Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by Jake Mintz of Céspedes Family BBQ to talk about Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson leaving the team midseason to join LSU, why MLB teams are hiring coaches from college and why colleges are hiring them back, whether MLB teams should pay coaches more, the state of player development in college, Jake’s experience at the College World Series, his short summary of what non-college baseball fans should know about the just-completed college season, the arrival of Royals rookie Vinnie Pasquantino, the Astros’ extremely low-offense catchers, the importance of pitch-tipping, Rafael Devers heating up and sitting down, Clay Holmes’s improvement after leaving the Pirates, the unwritten rules of closer entrance song etiquette, Justin Turner’s walk-up song consistency, and more. Then (1:00:19), Ben and Meg banter about yet another Tyler Wade/Taylor Ward broadcaster mixup, how Freddie Freeman leaving Atlanta is like Ben leaving grammar school, and whether wearing two gloves could actually be legal, plus a Past Blast from 1869. Audio intro: Shy Boys, “In Gloves” Audio outro: Monophonics, “Let That Sink In” Link to Dan Hayes on Johnson Link to SI post about Johnson Link to article about Fetter Link to Ben on college player dev Link to story on Twins’ college coaches Link to ESPN on the CWS outcome Link to Jake on Houston’s catchers Link to team catcher offense Link to Trout pitch-tipping GIF Link to Jordan on Devers Link to Speier on Devers Link to article about Holmes post-Pirates Link to Ben Clemens on Holmes Link to Jordan on Holmes Link to Cameron Grove on pitch usage Link to Rob Arthur on pitch usage Link to Rob on pitch usage again Link to sinker usage leaderboard Link to grounder rate leaderboard Link to Ken Rosenthal on Freeman Link to Jay Jaffe on Freeman Link to Kershaw comment on Freeman Link to article on Flores crying Link to wicket-keeper wiki Link to wicket-keeper image Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1869 story source  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 a surprising ESPY nomination for Jorge Soler, another Tyler Wade/Taylor Ward broadcaster mixup, the massive Mariners-Angels brawl and ensuing suspensions and pizzas, Bryce Harper’s broken thumb and not-broken face, Mark Appel finally making the majors, an update on the Joc Pederson–Tommy Pham feud, the Yankees getting no-hit, the respectable Orioles, an impressive fact about the AL East, a Willians Astudillo tag mistake and the nature of forces vs. tags, and Freddie Freeman’s representation, plus a Stat Blast (1:13:05) about Robbie Ray and pitchers with high concentrations of runs allowed in one inning, a Past Blast (1:24:32) from 1868, and a few followups. Audio intro: Colleen Green, “Number One” Audio outro: The Hives, “Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones” Link to ESPY nominations Link to video of brawl Link to sunflower-seed toss Link to suspension announcements Link to pizza story Link to Tepera’s two ejections Link to Harper quote Link to 2021 Harper HBP story Link to Appel story Link to Astros no-hitter video Link to Langs tweet about Yankees Link to first Judge game-ender Link to second Judge game-ender Link to Pederson/Pham update Link to Astudillo tag play Link to Olney report about Freeman Link to Freeman ovation video Link to Freeman press conference Link to Stat Blast data Link to Ray broadcast graphic Link to Cameron Grove on Ray Link to Grove on Ray again Link to third Grove/Ray tweet Link to Stathead Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1868 story source Link to other 1868 story source Link to Bradley broken-elbow video Link to Bradley broken-elbow news Link to Meg’s post on Bradley Link to Sadman Baseball video  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 answer listener emails about why players in the dugout seem so confident in pitch locations, whether it would ever help to wear two gloves, MLB Big Inning and other baseball equivalents of NFL RedZone, the extreme dimensions of the Polo Grounds, what makes it so impressive that some players perform at the same level for a long time, whether the Cardinals are a fun team, and what it means when we say that a player is “fun to watch,” then (55:45) take pedantic questions about “pedantic” vs. “semantic,” whether every batted