Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Padres outfield un-fun facts, then discuss MLB’s $1 million “The Vault” competition to predict several statistical leaders of the 2020s, producing their picks in each category, reviewing how hard it would have been to pick the winners of the 2010s, and ruminating on the nature of baseball predictions and the inexorable impending decline of Mike Trout. Audio intro: Tacocat, "Crystal Ball" Audio outro: Tame Impala, "Let it Happen" Link to MLB’s vault competition Link to Dan on Trout’s inevitable decline Link to Ben on Lords of the Realm Link to Sam’s last Pujols pain post Link to Trout baby video Link to Smith LASIK surgery story 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 Mike Trout’s career spring training stats, then preview the 2020 Minnesota Twins (9:01) with the The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman, and the 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates (46:33) with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey, plus a conversation between Ben and Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller (1:19:30) about Keller’s historically unlucky debut MLB season. 2020 EW Season Preview Series ALBALCHWATHBOSCLEHOUNYYDETLAATBRKCRSEATORMINTEX NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG Audio intro: Union Street Preservation Society, "Meet Me in Spring" Audio interstitial: Sleater-Kinney, "Leave You Behind" Audio outro: Ages and Ages, "Just My Luck" Link to Max Marchi on spring training stats Link to story on Takashi Miyoshi’s new role Link to Matt Trueblood on not extending Theo Epstein Link to Jason on the Pirates’ pitching plan Link to Ben on the Archer trade Link to Ben on Keller’s debut year Link to the Banished To The Pen preview series 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

Meg Rowley and Sam Miller briefly banter about the state of Chris Sale’s arm and appreciating one’s friends when they are on vacation, then preview the 2020 Boston Red Sox (4:40) with the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, and the 2020 San Francisco Giants (38:40) with The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee. 2020 EW Season Preview Series ALBALCHWATHBOSCLEHOUNYYDETLAATBRKCRSEATORMINTEX NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG Audio intro: David Bowie, “Under Pressure” Audio interstitial 1: David Bowie, “Changes” Audio interstitial 2: Dan Bern, “The Sun Shines on McCovey Cove” Audio outro: David Bowie, “Heroes” Link to order Homegrown: How the Red Sox Built a Champion from the Ground Up 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 Ben Lindbergh on vacation, Meg Rowley and Sam Miller answer a few very special listener emails on Shohei Ohtani, what they want to know about the 2020 season (complete with a twist), and how we treat umpires. Plus, a Statblast! Audio intro: The Police, “Message In A Bottle” Audio outro: Letters to Cleo, “Cruel to be Kind” Link to Meg’s piece “Time Has Come Today” 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 Twins reliever Zack Littell’s powerful affinity for cruise ships and bidding for baseballs from a baseball movie, then preview the 2020 Washington Nationals (12:39) with the Washington Post’s Sam Fortier, and the 2020 Kansas City Royals (40:26) with The Athletic’s Alec Lewis. 2020 EW Season Preview Series ALBALCHWATHBOSCLEHOUNYYDETLAATBRKCRSEATORMINTEX NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG Audio intro: Frankie Ford, "Sea Cruise" Audio interstitial 1: Yo La Tengo, "Season of the Shark" Audio interstitial 2: Cold War Kids, "Royal Blue" Audio outro: John Cale, "Ski Patrol" Link to Littell story Link to first Knives Out auction Link to second Knives Out auction Link to Ben on champions standing pat Link to Fortier on Kieboom Link to story on Parra Link to Lewis on John Sherman Link to Lewis on Matheny Link to Lewis on Keller Link to Lewis on Staumont 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 passing the halfway point of the season preview series, Zach Eflin’s spring training feedback on a possibly less lively baseball, the effect of sign stealing on the average time between pitches, a recent rash of spring pitcher injuries, and the incredible career trajectory of former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., then preview the 2020 Mets (19:06) with The Athletic’s Tim Britton, and the 2020 Blue Jays (58:23) with Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. 2020 EW Season Preview Series ALBALCHWATHBOSCLEHOUNYYDETLAATBRKCRSEATORMINTEX NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG Audio intro: Aceyalone & RJD2, "Junior" Audio interstitial 1: Yo La Tengo, "Meet the Mets" Audio interstitial 2: Guided By Voices, "Blue Jay House" Audio outro: Crowded House, "Now We’re Getting Somewhere" Link to Eflin story Link to Ben on sign stealing and pace Link to Kershaw’s comments on 2017 Link to post about Amaro Link to story about Mets fans and Venmo Link to Tim on Ramos Link to Ben on the one-knee catching trend Link to The Resisters Link to The Cactus League 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 Astros confiscating signs at spring training and Madison Bumgarner’s rodeo alter ego, Mason Saunders, then preview the 2020 Athletics (13:58) with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, and the 2020 Rockies (39:47) with The Athletic’s Nick Groke, plus a postscript on the implications of Luis Severino’s season-ending surgery (1:13:16). 2020 EW Season Preview Series ALBALCHWATHBOSCLEHOUNYYDETLAATBRKCRSEATORMINTEX NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG Audio intro: Jonathan Coulton, "I’m a Mason Now" Audio interstitial 1: Johnny Cash, "Wreck of the Old 97" Audio interstitial 2: Willie Nelson and Ray Price, "This Cold War With You" Audio outro: Porcupine Tree, "Sever Tomorrow" Link to Morning Consult sign-stealing poll Link to Mason Saunders story Link to story on Monfort’s 94-wins quote Link to Ben on spring training elbow injuries Link to Astros response to cheating lawsuit 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

