Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani’s introductory press conference and getting closure on contract/canine questions, the audience verdict on how to handle Ohtani in the free-agent-contract over/under draft (20:22), the Dodgers-Rays Tyler Glasnow trade (32:09), the latest Royals signings (Michael Wacha, Hunter Renfroe), the Tigers adding Jack Flaherty, and the AL Central, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, and the Rangers rotation, and Buster Posey’s comments about free agents being wary of San Francisco (1:01:30), plus a Stat Blast (1:09:49) about the longest gap between being minor league teammates and becoming big league teammates, and an Andre Braugher baseball rec (1:27:31).

Audio intro: The Shirey Brothers, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Dave Armstrong and Mike Murray, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to article on Ohtani’s elbow
Link to article on Ohtani’s dog
Link to Ohtani’s dog answer
Link to Portia EW interview
Link to info on negotiations
Link to “key man” clause
Link to Lindsey on the dog
Link to Ohtani on SNLA
Link to over/under draft wiki
Link to Rosenthal/Drellich article
Link to Sam Blum on Ohtani/Angels
Link to article on Ohtani/Glasnow
Link to Clemens on Glasnow
Link to Sam on the trade tree
Link to Laurila on Picollo
Link to Baumann on Mahle
Link to Posey’s comments
Link to Morgan/Burgmeier article
Link to Phillips/Raines article
Link to Kenny Jackelen’s Twitter
Link to Robinson in the Army
Link to Robinson movie on YouTube
Link to Robinson movie on IMDb
Link to Robinson book

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley call for a listener referendum on how to treat Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented contract in the EW free-agent-contract over/under draft, then (20:43) banter about the Royals’ recent pitching additions and a wizardly Will Smith. After that (33:32), they talk to FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen about the players from Asian leagues who have enlivened the MLB free-agent market (including reports on new Giants addition Jung Hoo Lee 이정후, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, Yuki Matsui, and Yariel Rodríguez), Eric’s process for evaluating international players, how perceptions of Asian leagues’ strengths and top talents have evolved, Erick Fedde and other players who’ve improved after going overseas, the best Asian players who are still years away from MLB, stylistic differences among leagues, and more.

Audio intro: The Gagnés, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to vote on the Ohtani contract
Link to latest over/under draft
Link to over/under draft wiki
Link to EW drafts/competitions sheet
Link to AP on Ohtani’s deal
Link to L.A. Times on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Sportico on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Clemens on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Zaidi on Ohtani
Link to FG post on Royals signings
Link to FG SP depth charts
Link to BaseRuns standings
Link to Gonny Jomes wiki
Link to article on Smith’s streak
Link to article on Hinske’s streak
Link to article on swimming witches
Link to wizard vs. warlock
Link to Lee cheer song
Link to EW guest appearance data
Link to DeltaGraphs
Link to Ben on DeltaGraphs
Link to Synergy Sports
Link to Eric on Lee
Link to SIS on Lee
Link to study on velocity splits
Link to SIS on Yamamoto
Link to info on Yamamoto meeting
Link to Eric on Fedde
Link to Bannister on Fedde
Link to Jyun Yue Tseng news
Link to Davenport on league strength
Link to Ben on NPB teams’ scouting
Link to Eric’s Board update

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the implications of Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedentedly deferred contract structure, whether the Ohtani signing and Juan Soto trade portend MLB imbalance driven by the bursting cable bundle (21:42), whether the Dodgers will ever be bad again (28:06), media hang-wringing over Friday’s false reports (35:58), and the Tyler O’Neill trade (42:57). Then they talk to John DeMarsico, SNY Mets game director and cinephile, about how he’s applied his affinity for film to baseball, the behind-the-scenes mechanics and rhythms of baseball broadcasts, what makes baseball so tough to televise, innovative technology and techniques, showing more of exciting plays, copying and being copied, Gary, Keith, and Ron, the use of stats and graphics, baseball movies, and more (47:45).

Audio intro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Josh Busman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Fabian’s Ohtani report
Link to more from Fabian
Link to Ben on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Lindsey on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Baumann on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Becker on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Becker’s contract math
Link to Tim Dierkes on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Rob Mains on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Tom Verducci on Ohtani’s deal
Link to Adam Morris on Ohtani’s deal
Link to FG MLB payroll page
Link to L.A. Times on Ohtani
Link to Jack Harris tweet
Link to Clemens on the cable bubble
Link to Sheehan on the cable bubble
Link to info on Dodgers RSN
Link to Ben on L.A. in 2015
Link to Nightengale on the media
Link to “Vivaldi” tweet
Link to Dodgers Nation post
Link to flight-tracking info
Link to Wired on flight-tracking
Link to Baumann on O’Neill
Link to EW Episode 2033
Link to EW Episode 2035
Link to Rangers-Rays play
Link to Sam on the play
Link to Díaz entrance video
Link to Showalter/Tarantino video
Link to SNY pitch clock video
Link to SNY “ghost runner” video
Link to SNY BTS “ghost runner” video
Link to NYT on DeMarsico
Link to Newsday on DeMarsico
Link to NY Mag on DeMarsico
Link to DeMarsico on Letterboxd

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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 article on Japanese media
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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