Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Ronald Acuña Jr.’s historic strikeout-rate reduction is as impressive as his historic power-speed combination, the Acuña-Mookie Betts NL MVP race, the enduring defensive excellence of the late Brooks Robinson, Josh Hader’s insistence on one-inning outings and the degree to which players should dictate their own usage, the Rockies’ first-ever 100-loss season, Rob Manfred’s comments about broadcasts and betting, and the somewhat-improved probabilities on Apple TV+ telecasts.

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

Link to article on power-speed seasons
Link to article on Acuña’s Ks
Link to Acuña’s 70th steal
Link to Tango on Acuña/Betts
Link to xWOBA minus wOBA
Link to Robinson’s fielding stats
Link to Total Zone Runs leaders
Link to 1960 fielding leaders
Link to 1975 fielding leaders
Link to old Gold Glovers
Link to Robinson defensive montage
Link to Goldman on Robinson
Link to Robinson obit
Link to story on Hader
Link to Hader arbitration story
Link to 2021 Hader story
Link to Union-Tribune on Hader
Link to more Union-Tribune on Hader
Link to Cup of Coffee on Hader
Link to BP on Hader
Link to reliever leverage leaderboard
Link to story on first Padres extras W
Link to yearly Rockies wRC+
Link to Manfred interview
Link to sports-gambling explainer
Link to Bloomberg on betting effects
Link to 2022 odds interview
Link to nVenue partnership links
Link to Ben Clemens on the 2022 odds
Link to Ben C. on the 2023 odds
Link to Holy Hand Grenade scene

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about The Rolling Stones’ credentials as a baseball band, Mike Trout’s slow healing, more Padres reporting and one-run-game whiplash, the Mariners’ rough stretch, how well this year’s playoff teams are built for October, and the most bonkers stats of the season, plus a few follow-ups.

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

Link to Stones tweet
Link to Stones/MLB shop
Link to new Stones single
Link to info on the Stones at Shea
Link to article about Trout
Link to Liver King info
Link to Padres payroll article
Link to Rob Mains on the Padres
Link to RosterResource payroll page
Link to Dan S. on playoff factors
Link to Dan on 2023 playoff teams
Link to Jay on the Astros
Link to bonkers stats article
Link to Looney Tunes characters
Link to Galvis sleep article
Link to Boggs boat article

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Yusei Kikuchi’s (and other players’) sleep habits and the possibility of a three-way AL West tie with no tiebreaker game, then (28:28) answer listener emails about surprising team assignments in Baseball-Reference headshots, a player who replicates the talent of the player who started in the same lineup spot the previous game, making mound visits to the opposing pitcher, a GM who can predict UCL tears and call up a replacement for the pitcher who’s going to get hurt, whether prospect-promotion incentives could delay the call-ups of the top two prospects in baseball, and retirement-tour qualifications, plus Stat Blasts (1:16:53) about on-base streaks to start a career, all-sweep season series, the best leaguewide power-speed seasons, pitchers who make switch-hitters sacrifice the platoon advantage, and José Abreu and the biggest year-to-year offensive changes.

Audio intro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to first McGrath thread
Link to second McGrath thread
Link to Apstein article
Link to info on Ohtani’s sleep
Link to more on Ohtani’s sleep
Link to even more on Ohtani’s sleep
Link to Nootbaar on Ohtani’s sleep
Link to article on Trout’s sleep
Link to article on Verlander’s sleep
Link to article on Cruz’s naps
Link to article on Smith’s naps
Link to article on Casas’s naps
Link to Russell on sleep hygiene
Link to article on nap rooms
Link to article on Phillies’ sleep
Link to article on Federer’s sleep
Link to article on LeBron’s sleep
Link to Sheehan on tiebreakers
Link to Anderson’s B-Ref page
Link to Valverde’s B-Ref page
Link to tweet about Valverde
Link to Andino headshots
Link to study on icing the kicker
Link to article on Cabrera’s tour
Link to more on Cabrera’s tour
Link to article about A’s Miggy gift
Link to article on Yadi/Pujols
Link to Rolling Stone on Jeter
Link to more on Jeter and tours
Link to listener emails database
Link to Topps Now
Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter
Link to on-base-streaks sheet
Link to Langs tweet
Link to season-sweeps sheet
Link to power-speed sheet
Link to power-speed wiki
Link to article on Edman
Link to wrong-side sheet
Link to detailed wrong-side sheet
Link to Tango on pitch-type splits
Link to year-to-year wRC+ sheet
Link to Burger helmet video
Link to ESPN’s A’s article

