Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the artifacts from the 2019 season that will be preserved by the Hall of Fame, and then (32:25) Ben talks to FanGraphs’ Jay Jaffe about the 2020 Hall of Fame induction cycle, including the shrinking of the ballot backlog, first-timers Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu, whether Jeter will be elected unanimously, Larry Walker’s chances in his last year of eligibility, which other holdovers on the ballot may benefit from the weak crop of debuts, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, relievers vs. position players, the most compelling candidates on the Modern Baseball ballot, Marvin Miller, the Harold Baines effect, catcher framing and the Hall of Fame, and Paul Konerko and reputation vs. WAR. Audio intro: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, "Keepsake" Audio interstitial: The Only Ones, "The Immortal Story" Audio outro: Rudi Richardson, "Fool’s Hall of Fame" Link to list of 2019 World Series artifacts Link to list of 2018 artifacts Link to image of Kendrick’s Game 7 home run ball Link to Hall of Fame ballot tracker Link to intro to Jay’s 2020 ballot breakdowns Link to intro to Jay’s Modern Baseball ballot breakdowns Link to Jay on Walker Link to Matt Trueblood on Walker’s context as a candidate Link to Trueblood on Walker’s other home park Link to Trueblood on Walker’s unfortunate timing Link to Jay on Miller Link to Ben on catcher framing and the Hall of Fame Link to Ben on the ever-changing nature of WAR Link to Zach Kram on recent voting trends Link to Passan on Bonds and Clemens Link to Ben on Baines Link to story on the music lost in the 2008 Universal Studios fire Link to order The Cooperstown Casebook 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 Charlie Finley’s dual “innovations,” Harvey and Little Blowhard, then answer listener emails about Chris Davis and why some veteran players may be unwilling to change, whether Gerrit Cole could regress away from Houston, the purpose of punishing the Astros for sign-stealing and how many years of draft picks a team would give up in exchange for a championship, and whether baseball players will ever take in-season vacations, plus Stat Blasts about players with more hit by pitches than walks and the Mariners’ record lack of intentional walks drawn. Audio intro: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Blow Hard" Audio outro: The Microphones, "I Want Wind to Blow" Link to SI article on Charlie Finley Link to article about Finley’s orange baseballs Link to image of Finley’s K.C. Pennant Porch Link to early 2019 article about Davis Link to late 2019 article about Davis Link to 2018 article about Trumbo 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 what the Padres’ 2017 Rule 5 trio is up to now, the Mariners’ aggressive Evan White extension, how teams would distribute their spending if every player (amateur or pro) were a free agent but spending were capped at a percentage of MLB revenue, the just-announced All-MLB Team, the White Sox signing Yasmani Grandal, whether the early action on the free-agent market has been at all surprising or encouraging, and the results of Sam’s surveys about a “Baseball Genie” who grants fans of each team’s wishes, with a catch. Audio intro: The Jayhawks, "You Look So Young" Audio outro: The Claypool Lennon Delirium, "Cricket and the Genie (Movement I, The Delirium)" Link to Ben on the Padres’ Rule 5 experiment in 2017 Link to Sam on the Padres’ Rule 5 experiment in 2017 Link to Sam in 2013 on the future of extensions Link to Kiley on the White extension Link to Passan’s All-MLB Team Link to All-MLB Team voting Link to Ben on the historically slow November 2017 Link to Sam on Grandal in 2016 Link to Sam on the MLB genie 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 host a FanGraphs Live! event and EW taping at Subculture in Manhattan, featuring three panels comprising seven guests: “Major League Update” (current events and New York baseball) with FanGraphs’ Jay Jaffe and The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler and Mark Carig; “Baseball By the Numbers” (sabermetrics and Statcast) with FanGraphs’ Craig Edwards and MLB.com’s Mike Petriello (45:54); and “UMP: The Untitled McDongenhagen Panel” (scouting and player evaluation) with FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen (1:27:18), including questions from the audience after each discussion. Audio intro: The Who, "Join Together" Audio outro: Slade, "See Us Here" Link to FanGraphs event listing Link to preorder Future Value (coupon code FV20) Link to EW Secret Santa sign-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

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller talk to Paul Dickson, author of The Hidden Language of Baseball: How Signs and Sign-Stealing Have Influenced the Course of Our National Pastime, about, well, what the book’s subtitle says, including the origins of sign-sending, the earliest allegations of sign-stealing, historical precedents for the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme, the effects of sign-stealing, why so many players say they prefer not to know which pitch is coming, the frequent disagreements surrounding which types of sign-stealing are acceptable, the reluctance of the league to get involved in stopping or punishing sign-stealing, the future of policing sign-stealing, and more. Audio intro: Damon Albarn, "The History of a Cheating Heart" Audio outro: Brittany Howard, "History Repeats" Link to Paul’s book about sign-stealing Link to list of all of Paul’s books Link to EW Secret Santa sign-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

