Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s latest former major leaguer Facebook friend recommendation and an important update (3:49) to the dictionary.com definition of “ghost runner,” then follow up (17:00) on a previous rumination on free-agent tours by touching on a Carlos Correa comment about playing in Minnesota, Eduardo Escobar’s deep-seated affection for Fogo de Chão, and the research the Red Sox did on Carl Crawford, before discussing (41:58) the most notable ways in which baseball is unique among sports (including a comparison of the number of balls used per contest), MLBPA leader Tony Clark’s reputation restoration (57:12), the latest Disney windfall for MLB owners, and Ben’s conditional desire to play more recreational sports (1:11:42), followed by a Stat Blast (1:27:05) on Shelby Miller-like career arcs and a Past Blast (1:41:15) from 1936.

Audio intro: Fleetwood Mac, “Think About Me”
Audio outro: David Schwartz, “Balls in the Air”

Link to Bush’s book
Link to old “ghost runner” page
Link to new “ghost runner” page
Link to “automatic runner” page
Link to “imaginary runner” page
Link to 2018 automatic runner story
Link to other 2018 story
Link to 2008 automatic runner story
Link to Correa clip
Link to 2018 Escobar story
Link to 2019 Fogo study
Link to Fogo video
Link to Milwaukee Fogo story
Link to 2022 Fogo story
Link to DiComo Fogo tweet
Link to Fogo locations
Link to 2011 Crawford story
Link to Crawford on Boston in 2014
Link to Crawford on Boston in 2017
Link to Crawford’s wiki
Link to story about soccer balls
Link to story about baseballs
Link to story about foul balls
Link to Chiarella story
Link to other Chiarella story
Link to story on golf balls
Link to Evan on Clark
Link to Evan on the subcommittee
Link to story about Scherzer
Link to CBA tick-tock
Link to Marc on Clark
Link to story about Latino players
Link to thread on BAMTech deal
Link to story on BAMTech deal
Link to Seinfeld clip
Link to Stat Blast data
Link to Eno’s Stuff+ tweet
Link to Donohue SABR bio
Link to Campbell SABR bio
Link to Kirby SABR bio
Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter
Link to 1936 story source
Link to SABR on Shaughnessy
Link to 1933 Buffalo article
Link to 1933 Decatur article
Link to 1933 Allentown article
Link to 1933 IL standings
Link to Shaughnessy Playoffs page
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their Thanksgivings, Joe Kelly’s comments (10:29) about free agents’ team visits being “outdated and cheesy,” the Astros signing José Abreu (30:25), and some standout totals (45:17) from the preliminary ZiPS-projected standings for 2023, plus Past Blasts (1:15:48) from 1935.

Audio intro: The Shivas, “If I Could Choose”
Audio outro: Redd Kross, “Choose to Play”

Link to Kelly’s comments
Link to “Avocado Factor” wiki
Link to MLBTR FA predictions
Link to FanGraphs FA predictions
Link to previous EW Abreu episode
Link to Kevin Goldstein on Abreu
Link to MLBTR on the Sox and Abreu
Link to MLBTR on Houston and Abreu
Link to White Sox depth chart
Link to job listing for The Freeze
Link to tweet about The Freeze
Link to Ringer pod with The Freeze
Link to projected 2023 standings
Link to post on Giants pinch-hitters
Link to 2022 projections review
Link to first Past Blast story
Link to Dean Past Blast story
Link to 1935 Giants story source
Link to SABR on the 1935 Cubs
Link to Cubs vs. umpire source
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to @MrSugarPenis story
Link to NYT tweet about it

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh convenes a roundtable of hitting analysts—Robert Orr from Baseball Prospectus, Esteban Rivera from FanGraphs, and Ryan Parker, formerly of Baseball Prospectus and the Los Angeles Angels—to diagnose the problems with free agent Cody Bellinger’s much-diminished bat and recommend how to revive it. They also discuss their approaches to analyzing hitting, coachability, the differences between public and private hitting analysis, the importance of mashing mistakes, the Angels, and more. Then (1:15:03) Ben closes with a Past Blast from 1934 and a few followups about Bellinger, tweets, and assists on strikeouts.

