Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about where Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger should/will sign, excoriate the Orioles for their offseason inaction, marvel at Alex Anthopoulos’s lengthy extension, discuss the Giants’ Jordan Hicks signing as part of a trend toward reliever-starter reverse conversions, consider the etymology of “innings eater” and how pitcher usage is like scripted TV, and reflect on the decline of foreign hitters in NPB, Naoyuki Uwasawa and the recruiting advantage of teams that excel at player development, and a quirk of contract milestones.

Audio intro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: The Shirey Brothers, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Geddy Lee baseball wiki
Link to 2112 wiki
Link to MLBTR on Snell
Link to over/under draft results
Link to Sam on contract-seeking
Link to Heyman report
Link to MLBTR on the O’s
Link to Roster Resource payrolls
Link to team SP projections
Link to O’s lease extension
Link to O’s contract commitments
Link to Angelos/MLK Day post
Link to O’s DR academy
Link to BaseRuns standings
Link to Anthopolous extension news
Link to Atlanta’s long-term contracts
Link to MLBTR on Rodríguez
Link to Stat Blast on innings eating
Link to Ben’s article on innings eating
Link to Young Sheldon ratings
Link to Suits article
Link to TV procedurals article
Link to Daniel Okrent wiki
Link to Okrent EW appearance
Link to 1884 article
Link to Lucas Borja tweet
Link to Yakyu Cosmopolitan tweet
Link to Ben on NPB import scouting
Link to MLBTR on Uwasawa signing
Link to Uwasawa report
Link to Ben on the Dodgers advantage
Link to Dodgers pitching lab article
Link to Trueblood tweet

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and listener Michael Mountain banter about Michael’s proposal for Effectively Wild listener ballpark meetups during the 2024 MLB season, followed by (7:24) Michael’s guest Stat Blasts about the best non-award-winning players, his all-time player tiers, and Hall of Famers (and HoF candidates) who excelled or flopped at leading their leagues at their respective positions. Then (36:17) Ben and Meg talk to Brian Moritz about his prediction/warning that a major sports-betting journalism scandal could be coming.

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

Link to listener-meetup form
Link to Michael on Episode 1263
Link to undecorated players sheet
Link to EW Episode 964
Link to Bill James proposal
Link to reworked tiers
Link to league leaders sheet
Link to Hall of Stats shutdown
Link to Eight Men Out wiki
Link to Brian’s Nieman Lab piece
Link to Brian’s 2022 piece
Link to Brian at St. Bonaventure
Link to Sports Media Guy
Link to WSJ on journalist inside info
Link to story on BBWAA rules
Link to story on ESPN rules
Link to story on Chams
Link to newsroom betting policies
Link to tweet about Curb betting
Link to “fading” definition
Link to MLBTR on Stroman
Link to over/under draft results
Link to Ben on arbitration
Link to Stat Blast song cover
Link to all Stat Blast covers

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s unlikely recovery in the contracts over/under draft, the Cubs signing Shota Imanaga, the trailblazing Rachel Balkovec moving from the dugout to the Marlins’ front office, and (18:37) whether the new horror film Night Swim is a baseball movie. Then (35:53) they talk to Oakland A’s All-Star Brent Rooker about breakfast foods, a potential new nickname, Night Swim, embracing advanced stats, player perceptions of luck, looking at his exit velo instead of his batted balls, whether he had help in homering off of Shohei Ohtani, underrated teammates, his breakouts in college and the majors, shedding the “Quadruple-A” label, DH penalties, being funny and informative on Twitter, fans complaining about losing bets, self-deprecating athletes, unusual meals, recalling pitch sequences, crossword puzzles, kids’ movies, and more.

Audio intro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to over/under draft results
Link to MLBTR on Imanaga
Link to Baumann on Imanaga
Link to Longenhagen on Imanaga
Link to FG FA Top 50
Link to Ben on festival posters
Link to MLB.com on Balkovec
Link to article on Goodrum
Link to story on female ump
Link to Baseball: The Movie
Link to Surrey on Night Swim
Link to Polygon on Night Swim
Link to Night Swim Reddit post
Link to May’s insurance video
Link to Night Swim trailer
Link to Rooker’s Twitter
Link to Rooker’s breakfast thread
Link to Rooker breakfast interview
Link to Skalka menu
Link to khachapuri wiki
Link to “Country Breakfast” story
Link to Rooker and Zach Bryan
Link to homer off of Ohtani
Link to Renfroe assist comment
Link to DH penalty research
Link to Defector on 2020 debuts
Link to “random at-bats” tweet
Link to the random at-bat
Link to Rooker’s single
Link to favorite metrics tweet
Link to sweepers tweet 1
Link to sweepers tweet 2
Link to velo vs. location tweet
Link to dad tweet
Link to parlay-complaint tweet
Link to thread on data
Link to TTO% leaderboard
Link to May on Fisher
Link to Gauci hiring story
Link to Gauci EW episode
Link to vertical baseball details
Link to Interstellar clip

