Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest head-scratching Scott Boras quote, a disheartening Shohei Ohtani interview and Ohtani’s two-way future, Charlie Morton leaving the Rays to sign with the Braves, and the items from the 2020 season preserved by the Hall of Fame, then (28:06) talk to Ema Ryan Yamazaki, director of the documentary Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams, about the history and significance of Japan’s Koshien high school baseball tournament, the legends Koshien creates, the cultural conflict over coaching in high school baseball, the abuse of amateur players, how Ema chose her subjects, how Ichiro Suzuki influenced her career, the cancellation of Koshien in 2020, the contrast in the pandemic responses of Japan and the United States, and the future of Koshien. Audio intro: Metronomy, "Reservoir" Audio interstitial: The Strokes, "I Can’t Win" Audio outro: PUP, "Reservoir" Link to article with Boras quote Link to Ohtani interview Link to newsletter with Hall of Fame items Link to Koshien screening info Link to rent Koshien Link to Koshien trailer Link to Japan Times review of Koshien Link to Ema’s website Link to 2013 piece on pitch counts at Koshien Link to 2018 piece on pitch counts at Koshien Link to Kuroda story Link to Human Rights Watch report Link to story about canceling Koshien in 2020 Link to EW Secret Santa  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, Sam Miller, and Meg Rowley are joined by former co-host and current Tampa Bay Rays analyst Jeff Sullivan to discuss the experience of working for a team that almost won the World Series, touching on what exactly Jeff’s job is, what he learned in his second year with the Rays, what he did during MLB’s spring lockdown, whether watching the playoffs was fun, adapting to 2020’s new rules, dabbling in advance scouting, postseason superstitions, being second-guessed, learning new skills, whether the Rays will trade for Mike Trout, and much more. Audio intro: Dressy Bessy, "Second Place" Audio outro: Magnolia Electric Co., "Almost Was Good Enough" Link to EW Secret Santa  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 Effectively Wild community’s Secret Santa exchange beginning again, a new podcast featuring former EW guest (and oldest former living player) Eddie Robinson, and two more Scott Boras quotes, then reflect further on Kim Ng’s hiring and review listeners’ responses to a recent podcast discussion about picking a new rule to differentiate MLB’s leagues. Then (44:32) they talk to 15-year-old Canadian pitcher Raine Padgham about throwing 83 miles per hour, playing with and against boys, her origin story as a player, gaining velocity and protecting her arm, pink hair, and her aspirations to play professionally. Audio intro: Ben Kweller, "The Rules" Audio interstitial: Stevie Nicks, "Listen to the Rain" Audio outro: David Crosby, "Other Half Rule" Link to EW Secret Santa Link to Eddie Robinson’s podcast Link to Eddie Robinson interview episode Link to Boras interview Link to Rachael on Kim Ng’s hiring Link to Raine’s 83 mph pitch Link to Raine’s website Link to Raine’s YouTube channel Link to article about Raine’s pitch Link to second article about Raine’s pitch Link to third article about Raine’s pitch Link to 2019 article about Raine Link to 2017 article about Raine  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 Sam Miller banter about Representative Cedric Richmond’s retirement from the Congressional Baseball Game after a Ruthian two-way career, discuss Theo Epstein stepping down from the Cubs (and at least temporarily leaving baseball) and Robinson Canó getting suspended for the entire 2021 season after testing positive for steroid use, and share a Stat Blast about the first ever-LOOGY. Audio intro: The Nerves, "Working Too Hard" Audio outro: Chance The Rapper, "Same Drugs" Link to Nathaniel on the Congressional Baseball Game Link to Nathaniel’s EW interview episode Link to Tom Verducci on Theo Link to Joe Posnanski on Theo Link to Theo’s farewell letter Link to Theo’s comment on aesthetics Link to 2016 EW discussion about Theo Link to story about Cubs layoffs Link to story about Dodgers layoffs Link to Jay Jaffe on Canó’s suspension Link to Ken Rosenthal on Canó’s suspension Link to story about 2020 PED testing Link to Ben on Canó’s 2018 suspension Link to Geoff Baker on Canó’s 2018 suspension Link to the Boston Globe on PED pressures Link to THT article on the origins of the LOOGY Link to Ben on LOOGYs and the three-batter minimum  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 reflect on the fact that it took a former player to hire Kim Ng as MLB’s first woman general manager, follow up on the unwritten rules controversy surrounding Kyuji Fujikawa’s final out, and evaluate two recent statements by Scott Boras, then (24:07) bring on Baseball Prospectus’s Patrick Dubuque and FanGraphs’ Dan Szymborski to discuss whether baseball is “solved,” how sabermetrics has benefited and broken baseball both economically and tactically, and whether its effects were foreseeable, and preview how the shortened season has altered 2021 ZiPS projections and the 2021 Baseball Prospectus annual. Audio intro: Lone Justice, "Soap, Soup and Salvation" Audio interstitial: Field Music, "Choosing Numbers" Audio outro: Neil Young, "Too Far Gone" Link to Joe Sheehan on Kim Ng Link to article about Fujikawa Link to Fujikawa’s tweet Link to source of first Boras quote Link to source of second Boras quote Link to Patrick on baseball being solved Link to Patrick on transactions Link to Ben on the Overwatch meta Link to Ben on the Overwatch meta again Link to Dan’s 2021 ZiPS primer Link to preorder Baseball Prospectus 2021 Link to Meg on Hang Up and Listen  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 Marlins hiring Kim Ng and the significance of Ng becoming MLB’s first woman GM, the Angels hiring Perry Minasian and the team’s ownership issues, Kyuji Fujikawa and an NPB unwritten rule, Ryan Tepera’s accidental MVP vote, and how FanGraphs readers feel about 2020’s new rules, plus a Stat Blast about Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, and the most