ball that hits the ground is a ground ball, “former” first-round draft picks, “number one” draft picks, how best to describe a batter’s small-sample line, the (un)importance of head-to-head team records, clearing the bases and homers that drive in multiple runs, how to refer to ballparks that have since changed their names, and the on-deck circle vs. the “next batter’s box,” followed (1:32:07) by a Past Blast from 1867. Audio intro: Nick Lowe, “Hope for Us All” Audio outro: The Mynabirds, “Semantics” Link to Martinez ejection story Link to MLB Big Inning Link to B-Ref Stream Finder Link to Ben on baseball RedZone Link to the Mitchell catch Link to Sam on the Mitchell catch Link to Polo Grounds dimensions wiki Link to B-Ref on the Polo Grounds Link to THT on extreme ballparks Link to THT on ballpark homogenization Link to 85.4 mph home run Link to Ben on quality of competition Link to Dan Szymborski on Cardinals projections Link to Viva El Birdos on Cardinals projections Link to THT on political baseball jargon Link to The Atlantic on baseball stereotypes Link to research on baseball stereotypes Link to Craig Wright on the running game Link to Pages From Baseball’s Past Link to Defector on The Athletic Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1867 story source Link to 1873 dead ball ad Link to “next batter’s box” diagram  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 two spectacular games by Shohei Ohtani and Ohtani’s extraordinary playing-time pace and relay a sinker-iffic response from Michael Lorenzen to a previous discussion about baseball grip, then (24:22) answer listener emails about using different-colored balls to denote different levels of liveliness, how much time to train players have in-season, whether fielders are to blame when their gloves develop holes, outlawing webbed gloves to raise BABIP, single-game team home-run records, whether players who come up now are already conditioned by pitch clocks, PitchCom and pace, which single stat they would most want to know about hitters and pitchers, and how many appeals a ball-strike challenge system should allow, plus (1:23:17) a Past Blast from 1866. Audio intro: Jon Brion, “Hook, Line and Sinker” Audio outro: Japanese Breakfast, “Boyish” Link to Ohtani game stories Link to FG combined WAR leaderboard Link to Langs tweet Link to pre-2022 combined BF+PA data Link to Lorenzen comments Link to MLB mud memo Link to sinker HBP rate Link to Annie Hall clip Link to Justin Choi on sinkers Link to Ben on pitching machines Link to Diaz glove video Link to Vlad glove video Link to Rob Arthur on low BABIP Link to 2015 story on age and pace Link to Rob on pace and velo Link to Russell on pace and velo Link to Rob on batter age and pace Link to 27-and-under SP pace Link to 28-and-over SP pace Link to team homer records in game Link to team homer records in season Link to MiLB experimental rules Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1866 story source Link to Creighton SABR bio Link to tweet about Pabor’s nickname Link to Thorn on Pabor’s nickname Link to Gavarni illustration  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 whether changing managers is at all responsible for the Phillies’ recent success, the Yankees’ almost unparalleled winning-percentage pace, the Royals’ historically terrible pitching performance and the pressure on their pitching coach, another Taylor Ward/Tyler Wade broadcaster slipup, Anthony Rendon’s season-ending surgery, Michael Lorenzen’s comments about baseball slipperiness and MLB’s new mud mandate, a tough-negotiating teen fan’s price for J.J. Matijevic’s first career home run ball, a persuasive display of the minor-league ball/strike challenge system, the major league promotions of Riley Greene and Oneil Cruz, and Lorenzo Cain’s career, plus Stat Blasts (1:15:51) about an entire lineup turning over in a single game and losing pitchers who made the last out of a game, and (1:30:21) a Past Blast from 1865. Audio intro: Pulp, “Can I Have My Balls Back, Please?” Audio outro: The Moody Blues, “Steppin’ in a Slide Zone” Link to Joe Sheehan’s poll Link to The Athletic writers on Girardi Link to Jay Jaffe on the Yankees Link to B-Ref newsletter on the Yankees Link to tweet with Moore quote Link to follow-up tweet about Moore Link to Moore audio Link to Moore video Link to Royals’ staff’s + stats