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Teoscar Hernández signing with the Dodgers, how other teams can compete with L.A., and the Mets signing Sean Manaea. Then (33:07) they answer listener emails about whether the Royals or Tigers will win more games in 2024, the basis for believing the Cardinals will bounce back from their last-place finish, a Tom Brady baseball commercial, whether Shohei Ohtani could have resurrected the Expos, whether a free agent could sign with a different team every game, the perfect mistake hitter, a baseball version of K-pop communication, and two games played on top of each other.

Audio intro: Dave Armstrong and Mike Murray, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to MLBTR on Teoscar’s signing
Link to over/under draft results
Link to Statcast park factors
Link to Dodgers ZiPS
Link to Clemens on Manaea
Link to MLB.com on Manaea
Link to MLBTR on the Mets
Link to FG depth charts projections
Link to SP depth charts projections
Link to MLBTR on Bloom
Link to Brady ad
Link to article on Brady and baseball
Link to Orr on crushing pitches
Link to baseball on Cameo
Link to K-pop fan apps guide
Link to vertical baseball diagram
Link to EW emails database
Link to tax loophole article

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about multiple Mariners trades and follow up on a previous conversation about teams with the most work to do before Opening Day, then (21:07) talk to Pebble Hunting author (and former host) Sam Miller about what (if anything!) will be best remembered about the 2023 baseball season.

Audio intro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to first Mariners trade
Link to second Mariners trade
Link to WWJDD song (short)
Link to WWJDD song (long)
Link to Pebble Hunting
Link to Sam on 2023
Link to Sam on past years
Link to Sam on 2017
Link to New Yorker cover
Link to New Yorker yips story
Link to HUaL on 2023
Link to Paul vs. Diaz wiki
Link to Sam on Turner
Link to FG on October SB
Link to Lewie Pollis on Counsell
Link to Dolly wiki
Link to Renfroe catch
Link to Sam on that catch
Link to Sam on the Mitchell catch
Link to Giants-Dodgers play
Link to Raley play
Link to Trout hypotheticals

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the cruelty of the gift Ben gave his Effectively Wild Secret Santa recipient, which MLB team has the most pressure on it to finish the offseason strong (15:23), Chris Sale’s extension, and the Mets signing Harrison Bader. Then (36:36) they answer listener emails about which mascots would be the tastiest to eat, the NPB spectator experience, whether Shohei Ohtani could get hurt in a way that would prevent him from hitting but not from pitching, eliminating guaranteed playoff berths for division winners, and removing fielders as a penalty for pulling starting pitchers.

Audio intro: Josh Busman, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to gift Ben received
Link to gift Ben gave
Link to N616RH story
Link to Imanaga rumors
Link to Snell rumor
Link to Atkins comments
Link to Baumann on the Cubs
Link to Red Sox offseason story
Link to BaseRuns standings
Link to Eric André meme
Link to Sale extension details
Link to Bader signing details
Link to FanGraphs editor listing
Link to MLB mascots page
Link to mascots wiki
Link to Pop-Tarts Bowl meme
Link to Seinfeld clip
Link to NPB fan cheering
Link to Sam on Gsellman
Link to EW Episode 2093
Link to Sheehan on the AL Central
Link to Ben on pitcher roster limits
Link to listener emails database

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley recap news and transactions from over the holidays, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s thoughts on San Francisco and Yu Darvish’s thoughts on the Dodgers signing his WBC teammates, the Mariners signing Mitch Garver, the Reds signing Frankie Montas, a smattering of Blue Jays and White Sox signings, the Estevan Florial trade, and the retirement of Andrelton Simmons. Then (49:19) they discuss the Lucas Giolito signing and the Chris Sale trade before segueing into a Stat Blast (1:07:05) about the evolution of starting-pitcher workloads, volume vs. efficiency, and what an “innings eater” is in 2024.

