Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to Shohei Ohtani signing a titanic 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers, covering every aspect of the news. Then (57:07) they recount the even-funnier-in-retrospect rumor-related frothing on Friday, when it briefly looked like Ohtani was en route to Toronto to become a Blue Jay.

Audio intro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “Effectively Wild Theme (Horny)”

Link to Ohtani’s Insta post
Link to Dodgers payroll page
Link to MLB payroll page
Link to Dodgers depth chart
Link to Dan S. on Ohtani
Link to Baumann on Ohtani
Link to Ben on Ohtani
Link to LHB park factors
Link to Angels mural photo
Link to The Athletic on Ohtani
Link to Passan on the dollar value
Link to Becker on the dollar value
Link to article on endorsements
Link to Mintz’s Friday recap
Link to Morosi’s morning tweet
Link to N616RH shirt
Link to opera singer tweet
Link to reply to singer
Link to story on Drake
Link to Bowden tweet 1
Link to Bowden tweet 2
Link to Bowden tweet 3
Link to Bowden “Ralph” story
Link to Domi tweet
Link to Dodgers Nation report
Link to Bemboom tweet
Link to flight tweet
Link to Morosi plane tweet
Link to Nightengale tweet
Link to Herjavec photo
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a lackluster punning performance by Scott Boras at the Winter Meetings, then (12:03) dissect the momentous trade of a big Boras client, Juan Soto, from both the Yankees’ and Padres’ perspectives. After that (1:04:00), they discuss Eduardo Rodríguez bolstering the Diamondbacks’ rotation, Jeimer Candelario joining the Reds’ overcrowded infield (1:10:00), how worried Cardinals manager Oli Marmol should be about Yadier Molina‘s new job (1:20:18), and Bryce Harper’s extremely farsighted extension request (1:25:45).

Audio intro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Beatwriter, “What Did Jerry Dipoto Do?”

Link to AP Snell/Belli quotes
Link to birdfeeder quote
Link to Boras scrum photo 1
Link to Boras scrum photo 2
Link to Martino tweet
Link to Morosi tweet
Link to Clemens on Soto
Link to Kram on Soto
Link to Petriello on Soto in NY
Link to Petriello on Soto comps
Link to Ben on the Betts trade
Link to Ben on the Soto Shuffle
Link to Craig on the Soto trade
Link to Kiley on Yankees pitchers
Link to FG SP depth charts
Link to Sheehan on the trade
Link to Dan S. on ERod
Link to Clemens on Candelario
Link to Cards’ Molina tweet
Link to article on Molina
Link to story on Harper extension
Link to Mahomes restructuring
Link to Salvy renegotiation
Link to MLBTR on O’s suitor
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley (at the Winter Meetings in Nashville) banter about how the secrecy surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s free agency is breaking baseball media members’ brains, what makes free agency fun for fans, the advisability of a winter transaction deadline and whether it’s OK for baseball to just be boring sometimes, and the latest ridiculous dot-connecting about Ohtani’s destination, plus (41:50) discussion of the Winter Meetings milieu, the Jarred Kelenic swap (43:55) and what it means for the Mariners, the Yankees’ Alex Verdugo deal (1:00:30), the Orioles’ Craig Kimbrel signing (1:06:05), Erick Fedde joining the White Sox (1:15:24), and a smattering of minor news and transactions, followed (1:18:08) by a conclusive solution to a recent Stat Blast mystery and an outro rendition (1:24:43) of the classic Michael Baumann baseball ditty “What Did Jerry Dipoto Do?”

Audio intro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Michael Baumann, “What Did Jerry Dipoto Do?”

