Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about exactly how many feral cats have infested the Oakland Coliseum and exactly how few fans have attended A’s games this season, Miguel Cabrera’s impending 3,000th hit and the potentially long time that may elapse before another player joins the 3,000-hit club, the recentism of MLB.TV highlights, the Guardians’ Gabriel Arias starting his career by reaching on error in two consecutive plate appearances (and the nickname of Icehouse Wilson), an uptick in weather-related postponements, MLB’s green initiatives, and how 2023’s more balanced schedule could cause more emissions, Charlie Blackmon becoming the first MLB player to shill for a sportsbook, and Shohei Ohtani’s latest two-way heroics, plus a Stat Blast (1:09:09) about the ascendance of max-effort starting pitching and Ben’s preferred fix for all that ails on-field baseball. Audio intro: The Velvet Underground, “Cool it Down” Audio outro: Modest Mouse, “Out of Gas” Link to story about the cat count Link to story about feral hogs Link to feral hogs meme Link to Field of Schemes on A’s attendance Link to story about cats at Shea Stadium Link to 2022 MLB team attendance Link to RosterResource payroll page Link to “dead mall” wiki Link to Dan Szymborski on the 3,000-hit club Link to 3,000-hit club Link to story about Cabrera’s bunt single Link to Icehouse Wilson’s SABR bio Link to MLB’s Earth Day press release Link to Hannah Keyser on climate change Link to story about more balanced schedule Link to baseball scene from Interstellar Link to story about Blackmon deal Link to story about MLB banning Mays/Mantle Link to Slate on NFL gambling suspensions Link to story about Rose allegations Link to story about Ohtani’s two-way game Link to Ben Clemens on Ohtani Link to Pitching Ninja on Ohtani Link to lowest-WAR hitters w/4+ ASG Link to lowest-WAR hitters w/2+ ASG Link to lowest-WAR pitchers w/4+ ASG Link to lowest-WAR pitchers w/2+ ASG Link to Stat Blast velo data Link to Stathead Link to Ben Lindbergh on Ohtani’s velo Link to Justin Choi on Ohtani’s velo Link to Russell Carleton on starting/relieving Link to Justin on the velo surge Link to Brash clip Link to Stark’s 10 numbers Link to Driveline on velo and injuries Link to fastball torque study Link to review of Pitching in a Pinch Link to text of Pitching in a Pinch Link to Goodreads page for The Teammates Link to Ben on moving the mound Link to tweet about Yankees vaccinations Link to Ben’s Better Call Saul pod Link to Cabrera’s IBB single Link to Cabrera’s IBB reaction Link to video of IBB boos Link to MLB.com article about IBB  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 Angels manager Joe Maddon’s befuddling bases-loaded intentional walk to Corey Seager, NPB phenom Roki Sasaki’s perfect followup to his perfect game, Hunter Greene and velo-induced fear for young starters, injury close calls for Byron Buxton and Mike Trout, the rise of non-fastballs leaguewide and what Andrew Heaney’s sweeper-iffic success says about player development, more stringent pitch clocks reducing game times in the minors, unvaccinated players not making trips to Toronto, Ichiro Suzuki’s speedy ceremonial first pitch, a feral-cat infestation in Oakland, rebounds in MLB’s average salary and per-game attendance, and a reduction in home-run rate and speculation about the behavior of the ball, plus followups about beef boys, replay review signals in Japan, a rules loophole exploited by Jackie Robinson and his contemporaries, and a way to calculate the most expected no-hitters subtracted. Audio intro: Ben Kweller, “Make it Up” Audio outro: Marshall Crenshaw, “(We’re Gonna) Shake Up Their Minds” Link to The Athletic on Maddon’s IBB Link to the AP on Maddon’s IBB Link to Nathan Fielder tweet Link to list of bases-loaded IBB Link to info on previous bases-loaded IBBs Link to 2015 Maddon zoo-animals story Link to images of Maddon’s zoo animals Link to Ben Clemens on Maddon’s IBB Link to Ben on Maddon’s IBB again Link to confused Trout clip Link to Slate story on Sasaki Link to Ben on Sasaki on Hang Up and Listen Link to Sponichi poll about Sasaki Link to story on Greene’s velo record Link to video of Buxton injury Link to video of Trout HBP Link to BIS MLB pitch types by year Link to Pitch Info MLB velocity by year Link to “sweeper” leaderboard Link to Jay Jaffe on Heaney Link to Fabian Ardaya on Heaney Link to Michael Ajeto on Heaney Link to Eno Sarris on the sweeper Link to Lindsey Adler on the whirly Link to before-and-after Heaney videos Link to Lucas Apostoleris tweet about sweepers Link to Baseball America on the new pitch clock Link to Joe Posnanski on the new pitch clock Link to Jeff Passan on the new pitch clock Link to Darwinzon Hernandez video Link to Ben and Rob on pitch-clock exposure Link to article about Oakland’s COVID outbreak Link to story about unvaccinated Red Sox Link to article about Story’s vaccination Link to Ichiro video (and inaccurate