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the five-year anniversary of a Twitter wager about Adalberto Mondesi and Shohei Ohtani, then compare and contrast two in-depth articles about the problems supposedly plaguing the Padres and discuss how convincing they find those reports’ explanations for the team’s disappointing season (plus additional banter about the possible reasons for recently successful former Padre Mike Clevinger going unclaimed on waivers, and a few follow-ups).

Audio intro: Josh Busman, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Bill James tweet
Link to Union-Tribune on the Padres
Link to The Athletic on the Padres
Link to Rob Mains on the Padres
Link to Ginny Searle on the Padres
Link to Pythag record wiki
Link to story on Machado’s elbow
Link to FG hitting clutch
Link to FG pitching clutch
Link to Ben’s RISP prediction episode
Link to RISP through 5/25
Link to RISP since 5/25
Link to info on Padres in extras
Link to Soto quote
Link to Soto follow-up quote
Link to BaseRuns records
Link to article on Anthony Young
Link to payroll-record correlation info
Link to pitcher WAR since 7/29
Link to MLBTR on Clevinger
Link to Clevinger/Smith kerfuffle
Link to statement on Ohtani
Link to Ohtani’s insta post
Link to tweet about Ohtani
Link to first Moyer statement
Link to second Moyer statement
Link to article on Gas Plant District

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about precedents for 50-year-old Bartolo Colon retiring as a Met, whether it’s better for a player to go out on top or be humbled a bit before the end, the ramifications of the Rays’ deal for a new ballpark in St. Petersburg, whether each team is on track to have a successful season by the standard set on the podcast’s season preview series, the likely end of Shohei Ohtani’s time with the Angels, and the curious career of Anthony Rendon.

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

Link to story about Colon
Link to Colon’s flip play
Link to Colon’s homer
Link to story about Bernie’s retirement
Link to story about Franco’s retirement
Link to story about Jones’s retirement
Link to story about Bautista’s retirement
Link to Ben on Pujols’s 2022
Link to Ben’s story on Chipper’s gifts
Link to Stark on the oldster derby
Link to EW episode on the derby idea
Link to Romney bio excerpt
Link to info on thinking things are worse
Link to story about Rays’ ballpark
Link to Drellich on public funding
Link to Manfred on expansion
Link to preview-pod team goals
Link to Gilligan on the Brewers
Link to Blum on Ohtani and the Angels
Link to Blum on Rendon
Link to EW episode on King
Link to EW episode on Ivie
Link to article on Rendon’s suspension
Link to video of Rendon altercation
Link to list of old Rendon articles

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Patreon supporter Max Harris banter about Ben’s problems remembering Orioles rookie Heston Kjerstad’s name, Baltimore’s lookalike offensive core, and Max’s history with the podcast and baseball, then (18:22) answer listener emails about seat fillers at MLB games, hypothetical players “Mr. Repeat” and “Mr. First Time,” centralizing MLB R&D, systemic vs. individual explanations for changes in the game, instituting minimum and maximum pitch counts, Kyle Schwarber vs. Nick Ahmed, the good-but-disappointing Blue Jays, the Mariners’ streak of not losing by a lot, and Theo Epstein pedantry, plus a Future Blast (1:27:39) from 2059 and a follow-up (1:30:31) about a tiered Hall of Fame.

