Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller discuss the results of MLB’s investigation into Boston Red Sox sign stealing, touching on Boston’s lighter penalties and seemingly lesser offenses compared to the Astros’, whether Boston’s front office and coaches deserved to be absolved, the moral hazard of the advance scout who doubles as a replay-room operator, and more. Then they answer listener emails about firing managers based on one egregious in-game decision, transporting a modern coach to an earlier era of baseball, and properly appreciating Mike Trout, plus a Stat Blast about how many would-be big leaguers will miss out on making the majors because of a canceled or shortened season, and a postscript on trainers, trampolines, and an advance scout. Audio intro: The Walkmen, "Lost in Boston" Audio outro: Earlimart, "First Instant Last Report" Link to MLB report Link to Sam on Trout and WAR Link to Stat Blast song covers thread Link to Mike Conte’s Stat Blast song cover Link to trampoline study 1 Link to trampoline study 2 Link to trampoline study 3 Link to Stubbs interview episode Link to Pages from Baseball’s Past Link to trainer story 1 Link to trainer story 2 Link to trainer story 3 Link to order The MVP Machine  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 the Effectively Wild community’s least-disliked MLB teams and two unjust Cy Young/MVP snubs, then discuss what Michael Jordan’s brief baseball career taught us about Jordan and about baseball. Audio intro: Willie Nelson, "Why Do I Have to Choose" Audio outro: Emmylou Harris, "Jordan" Link to EW MLB Survivor game recap Link to EW MLB Survivor game data Link to Ben on peak Pedro Link to Jordan oral history Link to episode about Jordan oral history Link to Steve Wulf on Jordan and baseball Link to Neil Paine on Jordan’s career Link to list of significant minor league seasons Link to order The MVP Machine  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

With MLB in limbo, Ben Lindbergh investigates virtual baseball, talking to the designers of three new baseball video games—Ramone Russell of Sony San Diego, makers of MLB The Show 20, Markus Heinsohn of Out of the Park Developments, makers of Out of the Park Baseball 21 (37:56), and Scott Drader of Metalhead Software, makers of Super Mega Baseball 3 (1:21:50)—about the histories of their respective franchises, how their games differ stylistically, their different development plans, balancing realism and fun, how their games are helping fans and players cope with the absence of actual baseball, and much more (plus postscripts on Baseball Mogul 2020 and minor leaguers’ likenesses in MLB The Show). Audio intro: The Alan Parsons Project, "Games People Play" Audio interstitial 1: Jim Noir, "Do You Like Games" Audio interstitial 2: Shout Out Louds, "Play the Game" Audio outro: Drive-By Truckers, "Play it All Night Long" Link to Episode 427 with Owen Good Link to MLB The Show 20 trailer Link to MLB The Show 20 website Link to MLB The Show Players League Link to MLB Network on Twitch Link to FanGraphs on Twitch Link to Ben on the ball in MLB The Show Link to Mets broadcasters calling MLB The Show Link to Ben on esports Link to Out of the Park Baseball 21 trailer Link to OOTP 21 website Link to B-Ref’s OOTP 21 season sim Link to MLB Dream Bracket Link to Super Mega Baseball 3 trailer Link to Super Mega Baseball 3 website Link to Baseball Mogul 2020 website Link to story about minor leaguers in MLB The Show Link to Advocates for Minor Leaguers Link to More Than Baseball Link to order The MVP Machine  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 speak to FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel about their new book, Future Value: The Battle for Baseball’s Soul and How Teams Will Find the Next Superstar, touching on topics including the best kinds of scouting stories, how technology and data have confirmed or overturned traditional scouting beliefs, how smart teams are spending, how to make a miserly owner invest in scouting and development, whether scouts should have access to data, whether scouts can accurately assess makeup, introverted vs. extroverted scouts, whether it’s good or bad for teams to have a “type,” how teams will train prospects if there isn’t a minor league season, whether it’s possible to predict injuries, Eric and Kiley’s scouting strengths and weaknesses, and much more. Audio intro: The Weakerthans, "Relative Surplus Value" Audio outro: Erick Dayz, "Scouting Report" Link to order Future Value Link to Future Value excerpt Link to Eric and Kiley’s scouting primer Link to Ben on Scout School Link to Kiley on the Yankees signing minor league free agents Link to Russell Carleton on adolescent cognitive development Link to Brandon Martin story Link to Toe Nash story Link to Ebert’s John Prine review Link to article about serial athlete impersonator Link to article about Joba impersonator Link to article about Pasqua impersonator Link to article about Mets/Marlins con man Link to Stark on Molina’s home run Link to order The Only Rule Is It Has to Work Link to order The MVP Machine  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 the strange story of a man named Bill Henry who impersonated former major league reliever Bill Henry for decades, then answer listener emails about seasons with an ERA+ or OPS+ of 420, teams from the past that they would most want to cover as time-traveling beat writers, and the difference between being fans of teams and being fans of particular players, plus two Stat Blasts about all-time head-to-head franchise records and how good a starting rotation would have to be to make up for a replacement-level rest of the roster. Audio intro: First Aid Kit, "Master Pretender" Audio outro: Roy Orbison, "The Great Pretender" Link to AP story about the Bill Henrys Link to impostor’s obituary Link to local story about the Bill Henrys Link to story about exposing the fake Bill Link to SI story about the Bill Henrys Link to Bill Henry’s SABR bio Link to de Kooning theft story Link to false memory story Link to Stat Blast song covers thread Link to Tess Taruskin’s cover video Link to order The Only