velo) Link to accurate Ichiro velo Link to Ben on Ichiro’s power Link to Oakland ballpark-cats story Link to MLB average salary news Link to yearly MLB attendance figures Link to “pent-up demand” EW episode Link to Rotowire story about power outage Link to Jim Albert on balls flying less far Link to Joe Sheehan on the new ball’s behavior Link to Derek Carty tweet about HR rates Link to tweet about humidor and HR rates Link to Jeremy Frank tweet Link to story about Angels remote broadcasts Link to “ground beef” tweet Link to NPB replay review signal video Link to EW Stanky draft episode Link to story about Robinson and rules Link to other story about Robinson and rules Link to Don Hoak Wiki Link to “Kris Bryant rule” story Link to data on new no-hitters stat  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 an unlikely grand slam on a major meatball pitch and the hot start of Seiya Suzuki, then answer listener emails about how to make baseball sound most appealing, the effect of using different-colored balls to denote different pitch types, whether umpires would be better at calling balls and strikes if they had PitchCom devices, Yandy Díaz and what makes a player a “beef boy,” whether we need a new signal for replay review now that umpires don’t use over-the-ear headphones, a “Ruby Runner” award to recognize good baserunning, whether high roster turnover is an impediment to teams winning and fans following baseball, what the disparity between the biggest and smallest payrolls should be, the “90 records” supposedly set by Ty Cobb, and more. Audio intro: Ry Cooder, “One Meat Ball” Audio outro: The Nude Party, “Records” Link to results on 0-2 pitches Link to article about Heim grand slam Link to video of grand slam Link to video of Camarena homer Link to Jeff Sullivan on meatballs Link to Jay Jaffe on Suzuki Link to Ben Clemens on Kwan Link to video of moth in ump’s ear Link to story about moth in Holliday’s ear Link to video of moth in Simms’ ear Link to story about noise and PitchCom Link to story about Yandy’s training Link to story about NFL roster turnover Link to study on NBA roster turnover Link to NBA roster turnover stat Link to Rob Mains on MLB turnover Link to Ben on MLB roster turnover over time Link to Ben on roster complacency Link to Russell on roster turnover and chemistry Link to Travis tweet about payroll disparity Link to Travis story about payroll disparity Link to Rob on market size and winning Link to Rob on the CBT and competitive balance Link to Forbes MLB franchise values Link to Sportico MLB franchise values Link to Cobb obit Link to Cobb trivia quiz Link to Cobb trivia question Link to EW listener emails database  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 break down a watershed week in overturning traditions, discussing the Dodgers pulling Clayton Kershaw after seven perfect innings and provoking a “baseball is dying” debate, the Giants flouting the unwritten rules, Alyssa Nakken debuting as the Giants’ first-base coach (under vexing circumstances), the new-look Alex Cobb, Andrew Heaney, and Jesús Luzardo, a three-homer game by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the callup of Padres pitcher Mackenzie Gore, Albert Pujols calling his shot (and getting caught stealing), and the confounding calculations of live play probabilities on Apple baseball broadcasts. Audio intro: Blood Red Shoes, “The Perfect Mess” Audio outro: Joe Bourdet, “Unwritten Story” Link to Jay Jaffe on Kershaw Link to Fergie Jenkins tweet Link to Reggie Jackson tweet Link to EW emergency episode on Hill Link to EW episode on Stripling Link to Ben on Tatis and unwritten rules Link to article about Stripling’s dad Link to MLB.com article on Stripling Link to Sam Miller on unwritten rules Link to story about Kapler and Giants Link to other story about Kapler and Giants Link to Woodward unwritten rules story Link to Shildt and Richardson video Link to Shildt and Richardson story Link to Nakken video Link to Nakken story Link to The Athletic on Heaney Link to MLB.com on Heaney Link to Lindsey Adler on the “whirly” Link to Ben Clemens on Luzardo Link to Cobb story Link to Vladito highlights Link to history of spiking Link to Pujols caught stealing Link to Pujols prediction story Link to study on sports betting and addiction Link to Patrick Hruby on betting and addiction Link to Kurt Streeter on betting and addiction Link to Apple odds story  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 NPB phenom Roki Sasaki’s 19-strikeout perfect game for the Chiba Lotte Marines, the historic crop of prospect debuts in the first week of this MLB season, the unprecedented career-starting hot streak of (and long-term outlook for) Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, A’s catcher Sean Murphy’s butt photogenically taking one for the team, Alec Bohm and the Phillies’ bad-defense, good-offense approach, an exposé on the Pirates’ (lack of) spending, Reds ownership