Audio intro: Wednesday, “Cody’s Only”
Audio outro: The Killers, “Cody”

Link to Dan Szymborski on Bellinger
Link to story on Bellinger’s shoulder
Link to story on Bellinger’s leg
Link to Chris Gilligan on Bellinger
Link to Ken Rosenthal on Bellinger
Link to Prospects Live on Bellinger
Link to Bellinger vs. Musgrove K
Link to Versalles SABR bio
Link to SwingGraphs
Link to SwingGraphs data
Link to Esteban on Acuña
Link to Esteban on vertical bat angle
Link to Robert on crushing cookies
Link to Rosenthal on Angels moves
Link to Joon Lee on the Angels system
Link to EW with Clay Bellinger
Link to 1934 story source
Link to Biele article series
Link to story on Ella Black
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to MLBTR on Harper’s TJ
Link to Blue Jays tweet
Link to Canseco at Vice
Link to Canseco on time travel
Link to assists story 1
Link to assists story 2
Link to assists story 3
Link to assists story 4

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about omissions from their Baseball Twitter draft, a few transactions (including the Kyle Lewis trade, the Gio Urshela trade, and multiple shortstop swaps), the Angels acquiring average players, the Dodgers non-tendering Cody Bellinger, the Phillies extending Dave Dombrowski, the new BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot and Ben’s ballot decision, a series of sports-betting investigations, a college-baseball trailblazer, comeback players of the year, and more, plus Stat Blasts (54:28) about Aaron Judge and intra-team WAR gaps, the most unique players put out, consecutive innings with double plays, and the timing of game-winning runs, a Past Blast (1:04:06) from 1933, and an Angels postscript.

Audio intro: Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, “Angels”
Audio outro: Mimi Roman, “Never Ramble, Never Gamble, Never Roam”

Link to Heyman tweet
Link to Baer tweet
Link to Nightengale tweet
Link to Bautista tweet
Link to Justin Choi on Lewis
Link to Baumann on shortswaps
Link to MLBTR on Dombrowski
Link to MLBTR on Bellinger
Link to Jay on the BBWAA ballot
Link to Jay on the committee ballot
Link to EW on Ben’s ballot last year
Link to NYT sports-betting thread
Link to NYT sports-betting article 1
Link to NYT sports-betting article 2
Link to NYT sports-betting article 3
Link to NYT sports-betting article 4
Link to Olivia Pichardo news
Link to comeback players story
Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter
Link to WAR-gap Stat Blast data
Link to putouts Stat Blast data
Link to game-winning-runs data
Link to Rob Mains on comebacks
Link to 1933 story source
Link to SABR on Browns ownership
Link to MLB.com on the Browns
Link to SABR on Jackie in Montreal
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to MLBTR on the Renfroe trade
Link to tweet about Renfroe and Trout

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

With the future of Twitter uncertain, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley welcome Craig Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz of Fox Sports and Céspedes Family BBQ to draft the best tweets and traditions from more than a decade of content on Baseball Twitter (plus a Past Blast from 1932). (Warning/preview: Prepare for somewhat saltier language than usual.)

Audio intro: The Rentals, “Elon Musk is Making Me Sad”
Audio outro: Sparks, “Here Comes Bob”

Link to list of some tweets
Link to Martino/collusion story
Link to unread Rosenthal column
Link to Rosenthal column tweet
Link to Trout emoji EW episode
Link to Chubs EW episode
Link to Chubs tweets
Link to Chubs explainer
Link to Ben on teen newsbreakers
Link to Defector on Nightengale photos
Link to “Ralph” explainer
Link to “wall of porn” post
Link to Ben on the Castellanos meme
Link to Gmail redesign
Link to 1932 story source
Link to SABR on Cardinals ownership
Link to story about Landis and Rickey
Link to story on Rickey’s farm
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about redefining the MVP award, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s unearthed baseball blogs, Billy Beane’s new role with the A’s, and the Braves’ spinoff from Liberty Media, plus a Past Blast from 1931. Then (30:27) they bring on listener and top-tier Patreon supporter Peter Bonney to discuss his baseball background and answer listener emails about baseball economics and the leaguewide effects of low-spending owners, an open-ended player to be named later, batters weeping intentionally, the art of arbitrary endpoints, PitchCom voice actors, how many MLB games are available via video, a team award for the regular season, how to order umpires by accuracy in the World Series, holistic Hall of Famers, and having to win three straight games to win the World Series.