prolific putout tandems in MLB history. Then (43:30) they talk to The Athletic’s Eno Sarris and former MLB pitcher David Aardsma about MLB’s problem with pitchers using banned foreign substances, touching on how foreign substances help, how prevalent they are, Aardsma’s personal experience with foreign substances, how players learn to use them, whether getting a better grip really helps hitters’ safety, Trevor Bauer’s possibly substance-enhanced Cy Young award, whether sticky stuff will be baseball’s next big scandal, what MLB can do to address its widespread rule-breaking behavior, the future of player development, and more. Audio intro: Imperial Teen, "The First" Audio interstitial: Della Mae, "It’s About Time" Audio outro: Courtney Barnett, "Kim’s Caravan" Link to Lindsey Adler on Kim Ng Link to Christina Kahrl on the first woman GM Link to Christina Kahrl interview episode Link to Rosenthal’s report on Minasian Link to Bill Shaikin on Moreno’s ownership Link to Fujikawa unwritten rules story Link to video of Saito’s last batter Link to story about Mantle and McLain Link to Tepera explanation Link to Tepera tweet Link to Jay Jaffe’s rules survey results Link to putout tandems data Link to Ben on foreign substances Link to Eno on foreign substances Link to Rob Arthur on foreign substances Link to Eno on Bauer’s 2018 experiment Link to Defector on Bauer’s 2020 Link to Pineda ejection video Link to Angels foreign substance lawsuit story Link to article about Blue Jays layoffs  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 Sam Miller banter about Marcus Stroman accepting the qualifying offer and tweeting about Tony La Russa, what the AL Cy Young voting says about the Dodgers, and the singular greatness of the 2014-15 Royals, then answer listener emails about Noodles Hahn and how quickly former star players get forgotten, whether there should be three winners of each award in 2020, and proposed rules that could distinguish the AL from the NL in the post-pitcher hitting era (and whether it’s desirable to differentiate the leagues), plus a Stat Blast about a quirk in the MLB rulebook concerning rule 6.07 (the one about batting out of order). Audio intro: Sloan, "Marcus Said" Audio outro: John Lee Hooker, "I’m Leaving" Link to Stroman’s comments on La Russa Link to Sam’s ranking of NLCS team trades Link to FiveThirtyEight on the 2014-15 Royals Link to The Athletic article on the Hosmer play Link to video of Hosmer play Link to Ben on combining the Orioles and Royals Link to Bill Hands interview episode Link to Noodles Hahn book passage Link to story about Bellinger and Seinfeld Link to Conan O’Brien interview  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 Sam Miller banter about Jeff Luhnow’s lawsuit against the Astros and Max Muncy’s and Joe Kelly’s comments about MLB’s permeable postseason quasi-bubble, then conduct their sixth annual free-agent-contract over/under draft. Audio intro: The Clash, "All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)" Audio outro: The Electric Prunes, "Sold to the Highest Bidder" Link to L.A. Times Luhnow lawsuit story Link to The Athletic Luhnow lawsuit story Link to Muncy’s comments about Turner Link to Kelly’s comments about Turner Link to MLB Trade Rumors’ top 50 free agents ranking Link to FanGraphs’ top 50 free agents ranking Link to Jay Jaffe on the crowded shortstop market Link to EW drafts and competitions spreadsheet  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 guest co-host Steven Goldman of Baseball Prospectus banter about MLB’s Friday news dump, covering the Red Sox hiring Alex Cora, the Mets cleaning house in the front office and the potential for new owner Steve Cohen to be baseball’s offseason spending savior, and the league announcing that it wouldn’t discipline the Dodgers’ Justin Turner for his behavior after World Series Game 6. Then (27:56) they talk to pitching coach and journalist Brian Vikander, a co-author of the new biography Dalko: The Untold Story of Baseball’s Fastest Pitcher, about the fact and fiction surrounding Steve Dalkowski, the reputed hardest thrower in history, who never made the majors but left a confounding and fascinating legacy. Audio intro: The Who, "Break the News" Audio interstitial: Shoes, "Nowhere So Fast" Audio outro: The Lemonheads, "Steve’s Boy" Link to MLB’s Red Sox sign-stealing decision Link to Jay Jaffe on the Cora hiring Link to Craig Edwards on advice for Steve Cohen Link to Ben Clemens on the Mets’ offense Link to official statements about Turner Link to L.A. Times story on Dodgers’ COVID cases Link to Dalko website Link to Steve Goldman on Dalkowski Link to Craig Wright on Dalkowski Link to Joe Posnanski on Dalkowski Link to John Eisenberg on Dalkowski Link to Dom Amore on Dalkowski Link to The Infinite Inning podcast Link to study on the southpaw advantage Link to article on the physics of rising fastballs  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 status of the designated hitter and answer a listener email with a Stat Blast about hitters who’ve homered from every spot in the lineup, then (23:11) bring on Cleveland life skills coordinator Jen Wolf to talk about her career path in baseball, what a life skills coordinator for an MLB team does, how her work with players has differed from the norm this year because of the pandemic, the group text she started for women working in baseball operations, the progress women have made in the MLB workforce, the obstacles and challenges they continue to face, how to improve the pipeline of candidates and encourage the league and teams to hire more diverse candidates, and much more. Audio intro: Other Lives, "We Wait" Audio interstitial: Math and Physics Club, "In This Together" Audio outro: Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording), "Wait for It" Link to Passan’s DH report Link to Ben on the DH Link to Adam’s home run research Link to New York Times article on Jen’s group text Link to Jen’s LinkedIn page Link to Professor Manning’s Baseball/American Society course Link to MLB Diversity Fellowship Program Link to non-cis men in baseball group  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