Rule Is It Has to Work Link to order The MVP Machine  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 how runs, hits, and errors became baseball’s standard scoreboard stats and the piecemeal way in which baseball evolves, then reminisce about and reevaluate the 2015 experiment that led to their 2016 book about running the independent league Sonoma Stompers, The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team. Audio intro: Wishbone Ash, "Errors of My Way" Audio outro: Splinter, "After Five Years" Link to Sam on Runs/Hits/Errors Link to article about modern box scores Link to first 2016 book companion podcast Link to second 2016 book companion podcast Link to third 2016 book companion podcast Link to The Only Rule website Link to order The Only Rule Is It Has to Work Link to order The MVP Machine  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 new options for supporting FanGraphs and a potential plan to play the 2020 season with a radically realigned league structure, then talk to FanGraphs writer and ZiPS projection system proprietor Dan Szymborski about how a shortened or canceled season would affect projections for 2021, whether players would exceed or fall short of their projections after a long layoff, how a canceled season could impair player development, how returns from injuries, strength of schedule, and fewer games could help or hurt certain teams in 2020, tactics and roster strategies that could be beneficial in a shortened season, whether Statcast has improved projections, doing away with divisions, the appeal of streaming/esports in the absence of traditional sports, the MLB The Show players tournament, and how projecting baseball is different from projecting pandemics. Audio intro: The Mountain Goats, "This Year" Audio outro: The Strokes, "Ode to the Mets" Link to FanGraphs financial update Link to FanGraphs membership page Link to FanGraphs gift membership page Link to FanGraphs donation page Link to realignment report Link to Rob Arthur on uncertainty Like to Matt Trueblood on shortened-season tactics Link to Dan on playoff odds changes Link to Dan on healing teams Link to Dan on embracing weirdness Link to Ben on esports Link to Hannah on simulated seasons Link to MLB The Show league Link to Mets broadcasters calling MLB The Show Link to FiveThirtyEight on modeling COVID-19 Link to Dan’s COVID-19 Twitter thread Link to order The MVP Machine  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 a possible banter shortage, a mysterious sack of flour from 1971, the kinds of baseball stories being published in the absence of baseball, the greatness (and eye-popping pitcher usage) of the 2001 World Series, the October travails of Charlie Leibrandt, and how MLB should approach planning for the start of the season, then answer listener emails about how to reward true talent in a shortened season, whether the Mendoza Line needs a new name, whether the White Sox are the most cursed team, and whether rules changes should be agreed to far in advance, plus a Stat Blast about the most lopsided WAR league leaders, a team of unlikely MVP vote-getters, and the odd diet of Ski Melillo. Audio intro: I Was a King, "Bubble" Audio outro: Pulp, "Help the Aged" Link to Pedro’s sack of flour story Link to Sam on the most meme-worthy moments Link to Zach Kram on the Arizona plan Link to Ben Clemens on the Arizona plan Link to Stat Blast song covers thread Link to order The MVP Machine  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 split up to talk to the authors of two new baseball books. First, Sam speaks to Sports Stories newsletter author Eric Nusbaum about Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between. Then (33:18) Ben brings on Wall Street Journal national baseball writer Jared Diamond to discuss Swing Kings: The Inside Story of Baseball’s Home Run Revolution, plus a postscript covering the release of the expanded, paperback edition of The MVP Machine, a Stat Blast addendum about the longest Opening Day starting streaks, and the career of the late, great Hall of Famer and Tigers legend Al Kaline. Audio intro: Bill Withers, "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" Audio interstitial: Fountains of Wayne, "Laser Show" Audio outro: John Prine, "Hello in There" Link to Stealing Home Link to Eric’s Sports Stories newsletter Link to Swing Kings Link to Jared on machine-made baseballs Link to Ben Clemens on strikeouts and offense Link to list of longest Opening Day starting streaks Link to order The MVP Machine  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 response to FanGraphs’ request for financial support, discuss the latest news about minor league pay, Tommy John surgeries, college eligibility, the possibility of baseball coming back, Astros suspensions, and the suspiciously lively ball, and unveil a Stat Blast song cover and a Stat Blast about the longest team streaks of starting different players at a particular position on Opening Day. Then (45:34) they bring on Texas Rangers major league strength and conditioning coach Jose Vazquez to explain how teams are trying to keep players in shape from afar while the season is on hold, how technology is aiding that effort and changing training, how players are maintaining their strength, the risk of injury if/when the season starts, how to discourage players from hiding injuries, bearing responsibility for injuries, and working with independent facilities. Audio intro: The Minders, "Give Me Strength" Audio interstitial: Neil Young, "Give Me Strength" Audio outro: The Go-Betweens, "All About Strength" Link to article about Choo donation Link to Emma on Tommy John surgery ethics Link to report about Astros suspensions Link to report about postseason baseballs Link to Ben on the postseason baseball Link to Stat Blast song cover Link to Stat Blast song covers thread Link to Opening Day start streak data Link to Reds pitching WAR leaders Link to article about 2014 Rangers injuries Link to 2014 team injury data Link to TeamBuildr Link to Gallo video Link to article about Yankees pitcher training Link to order The MVP Machine  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