Link to Lorenzen comments Link to MLB mud memo Link to Matijevic game story Link to Matijevic video Link to story on Jeter’s 3000th Link to ball/strike challenge video Link to MiLB experimental rules Link to news about the zone Link to story on Cruz’s debut Link to story on Madris’s debut Link to Andy McCullough on Cain Link to Stathead Link to new Stathead feature explainer Link to lineup-changes Stat Blast data Link to losing P/last out Stat Blast data Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter account Link to Forsch game story Link to first DH story Link to second DH story Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1865 story source Link to first diamond image Link to second diamond image Link to history of spike use  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 a broadcaster relatably mixing up Taylor Ward and Tyler Wade, the Dodgers “fixing” former Rockies pitcher Yency Almonte, a deep, perplexing rabbit hole (7:46) of baseball-themed CarShield commercials, the bat spike as the new bat flip, an umpire’s close call with a broken-bat shard, and the building backlash against position-player pitchers. After that (39:13), they welcome back former major leaguer and current Giants director of video coaching Fernando Perez to talk about how he got his gig with the Giants, what a video coach does, the advantages of the Giants’ giant coaching staff, the disintegrating distinctions between front office and field, the player-development variation among teams, how the Giants beat preseason projections by a record margin in 2021, the upsides and downsides of being in a difficult division, some veterans the Giants’ development philosophies have helped improve (including Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford), how coaching and player dev have evolved since his playing days, the next player-dev frontiers, the Giants’ anti-unwritten-rules approach, and how new technology and information have affected the pitcher-batter balance, plus detours into Joe Maddon’s mohawk, trick plays he wants to see, and the Joc Pederson–Tommy Pham fantasy-football dispute. Then (1:43:18) Ben ends with a Past Blast from 1864, a fun fact, and a few followups. Audio intro: Small Faces, “Things Are Going to Get Better” Audio interstitial: Ry Cooder, “Fernando Sez” Audio outro: Isotopes, “Infield Fly” Link to Petriello’s Almonte tweet Link to Cameron Grove on Almonte Link to Nick Groke on Almonte Link to CarShield MLB ad playlist Link to other CarShield ad playlists Link to Vierling article Link to Vierling homer off Hader Link to CarShield Collegiate League wiki Link to CarShield Field wiki Link to Stubbs bat spike video Link to Stubbs EW episode Link to umpire bat-shard photo Link to umpire bat-shard article Link to umpire bat-shard video Link to Nightengale tweet about Hinch Link to Jay Jaffe on the Tigers Link to McCarthy position-player P tweet Link to live EW episode with Fernando Link to Rob Mains on PECOTA and the Giants Link to 2008 Rays mohawk story Link to 2020 story on the Dodgers’ player dev Link to story on the Giants’ new training facility Link to 2020 story on the Giants’ coaching staff Link to 2022 story on the Giants’ coaching staff Link to Tim Kurkjian on bad baserunning Link to Kapler’s unwritten-rules comments Link to MLB.com on the Giants’ rewritten rules Link to Ben Clemens on the Giants’ bunting Link to Yaz deke video Link to story about the outfield deke Link to Coghlan leap video Link to Susan Slusser on the Giants’ t-shirts Link to Tom Ley on the Giants’ t-shirts Link to 2019 Pham interview video Link to latest Pham comments Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to Richard on the infield fly rule Link to story on Houston’s immaculate innings Link to video of the immaculate innings Link to Sarah Langs’ immaculate-innings tweet Link to list of three-pitch-strikeout streaks Link to Clemens on three-pitch strikeouts Link to 2016 Albies injury video Link to Jayson Stark on second base’s location Link to hyper-punny ad  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 what it means to be humbled, whether Joe Maddon’s mohawk could have caught on and caused a Shohawk had he not been fired, another point about Aaron Judge’s potentially historic home-run pace, a Byron Buxton fun fact, whether Buxton or Luis Arraez is a more entertaining hitter, Ozzie