Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mike Yastrzemski trying the “KK play,” the distinctive smell of rat urine, Buck Showalter making a mid-PA pitching change, Dave Roberts running afoul of a position-player-pitcher rule, the wording of the zombie-runner rule, Nick Pivetta’s near-miraculous mechanical adjustment, and Mike Trout’s slump, plus a baseball-history fact from 1859. Then (38:54) they talk to former Phillies front-office executive Lewie Pollis about how working for an MLB team became his dream job and why, several years after fulfilling that dream, he decided to walk away from it by changing careers—a choice with wide-ranging lessons to offer about work-life balance in baseball and beyond (plus a postscript). Audio intro: The Walkmen, “This Job is Killing Me” Audio interstitial: Ramones, “The Job That Ate My Brain” Audio outro: Dan Bern, “Burned Out Case” Link to Yaz play video Link to play in full game highlights Link to story about the “KK play” Link to video of the “KK play” Link to posts about unwritten rules of deking Link to “rat urine” report Link to Ben on mid-PA pitching changes Link to Showalter pitching-change video Link to article about the pitching change Link to Mookie quote Link to article on Girardi’s “Strategy” Link to 2020 zombie-runner rule Link to article about Roberts’ confusion Link to 4/17 story on Pivetta’s mechanics Link to 4/20 story on Pivetta’s mechanics Link to other 4/20 story on Pivetta Link to story on Pivetta’s turnaround Link to EW episode about Trout going hitless Link to story about the Angels’ losing streak Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1859 story source Link to Lewie’s 2014 story on front-office pay Link to Lewie’s Baseball Prospectus archive Link to Lewie’s newsletter Link to Lewie on leaving his dream job Link to Lewie on the response to his essay Link to “Great Resignation” wiki Link to R.J. Anderson on MLB brain drain  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 Girardi’s firing and where the Phillies go from here, the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez extension, the dip in DH offense, and the trade deadline, then answer listener emails about MLB.TV highlights, the upside of ignoring playoff odds, getting plunked on a full count, things that haven’t happened in an MLB game, players being coached by their romantic partners, and what would happen if no one wanted to play catcher, plus a history tidbit from 1858 and a few followups. Audio intro: Ezra Furman, “Wobbly” Audio outro: Liz Phair, “Uncle Alvarez” Link to MLB.com on the Girardi firing Link to ESPN on the Girardi firing Link to Andy McCullough on Girardi Link to wobbly chair/squid is fried explainer Link to MLB.com on the Alvarez extension Link to Dan on extension candidates Link to Dan on more extension candidates Link to Dan on the trade deadline Link to Passan on the trade deadline Link to DH stats by season Link to Russell Carleton on resting hitters Link to story about DH and roster decisions Link to FanGraphs WPA Inquirer Link to Ben Clemens on Holmes Link to Smeltzer interview video Link to Smeltzer story Link to subsequent Smeltzer story Link to EW listener emails database Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to story about the Mets’ pitching machine Link to video of the machine Link to Ben on “perfect” pitching machines Link to story about the Turner deke Link to Turner deke 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 announce the availability of new Effectively Wild T-shirts, then follow up on the latest, Mike Trout-related developments in the Tommy Pham–Joc Pederson fantasy-football/slap story as well as Josh Donaldson’s comments about his teammates not supporting him. After that, they banter about a home-run robbery that wasn’t, the homer hitting of Aaron Judge, a successful use of the “KK play” to deke a runner into leaving third base early, the return of MVP-caliber Mookie Betts, the Kevin Gausman vs. Robbie Ray debate revisited, unlikely contenders for the pitcher WAR lead (including Martín Pérez), and whether the Phillies are hopeless this season and long term, followed by the latest edition of Today’s Episode Number in Baseball History (plus a postscript). Audio intro: The Skygreen Leopards, “Selling T-shirts” Audio outro: The Lemonheads, “It’s a Shame About Ray” Link to FG post about t-shirts Link to t-shirts Link to C. Trent on Trout Link to Andy McCullough on Trout Link to MLB.com on Trout Link to Donaldson comments Link to tweet about Ohtani’s rescheduling Link to Ohtani game story Link to Ohtani non-robbery video Link to Ben on homer robberies Link to Dan Szymborski on Judge Link to “ordinary effort” definition Link to story about the “KK play” Link to video of the “KK play” Link to Ben on mid-PA pitching changes