Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball equivalents of a stat about the New York Nets’ former big three, review Rob Manfred’s comments to the press about the labor situation (with an emphasis on his assertion about MLB teams being bad investments), Stat Blast (29:05) about players who batted at the bottom of the order after hitting 300-plus homers, and (45:15) talk to Kenyon College economics professor Jaret Treber about what his and other economists’ research has revealed about the impact that work stoppages have had on attendance and revenue in sports. Audio intro: Rollins Band, “Liar” Audio interstitial: Rollins Band, “Liar” Audio outro: Hinds, “Come Back and Love Me” Link to tweet about the Nets Link to Zach Kram on the Harden trade Link to Ben on the Royals’ outfield Link to Sam Miller on the Royals’ pen Link to Ben on record in games with homer Link to Manfred transcript Link to Manfred summary Link to Evan Drellich on Manfred Link to franchise values data Link to Travis Sawchik on franchise values Link to Rob Mains on franchise values Link to Michael Baumann on Manfred Link to Stat Blast data Link to story about Foxx beaning Link to story about Foxx’s final season Link to Chuck Klosterman’s book Link to Ben on post-strike attendance Link to Jaret’s faculty page Link to Jaret’s paper  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 follow up on or banter about minor league free agent draftee reportedly Matt Shoemaker departing for the NPB, raising kids to root for one franchise, precedents for out-of-nowhere sports video game cover models, players nominated by listeners for the nickname “Three-and-Two,” the possible effects of MLB suspending drug testing during the lockout, and Mike Trout’s endearing recent social media activity, then (39:00) draft the MLB players they would most want to see play specific other sports. Audio intro: Devin Davis, “Transcendental Sports Anthem” Audio outro: Mattiel, “Athlete” Link to Shoemaker news Link to 2022 MiLB FA draft Link to MLB The Show cover models Link to Hillis story Link to Sogard contest story Link to drug testing story Link to steroid effects story Link to Trout sandwich tweet Link to Trout snow GIF Link to Trout snow video Link to Matt Lisle video Link to Trout’s reply Link to Trout’s follow-up tweet Link to Trout’s dunk comment Link to ESPN on baseball athletes Link to Trout football story Link to Jones on Trout Link to Sam on Hamilton Link to article on Metcalf sprint Link to The Athletic on Stallings Link to Jason Mackey on Stallings Link to SIS story on Stallings Link to story on gigantic goalies Link to jai alai video Link to World Chase Tag wiki Link to World Chase Tag video Link to Pokémon story  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 the latest lockout stalemate and how to decide where to lay blame, a changing of the umpirial guard in which Joe West (finally) leaves and John Libka enters, and whether there could be an MLB equivalent of the NFL’s current tanking scandal, then answer listener emails about watching baseball during the playoffs, whether to raise a child to root for the Yankees or Red Sox, the root of Hall of Fame culture, the criteria for becoming a baseball cover model, a foul-tip rule, and identifying MLB players without their identifying features, plus (1:11:54) Stat Blasts about home run trees, the modern equivalent of “Three-and-Two Jack” Graney, and whether MLB adheres to the Pareto Principle. Audio intro: Sloan, “Laying Blame” Audio outro: Boat, “I Believe in the Principle” Link to Evan Drellich’s latest Link to MLBPA statement Link to MLB statement Link to AP lockout piece Link to player tweets collection Link to Emma on players and social media Link to umpires press release Link to story about umpires and age Link to another story about umpires and age Link to Umpire Scorecards leaderboard Link to Libka episode wiki Link to story on Flores lawsuit Link to Hue Jackson tanking story Link to Joe Posnanski on the Browns tanking Link to story on tanking and the NFL draft Link to Shakeia Taylor EW interview Link to Posnanski on the Hall of Fame Link to Lawrence Taylor story Link to another LT story Link to MLB rulebook Link to foul-tip thread Link to EW’s Trout hypotheticals Link to home run trees info Link to “Three-and-Two Jack” story Link to 3-2 count leaderboard Link to Pareto principle wiki Link to Pareto principle post Link to combined WAR leaderboard Link to Travis Sawchik salary research Link to Ben Clemens on Super Two Link to Clemens on arbitration  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 FanGraphs writer Dan Szymborski briefly set aside the lockout blues to discuss the current state of rosters and projected standings, touching on how the talent still available via free agency compares to previous offseasons at the same