets Link to Martino/collusion story Link to unread Rosenthal column Link to Rosenthal column tweet Link to Trout emoji EW episode Link to Chubs EW episode Link to Chubs tweets Link to Chubs explainer Link to Ben on teen newsbreakers Link to Defector on Nightengale photos Link to “Ralph” explainer Link to “wall of porn” post Link to Ben on the Castellanos meme Link to Gmail redesign Link to 1932 story source Link to SABR on Cardinals ownership Link to story about Landis and Rickey Link to story on Rickey’s farm Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter  Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about redefining the MVP award, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s unearthed baseball blogs, Billy Beane’s new role with the A’s, and the Braves’ spinoff from Liberty Media, plus a Past Blast from 1931. Then (30:27) they bring on listener and top-tier Patreon supporter Peter Bonney to discuss his baseball background and answer listener emails about baseball economics and the leaguewide effects of low-spending owners, an open-ended player to be named later, batters weeping intentionally, the art of arbitrary endpoints, PitchCom voice actors, how many MLB games are available via video, a team award for the regular season, how to order umpires by accuracy in the World Series, holistic Hall of Famers, and having to win three straight games to win the World Series. Audio intro: Night Beats, “Crypt” Audio interstitial: The Claudettes, “Dozing in the Crypt” Audio outro: The Mother Hips, “Payroll Peter” Link to AL MVP results Link to NL MVP results Link to The Ringer FTX explainer Link to Bloomberg on FTX Link to Milky Eggs on FTX Link to SBF’s baseball blog posts Link to SBF’s first post Link to SBF’s first pitcher-roles post Link to SBF’s second pitcher-roles post Link to SBF on fetishization of the old Link to Dave Cameron’s pitching post Link to SBF’s 2021 Twitter thread Link to story on FTX lawsuit Link to Ohtani/FTX press release Link to Manfred on FTX Link to MLBTR on Beane Link to Liberty Media announcement Link to Travis Sawchik on the Braves Link to 1931 story source Link to SABR on night baseball Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter Link to Peter’s THT articles Link to Peter’s umpire presentation Link to Peter’s Fenway presentation Link to Peter’s company Link to Kwan on strikeouts Link to The Gist on polarization Link to Sawchik on PitchCom Link to Pujols homer reel Link to Dayn on a team award Link to the Stat Blast song Link to the EW emails database Link to Ryan Nelson’s MVP tweet Link to MLBTR on Bellinger  Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani and the Cy Young Award, Buck Showalter and the Manager of the Year Award, Bryce Harper’s elbow surgery, the Angels signing Tyler Anderson, Anthony Rizzo and the Yankees’ record Defensive Runs Saved total, the Mariners trading for Teoscar Hernández, title inflation and the “associate manager,” and Royals owner John Sherman requesting a new ballpark, plus a double Past Blast (38:21) from 1930 (featuring Jack Powell’s meaty demise). Then (51:06) they talk to FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen about AFL award winners Heston Kjerstad and Connor Thomas, whether improvements carry over when players change teams, how rules changes are affecting player evaluation, this week’s 40-man-deadline roster crunches, and Kodai Senga and other NPB players who are coming to MLB. Audio intro: Tri-State, “Hawk in the Fog” Audio interstitial: Jordana, “Crunch” Audio outro: The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, “Mr. Powell” Link to MLB.com on Showalter Link to Ben Clemens on Anderson Link to Hawk Harrelson call Link to Jay Jaffe on Rizzo Link to highest team DRS totals Link to Defensive Efficiency leaders Link to Esteban Rivera on Teoscar Link to MLBTR on Venable Link to Sherman’s tweet Link to Field of Schemes on Sherman Link to AFL award winners Link to FG prospect rankings Link to Laurila on Boras Link to Alex Eisert on Hilliard Link to Evan Drellich on rule changes Link to R.J. Anderson on rule changes Link to MLBTR on the Rays’ roster Link to Eric’s AL East piece Link to Eric on Latin-American SP Link to MLBTR on Nolan Jones Link to 1930 story source Link to SABR on William Veeck Sr. Link to SABR on Margaret Donohue Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter Link to @OldBaseballNews on Twitter Link to article about Bill Haber Link to first Powell article Link to second Powell article Link to NL Cy results Link to Ben on Alcantara Link to AL Cy results  Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source