Albies’ fluky foot fracture, and a smart baserunning play by the Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman. Then (37:10) they answer listener emails about Pete Alonso ads for extended car warranties, Alejandro Kirk and the Blue Jays’ catching corps, line drives up the middle, whether the World Series winner is more likely to come out of either the AL East or NL West or the rest of baseball, and how splits by out count work, followed (1:16:19) by pedantic questions about swinging bunts, “contact hitting,” bloop hits, the baseball “diamond,” and “back-to-back-to-back” home runs, a Stat Blast (1:34:22) about power hitters who haven’t homered in consecutive plate appearances or at-bats, and a Past Blast (1:40:18) from 1863. Audio intro: Willie Nelson, “Hard to Be Humble” Audio outro: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, “Humble Me” Link to Buxton fun fact article Link to Albies injury video Link to story about Albies foot fracture Link to Jay Jaffe on Atlanta’s streak Link to hamate-fracture study Link to second hamate-fracture study Link to later hamate-fracture study Link to video of Cardinals play Link to article on The Only Nolan Link to first Alonso ad Link to second Alonso ad Link to info on Alonso accident Link to Kershaw ad Link to article on 30 Rock joke rate Link to leaders in balls hit toward pitcher Link to leaders in straightaway liners Link to yearly BA on balls hit toward pitchers Link to yearly BA on straightaway grounders Link to 2022 catcher WAR leaders Link to 2022 team catcher WAR Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts Link to Giants shirts Link to Pham’s response Link to Stathead Link to new Stathead feature explainer Link to Stat Blast results list Link to article on Grace’s first slam Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1863 story source Link to Jeff Fogle on getaway days Link to Bill James on getaway days  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 Joe Maddon’s mohawk, the latest details about Mike Trout’s (and Tommy Pham’s and Joc Pederson’s) legendary fantasy football league, a rash of hidden-ball-trick attempts, the “old guy’s still got it” resurgences of Nelson Cruz and Joey Votto, how big a deal Aaron Judge’s potentially historic home-run pace should be, the two-way dominance and unsurpassed hard-hitting of the Yankees (including Matt Carpenter’s hot start with the team), the AL East hogging half of the AL’s prospective playoff berths, the excellence of José Ramírez, Tommy Edman’s breakout, Ben’s new peeve about a certain type of homer, the latest extremes in position-player pitching, Walker Buehler’s injury and the NL West race, the longest-ever collective winning and losing streaks by a division, the NL East race, the winning ways of the Braves and Ronald Acuña Jr., and the history of the “base hit,” plus a Past Blast from 1862. Audio intro: Francis Lung, “Bad Hair Day” Audio outro: Vanessa Peters, “A Good Judge” Link to Maddon mohawk report Link to 2008 mohawk story Link to Gonzalez firing story Link to Randolph firing story Link to clip of Trout on ESPN Link to Votto’s May 2 tweet Link to Dan Szymborski on Votto Link to story on Votto’s hot streak Link to FG on-pace leaderboard Link to expected HR leaderboard Link to Stanton’s 120 mph homer Link to Ben on Stanton in 2017 Link to list of hardest-hit balls Link to Rosenthal on rebuilding Carpenter Link to Ohtani HR off the wall Link to Stark on position-player pitchers Link to story on Higashioka’s homer Link to Mike Fast on the slowest pitch Link to Jay Jaffe on Buehler Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1862 story source  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 Joe Maddon’s firing, the impact and end of the Angels’ 14-game losing streak, and whether the Angels or Phillies are in a worse position for the future, Tony La Russa’s intentional walk on a 1-2 count, whether the weather and the humidor can explain MLB’s sudden upticks in fly-ball distance and home-run rate, the testing of experimental, legalized sticky stuff in the minor leagues, Hunter Greene’s rain-shortened run at a Statcast no-hitter, how the Cardinals and Rays played a nine-inning game in less than two hours, Joey Bart’s demotion and the wide range in the performance of this season’s promoted top prospects, the return of Stephen Strasburg (sort of), an