Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the numbers behind the Yankees’ historic injury stack, an inspired piece of pitch-framing by Francisco Cervelli, Ramon Laureano as a human highlight machine, how often hitters would (and should) swing if they knew every pitch would be in the strike zone but still be called a ball, and the hitters they’re paying particular attention to, then discuss how Christian Yelich elevated himself onto a Hall of Fame trajectory, how the Marlins’ latest round of trades looks in retrospect, the Brewers’ WAR without Yelich, how every new breakout burnishes the greatness of Mike Trout, and the fastest and slowest runners of the season so far (plus an update on the Royals’ base-stealing).

Audio intro: Ben Folds Five, "Missing the War"
Audio outro: MGMT, "Someone’s Missing"

Link to list of most players on the IL
Link to list of most WAR on the IL
Link to Yankees injury timetables
Link to video of Cervelli frame
Link to Jeff on Molina frames
Link to video of Laureano play
Link to FanGraphs Guts! page
Link to MLB.tv GameChanger
Link to Ben on GameChanger
Link to Ben on Harper’s hot streak
Link to Sam on Hall of Fame probabilities
Link to Sam on Yelich
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg seeing the Padres in person, the Phillies’ attendance surge, rooting for writers who’ve taken team jobs, and the Mariners’ lousy last week, then discuss the aesthetic and competitive ramifications of the huge spike in home-run rate in the majors and minors, why Rob Manfred is still insisting that the ball isn’t responsible, and what, if anything, MLB should do. Then (35:18) they talk to veteran baseball writer Danny Knobler, author of the new book Unwritten: Bat Flips, the Fun Police, and Baseball’s New Future, about the purpose and future of the unwritten rules, the latest incidents involving Chris Archer and Derek Dietrich and Brad Keller and Tim Anderson, whether MLB is being hypocritical by promoting celebratory displays without condemning intentional plunkings, the concept of “respect,” and the current cultural conflict’s fault lines.

Audio intro: Sloan, "Flying High Again"
Audio interstitial: Sloan, "Who Taught You to Live Like That?"
Audio outro: The Tragically Hip, "The Rules"

Link to Rob on the Triple-A rabbit ball
Link to summary of MLB ball report
Link to Manfred comments from February
Link to Sam on MLB disclosing changes to the ball
Link to video of Vlad Jr. homer
Link to Danny’s book, Unwritten
Link to Sam on unwritten rules
Link to Boone bat-flip commercial
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Johnny Cooney as the Vroom Vroom Guy, minor-league closer Dusten Knight’s backflip save-celebration ritual, the extreme struggles of the Red Sox, and a new way to represent Willians Astudillo’s success at making contact, then answer listener emails about umpires calling balls and strikes from second base and the most commonly known things about baseball, plus a Stat Blast about the disappearance of old pitchers.

Audio intro: The Undertones, "Jump Boys"
Audio outro: The Capes, "First Base"

Link to backflip videos
Link to Chapman somersault video
Link to Jeff on classifying closer celebrations
Link to Astudillo leaderboard
Link to umpire-accuracy article
Link to The Roots video
Link to post on White Sox caps and hip-hop culture
Link to piece on politicians’ baseball metaphors
Link to Sam on a 50-inning game
Link to Ben on early-season stat changes
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about baseball equivalents of Tiger Woods winning the Masters, follow up on two topics from the previous week (Willians Astudillo’s disputed whiff and Don Zimmer’s bases-loaded suicide hit and run) and, in a time-honored tradition, discuss whether selected league-wide stats from the first few weeks of the season are reflective of real trends.

Audio intro: The Milk Carton Kids, "Nothing is Real"
Audio outro: The Zombies, "Play it for Real"

Link to Rob on stopping at second
Link to Ben on avoiding the strike zone
Link to changes to curtail sign-stealing
Link to FanGraphs post on 2019 pitch selection
Link to Sam on pitchouts
Link to Ben on pitchouts
Link to Jeff on first-pitch swings
Link to Sam on young players’ production
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners’ fun, surprising, and unsustainable start (and how it might affect the franchise), Austin Hedges’ chest protector, the extraordinary nature of Ozzie Albies’ extension, why he might have signed it, what it says about baseball’s economic market, and why we should care, the frustrating MLB/MiLB crackdown on sharing game video, Marcell Ozuna’s weird week, whether we’re beyond the golden age of bloopers, and the Twins’ meltdown inning against the Mets.