Link to Olney column
Link to Rosenthal column
Link to Mintz column
Link to O’Brien tweet
Link to Janes tweet
Link to Janes column
Link to article on Ohtani’s agent
Link to article on Jays meeting
Link to article on Giants meeting
Link to flight-tracking tweet
Link to Washington quotes
Link to quote about Boone’s face
Link to Nightengale on Roberts
Link to article on Roberts/Gomes
Link to tweet about Friedman
Link to EW branzino wiki
Link to Opryland photos
Link to Hollander’s quote
Link to Dipoto quotes
Link to Baumann on Kelenic
Link to Dubuque on Kelenic
Link to Clemens on Brewers SPs
Link to Gilligan on Kelly
Link to Roberts on Betts
Link to Roberts on Kershaw
Link to Blum on Trout
Link to Baumann on Yates
Link to Clemens on Verdugo
Link to Baumann on Kimbrel
Link to Longenhagen on Fedde
Link to tweet about Fedde
Link to Verdugo benching info
Link to Verdugo Dodgers incident
Link to EW episode 2093
Link to 1998 Baseball Weekly article
Link to 1998 Ocker article
Link to 1998 AP article
Link to 1998 game’s play log
Link to 2000 game’s play log
Link to latest-first-whiff data
Link to longest whiff-less stretches
Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter
Link to Nightengale “two sides” tweet
Link to 1998 clip 1
Link to 1998 clip 2
Link to 1998 clip 3
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and top-tier Patreon supporter Kevin Peskuric banter about and quantify the difference between the receptions to an @MLB tweet about a Shohei Ohtani cat encounter and an @Yankees tweet about Henry Kissinger. Then (18:48) they talk about Kevin’s background as a baseball fan and EW listener, answer listener emails (32:13) about whether facing only bad hitters could get a pitcher to the Hall of Fame, activating a five-second pitch clock once per game, a team-wide Freaky Friday-esque body swap, and describing players’ bodies in scouting reports, and Stat Blast (1:07:39) about players with more WAR than HR, interdivision records and the AL Central, and the most pitches thrown in a game before the first whiff, followed by a radio-play-style Future Blast (1:33:31) from 2093.

Audio intro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Andy Ellison, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Twitter ratio explanation
Link to Ohtani cat tweet
Link to Yankees Kissinger tweet
Link to Biden’s Kissinger statement
Link to Rolling Stone Kissinger obit
Link to “Nobody:” meme
Link to info on view counts
Link to info on Twain misquotation
Link to Jeff on opponent quality
Link to BP team opponent quality
Link to EW Episode 2089
Link to hurry-up offense wiki
Link to Trout hypotheticals wiki
Link to Ben on Reds scouting reports
Link to Ben on Scout School
Link to scouting glossary
Link to Rob on MLB handsomeness
Link to Rob on MiLB handsomeness
Link to halo effect wiki
Link to Colon’s nickname info
Link to Stathead on WAR>HR
Link to Rob on division records
Link to Rob’s interdivision data
Link to Rob on Twitter
Link to 1998 Baseball Weekly article
Link to 1998 Ocker article
Link to 1998 AP article
Link to 1998 game’s play log
Link to 2000 game’s play log
Link to 2007 game’s play log
Link to latest-first-whiff data
Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter
Link to 1985 Mantle/Radatz article
Link to Mantle/Radatz H2H record
Link to Sam on Musial/Labine
Link to listener emails database
Link to Future Blast text
Link to Rick Wilber’s site
Link to Alan Smale’s site
Link to 1932 WS clip
Link to The Naked Gun clip
Link to O’Neill cylinder wiki
Link to Ami Li on Twitter
Link to Chris Hanel on Twitter
Link to Shane McKeon on Twitter
Link to Dan Szymborski on Twitter
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about listeners’ end-of-year podcast stats, the reported “progress” in Padres-Yankees trade talks concerning Juan Soto, some recent Reds and Mets moves, a possible extension for Brewers prospect Jackson Chourio and the track record of extensions signed before a player’s MLB debut, and several end-of-season MLB awards (past and present) that you may not have heard of. Then (50:07) they talk to FanGraphs senior writer and The Cooperstown Casebook author Jay Jaffe about this year’s Era Committee and BBWAA Hall of Fame candidates, recent voting trends, the 20th anniversary of JAWS, adjustments for framing and decreasing pitcher workloads, the shrinking electorate, and more.

Audio intro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Alex Glossman and Ali Breneman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Vulture on Elemental
Link to first report about Soto
Link to second report about Soto
Link to FG post on Severino
Link to FG post on Pagán
Link to FG post on Martinez
Link to Ben C. on TV contracts
Link to RosterResource payroll page
Link to FG SP projections
Link to 2023 FG SP WAR
Link to MLBTR on Chourio
Link to list of pre-debut deals
Link to Sam on extensions
Link to baseball awards wiki
Link to awards named after players
Link to Canadian Baseball HoF episode
Link to The Cooperstown Casebook
Link to JAWS wiki
Link to JAWS at B-Ref
Link to EW guests spreadsheet
Link to Jay on managers, umps, execs
Link to Joe West on EW
Link to Pollis on secret ballots
Link to Jay’s profiles schedule
Link to Jay on the BBWAA ballot
Link to Stark on Wright
Link to Max Marchi on framing
Link to Jay on framing
Link to Ben on framing
Link to Dan Hayes interview
Link to Ben on Piazza’s defense
Link to Max Marchi on framing
Link to Jay on S-JAWS
Link to HoF Ballot Tracker
Link to Thibodaux on EW
Link to crowdsourced FG ballots
Link to Ben’s voting explanation
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Eugenio Suárez trade and the Mariners’ payroll, the Cardinals signing Sonny Gray, the Tigers signing Kenta Maeda, the Dodgers re-signing Jason Heyward, and whether an outfielder can be said to “pick it.” Then (50:07) they follow up on listener responses to their latest email episode, focusing on suggestions for introducing turnovers to baseball.