Link to story about Ray and vaccination Link to Shapiro’s comments Link to Levi Weaver on Pérez Link to Sports-Reference newsletter Link to changes in playoff odds Link to Girardi on his job Link to Ken Rosenthal on Girardi’s job Link to The Ringer’s preseason predictions Link to RosterResource payroll page Link to 1857 convention story Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1857 story source 1 Link to 1857 story source 2 Link to 1857 story source 3 Link to Shanghaiing wiki Link to sticky wicket wiki Link to story on crank/fan Link to “good hair day” clip Link to overheard Hallion clip Link to Hallion hot-mic clip Link to “ass in the jackpot” 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 banter about Nick Castellanos’s uncanny tater timing, and then (4:43) Ben attempts to explain the Joc Pederson–Tommy Pham fantasy-football dispute (and resulting slap) to Meg. After that (44:42), they discuss the Reds’ resurgence, an umpire’s hot mic, updates on defensive-positioning restrictions and the forthcoming pitch clock, and whether the standings will present enough suspense this summer. Finally (1:19:42), they debut a new history segment about an event that took place in the year of the episode number and Stat Blast (1:24:00) about multiple starting pitchers debuting in the same game, an odd pinch-hitting appearance by Darin Ruf, and the most consecutive pitcher innings with the same pitch count (plus a postscript with a few followups). Audio intro: The Scruffs, “Revenge” Audio outro: Basic Plumbing, “Fantasy” Link to Castellanos clip Link to Ben on the Castellanos meme Link to video of the slap Link to first Pederson video Link to second Pederson video Link to Mercury News on the slap Link to ESPN on the slap Link to Cincinnati.com on the slap Link to the NYT on the slap Link to CBS sports on the fantasy dispute Link to Gaslamp Ball post Link to Oakley-Hill dispute story Link to Pham stabbing story Link to Pham vs. fans story Link to Pham vs. Voit story Link to Pham on the pandemic delay Link to story on Pham’s slow start Link to SI Pham profile Link to Tampa Bay Times Pham profile Link to Strickland vs. Harper story Link to Mets rat vs. raccoon story Link to hot-mic tweet Link to Stark on rules changes Link to FG Playoff Odds Link to Joe Posnanski on the standings Link to Marc Normandin on the standings Link to New York Clipper, 8/9/1856 Link to New York Clipper box score Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to Stathead Link to Stathead query about two-SP debuts Link to Stathead query about Ruf’s PH Ks Link to Cangelosi Stat Blast text Link to Stat Blast pitch-count data Link to Pérez’s record game Link to Trout commissioner story Link to 1985 Raines story Link to other 1985 Raines story Link to Raines bio excerpt Link to glass delusion wiki Link to Boswell on big innings Link to James vs. Boswell story  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 we don’t see more hidden-ball tricks in MLB, why big leaguers practice fielding grounders between innings, comparing the careers of Paul Goldschmidt and Freddie Freeman, how baseball broadcasts should discuss domestic-violence suspensions, whether Rickey Henderson would still have stolen bases if he’d been inflicted with Glass Ass Syndrome, and whether teams could get more favorable calls by riding umpires even harder than they already do, then (58:01) field “How can you not be pedantic about baseball?” questions about hometown discounts for players who aren’t native to a town, who qualifies as a “phenom,” and pitches “on the corner,” followed by (1:08:53) Stat Blasts about pitchers who’ve lost to every current franchise and how patterns of starter wins and losses have changed, how often game times exactly match game start times, and whether Roger Angell was right about a bet in 1975. Audio intro: Jim White, “Smart-Ass Reply” Audio outro: Beams, “Break Glass” Link to Double-A hidden-ball trick Link to Retrosheet list of hidden-ball tricks Link to MLB.com on Barrett Link to Finding the Hidden-Ball Trick Link to story on Goldschmidt’s 2013 nickname Link to SI on Rickey’s SB technique Link to first study on taking close pitches Link to second study on taking close pitches Link to pitcher leaderboard of teams lost to Link to SP decision rates by year Link to data on SP W/L correlations Link to game times matching start times Link to shortest game with matching times Link to longest game with matching times Link to list of longest regular-season games Link to FG Roger Angell reading recs post Link to Jay’s tribute to Angell Link to “Agincourt and After” Link to passage from “Agincourt and After” Link to historical data on the Angell bet Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter Link to Stathead Link to EW listener emails database Link to