Audio intro: Sonny & The Sunsets, "Cheap Extensions"
Audio outro: Herman’s Hermits, "Marcel’s"

Link to Sam on creating MLB nicknames
Link to Dan on the Albies extension
Link to Craig on the Albies extension
Link to Meg on baseball and politics
Link to Ozuna blooper
Link to story on highlights crackdown
Link to summary of the Twins’ ugly inning
Link to Dylan on FanGraphs Audio
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Willians Astudillo’s first strikeout of the season (and whether strike three should have been a foul ball), then answer listener emails about Alex Verdugo and whether it’s better to play full-time in Triple-A or part-time in the majors, what baseball would be like if players had a finite number of career or seasonal plate appearances, Ichiro Suzuki with different hitting mechanics, the optimal way to distribute WAR across a roster, and whether pitchers have uneven arms, plus a Stat Blast about an ill-advised managerial move with the bases loaded.

Audio intro: The Impressions, "You Must Believe Me"
Audio outro: The Nields, "I Still Believe in My Friends"

Link to video of Astudillo strikeout
Link to poll about Astudillo strikeout
Link to Ben on Ichiro hitting homers
Link to Russell on neurological development
Link to Hang Up and Listen
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Meg Rowley banter about Mike Trout leading MLB in WAR and follow up on the bad ad from Episode 1358, then draft all 30 teams in terms of how fun they are to follow in 2019.

Audio intro: Smash Mouth, "Fun"
Audio outro: The Knack, "Serious Fun"

Link to list of drafted teams
Link to poll about drafted teams
Link to Sam’s fun facts about every team
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Blue Jays fan who’s unfazed by foul balls, a possible comeback for defunct Fox show Pitch, the Mariners (specifically Tim Beckham and Dylan Moore) committing errors in bunches, the offensive futility of Chris Davis, how Nationals fans treated Bryce Harper in his return to DC, Ramon Laureano’s amazing throwing arm, a change in the baseball and the increase in strikeout rate and Three True Outcomes percentage, the inspirational Willians Astudillo, Chris Sale’s worrisome start and the worst outings ever in Cy Young seasons, Mike Trout and the Angels offense, and more.

Audio intro: Butch Walker, "Summer Scarves"
Audio outro: Oh Land, "Human Error"

Link to videos of unfazed Jays fan
Link to Rob’s research about the baseball
Link to videos of Laureano throws
Link to Pitch farewell interview
Link to Ben on Harper’s defense
Link to Astudillo’s Instagram post
Link to data on worst outings by Cy Young winners
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Christian Yelich vs. Eugenio Suarez and Yelich vs. regression, an inscrutable ad, Jose Alvarado and the apparent increase in aesthetically pleasing pitches, visual differences between 1998 and now, and the significance of the latest contract extensions, then answer listener emails about the Twins and what makes a team fun, the Indians’ slow start, an intentional walk to Chris Davis, batting practice and bunting against the shift, Justin Verlander’s shot at 300 wins, and more, plus Stat Blasts about “True Wins” and Trevor Rosenthal and consecutive out-less outings to start a season.

Audio intro: Sloan, "Reach Out"
Audio outro: The Who, "I Can’t Reach You"

Link to Ben on Yelich
Link to McSweeney’s list of email addresses
Link to Alvarado highlight
Link to Sam on extensions
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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In a bonus episode of EW, Ben Lindbergh and The Ringer’s Michael Baumann banter about Bryce Harper’s transparently but nonetheless almost endearingly calculated campaign to win over Philly fans, why it’s working for him, and whether he could take it too far, then (14:26) talk to actor Hank Azaria, the star of IFC baseball TV series Brockmire, about the show’s return for a third season and how it doubled down on baseball references, incorporated new cast members, adapted to a sober Brockmire, and branched out into social commentary without sacrificing silliness.

Audio intro: The Beths, "You Wouldn’t Like Me"
Audio interstitial: Johnny Flynn, "Heart Sunk Hank"
Audio outro: Everclear, "TV Show"

Link to examples of Harper pandering
Link to Brockmire site (and premiere video)
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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