saying the quiet part loud, public funding for sports teams and supermarket congestion in Buffalo, Brett Phillips’ attempt to combat position-player-pitcher fatigue, early, inconclusive indications that the baseball may not be flying as far as before, and Kelsie Whitmore signing with an Atlantic League team, plus a Stat Blast (1:01:03) about Padres pitcher Tim Hill blowing back-to-back no-hitters, Ripper Collins claiming to have spoiled four no-hitters, and the hitters who actually broke up the most no-nos (followed by a few updates and postscripts). Audio intro: A Tribe Called Quest, “Da Booty” Audio outro: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, “Beautiful Steven” Link to R.J. Anderson on Sasaki’s perfecto Link to video of Sasaki’s 13 consecutive Ks Link to highlights of Sasaki’s start Link to best starts by Game Score Link to Ben on top-prospect debuts Link to viral Murphy HBP tweet Link to Recker Facebook group Link to video of Bohm errors Link to video of Bohm comment Link to story about Bohm Link to Ryan Nelson’s tweet about Bohm Link to video of ovation for Bohm Link to Post-Gazette Pirates spending story Link to Rob Mains on the Pirates Link to new CBA’s revenue-sharing change Link to Phil Castellini’s initial comments Link to Castellini’s subsequent comments Link to O’s statement about public funding Link to statement about supermarkets Link to Will Leitch on Buffalo’s stadium deal Link to story about potential Nationals sale Link to video of Phillips catch Link to Twitter thread about the ball Link to SI story about Whitmore Link to MLBN Whitmore interview Link to Ben’s old interview with Whitmore Link to EW episode with Gauci Link to Stathead Link to Ripper Collins SABR bio Link to Infinite Inning episode on Collins Link to Collins Stat Blast data Link to Stat Blast no-hitters data Link to Mauer montage Link to Kwan strikeouts story Link to Madrigal strikeouts story Link to video of Kwan’s almost-whiff Link to photo of Manfred’s headphones gift Link to 2015 MLB/Canada beer story Link to 2018 MLB/Canada beer story  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 their impressions of Opening Day, the “baseball zen” interludes on MLB.TV and Apple’s proposed broadcast innovations, Joey Votto’s in-game interview (and in-game interviews in general), a tasty new MLB sponsorship, PitchCom and pace of play, the fraught relationship between Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman, the Padres-Twins trade involving Chris Paddack and Taylor Rogers, and extensions for José Ramírez, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and J.P. Crawford but not for Aaron Judge (or a pair of Red Sox), plus a Stathead-sponsored Stat Blast (1:11:14) about the “on the money” players whose career production most closely matched their career earnings, and an ode to catcher receiving techniques (followed by a few updates and postscripts). Audio intro: Spirit, “Life Has Just Begun” Audio outro: Colin Blunstone, “I Wonder if You Know What You’ve Begun” Link to Jeff Passan on the CBA negotiations Link to article on Witt’s first hit Link to Ohtani pitching highlights Link to Tungsten Arm O’Doyle tweet Link to Beer walkoff homer Link to MLB/Dairy Queen press release Link to Votto in-game interview video Link to Ben on in-game player interviews Link to Ginny Searle on the Votto interview Link to Apple broadcast details Link to Acuña/Freeman story Link to second Acuña/Freeman story Link to Ben on “Let the kids play” Link to Lindsey Adler on Judge Link to Andy McCullough on Judge Link to Ken Rosenthal on Judge Link to Rogers twin pitching video Link to Ben Clemens on Ramírez Link to Jay Jaffe on Hayes Link to Jay on PitchCom Link to player impression of PitchCom Link to Stathead Link to Stat Blast data Link to Bart framing video Link to EW wiki on Episode 1523 Link to EW wiki Stat Blast page Link to Tigers tweet about Paredes Link to MLB player names guide  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, Meg Rowley, and Sports Illustrated writer Emma Baccellieri banter about the contrast between March Madness and early-season baseball, the Rays-Tigers trade involving Austin Meadows and Isaac Paredes, and the challenge of evaluating Rays transactions in general, then complete the 2022 division preview series by setting the stage for the season in the National League East, team by team. Audio intro: The Boo Radleys, “One Last Hurrah” Audio outro: Night Shop, “Let Me Begin” Link to Emma on South Carolina’s championship Link to Ben Clemens on the Rays trade Link to Rays tweet about the Lowes Link to Sam’s tweet about the Rays Link to FanGraphs playoff odds Link to post about Albies and switch-hitting Link to Scherzer photo Link to Jayson Stark on the Phillies’ defense Link to Matt Gelb on the Phillies’ spending Link to ESPN on Soto’s brother Link to Ben on Soto  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about top prospects making Opening Day rosters, the Padres’ Sean Manaea trade and Eric Hosmer almost-trade, the A’s firesale and accurate and inaccurate payroll figures, Joe Davis replacing Joe Buck in the World Series broadcast booth, new broadcaster Carlos Beltrán’s comments about the Astros’ sign stealing, and Wilmer Font’s attempt at the first KBO perfect game, plus a Stat Blast (25:36) about Zack Collins, Reese McGuire, and one-for-one trades of same-aged players at the same position, then (35:43) bring on The Ringer’s Zach Kram and Bobby Wagner to preview the 2022 season in the American League East, team by team (followed by a few updates and postscripts). Audio intro: The Society of Rockets, “Just Like You” Audio interstitial: Filthy Friends, “One Flew East” Audio outro: Frankie Cosmos, “Sinister” Link to Rodríguez callup video Link to Dan Szymborski on the Manaea trade Link to MLBTR on the Hosmer non-trade Link to Baseball America on Padres trades Link to RosterResource payroll page Link to Joe Davis news Link to article about Beltrán comments Link to Ben Clemens on the catchers trade Link to Stat Blast trades data Link to article about 1985 trade Link to 30-30 Vlad quote Link to story about Blue Jays and vaccines Link to story about Romano’s injury Link to story about the Queen’s dorgis Link to Zeus’s “OK Blue Jays” Link to 30-30 Hicks story Link to Beltrán comments about Judge Link to story about NYC’s vaccine mandate Link to Yankees baserunning story Link to Baseball America on Rays affiliates Link to Red Sox Whitlock story Link to Orioles fence news Link to Orioles fence analysis Link to story on O’s pitches and the fence Link to story about minor league housing Link to tweet about Orioles housing Link to Tipping Pitches podcast Link to Ben on Britton in 2016 Link to study on “sinister right-handers” Link to story about “sinister” study Link to handedness proportions data Link to FanGraphs playoff odds  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Jacob deGrom’s latest injury, the White Sox-Dodgers trade involving Craig Kimbrel and AJ Pollock, umpires explaining replay reviews, “Home Run Derby X,” a lousy likeness of Derek Jeter, Yankees games on Amazon Prime and the continued splintering of baseball broadcasts, and an update about MLB’s official cerveza and official beer, then (39:43) bring on listener and Patreon supporter Stefan Lund to discuss his podcast-listening and baseball-loving origin stories and a confusing Shohei Ohtani reference on Billions and answer listener emails about the lack of captains in baseball, whether a reliever could still win a Cy Young or MVP award, how innings totals are displayed, what to call players who bat left-handed and throw right-handed, the Guardians’ new theme song, and how different baseball would be if the pitching rubber extended from foul line to foul line, plus a Stat Blast (1:41:51) about Albert Pujols, Oliver Marmol, and players who are older than their managers. Audio intro: Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, “Go Cry on Somebody Else’s Shoulder” Audio interstitial: Girlpool, “Emily” Audio outro: Colin Blunstone, “This is Your Captain Calling” Link to MLBTR on Pollock and Kimbrel Link to Ben Clemens on the CBA/CBT change Link to La Russa quote Link to umpires and replay story Link to Home Run Derby X video Link to Home Run Derby X explainer Link to Sam on home run derby Link to Jeter giveaway Link to Jeter’s HoF plaque Link to Ronaldo statue story Link to fresco restoration story Link to story about Yankees broadcasts Link to Ohtani/Trout/Watt photo Link to Bourcard Nesin on Twitter Link to Liquid Assets podcast Link to SBJ story on splitting sponsorships Link to 2015 story on US/Canada MLB sponsors Link to 2018 story on US/Canada MLB sponsors Link to 0-9 Twins/Braves EW episode Link to The Billions Companion on Doyle Ben on Billions dialogue Link to baseball captains wiki Link to hockey captains wiki Link to story about Belt being captain Link to THT story on L/R players Link to WSJ story on R/L players Link to THT story on R/L players Link to story about Guardians theme song Link to “We Are Cleveland” song Link to Twins fight song Link to “Get Metsmerized!” Link to manager/player-age Stat Blast data Link to Stefan’s Radke article Link to Sam on Radke Link to Aaron Gleeman on Radke Link to Russell on hitting and defense Link to AP story about minor leaguers  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Fox Sports national writer Pedro Moura discuss Pedro’s new book How to Beat a Broken Game: The Rise of the Dodgers in a League on the Brink, then (18:54) preview the 2022 season in the American League West, team by team. Audio intro: Jim White, “Book of Angels” Audio outro: Dire Straits, “Wild West End” Link to Pedro’s book Link to 2021 Gurriel story Link to 2022 Gurriel story Link to Ben on Ohtani Link to Ken Rosenthal on the Angels Link to Corey Brock on Gilbert Link to Ken Rosenthal on Kelenic  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source