stage, how the division races stack up today, the weakest-projected team positions, the best-projected players, the teams that have the most and least to do when the transaction freeze finally thaws, and much more. Audio intro: The Cranberries, “Astral Projections” Audio outro: XTC, “Burning With Optimism’s Flames” Link to Dan’s 2022 ZiPS intro Link to Dan’s team ZiPS series Link to ZiPS player projections Link to projected NL standings post Link to projected AL standings post Link to Dan’s 2021 hitter breakout picks Link to Dan’s 2021 pitcher breakout picks Link to Dan’s 2020 team projections review Link to Dan’s 2020 hitter projections review Link to Dan’s 2020 pitcher projections review Link to Ben Clemens on Cardinals consistency Link to Jeff Passan on the labor situation Link to Evan Drellich on the labor situation  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 ask their audience how to handle their team preview podcast series with the resolution of the lockout still in doubt, then banter about Shohei Ohtani becoming the cover model for MLB The Show 22, “Big Boss” Tsuyoshi Shinjo pioneering a new model of major league manager for the Nippon Ham Fighters, and the alternate-timeline MLB career of former Expos draftee Tom Brady. Then (44:19) they discuss what would be covered in an “Eleventh Inning” of Ken Burns’s Baseball if the documentarian made an update to cover the last 12 years. Audio intro: Grateful Dead, “Big Boss Man” Audio outro: Pinegrove, “11th hour” Link to 2021 season preview series Link to ESPN on labor deadlines Link to story about Ohtani cover Link to photo of “Big Boss” Link to Shinjo’s latest outfit Link to Shinjo’s ride Link to Shinjo’s economic impact Link to Kyodo News on Shinjo Link to Jim Allen on Shinjo Link to Allen on Shinjo again Link to Jason Coskrey on Shinjo Link to Brady’s retirement post Link to Sportsnet on Brady and baseball Link to SI on Brady and baseball Link to ABC News on Brady and baseball Link to Kevin Clark on Brady Link to Burns on a sequel in 2010 Link to Burns on a sequel in 2013 Link to Burns on a sequel in 2021 Link to Ben on the team of the decade Link to remastered/restored Baseball  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 one of Ben’s most laborious baseball-writing experiences, answer listener emails about playing MLB games at minor league affiliates’ parks, how scouting reports affect the times-through-the-order penalty, and what they would do if they discovered that Roberto Clemente had been credited with one hit too many, share a Stat Blast (36:20) about times when the best hitters in each league (and best pitchers in each league) played in the same city, and then (46:24) talk to Aidan Gruber about his website, MLB Trade Trees, which tracks and displays trade/transaction trees for every trade in AL/NL history. Audio intro: Still Corners, “Into the Trees” Audio interstitial: David Duchovny, “3000” Audio outro: Pulp, “The Trees” Link to FanGraphs redesign Link to Ben’s trade trees article Link to Ben Clemens on fastballs Link to article on old stat changes Link to article on Wilson’s RBI Link to Craig on artificial scarcity Link to video of Clemente’s hit Link to Stat Blast hitter data Link to Stat Blast pitcher data Link to episode on lopsided trades Link to Ben on Schilling trades Link to Aidan’s Dybzinski post Link to Dybzinski trade tree Link to Stephens trade tree Link to players traded for themselves Link to Baseball Trade Values site Link to Aidan’s code on GitHub Link to contact Aidan Link to MLB Trade Trees  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 FanGraphs adding fancy “photograph” technology and whether Dick Monfort is any better at collective bargaining than he is at running the Rockies, then discuss the pioneering lives and careers of 2022 Hall of Fame inductees/honorees Bud Fowler and Jack Graney and Graney’s dog mascot Larry, with detours into Yankees mascot Dandy, whether dogs are eligible for the Mascot Hall of Fame and, yes, whether bat boys and bat girls violate child labor laws. Audio intro: The Midnight Club, “Dandy in the Underworld” Audio outro: Lucinda Williams, “Fruits of My Labor” Link to FanGraphs photo post Link to FanGraphs redesign announcement Link to Drellich’s Monfort story Link to Freedman’s Monfort thread Link to Nick Groke on the Rockies Link to Pages from Baseball’s Past Link to Fowler story Link to Graney story Link to Larry story Link to Jack and Larry video Link to Dandy story Link to story about Bronxie the turtle Link to Mascot Hall of Fame rules Link to story about Butler’s Blue Link to Arkansas Travelers mascot Link to Mrs. Met wiki Link to Portland Pickles tweet Link to 2022 Child Entertainment Laws Link to NYT bat boy labor story Link to AP bat boy labor story Link to WaPo bat boy labor story  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 