Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen to banter about what accounts for the variability in how quickly prospects acclimate to the majors and detecting holes in swings, discuss (10:50) which teams have the prospects to trade for Juan Soto, review (22:59) impressive performances from the Futures Game (including a booming BP by Francisco Álvarez and a record throw by Masyn Winn), recap (31:02) the highs of the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game (with a focus on Julio Rodríguez’s standout Derby and the events’ best promotional moments), then break down the amateur draft, touching on the top three picks, the Orioles’ fruitful draft, the Rangers’ surprising Kumar Rocker selection, why so many sons of major leaguers were drafted, atypical players and potential two-way players, the teams with the best and most perplexing draft classes, the impact of the draft combine, and more, followed (1:45:09) by a Stat Blast on César Hernández and historic power outages, and a Past Blast from 1879. Audio intro: St. Vincent, “All My Stars Aligned” Audio outro: David Crosby, “Rodriguez for a Night” Link to EW guest data Link to Grant’s tweet Link to quote about “transition tax” Link to Ben on minors-to-majors gaps Link to Ben Clemens on a Soto trade Link to Baseball Trade Values Link to MLBTR on Soto trades Link to R.J. Anderson on Soto trades Link to story on Soto’s brother Link to Emma on Dodger Dogs Link to clip of Cruz’s throw Link to clip of Winn’s throw Link to MLB.com ASG game story Link to MLB.com on Manoah Link to Joe Posnanski on Manoah Link to MLB.com on Cortes Link to Ben on mic’d up players Link to MLB.com on best ASG moments Link to The Ringer on the ASG Link to The Ringer on the HRD Link to R.J. on the Orioles’ draft Link to Eric’s first-round recap Link to Eric’s farm rankings Link to MLB.com on father-son players Link to Sawchik on father-son players Link to R.J. on atypical picks Link to Cory Lewis story Link to Jared Beck story Link to Jurrangelo Cijntje story Link to Cijntje interview Link to Reggie Crawford story Link to Tyler Cleveland story Link to info on the draft combine Link to Stathead Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1879 story source Link to tweet about Ohtani’s ESPYs Link to Secret Headquarters trailer Link to Facebook post about the EW wiki Link to “How to Help” wiki page  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 continue their celebration of the 10th anniversary of Effectively Wild by bringing on former cohost Jeff Sullivan and Most Frequent Guest (for now) Grant Brisbee to banter about Jeff’s job with the Rays and draft their favorite baseball stories from the past 10 years (plus a Past Blast from 1878). Audio intro: Joel Plaskett Emergency, “Old Friends” Audio outro: Willie Nelson With Waylon Jennings, “Old Friends” Link to EW guest data Link to story on Orioles catchers Link to story on Yankees sliders Link to Trout on the EW wiki Link to Jeff on Trout’s adjustments Link to Grant’s Quintana trade tweet Link to Ben on young newsbreakers Link to @NoContextEWPod Link to Grant on Rueter’s shed Link to Jeff on framing Link to Ben on sign stealing Link to Rob Arthur on sign stealing Link to other BP sign-stealing study Link to Jeff on the Astros Link to Grant on the Astros Link to Meg on Bradley Link to Meg on Lind Link to Stanton homer Link to tweet about Lester Link to Ben on Lester Link to Jeff on Lester Link to Lester on the EW wiki Link to Hill on the EW wiki Link to Grant on Ishikawa Link to Ben on home runs in 2016 Link to Ben on the Negro Leagues Link to Ben on the Negro Leagues again Link to LaRoche retrospective Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1878 story source 1 Link to 1878 story source 2 Link to Richard on the triple play Link to Facebook post about the EW wiki Link to “How to Help” wiki page Link to 10th anniversary shirt Link to all shirts  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

On the 10th anniversary of Effectively Wild’s first episode, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley kick off a week-long celebration by reflecting on the milestone, then (6:40) bring on producer Dylan Higgins and listener Chris Hanel for a round of Effectively Wild trivia and fun facts. After that (41:49), they dig into the podcast archive for a highlight reel of favorite moments from Effectively Wild’s past, narrated by broadcaster Jason Benetti, which is followed by a Past Blast from 1877 (2:21:48) and a collection of listener-submitted audio tributes to the show (2:27:43). Audio intro: Travis, “Anniversary” Audio interstitial 1: Mark Eitzel, “The Last Ten Years” Audio interstitial 2: Tennis, “10 Minutes 10 Years” Audio outro: Al Stewart, “Anniversary” Link to EW trivia spreadsheet Link to Chris’s scorebug Twitter account Link to @NoContextEWPod Link to Facebook post about the EW wiki Link to “How to Help” wiki page Link to EW podcast archive Link to EW competitions/drafts sheet Link