Audio intro: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Alex Ferrin, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to article on Havens hiring
Link to Suárez FG post
Link to Mariners ticket prices
Link to Diamondbacks ticket prices
Link to Gray FG post
Link to Hence nickname info
Link to Maeda FG post
Link to Maeda’s Dodgers deal
Link to FG SP projections
Link to Twins payroll article
Link to Heyward FG post
Link to EW Episode 2089
Link to Ben on HR robberies
Link to Stanky maneuver info
Link to fourth out wiki
Link to Sam on fourth outs
Link to baseball exceptionalism wiki
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh talks to Portia, proprietor of super-popular Shohei Ohtani fan account @shoheisaveus, about her Ohtani superfan origin story, life as a self-described “Shobae,” Ohtani’s popularity compared to other athletes and celebrities, following Ohtani from 15 time zones away, stanning a private person, the many mysteries of Ohtani, where the Shobaes would prefer for Ohtani to sign, and more. Then (1:09:03) Ben brings on baseball researcher and writer Sam Gazdziak of RIP Baseball to discuss monitoring baseball players’ passings, writing an obituary for every big leaguer, and finding and restoring baseball figures’ neglected gravesites.

Audio intro: Ian H., “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Rose tweets
Link to Portia’s Twitter account
Link to info on Ohtani Insta followers
Link to Ben’s article on Portia
Link to Ohtani’s first MLB hit
Link to Smith on Ohtani
Link to “Fletchtani” tweet
Link to Ohtani-Sandoval video
Link to Equinox photo
Link to Ohtani’s beach trip
Link to Ohtani’s Hawaii trip
Link to Ohtani/Ippei Hawaii photo
Link to 2018 NHK doc
Link to 2021 NHK doc
Link to 2021 NHK doc (alt link)
Link to Ohtani’s dog
Link to Ohtani’s high school friends
Link to shirtless Shohei tweet
Link to recommended Twitter follow
Link to recommended Twitter follow 2
Link to recommended YouTube follow
Link to recommended YouTube follow 2
Link to recommended TikTok follow
Link to Ohtani’s “Despacito” video
Link to RIP Baseball
Link to Stenhouse obit
Link to Aaron obit
Link to Woods obit
Link to SABR Baseball Graves Map
Link to Baseball Player Passings group
Link to 19th Century Grave Marker Project
Link to Negro Leagues Grave Marker Project
Link to Green-Wood Cemetery article
Link to Cobb memorial
Link to Banks memorial
Link to “rigor mortis” quote
Link to John Glenn SABR bio
Link to Ed Williamson grave marker project
Link to B-Ref place of death index
Link to support Portia
Link to support Sam
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the proper pluralization of “POBO,” then (7:12) answer listener emails about baseball with a five-second pitch clock, how long fans will continue to boo pickoff attempts, what it would take for a team to pay a particular fan to attend (or not attend) its games, Freddie Freeman’s base stealing, bringing turnovers to baseball, clubs that could achieve “perfectly average success” in the 30-team era, the limits of fan tolerance for playoff expansion, a proposal for the postseason to be like college bowl season, boosting starting pitchers with a “bullpen bank,” whether Harold Baines would’ve been better off declining Cooperstown induction, Adam Wainwright and the Hall of Fame, and fan voting on Hall of Famers, plus a Stat Blast (1:30:13) about whether awards voting has gotten more homogen(e)ous and more closely correlated with WAR.