the election of David Ortiz, the ballot banishments of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Curt Schilling, and the rest of the Hall of Fame voting results (including Scott Rolen’s auspicious surge), react to reports about the latest labor talks (with an emphasis on the problems with using public WAR metrics to determine pre-arbitration bonuses), wonder why the Giants avoided the Kevin Gausman market, marvel at the virtues of throwing fastballs right down the middle, and discuss two sudden-death scenarios: the Frontier League’s new extra-innings solution, and an NFL-inspired one-game-playoffs plan. Audio intro: Another Michael, “Big Pop” Audio outro: John Cale, “Sudden Death” Link to 2022 HoF voting results Link to 2021 HoF voting results Link to Jay Jaffe on the results Link to Jason Sardell’s projections Link to projections comparison Link to BBHOF Tracker Link to Emma on the Tracker Link to Passan on Bonds Link to Michael Baumann on PED players Link to data on new votes for Bonds/Clemens Link to Ben on abstaining from voting Link to January 24 MLBTR labor update Link to January 25 MLBTR labor update Link to later January 25 MLBTR update Link to MLBTR on canceling games Link to Sean Forman WAR thread Link to Jonathan Judge article Link to Russell Carleton on WAR use Link to Ben on ever-evolving WAR Link to Gausman report Link to Forbes franchise valuations Link to Justin Choi on fastballs Link to Frontier League announcement Link to J.J. Cooper on the Frontier League Link to Tango’s Frontier League tweet Link to FiveThirtyEight on the NFL weekend Link to Neil Paine on true talent Link to Michael Lopez on playoff randomness Link to Joe Sheehan’s playoff proposal Link to Ben on Schilling  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 the demise of the Rays’ two-city, split-season scheme, Carlos Correa hiring Scott Boras as his agent, and Brandon Gomes of the Dodgers becoming the latest ex-player to ascend to GM, then (31:18) talk about numerous listener nominations of baseball events that predated the podcast that would have made great fodder for Effectively Wild, before closing with a Stat Blast (1:05:20) about the biggest intra-season gaps between Triple-A and MLB performance (plus a postscript about robot umps coming to Triple-A in 2022). Audio intro: The Smiths, “I Won’t Share You” Audio outro: Flamin’ Groovies, “Ups and Downs” Link to news about Rays plan Link to Sternberg quote Link to Evan Drellich on Endeavor Link to Drellich on Endeavor again Link to Ben Clemens on Endeavor Link to MLBTR on Correa Link to Travis Sawchik on Boras Link to Gomes profile Link to Facebook suggestions thread Link to story about two balls in play Link to story about Raines and collusion Link to Sonnanstine story Link to Allan Travers SABR bio Link to hitter Stat Blast data Link to pitcher Stat Blast data Link to Ben on experimental rules Link to robot umps news  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 lean into the lockout by exploring two antecedents to today’s MLB labor stalemate. First, they banter with Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated about whether the Hall of Fame Vote Tracker has helped or hurt Hall of Fame conversations, then talk to Emma about the Players’ League, a short-lived but groundbreaking 19th-century rival to the National League that was founded by and for players, touching on the origins of the reserve clause, the Players’ League’s rapid rise and fall, where it went wrong, and whether a Players’ League equivalent could be created today (plus Joe Torre’s proto-keto diet and catching fly balls with one’s cap). Lastly (52:32), they bring on Dayn Perry of CBS Sports to talk about the 50th anniversary of MLB’s first work stoppage, exploring what caused the 1972 strike, how the circumstances then mirrored today’s, and how the strike was covered (plus a mustache panic, entrance songs, and other notable events from 50 years ago). Audio intro: Al Stewart, “A League of Notions” Audio interstitial: Eleventh Dream Day, “The People’s History” Audio outro: The Inbreds, “Moustache” Link to Hall of Fame Vote Tracker Link to Emma on the Tracker Link to Buster Olney on the Tracker Link to Emma on the Players’ League Link to Emma’s previous pod appearance Link to Torre’s diet Link to John Montgomery Ward SABR bio Link to The Great Baseball Revolt Link to SI Union thread Link to story about 1940s Mexican League Link to Federal League wiki Link to Continental League wiki Link to antitrust exemption post Link to Casali facemask video Link to EW episode on throwing gloves Link to Drellich update Link to Dayn’s 1972 retrospective Link to The Infinite Inning episode Link to The Athletic’s fan survey Link to Rosenthal column Link to Dayn’s website  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