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

Link to first tweet about Orioles
Link to second tweet about Orioles
Link to Swanson/Culberson story
Link to The Athletic on tech spending
Link to Scouting Bureau story
Link to Ben on Scout School
Link to Swanson interview episode
Link to Ben on Dunn and Pierre
Link to Ben on defense vs. offense
Link to offense vs. defense spending
Link to Ben on pitcher limits
Link to no-blowouts streaks
Link to Sam Kennedy quote
Link to listener emails database
Link to Rick Wilber’s website
Link to Future Blast wiki
Link to Kjerstad homer
Link to Bill James proposal
Link to Hall of Stats
Link to career tiers sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the firing of Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and the extension of Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, injuries to Max Scherzer and Sandy Alcantara and MLB’s UCL scourge, and a proposed tier system for the Hall of Fame and single-season awards, then Stat Blast (1:08:33) about Zack Greinke’s win-loss record, Matt Olson and players with more homers than their team has losses, the most team innings with a homer to start a game, two players 40 or older homering in the same game, walk-off balks, high-WAR seasons for multiple teams, and Ian Happ and the longest on-base streaks against a team, plus a Future Blast (1:38:32) from 2059 and a follow-up.

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

Link to Sox press release
Link to MLBTR on Bloom
Link to Alex Speier on Bloom
Link to Speier on Boston’s ’22 deadline
Link to story on Bloom and Dermody
Link to FG farm rankings
Link to FG payroll rankings
Link to MLBTR on Rizzo
Link to CBS Sports on Rizzo
Link to Rizzo on Strasburg
Link to Lerner’s Stras statement
Link to MASN agreement
Link to DiPuglia resignation story
Link to scout firings story
Link to Alcantara UCL story
Link to story on velo and UCLs
Link to Sam on UCLs
Link to Ben on pitcher limits
Link to Bill James answer
Link to Posnanski on James
Link to Topps Now
Link to Greinke W-L spreadsheet
Link to Paine on Greinke
Link to Jaffe/Laurila on Greinke
Link to starter run support
Link to EW 1855 Stat Blast
Link to Olson club sheet
Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter
Link to team innings w/HR doc
Link to Ryan on 40+ HR hitters
Link to walk-off-balks sheet
Link to story on second WO balk
Link to Stat Blast on balks
Link to high-WAR multi-team seasons
Link to Drake EW interview
Link to story on Happ’s streak
Link to tweet about Happ’s streak
Link to info on DiMaggio scoring
Link to Sam on on-base streaks
Link to on-base-streak sheet
Link to on-base-in-starts streaks
Link to Rick Wilber’s website
Link to Future Blast wiki
Link to Edman article
Link to switch-SH sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball comps for the season-ending injury of quarterback Aaron Rodgers four snaps into his New York Jets career, the Rip Van Winkle-esque return of Orioles starter John Means after Tommy John surgery, the Mariners’ rough stretch, Meg’s pennant-race anxiety, and George Kirby’s comments about not being pulled earlier from a start, the Yankees’ unlikely extra-innings win and loss of Jasson Domínguez, the Mets finally hiring David Stearns to run their baseball operations department, the promotion of Pete Crow-Armstrong and why so many top prospects are coming up late in the season, what Mike Trout would bring back (if anything) on the trade market, and more, plus a few follow-ups from last week and a Future Blast (1:36:43) from 2058.

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

Link to The Ringer on Rodgers
Link to The Ringer on Rodgers again
Link to FB thread of baseball comps
Link to MLBTR on Means
Link to 30/30 fun fact
Link to Kirby video
Link to story on Kirby
Link to Divish tweet about Kirby
Link to Clemens tweet about Kirby
Link to Mulder tweet about Kirby
Link to McCarthy tweet about Kirby
Link to Weaver tweet about Kirby
Link to 2014 Weaver story
Link to Rob Mains on the TTOP
Link to Mains on the TTOP again
Link to Jay on Domínguez
Link to story on Yankees’ 13-inning win
Link to MLBTR on Stearns
Link to Crow-Armstrong call-up piece
Link to Sheehan on prospect promotions
Link to aging-curves research
Link to Nightengale on Trout
Link to Yamamoto no-hitter story
Link to Ben Clemens on Suzuki
Link to Lee Maye wiki
Link to Scott Radinsky wiki
Link to Edman story
Link to Rick Wilber’s website
Link to Future Blast wiki