Audio intro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Tom Rhoads, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to POBO pluralization exchange
Link to info on forming plurals
Link to pitch tempo leaderboard
Link to speed chess wiki
Link to Episode 1453
Link to Tango on pickoff attempts
Link to Bruce Chen’s pickoff attempts
Link to Gonny Jomes wiki
Link to MLB Ballpark Pass-Port
Link to MLB Ballpark app
Link to Stathead on 1B SB
Link to FG post on Freeman’s steals
Link to L.A. Times on Freeman’s 20–20
Link to graphic on Freeman’s 20–20–200
Link to Sam on Freeman’s improvements
Link to NYT on O’Neill’s 20–20
Link to Stathead on oldest 20–20 guys
Link to Pujols steal streak video
Link to H-E-B wiki
Link to baseball exceptionalism wiki
Link to EW on batters catching pitches
Link to The Athletic fan survey results
Link to NHL playoff format wiki
Link to playoff randomness by sport
Link to “paper champions” study
Link to Ben on the SP protagonist
Link to Ben on pitcher limits
Link to @dril “turning a big dial” tweet
Link to latest Hall of Fame ballot
Link to HoF tiers EW discussion
Link to article on Baines induction
Link to Ben on Baines
Link to Jay Jaffe on Wainwright’s 200th
Link to Jay on HoF SP standards
Link to EW episode 114
Link to HoF by election method
Link to Ben on Mauer’s candidacy
Link to EW emails database
Link to homogenous vs. homogeneous
Link to Kenny Jackelen on Twitter
Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter
Link to B-Ref awards voting results
Link to awards data, all years, with WAR
Link to awards data with calculations
Link to Ryan’s Stat Blast graphs
Link to concentration ratio explainer
Link to HHI explainer
Link to SABR study on WAR and awards
Link to win probability of scoring team
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Phillies re-signing Aaron Nola, the Braves signing Reynaldo López, trading for Aaron Bummer, and rearranging their roster, the Cardinals signing Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, the Padres hiring Mike Shildt, Shohei Ohtani swearing teams to secrecy about his free-agent visits, and NHK’s Ohtani documentaries. Then (53:16) they talk to Vanessa Ivy Rose, host of six-part podcast Reclaimed: The Forgotten League and author of Hall of Fame DNA: The Legacy of Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, about the underappreciated greatness of her grandfather, Turkey Stearnes, telling the story of the Negro Leagues, and the past, present, and future of Black baseball.

Audio intro: Guy Russo, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: The Shirey Brothers, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to InstaGraphs post on Nola
Link to FG post on Nola
Link to FG post on López
Link to FG post on the Bummer trade
Link to FG post on the Wright trade
Link to team 40-man counts
Link to FG post on Lynn
Link to MLBTR on three Cards starters
Link to Mozeliak’s strikeouts quote
Link to defensive efficiency ranking
Link to MLBTR on Shildt’s firing
Link to MLBTR on Shildt’s hiring
Link to Passan’s Ohtani report
Link to Ohtani dog info
Link to dog breed details
Link to 2018 NHK doc
Link to 2021 NHK doc
Link to 2021 NHK doc (alt link)
Link to EW on youth baseball
Link to Teasley EW episode
Link to Nettie Stearnes clips
Link to The Forgotten League feed 1
Link to The Forgotten League feed 2
Link to Vanessa’s website
Link to Turkey history
Link to more Turkey history
Link to Vanessa on Turkey
Link to Turkey photo
Link to info on Turkey plaque
Link to FG Negro Leagues leaderboard
Link to Hall of Stats ranking
Link to B-Ref Negro Leagues stats
Link to Turkey at Seamheads
Link to Turkey at the NLBM
Link to HR/3B leaders
Link to The Athletic on stat integration
Link to MLB.com on stat integration
Link to MLB The Show mode
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the possible significance of this year’s unanimous award votes, the public unveiling of Shohei Ohtani’s dog, what they learned (and didn’t learn) from the new ESPN documentary Shohei Ohtani: Beyond the Dream (21:42), and where they’d prefer for Ohtani to sign (1:01:16). Then (1:10:42) they conduct the ninth EW free-agent-contract over/under draft.

Audio intro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: The Gagnés, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to AL MVP voting
Link to NL MVP voting
Link to Posnanski on unanimity
Link to Ohtani dog video
Link to refurbished Furby
Link to dog diving and fetching
Link to 2017 Ohtani finalists
Link to Ohtani destination ranking
Link to Beyond the Dream trailer
Link to Beyond the Dream info
Link to “and I took that personally”
Link to Sabathia doc
Link to story on Ohtani and M’s
Link to MLBTR top 50 list
Link to FG top 50 list
Link to drafts/competitions sheet
Link to over/under draft wiki
Link to Petriello on Bellinger
Link to Sheehan on Bellinger
Link to draft results
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet

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