In a special narrative episode of Effectively Wild, Ben Lindbergh traces the parallels between baseball’s latest sign-stealing crisis and an almost 60-year-old sign-stealing scandal that caused a comparable upheaval in the sport, drawing on archival clips, contemporary music, and interviews with author Paul Dickson and former major leaguers Eddie Robinson, Al Worthington, and Jay Hook to explore how illicit sign stealing starts, whether players can prevent it, and why it keeps recurring. Audio intro: Bob Dylan, "Stealin’" Audio interstitial 1: Elvis Presley, "Suspicion" Audio interstitial 2: Gene Vincent, "I’m Goin’ Home (To See My Baby)" Audio interstitial 3: Helen Humes, "‘Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-Ness If I Do" Audio interstitial 4: Goldie Hill, "I Slipped Off My Wedding Ring" Audio interstitial 5: Patsy Cline, "Your Cheatin’ Heart" Audio outro: Ray Charles (Feat. Margie Hendricks), "Tell the Truth" Link to The Hidden Language of Baseball Link to Robinson’s memoir Link to Veeck As In Wreck Link to Rob Arthur’s Astros research Link to Major League II scene Link to Greenberg autobiography Link to 1913 McGraw article Link to first part of 1962 Sporting News sign-stealing feature Link to second part of 1962 Sporting News sign-stealing feature Link to 1962 Hook article Link to 1957 Williams pigeon-shooting article Link to Robinson interview episode 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

Will we see baseball’s sign stealers in court, or will attempts to take legal action be a suing and a miss? In a bonus episode of EW, Ben Lindbergh talks to sports-law expert Nathaniel Grow about the viability of and precedents for several lawsuits related to MLB’s ongoing sign-stealing scandal, as well as another case that could overturn teams’ traditional lack of liability for fan injuries sustained from foul balls. Audio intro: Lindisfarne, "Court in the Act" Audio outro: Frank Loesser, "Sue Me" Link to story about Bolsinger case Link to story about nine demoted pitchers Link to Rob Arthur on sign stealing’s effectiveness Link to story about Wallach case Link to story about other ticket cases Link to story about Olson case Link to Clifford filing Link to article about foul ball case Link to article about 2008 PEDs case Link to video of Bonds homer 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 AL/NL distribution of the season preview pods so far and a few notable numbers from the newly published FanGraphs playoff odds, then preview the 2020 Indians (8:11) with Sports Illustrated’s T.J. Zuppe, and the 2020 Rangers (38:55) with The Athletic’s Levi Weaver. 2020 EW Season Preview Series ALBALCHWATHBOSCLEHOUNYYDETLAATBRKCRSEATORMINTEX NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG Audio intro: Della Mae, "The Odds of Getting Even" Audio interstitial: The Jam, "I’ve Changed My Address" Audio outro: Willie Nelson (Feat. Sinéad O’Connor), "Don’t Give Up" Link to FanGraphs playoff odds Link to Levi on the Rangers’ versatility Link to Levi on Solak 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