to listener emails database Link to 10th anniversary shirt Link to all shirts Link to playlists and music/episode info Link to clips reel order Link to clips reel files Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1877 story source 1 Link to 1877 story source 2 Link to listener tribute clips  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 Meg Rowley on the road, Ben Lindbergh does an almost-all-interview episode featuring the authors of four new baseball books: First (3:22), Howard Bryant on Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original; second (42:45), Jeff Fletcher on Sho-Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani and the Greatest Baseball Season Ever Played; third (1:19:36), Mark Armour and Daniel Levitt on Intentional Balk: Baseball’s Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating; and fourth (1:58:38), Paul Oyer on An Economist Goes to the Game: How to Throw Away $580 Million and Other Surprising Insights From the Economics of Sports, followed (2:32:42) by a Past Blast from 1876. Audio intro: Drive-By Truckers, “Dancin’ Ricky” Audio interstitial 1: Sir Douglas Quintet, “Revolutionary Ways” Audio interstitial 2: Franz Ferdinand, “Cheating on You” Audio interstitial 3: Dan Bern, “Economy” Audio interstitial 4: Feist, “Past in Present” Audio outro: Kelley Stoltz, “Read it in Books” Link to Rickey Link to Howard’s website Link to Sho-Time Link to Jeff’s website Link to Ohtani’s Garcia impression Link to Ohtani’s bat CPR Link to Ben on Ohtani’s origin story Link to Intentional Balk Link to Mark’s website Link to Daniel’s website Link to EW sign-stealing episode Link to Ben on overrated cheating Link to An Economist Goes to the Game Link to Paul’s website Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to vaccination story source Link to 1876 story source Link to Facebook post about the EW wiki Link to “How to Help” wiki page  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 taking over the MLB WAR lead, a Taylor Ward/Jared Walsh mixup, an on-air “zombie runner” endorsement, another fruitless hidden ball trick attempt, and the need for an amended rule about replay reviews of slide plays, then (26:03) discuss the Blue Jays firing manager Charlie Montoyo and the revelation that the Royals have 10 unvaccinated players. After that (57:28), they meet major leaguers Vinnie Pasquantino and Bubby Rossman, banter more (1:08:45) about Spencer Strider, Sam Haggerty’s walk-up music, the “pie slice” anti-shift rule, a Pesäpallo water feature, and PGA golfers sponsored by MLB, followed by (1:27:26) a Stat Blast about managerial longevity and teams with the most sequential uniform numbers, info on the etymology of “muffin games” and “batter” vs. “striker,” and (1:43:28) a Past Blast from 1875. Audio intro: Bobby Darin, “Goodbye, Charlie” Audio outro: Neil Young, “Ten Men Workin’” Link to FG combined WAR leaderboard Link to post about Ohtani as a DH or P Link to video of the slide at second Link to Dave on fixing the slide rule Link to catch/transfer rule change Link to cricket rule change video Link to cricket “out of ground” rule Link to cricket bouncing bat problem Link to The Athletic on Montoyo’s firing Link to Vlad’s “trailer” comment Link to playoff odds changes Link to Andy McCullough on the Royals Link to Sam McDowell on the Royals Link to Stephanie Apstein on the Royals Link to Alec Lewis on the Royals Link to CDC vaccination data Link to report on unvaccinated players Link to list of unvaccinated MLB players Link to story on MiLB vaccinations Link to Pasquantino scouting report Link to Pasquantino on his call-up Link to Pasquantino’s first homer Link to story on Rossman Link to other story on Rossman Link to story on Gibson’s explanation Link to Nerds Herd info Link to Timothy Jackson on Strider Link to Justin on Strider and Greene Link to <162 IP pitcher WAR list Link to Haggerty video Link to Pesäpallo play video Link to Pesäpallo play explainer Link to water plays montage Link to Saarikenttä wiki Link to Pesäpallo EW episode Link to MLB.com on the “pie slice” rule Link to Jayson Stark on the rule Link to story on MLB sponsoring golfers Link to Stathead Link to post about Stathead upgrade Link to manager longevity data Link to current manager tenure data Link to manager longevity graphs Link to Mariners homers tweet Link to most sequential uni numbers data Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1875 story source Link to story on muffins Link to Facebook post about the EW wiki Link to “How to Help” wiki page  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 Ben’s hazardous last week, then discuss the ongoing mellowing of attitudes and discussions surrounding the All-Star game, embracing the game’s potential for sentimentality, how it would feel to be a team’s lone All-Star representative, the results of a new poll about robo umps, an NPB record and whether/when Reggie Jackson will be unseated as the all-time strikeout king, the