Audio intro: Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “Effectively Wild Theme (Pedantic)”
Audio outro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to EW Episode 2102
Link to Yamamoto comment
Link to story about sad Darvish
Link to Garver FG post
Link to Krall comment
Link to offseason spending leaders
Link to Jays signings FG post
Link to Florial FG post
Link to Simmons Stathead query
Link to Simmons highlights video
Link to DRS leaders
Link to Sale FG post
Link to Sale BP post
Link to Baumann on Braves trades
Link to Nightengale tweet
Link to FG SP depth charts
Link to Cora on Sale
Link to Sox spending report
Link to Ben on Sale in 2018
Link to 2023 IP leaders
Link to Passan Civale tweet
Link to Dan S. tweet
Link to Trueblood on volume
Link to Tango on quantity/quality
Link to Mains on pitching/payrolls
Link to Jennings on innings eaters
Link to Ben’s Stat Blast exhibits
Link to Ben on pitcher roster limits
Link to Sale 2022 meltdown
Link to punching bag video
Link to Sale scissors incident
Link to 1996 Park story
Link to EW Episode 2104
Link to Stat Blast song cover
Link to all Stat Blast covers

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Ben Lindbergh is joined by Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer, formerly of Yahoo Sports and the Bandwagon podcast, to discuss at least one listener-nominated, previously overlooked topic from 2023 about each MLB team.

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

Link to The Bandwagon
Link to Hannah’s Yahoo archive
Link to Zach’s Yahoo archive
Link to Zach’s website
Link to Votto tweet
Link to Yamamoto comment
Link to links/notes spreadsheet

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With this year’s MLB free agent market enlivened by international players, Ben Lindbergh talks to three guests about three baseball-rich countries. First, Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency joins to discuss the response in South Korea to Jung Hoo Lee 이정후’s signing, Shin-Soo Choo 추신수’s forthcoming retirement, the legendary career of Choi Dong-won, and the ongoing reckoning with bullying in the KBO and Korean culture at large. Then (44:21) Ben talks to NPB historian Rob Fitts about trailblazing Japanese pitchers Eiji Sawamura and Masanori Murakami, and how baseball would be different if Japanese players had entered MLB earlier. Lastly (1:12:02), Ben brings on Sami Khan, co-director of The Last Out, a documentary about three Cuban players who hoped to make the majors, to discuss their harrowing defections and how a talent exodus affected Cuban baseball.

Audio intro: Andy Ellison, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Yoo on Lee
Link to Yoo on Lee 2
Link to Yoo on Lee 3
Link to Yoo on Lee 4
Link to Yoo on Choo
Link to Yoo on Fedde
Link to other Fedde article
Link to Choi Dong-won wiki
Link to Choi Dong-won Award wiki
Link to Yoo on An’s bullying
Link to Yoo on An 2
Link to An scouting report
Link to info on Babcock firing
Link to info on Peters firing
Link to volleyball twins article
Link to K-pop bullies
Link to Mel Hall article
Link to Mel Hall wiki
Link to Rakuten bullying
Link to Stove League EW wiki
Link to stream Stove League
Link to translators EW episode
Link to baseball deadening article
Link to KBO rules changes
Link to Yomiuri baseball cheers
Link to Rob’s website
Link to Rob’s SABR page
Link to Sawamura wiki
Link to Sawamura Award wiki
Link to posting system explainer
Link to EW Episode 1311
Link to EW Episode 1621
Link to EW Episode 1816
Link to Sugar wiki
Link to Ballplayer: Pelotero wiki
Link to Cuba-NPB/KBO article
Link to post on Rodríguez defection
Link to article on Rodríguez FA
Link to article on Arocha
Link to The Last Out trailer
Link to The Last Out website
Link to Q&A with the doc stars
Link to ESPN on Dominguez
Link to article on Cuban baseball decline
Link to ESPN on Cuba and the WBC
Link to wet feet, dry feet wiki
Link to 2018 MLB deal
Link to scuttled MLB deal

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs’ Ben Clemens continue a cherished podcast tradition by conducting the 11th annual Effectively Wild Minor League Free Agent Draft, in which they select 10 minor league free agents each and compete to see whose roster will accumulate the most combined MLB playing time in 2024.

Audio intro: Alex Ferrin, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to list of minor league FA
Link to Down on the Farm explainer
Link to BA on MiLB FA hitters
Link to last year’s draft
Link to competitions/drafts sheets
Link to EW wiki on draft history
Link to this draft’s results

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