TOOTBLAN glossary entry Link to FARTSLAM introduction Link to FARTSLAM discussion Link to FARTSLAM montage  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 apparent end of Mike Trout’s long-lasting SuperPretzel sponsorship, Willians Astudillo’s return to the majors, the Phillies’ fielding and a seeming surfeit of amusingly bad defensive plays across the league, the arrival of overall no. 1 prospect (and Orioles catcher) Adley Rutschman and how to tell when a prospect is really ready, the postponement of the 13-pitcher limit, the Yankees signing Matt Carpenter, different facial hair changing players’ appearances, the fallout from Josh Donaldson calling Tim Anderson “Jackie,” and Anderson’s great start to the season, plus a few followups. Audio intro: Great Lakes, “End of an Error” Audio outro: Joel Plaskett, “Tim” Link to news about J&J and Dippin’ Dots Link to 2012 SuperPretzel press release Link to SuperPretzel website Link to “I’m a Mac” actor-switch story Link to EW SuperPretzel episode Link to latest Phillies flub Link to Craig Goldstein on the Phillies Link to earlier episode about bad defense Link to Nats’ two-run pickoff attempt Link to study on slippery baseballs Link to team defensive efficiency Link to BP on scouting Rutschman Link to Craig on the Rutschman callup Link to Rutschman callup video Link to Rodríguez callup video Link to Ben on the record prospect crop Link to 13-pitcher-limit news Link to Ken Rosenthal on Carpenter Link to 2019 Tim Anderson SI story Link to James Fegan on Anderson Link to Anderson game story Link to Anderson’s subsequent comments Link to Donaldson statement Link to 2016 Donaldson profile Link to Judge’s comments Link to Cashman on Donaldson Link to Bradford’s interview Link to Bradford’s podcast Link to article on Anderson’s swing decisions Link to FiveThirtyEight forecasts page Link to Tom Tango on regression mistakes Link to Phil Birnbaum on regression mistakes  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 talk to Kelly Pracht, the CEO and co-founder of predictive analytics startup nVenue, which has provided the real-time probabilities displayed on this season’s MLB Network-produced Friday Night Baseball broadcasts on Apple TV+. They discuss nVenue’s origin story, its sports-betting ambitions, its 100-plus-input machine-learning model, which factors are and aren’t predictive of performance, Ben and Meg’s misgivings about some of the displayed probabilities, and much more. Then (1:04:37) Ben and Meg bring on FanGraphs writer Ben Clemens to discuss the results of his study about how nVenue’s odds compare to a simplistic, one-factor model, and why they think the accuracy of the system matters. Audio intro: Remember Sports, “Odds Are” Audio interstitial: Sunflower Bean, “Beat the Odds” Audio outro: The Rock*A*Teens, “Count in Odd Numbers” Link to Friday Night Baseball details Link to nVenue’s website Link to article about nVenue fundraising Link to SportTechie on nVenue Link to SportTechie on nVenue again Link to D Magazine on nVenue Link to InnovationMap on nVenue Link to nVenue YouTube video Link to nVenue on PitchBook Link to nVenue on Crunchbase Link to Emily Bender on AI Link to machine learning wiki Link to overfitting explainer Link to SABR on machine learning Link to “reach base probability” tweets Link to Ben Clemens’s nVenue study Link to Ben’s study data Link to Brier score wiki Link to league count splits  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 pay tribute (for the umpteenth time) to the great Roger Angell, who died at 101 on Friday, then banter about which underperforming hitters are most in need of the kind of breakout game that slow-starting Trevor Story had this week. After that (21:41), they bring on listener and top-tier Patreon supporter Aaron Hartman to discuss his Effectively Wild, baseball, and betting origin stories, answer listener emails about umpire punch-out calls in the robo-umps era, quantifying clutchness at lower levels, and the most tortured fan bases in MLB, then (1:00:09) do a “How can you not be pedantic about baseball?” segment on ground-rule doubles, the infield “corners,” “scoreless” games, postseason stats, and walk-offs, and Stat Blast (1:26:10) about Mike Clevinger and pitchers facing players they were traded for, the longest strings of identical plate appearances for back-to-back batters, and the pitchers most helped or hurt by their bullpen support. Audio intro: Neil Young, “Roger and Out” Audio outro: Band of Horses, “Heartbreak on the 101” Link to New Yorker Angell obit Link to NYT Angell obit Link to Angell SABR bio Link to Tom Verducci Angell profile Link to EW episode on Angell’s centennial Link to centennial episode transcript Link to Angell book interview episode Link to Angell mentions on the EW wiki Link to Patrick