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about “sinister right-handers” and scientific songs, then discuss the latest revelations about the Astros sign-stealing saga before reviewing the overlooked accomplishments of some of 2019’s league leaders and discussing the role of bold ink in the era of sabermetric saturation. Audio intro: Liam Gallagher, "Bold" Audio outro: Sloan, "Follow the Leader" Link to image of Astros tunnel Link to The Athletic report about email to Astros scouts Link to ESPN report about email to Astros scouts Link to article about MLB video monitors Link to EW Secret Santa sign-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

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the first stirrings on the free-agent market, the latest developments in the Astros sign-stealing scandal, where MLB investigation’s might lead, what the appropriate punishments would be, the psychology of sign-stealing, whether pitchers should call pitches, fighting technology with technology, Mike Trout’s MVP award win, a fixable flaw in the BBWAA’s awards voting, the hirings of Ben Cherington and Gabe Kapler, and EW Secret Santa sign-ups, plus a postscript about still more aspects of the sign-stealing story. Audio intro: Spiritualized, "You Lie You Cheat" Audio outro: Doug & The Beets, "Bangin’ on a Trash Can" Link to story on teams’ sign-stealing paranoia Link to Rob’s sign-stealing audio footprint story Link to article about crime deterrence Link to FanGraphs post on Trout’s third MVP win Link to Andrew Baggarly on Kapler Link to Grant Brisbee on Kapler Link to video of Darvish and Yelich Link to Jeff’s 2017 post about the Astros’ projected strikeout rate Link to EW Secret Santa sign-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

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the latest linguistic crimes by Scott Boras, then discuss the Astros sign-sealing scandal, touching on Mike Fiers’ role in the revelations, whether sign-stealing actually benefited the Astros, the immorality of sign-stealing, what the Astros’ punishment should be, the history of sign-stealing, whether the Astros sign-stealers acted alone, whether other teams are stealing signs in a similar way, what MLB can do to prevent electronic sign-stealing, the future of pitch-calling, moral hypotheticals, the implications for Carlos Beltrán and Alex Cora, and more, plus a Stat Blast about close MVP races. Audio intro: Eric Clapton (with Bob Dylan), "Sign Language" Audio outro: Moe Bandy (with Janie Fricke), "It’s a Cheating Situation" Link to The Athletic’s report on Astros sign-stealing Link to 2018 Passan report Link to story on 2017 sign-stealing scandals Link to BP article on 2019 Astros sign-stealing examples Link to Jomboy breakdown of Astros sign-stealing Link to story on Nationals’ plan to counteract sign-stealing Link to report about Beltrán’s role Link to story about Beltrán’s denial Link to story about Cray supercomputer 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 baffling trade rumors swirling around Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor, and Kris Bryant, try to discern why they would be on the block, discuss how the likelihood of the top-rated team winning the World Series compares to the likelihood of the best team taking the title in other sports, and then conduct their fifth annual free-agent-contract over/under draft. Audio intro: Ben Kweller, "Free" Audio outro: The Only Ones, "You’ve Got to Pay" Link to Rob Arthur on ticket prices and attendance Link to Neil Paine on “paper champions” Link to study on how often the best team wins Link to blog post about how often the best team wins Link to FanGraphs top 50 free agents Link to MLB Trade Rumors top 50 free agents Link to EW competitions and drafts 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 Ben’s return from vacation and Meg and Sam’s episodes in his absence, former Angels minor leaguer Mike Fish (not to be confused with Mike Trout), and a roundup of recent news, including Stephen Strasburg opting out, J.D. Martinez not opting out, Mookie Betts trade rumors, robot umps coming to the minor leagues, new old Hall of Fame candidates, and comments by Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos that kicked off a collusion conversation. Then (39:11) they talk to 98-year-old Eddie Robinson, the second-oldest living former major leaguer, about finding time to play baseball during the Great Depression and his 65-year career in pro ball, including making the majors in 1942, serving in the Navy during World War II, winning the 1948 World Series in Cleveland, playing against Jackie Robinson, with Satchel Paige, and on the great Yankees teams of the mid-1950s, his friendships with Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, and other greats, lending Babe Ruth a bat, getting involved with the early Players Association, working for larger-than-life owners, and hiring the first sabermetrician. Audio intro: Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, "Return" Audio interstitial: Small Faces, "Eddie’s Dreaming" Audio outro: The Crystals, "I Love You Eddie" Link to Baseball-Reference page for Mike Fish Link to college player page for Mike Fish Link to Rob Arthur on robot umps Link to Eddie’s SABR bio Link to Eddie and his wife at the 2016 World Series Link to Eddie and his wife in 1955 Link to 2016 article about Eddie and Bobby Brown Link to photo of Eddie in 1947 Link to famous 1948 Babe Ruth bat photo Link to alternate Babe bat photo with Eddie in background Link to 1948 Cleveland infield (Eddie third from left) Link to Eddie celebrating the 1948 win with Bob Lemon and Joe Gordon Link to Eddie with Ken Keltner and Gordon Link to Eddie with Minnie Miñoso Link to Eddie at the 1953 ASG, flanked by Lemon and Mickey Mantle Link to Eddie with Moose Skowron, Hank Bauer, and Yogi Berra Link to Eddie in 2019 Link to Eddie’s autobiography 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