update on Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich and observations about Alex Bregman, David Robertson, Sandy Alcantara, Willians Astudillo, and Tony Gonsolin and the Dodgers, the teaser for the latest TV adaptation of A League of Their Own, Angel Hernandez filing an appeal over his discrimination lawsuit, the Rays’ Pride Night debacle, a NYT crossword conflating plate appearances and at-bats, and pedantry about whether home-run hitters are actually on base, plus a Past Blast about 1861. Audio intro: Nick Lowe, “14 Days” Audio outro: Imperial Teen, “One Two” Link to Jay Jaffe on Maddon Link to Sam Blum on Maddon Link to Rosenthal Q&A with Maddon Link to Ohtani’s streak-ending highlights Link to story about signature significance Link to James Fegan on La Russa Link to Ginny Searle on La Russa Link to Ben Clemens on La Russa Link to broadcast clip of La Russa IBB Link to La Russa explanation video Link to Seager 1-2 IBB Link to Trout 1-2 IBB Link to Ballpark Pal home-runs thread Link to Alan Nathan on Twitter Link to Mike Axisa on homers and Greene Link to Evan Drellich on MiLB sticky stuff Link to Sam on Statcast no-hitters Link to Greene’s batted balls allowed Link to short Rays-Cardinals game Link to MLB.com on McClanahan Link to pitcher pace leaderboard Link to Jay on Bart’s demotion Link to Ben on the minors-to-majors gap Link to MLB.com on Strasburg Link to David Laurila on Bregman Link to Ben on Longoria Link to Jay on Gonsolin Link to Astudillo scoring video Link to A League of Their Own teaser Link to story about Hernandez’s appeal Link to Hernandez at Umpire Scorecards Link to Ginny on the Rays Link to Emma’s crossword tweet Link to tweet about NL Central losing streak Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1861 story source Link to Cabrera’s spring hidden-ball trick  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 talks to a trio of guests. First (4:10), he’s joined by Mr. King, the creator of Northwoods Baseball Sleep Radio, to talk about baseball as ASMR, crafting a fictional league, broadcaster, and collection of players, replicating the soothing, white-noise sounds of a baseball broadcast, putting his listeners to sleep, and more. Then (34:32) Ben brings on coach and journalist John W. Miller to examine how the rise of private travel baseball clubs and pay-to-play tournaments has reshaped youth baseball and excluded some kids from the sport, discuss the ramifications from Little League to the major leagues, and propose some solutions. After that (1:18:12), former major leaguer (and former EW guest) John Poff rejoins, along with John Brave Bull and Ardyce Taken Alive from the Standing Rock Reservation, to talk about their histories, explain their efforts to bring baseball to kids at Standing Rock, and ask the EW audience for help (plus a reading of a Poff poem). Finally (1:50:05), Ben shares a baseball-history anecdote from 1860. Audio intro: Julie Andrews, “Stay Awake” Audio interstitial 1: Dave Dudley, “George (and the North Woods)” Audio interstitial 2: Peter, Paul and Mary, “Right Field” Audio outro: Raye Zaragoza, “Driving to Standing Rock” Link to Baseball Sleep Radio website Link to Baseball Sleep Radio on Spotify Link to FG post on Baseball Sleep Radio Link to the real Northwoods League Link to Bloomberg on white noise podcasts Link to The Universal Baseball Association Link to old baseball broadcasts on YouTube Link to old baseball broadcasts on archive.org Link to GameChanger Plays Announcer post Link to John Miller on youth baseball Link to John on improving youth baseball Link to Tom House baseball-size tweet Link to McCutchen at The Players’ Tribune Link to Pittsburgh Hardball Academy site Link to info on the Dream Series Link to RBI Baseball site Link to article on commercializing youth sports Link to data on youth sports participation Link to John Miller’s baseball resume Link to John Miller’s website Link to John Poff’s SABR bio Link to John’s first podcast appearance Link to Poff Stat Blast episode Link to Standing Rock Reservation wiki Link to KLND website Link to Community Alliance Group website Link to John’s North Dakota Quarterly poems Link to John’s GoFundMe fundraiser page Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1860 story source 1 Link to 1860 story source 2  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