Dubuque on Story Link to MLB.com on Story Link to Robert Orr on Semien Link to MLB.com on Gorman and Liberatore Link to news about the Cardinals’ callups Link to BP on Gorman Link to BP on Liberatore Link to article on debut dates for HoFers Link to ground-rule double info Link to MLB ground rules Link to William Safire on walk-offs Link to etymology of walk-off homers Link to 2021 MLB walk-off montage Link to EW email questions database Link to Stathead Link to player pairs with same 4 on-base events Link to Duck Soup mirror scene Link to rate of multi-player trades by decade Link to Ben on pitchers vs. ex-catchers Link to Stat Blast data on inherited runners Link to Aaron’s Instagram Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter Link to article on trendiest names Link to baby-name comparison tool  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 rabidity of opossums and Eugenio Suárez‘s keepie-uppie skills, then discuss the White Sox offense and Tony La Russa’s rationale for batting Andrew Vaughn ninth, Max Scherzer’s oblique injury, and the possibility of a Juan Soto trade, before meeting major leaguers (53:30) Logan Gillaspie (Orioles) and Brandon Hughes (Cubs), and Stat Blasting (1:06:26) about the rapid Tyler/Taylor takeover of MLB player names. Audio intro: We Are Scientists, “I Don’t Bite” Audio outro: Kiwi Jr., “Tyler” Link to the Human Society on opossums Link to Wildlife Habitat Council on opossums Link to Opossum Society FAQ Link to press-box opossum pic Link to story about press-box opossum Link to possum vs. opossum definitions Link to Reddit thread on Suárez Link to La Russa comment on Vaughn Link to Tango’s response Link to Ben on batting pitchers eighth Link to Jeremy Frank on Garcia Link to Frank on Garcia again Link to Scherzer news Link to deGrom update Link to Olney on Soto Link to report on Soto extension offer Link to Mark Feinsand on trade candidates Link to video of Gillaspie’s debut Link to MASN on Gillaspie’s debut Link to Camden Chat on Gillaspie Link to 2018 Gillaspie signing story Link to FB group thread on Gillaspie Link to Ben on the Salina Stockade Link to The Only Rule Is it Has to Work Link to story on Hughes’s debut Link to video of Hughes’s debut Link to Hughes fun fact Link to Longenhagen on Hughes Link to Tyler Holton story Link to Stat Blast data on player names Link to SSA baby names site Link to The Bob Emergency, Part 1 Link to The Bob Emergency, Part II Link to Tyler Kepner on Tylers Link to Stathead on worst second-half tOPS+ Link to Stathead on second-half ERA rises Link to 1995 article on Green, P. 1 Link to 1995 article on Green, P. 2  Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about two of the worst defensive plays of the season, which came courtesy of the Tigers and Nationals, Albert Pujols pitching and walking, the Pirates winning without a hit (but with one correct prediction), and the breakout of Taylor Ward; answer listener emails about banning gray uniforms, baseball jugglers, listing pitchers’ batting handedness in the universal-DH era, vetoing shifts and pitching changes, and catchers squatting too close to hitters; then Stat Blast (1:08:55) about the most consecutive trades made by one team, the best one-day home and road records, and the most back-to-back homers in a season by teams and players, before reflecting on how the (o)possums in the press box in Oakland may get along with their feral-cat neighbors (plus a few postscript updates). Audio intro: The Society of Rockets, “Error Era” Audio outro: Chip Taylor, “The Possum Hunter” Link to video of Twins-Tigers play Link to video of Nats-Marlins play Link to WaPo on the Nats’ defense Link to team Defensive Efficiency Link to Tigers’ dropped popup Link to Nationals’ botched rundown Link to xWOBA leaderboard Link to Sam Blum on Ward Link to Dan Szymborski on Ward Link to Tyler Kepner on Tylers Link to Jay Jaffe on the hitless win Link to García’s prediction Link to story on VanMeter’s prediction Link to tweet about VanMeter’s prediction Link to story about Pujols and Gonzalez Link to Sam on Pujols not walking Link to Allen juggling on SI cover Link to video of Peña juggling Link to video of Guillorme juggling Link to video of Dietrich juggling Link to other video of Dietrich juggling Link to article about Olympic juggling Link to Jeff on catcher’s interference rates Link to EW email questions database Link to Stathead Link to Stat Blast data on back-to-back HR Link to MLBTR on Ford trades Link to story about Schwarber as bench coach Link to tweet about Wilson as coach Link to press-box possum pic Link to Opossum Society FAQ Link to possum vs. opossum definitions Link to tweet about Morel’s called shot Link to video of Nats’ latest misplay(s)  Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source