Audio intro: Night Beats, “Crypt”
Audio interstitial: The Claudettes, “Dozing in the Crypt”
Audio outro: The Mother Hips, “Payroll Peter”

Link to AL MVP results
Link to NL MVP results
Link to The Ringer FTX explainer
Link to Bloomberg on FTX
Link to Milky Eggs on FTX
Link to SBF’s baseball blog posts
Link to SBF’s first post
Link to SBF’s first pitcher-roles post
Link to SBF’s second pitcher-roles post
Link to SBF on fetishization of the old
Link to Dave Cameron’s pitching post
Link to SBF’s 2021 Twitter thread
Link to story on FTX lawsuit
Link to Ohtani/FTX press release
Link to Manfred on FTX
Link to MLBTR on Beane
Link to Liberty Media announcement
Link to Travis Sawchik on the Braves
Link to 1931 story source
Link to SABR on night baseball
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to Peter’s THT articles
Link to Peter’s umpire presentation
Link to Peter’s Fenway presentation
Link to Peter’s company
Link to Kwan on strikeouts
Link to The Gist on polarization
Link to Sawchik on PitchCom
Link to Pujols homer reel
Link to Dayn on a team award
Link to the Stat Blast song
Link to the EW emails database
Link to Ryan Nelson’s MVP tweet
Link to MLBTR on Bellinger

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani and the Cy Young Award, Buck Showalter and the Manager of the Year Award, Bryce Harper’s elbow surgery, the Angels signing Tyler Anderson, Anthony Rizzo and the Yankees’ record Defensive Runs Saved total, the Mariners trading for Teoscar Hernández, title inflation and the “associate manager,” and Royals owner John Sherman requesting a new ballpark, plus a double Past Blast (38:21) from 1930 (featuring Jack Powell’s meaty demise). Then (51:06) they talk to FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen about AFL award winners Heston Kjerstad and Connor Thomas, whether improvements carry over when players change teams, how rules changes are affecting player evaluation, this week’s 40-man-deadline roster crunches, and Kodai Senga and other NPB players who are coming to MLB.

Audio intro: Tri-State, “Hawk in the Fog”
Audio interstitial: Jordana, “Crunch”
Audio outro: The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, “Mr. Powell”

Link to MLB.com on Showalter
Link to Ben Clemens on Anderson
Link to Hawk Harrelson call
Link to Jay Jaffe on Rizzo
Link to highest team DRS totals
Link to Defensive Efficiency leaders
Link to Esteban Rivera on Teoscar
Link to MLBTR on Venable
Link to Sherman’s tweet
Link to Field of Schemes on Sherman
Link to AFL award winners
Link to FG prospect rankings
Link to Laurila on Boras
Link to Alex Eisert on Hilliard
Link to Evan Drellich on rule changes
Link to R.J. Anderson on rule changes
Link to MLBTR on the Rays’ roster
Link to Eric’s AL East piece
Link to Eric on Latin-American SP
Link to MLBTR on Nolan Jones
Link to 1930 story source
Link to SABR on William Veeck Sr.
Link to SABR on Margaret Donohue
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to @OldBaseballNews on Twitter
Link to article about Bill Haber
Link to first Powell article
Link to second Powell article
Link to NL Cy results
Link to Ben on Alcantara
Link to AL Cy results

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Scott Boras’s opinions about postseason pitch clocks and a neutral-site World Series, discuss Meg’s NL Rookie of the Year vote (14:16) and the rookie class, and then conduct two drafts: the eighth free-agent-contract over/under draft (35:37), and the fifth World Series odds movers draft (1:29:46), plus a Past Blast (1:48:40) from 1929 and a postscript.