reemergence of Matt Moore, the Rockies, the trade deadline, and Daniel Bard, the suddenly exciting Orioles and how a team in their position should approach the deadline, the Phillies’ anti-vax contingent and what it means to be a bad teammate, the injury-ridden seasons of the Rays and Wander Franco, and a mystery involving shifting on right-handed hitters, plus a Past Blast from 1874 (1:19:20), a listener email about eliminating foul lines, and a few followups. Audio intro: Harper Simon, “Wishes and Stars” Audio outro: Echo & the Bunnymen, “Stars Are Stars” Link to ASG rosters Link to robo-umps poll Link to news about NPB record Link to Nakamura’s wiki page Link to all-time MLB batter K leaders Link to story on Grossman’s streak Link to EW Episode 9 Link to Ben on pitching prospect rankings Link to Rockies MLBTR story Link to Orioles MLBTR story Link to updated FG farm rankings Link to ESPN strength of schedule Link to Mark Simon on the Orioles defense Link to Franco MLBTR story Link to Dan Szymborski on Rays injuries Link to BP Injured List Ledger Link to story on Schwarber Link to story on Realmuto Link to Tango on the shift vs. RHH Link to Tango on the shift vs. RHH again Link to Ben on the shift vs. RHH Link to Justin Choi on the shift vs. RHH Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1874 story source Link to story on Frasier’s swap Link to Stanky Draft episode Link to Mauer retirement ceremony  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 Ben’s unfortunate Brussels sprouts incident, then answer listener emails about the ballparks with the most and least locations where a ball would be a home run only in that park, the Rays’ MLB-leading outs on the bases, the Orioles’ possibly improved pitcher development, a loaner-type trade where a player is his own player to be named later, how to define a comeback, “batters” vs. “hitters,” whether a team can really win without ever holding a lead, whether we’ll ever see another walk-off home run single, why a walk-off ground rule “double” is scored as a single, the legality of applying a tag with a piece of clothing instead of a glove, and a possible Ohtani rule loophole that could theoretically allow Shohei Ohtani to bat twice in a row, plus (1:18:32) a Past Blast from 1873. Audio intro: Donna Summer, “End of the Week” Audio outro: Pasek & Paul, “Come to a Party” Link to article about digesting Brussels sprouts Link to B-Ref team baserunning page Link to list of players traded for themselves Link to win expectancy calculator Link to tweet about Astros not trailing Link to Jake Mailhot’s power rankings post Link to Ventura’s grand-slam single Link to Judge’s walk-off homer Link to article about fans storming field Link to Reddit thread about fans storming field Link to Chambliss homer video Link to Disco Demolition Night podcast Link to Alfaro’s walk-off non-double Link to explainer of walk-off non-doubles Link to Jones discussing “Crazy Train” Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to Bull Durham clichés scene Link to EW emails database  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 rant and banter (ranter?) about MLB’s approach to promoting the Futures Game, then (17:33) discuss superheroes throwing baseballs, the latest exploits of the semi-superpowered Shohei Ohtani and Sandy Alcantara, and Ohtani’s chances against Aaron Judge (and others) in the AL MVP race, Stat Blast (39:03) about losing teams with two hyper-productive players and pitchers with the most even pitch-type distributions, entertain the idea (59:59) of adjusting WAR for quality of competition because of position-player pitchers, speculate about Judge’s free-agent contract, highlight Luis Arraez’s pursuit of Ted Williams, an Andrew Vaughn hidden-ball-trick attempt, Charlie Blackmon’s walk-up song, a fateful Rockies shift, observe (1:23:10) which teams’ playoff probabilities have risen or sunk the most in the last month and react to MLB’s asterisk-esque All-Star Game caps, and close (1:32:32) with a Past Blast from 1872. Audio intro: Status Quo, “The Future’s So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades)” Audio outro: Heart, “Hijinx” Link to Futures Game rosters Link to Jarrett Seidler on MiLB talent Link to 2023 WBC announcement Link to The Boys Season 1 clip Link to Invincible clip Link to Superman Returns clip Link to Alvarez throw Link to video about baseball movies Link to story on Judge’s 30th homer Link to story about Ohtani’s game Link to FG combined WAR leaderboard Link to Angels PR tweet Link to other Angels PR tweet Link to third Angels PR tweet Link to Jeremy Frank tweet Link to video of HRs off of VanMeter Link to Katie Sharp tweet Link to Stathead Link to Stat Blast list of losing teams Link to Dan on sub-replacement Angels Link to Alcantara’s pitch usage Link to least-used-top-pitch data Link to lowest-standard-deviation data Link to Rob Mains on adjusted offense Link to Craig on Judge’s contract Link to PPP velo by year Link to Patrick on the Rockies’ loss Link to tweet about the Rockies’ positioning Link to clip of Rockies-Dodgers play Link to TikTok of Blackmon’s song Link to playoff odds changes Link to France ASG video Link to asterisky Astros cap Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1872 story source Link to history of infield fly rule  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 the possible end of the Taylor Ward/Tyler Wade broadcaster confusion, Ward getting caught unawares at first base, and the Twins turning the first-ever 8-5 triple play, then Stat Blast (11:06) about Cam Vieaux and the most pitches thrown in various types of innings, share a Past Blast (23:33) from 1871, and discuss the Empire State Greys, a traveling Frontier League team that started the season 0-35 and now, at 2-42, is in danger of posting the lowest winning percentage in pro baseball history. Then (43:23) Ben brings on brothers Eddie Gonzalez and Jerry Gonzalez, the co-owners and co-hitting coaches of the Greys, to talk about their work with the Empire Professional Baseball League, the challenges of operating in indy ball, the Greys’ origins and roster composition, being a perpetual road team, the mood on the team during its historically long losing streak, how the streak was snapped, the close calls they had before their first win, facing Kumar Rocker, their hopes for the rest of the season, the Greys’ growing fan base, and more, followed (1:23:54) by a few postscripts. Audio intro: Bobby Bare, Jr., “One of Us Has Got to Go” Audio interstitial: Fleetwood Mac, “Empire State” Audio outro: Harry Belafonte, “Zombie Jamboree (Back to Back)” Link to video of Ward play Link to video of Twins triple play Link to La Russa ejection clip Link to Vieaux game B-Ref page Link to Vieaux’s postgame comments Link to Stat Blast pitch data Link to most pitches between outs Link to 2003 Pavano game Link to 1954 Dodgers-Redlegs game Link to Allan Roth SABR bio Link to 2010 Linebrink game Link to 1996 Orioles-Rangers game Link to Stathead Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter account Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1871 story source Link to list of worst team records Link to tweet about Muskogee Mets Link to article about Muskogee Mets Link to B-Ref page on Muskogee Mets Link to EW wiki on the Salina Stockade Link to Ben’s article on the Stockade Link to the Stockade’s B-Ref page Link to research on indy league quality Link to the Greys’ B-Ref page Link to Frontier League standings Link to Frontier League stats Link to story about the NCBL Link to story about Empire League’s origin Link to Empire League wiki Link to Empire League website Link to the Greys’ January announcement Link to story about the Greys Link to other story about the Greys Link to the Greys on Twitter Link to the Greys’ team shop Link to the Greys’ schedule Link to game story about the first win Link to photo from after the first win Link to story about Rocker’s season Link to Cardinals dingers video Link to Ben Clemens on single-game homers  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 the varying interpretations of Bobby Bonilla Day and what may be the last-ever Bruce Sutter Day, then (17:20) discuss what an expansive ESPN profile of Rob Manfred reveals about the MLB commissioner. After that (48:49), they answer listener emails about players jumping straight from college to the majors, whether a player who hit a lot of homers but little else would be playable, how many players would still be two-way players if the rules permitted nine designated hitters, and a chair for catchers. Finally (1:22:53), they Stat Blast about the players with the most unique uniform numbers and the most lopsided starting-pitcher matchups by win-loss record, plus (1:34:35) “fourth out” banter, a Past Blast from 1870, a call for listener testimonials, and a few followups. Audio intro: Etta James, “Bobby is His Name” Audio outro: The Hollies, “Pay You Back With Interest” Link to Planet Money on Bonilla Day Link to The Athletic on Sutter Link to thread about deferred payments Link to Torre on athletes going broke Link to ESPN profile of Manfred Link to Selig EW episode Link to @dril tweet Link to pitcher stuff aging curve Link to first dorm chair Link to second dorm chair Link to third dorm chair Link to Stathead Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter account Link to active uniform-number leaders Link to all-time uniform-number leaders Link to Petriello on George Brunet Link to Petriello on uniform-number value Link to winless vs. lossless SP data Link to winless vs. lossless record game Link to lopsided net W-L record data Link to earlier Stat Blast on SP W-L records Link to EW emails database Link to post on Nationals “fourth out” play Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1870 story source Link to CarShield tweet Link to Ward interview Link to John Poff’s fundraiser  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