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the NL wild card race and Dodgers starting pitching, then (17:24) answer listener emails about league-sanctioned spies, the best second jobs for an MLB player, a clairvoyant catcher, celebrating obscure records, switch-hitters and pitchers with reverse splits, existential fandom crises, selective fun-fact framing, oddly aligned MLB logos on a Dairy Queen cup, and an incredibly durable but otherwise unremarkable player, plus Stat Blasts (1:22:00) about quantifying “compilers,” superlative power-speed seasons, and long streaks of different team WAR leaders, a Future Blast (1:41:48) from 2057, and follow-ups.

Audio intro: Alex Ferrin, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to FG playoff odds
Link to story on Lawlar’s debut
Link to MLBTR on Alcantara/Soler
Link to MLBTR on Buehler
Link to Jay on Gonsolin and TJ
Link to report about Urías
Link to Ben on MLB trade secrets
Link to Cronin podcast interview
Link to Loutos podcast interview
Link to story on mound visits
Link to story on Stallings record
Link to story about Maddon and splits
Link to more on Maddon and splits
Link to THT on pitcher-split forecasts
Link to FG info on splits
Link to Ben on matchup decisions
Link to Jay Cuda tweet
Link to Dairy Queen photo 1
Link to DQ photo 2
Link to MLB/DQ partnership
Link to Votto’s tweet
Link to Sam on Votto’s tweet
Link to listener emails database
Link to compilers spreadsheet
Link to Kenny Jackelen on Twitter
Link to power/speed spreadsheet
Link to Power/Speed Number wiki
Link to post on team WAR leaders
Link to team WAR leaders sheet
Link to Shantz EW interview
Link to Rick Wilber’s website
Link to Future Blast wiki
Link to Machado throw

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss listener responses to their banter about surprising Statcast throwing speeds, then (12:42) discuss Nick Ahmed’s unsung great glovework, the A’s turning out to be (slightly) less historically terrible than they initially seemed, the AL West race, and how the Rangers missing the playoffs would reinforce conflicting narratives about baseball. After that (57:24), they answer listener emails about Mookie Betts overtaking Mike Trout in career WAR, how to tell when a team gets good at player development, and where it would be easiest to hide a smaller base among bigger bases, plus a Future Blast (1:32:26) from 2056.

Audio intro: Josh Busman, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ian H., “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to just-noticeable difference
Link to Ahmed DFA story
Link to FG WAR change post
Link to Lawlar call-up story
Link to study on Gold Gloves
Link to DRS leaderboard
Link to OAA leaderboard
Link to Fielding RV leaderboard
Link to Nichols’ Law
Link to Dan S. on the A’s in May
Link to Tango on the A’s in May
Link to EW on the A’s in May
Link to The Athletic on the Tigers
Link to CBS Sports on the Tigers
Link to worst run differentials
Link to BaseRuns records
Link to Fisher interview
Link to Fisher’s notepad
Link to FG playoff odds
Link to Kram on the AL West
Link to Astros HR fact 1
Link to Astros HR fact 2
Link to FG payroll ranking
Link to Ben on spending and wins
Link to highest WARs through 30
Link to those players post-30
Link to Driveline dev study 1
Link to Driveline dev study 2
Link to story on Benoit’s slider
Link to pitching lab story 1
Link to pitching lab story 2
Link to pitching lab story 3
Link to pitching lab story 4
Link to listener emails database
Link to Rick Wilber’s website
Link to Future Blast wiki
Link to visual acuity research
Link to Sam on Hamilton

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