Audio intro: Whitehorse, “Best Bet”
Audio outro: Aimee Mann, “Mr. Harris”

Link to Boras’s pitch-clock comment
Link to Boras on the World Series
Link to Ben on the rookie class
Link to Chris Gilligan on the rookies
Link to Tango on the WARs
Link to EW wiki on drafts
Link to competitions/drafts sheet
Link to Ben Clemens on RP signings
Link to MLBTR top 50 FA
Link to FanGraphs top FA
Link to Keith Law’s top FA
Link to qualifying offers
Link to Stathead on tall hitters
Link to WS odds spreadsheet
Link to Fanduel odds
Link to DraftKings odds
Link to 1929 story source
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to Craig Wright on few SB
Link to NL RotY results
Link to AL RotY results
Link to Dan S. on Strider
Link to Ben N-S on Rutschman
Link to Tango’s math

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

With Meg Rowley off, Ben Lindbergh talks to three guests: James Wagner (4:55) of the New York Times about Scott Boras puns in the paper of record, why players who test positive for PEDs have disproportionately been from the Dominican Republic, and why players wear perfume and cologne on the field; Ian Araujo (41:46) about the origins, appeal, process, and future of his viral TikTok videos about identifying sports games in the backgrounds of movies and TV shows; and Jeff Pearlman (1:20:24) about his new biography of Bo Jackson, The Last Folk Hero, Jackson’s life and career, separating Bo facts from Bo fiction, and hypotheticals about Bo, plus a closing baseball news brief (1:59:45) and a Past Blast from 1928.

Audio intro: The Americans, “Guest of Honor”
Audio interstitial 1: Jim Lauderdale, “If You Look Real Close”
Audio interstitial 2: Boogie Down Productions, “Bo! Bo! Bo!”
Audio ioutro: Crowded House, “Be My Guest (Home Demo)”

Link to Alden’s list of Boras puns
Link to video of Nimmo pun
Link to Correa’s Dior line
Link to James’s NYT pun mention
Link to Boras episode of EW
Link to James’s PED/DR article
Link to NYT article on Tatis
Link to James on perfume/cologne
Link to Ian’s TikTok account
Link to The Athletic on Ian
Link to Ian’s The Office video
Link to Mel Magazine on Ian
Link to Ben’s Elementary article
Link to The Irishman Reddit thread
Link to Defector on the buzzer-beater
Link to second buzzer-beater story
Link to Hilbert’s problems wiki
Link to baseball Hilbert’s problems
Link to article on TikTok security
Link to The Last Folk Hero
Link to Seitzer/Jackson excerpt
Link to Bo’s tweet about autographs
Link to 91-yard TD video
Link to Bo scaling the wall
Link to Jeff’s website
Link to The Bad Guys Won
Link to “Sho Knows” t-shirt
Link to Astudillo report
Link to MLBTR on Click
Link to Jay Jaffe on Click
Link to MLBTR on Powers
Link to Dan Szymborski on Kershaw
Link to FTX bankruptcy report
Link to FTX sponsorship news
Link to MLB/FTX press release
Link to Ohtani/FTX press release
Link to Emma’s tweet
Link to tweet about Triple-A ABS
Link to J.R.’s World Series data
Link to 1928 story source
Link to SABR on the DH rule
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley share their impressions of HBO’s new feature-length documentary about Willie Mays, Say Hey, Willie Mays!, and reflect on Mays’s career, then (29:23) talk to director Nelson George about the making of the movie, what didn’t make the movie, his interactions with Mays and other legends, and much more, followed (1:04:59) by a postscript and a Past Blast from 1927.

Audio intro: The Baseball Project, “Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays”
Audio interstitial: Michael Franti & Spearhead, “Say Hey (I Love You)”
Audio outro: Gallagher and Lyle, “Willie”

Link to Say Hey website
Link to Say Hey trailer
Link to story about banning Mays
Link to story about basket catch
Link to Mays on Bewitched
Link to Mays response to Robinson
Link to Alvin Dark controversy
Link to Bill Greason’s SABR bio
Link to MLBTR on Baker and Click
Link to Michael Mountain’s cLI data
Link to 1927 story source
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

 Sponsor Us on Patreon
Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20)
 Facebook Group
 Twitter Account
 EW Subreddit
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS