Author Archive

Effectively Wild Episode 1554: Baseball Reacts to the Killing of George Floyd

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June 23, 2020

EWFI
Meg Rowley is joined by the New York Daily News’ Bradford William Davis and Baseball Prospectus’ Shakeia Taylor to discuss Major League Baseball’s response to the police killing of George Floyd and the recent Black Lives Matter protests, why the league’s statements have been so wanting, whether teams have a role to play — both in their communities and in their clubhouses — in conversations about systemic racism, players’ increased willingness to support BLM publicly, some concrete steps MLB should be taking to make baseball more accessible to Black players and fans, and how the media should engage with players around activism and questions of social justice, police brutality, and racism. Plus, Shakeia and Bradford share their thoughts on the strange, short season of baseball we’re about to see.

Audio intro: Otis Redding, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
Audio outro: The Police, “Truth Hits Everybody”

Link to Shakeia’s piece on Tim Anderson.
Link to Bradford’s piece on the need for pro sports leagues to say more in their statements on police brutality.
Link to Shakeia’s piece on how diversity in baseball begins in Little League.
Link to Bradford’s piece on how MLB is (and isn’t) involving public health officials in its resumption of play plans.
Link to the Five and Dive showpage, the podcast Bradford co-hosts at Baseball Prospectus with Craig Goldstein of BP and Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated.
Link to Demetrius Bell’s piece “What Jackie Knew,” the first in a series of articles at Baseball Prospectus by Black authors that will explore op-eds and articles written by Jackie Robinson throughout and after his career.

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FanGraphs Audio: Craig Edwards Recalls He Is a Lawyer

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May 22, 2020

Episode 887

I welcome FanGraphs writer Craig Edwards to the program. Craig and I discuss the growing tension between team owners and players, MLB’s claim that a season of fanless games will result in $4 billion in losses, the move to shorten the amateur draft, and the discourse surrounding it all. Plus, Craig briefly puts his lawyer hat back on to assess the so-called smoking gun email, and we recall the 2011 World Series.

Relevant Craig pieces:

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 43 min play time.)

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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 5/20/2020

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May 20, 2020
4:00
Meg Rowley: Hi all, and welcome to the chat.
4:00
Meg Rowley: Hope that everyone is doing as well as can be expected.
4:00
Meg Rowley: Let us chat!
4:00
Cat Latos: 

How do you think one might counter the general sentiment that baseballers are greedy and make too much? It's annoying to hear my coworkers side with ownership.
4:05
Meg Rowley: I actually think there is a really good conversation to be had as a society about how we value and compensate different kinds of work, and whether that aligns with the value it brings to society. But if we have that convo, there’s no way that say, how we value Manny Machado’s work takes a hit but Ron Fowler’s fortunate remains intact. And since that isn’t what we’re really doing when we have these conversations, the way I’ve been talking about it with family is that these guys are assuming risk for themselves and their families, aren’t asking for hazard pay, and would simply like their bosses to do what they agreed to. There are a lot more zeroes at the end of the check, but the dynamic isn’t that different from the companies that are scaling back “hero pay.”
4:06
Josh: Do you have any advice on getting into the baseball analysis industry?

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FanGraphs Audio: Jay Jaffe Figuratively Embraces the Lotte Giants

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May 10, 2020

Episode 886

On this edition of FanGraphs Audio, I welcome FanGraphs senior writer Jay Jaffe to the program. Jay and I discuss his impressions of the first week of KBO action, the teams he finds the most compelling, and the differences between the KBO and MLB that he has appreciated most. We also discuss his recent piece on the impact that the cancellation of Induction Weekend has had on the Hall of Fame, as well as the people and small businesses of Cooperstown.

Jay’s KBO Coverage: A Thumbnail Guide to the KBO’s 2020 Season; Nothing Lost in Translation: Meet Dan Kurtz, the KBO’s Top Ambassador Part 1, Part 2; Half a World Away, the Korea Baseball Organization Looks to Play.

Shakeia Taylor: Is Baseball Ready to Love Dick Allen?

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 41 min play time.)

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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 5/5/20

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May 5, 2020
2:01
Meg Rowley: Hi everyone, and welcome to the chat.
2:01
Meg Rowley: I hope everyone is doing well, at least in COVID-19 adjusted terms.
2:02
Meg Rowley: A couple of things to highlight – first, Dan’s KBO ZiPS projections are live! https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2020-zips-projected-standings-korean-baseb…
2:02
Meg Rowley: Tony recapped the ESPN opener: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-wait-is-over-in-the-kbo/
2:02
Meg Rowley: Jay has Part 2 of his interview with Dan Kurtz: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/nothing-lost-in-translation-meet-dan-kurtz…
2:05
Meg Rowley: In non-KBO news, Eric is doing a video series cutting together his Diamondmind play and instructs video. The “pilot” dropped yesterday: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/yeomans-work-pilot/

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FanGraphs Audio: Ben Clemens Gets to Know the KBO

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May 2, 2020

Episode 885

On this edition of FanGraphs Audio, I welcome FanGraphs writer Ben Clemens to the program. Ben and I discuss the upcoming KBO season, his series on whacky World Series tactics, and the form we’d like baseball to take when it returns in the US. Plus, Ben reveals a shocking predilection for drinking plain, hot water, and a not-so-shocking affinity for board games.

Ben’s primers on the KBO: Part One and Part Two

Ben’s Wild World Series Tactics series: 1990-1993, 1995-1997, 1998-2000, 2001-2003

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 52 min play time.)

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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 4/28/20

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April 28, 2020
2:01
Meg Rowley: Hi everyone – we’ll get started shortly.
2:01
Meg Rowley: A couple of things to highlight from today.
2:02
Meg Rowley: Since our initial update on the state of the site in the wake of baseball’s delay, many of our readers have asked for an update on how FanGraphs is doing. Here’s the latest from David Appelman: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-fangraphs-business-update/
2:02
Meg Rowley: Thank you so much to everyone who has become a member, gifted a membership to another reader, bought a t-shirt, or read the site!
2:03
Meg Rowley: We remain very grateful for this community.
2:03
Meg Rowley: Ben continued his look at past World Series tactics: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/wild-world-series-tactics-2001-2003/

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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 4/21/20

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April 21, 2020
4:00
Meg Rowley: Hi all, and welcome to the chat. I hope everyone is staying safe and well, or at least, as well as can be expected.
4:01
Meg Rowley: A quick reminder that merch is back in the FanGraphs store and available for pre-order until May 10 – if you missed out on a hoodie or an Effectively Wild shirt in your size, now’s your chance! https://plus.fangraphs.com/shop/
4:02
Gerry: What would be your ideal walk-up song?
4:03
Meg Rowley: I have for a long time maintained that Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made For Walking” would be a terrific walk-up and I see no reason to change my mind now.
4:03
Jeff: How interested in trading Brendan McKay for say a pretty cheap, still with sweet powerful team control bat first catcher like say…Willson Contreras…might the Rays be? McKays got workload stuff to work through
4:06
Meg Rowley: Not very? McKay’s velo isn’t top of the scale, but he locates it well, works very efficiently, and is ages from arb. Contreras is older, arb eligible next year, and defensively limited.

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FanGraphs Audio: Jeff Sullivan Explores Birding

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April 18, 2020

Episode 884

On this edition of FanGraphs Audio, I welcome Jeff Sullivan, erstwhile FanGraphs writer and current Rays baseball person, back to the program. We discuss, among other things, the moment when we each realized just how much life was about to change in the face of COVID-19, Jeff’s quarantine hobbies, including birding, the scourge known as cruise ships, and the 2000 cheerleading film Bring It On. Plus, we contemplate what baseball might and should look like if it returns in 2020.

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Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @megrowler on Twitter.

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 48 min play time.)

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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 4/14/20

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April 14, 2020
2:00
Toshi: Hi, thank you for chat. If the MLB season ends well into November, I am wondering if these games late in season need to be played in ballparks with roofs. How many ballparks have roofs?
2:01
Meg Rowley: Including the Rangers’ new digs, by my count there are eight ballparks with roofs, either retractable or fixed.
2:02
Meg Rowley: One of those is the Rogers Centre, and I suppose we don’t know what international travel might look like come November, and some of the others are in places that will be mighty chilly, but even still, with the parks in warmer parts of the country, there should be plenty of places for playoff games to be played when the time comes.
2:03
Jinder: Let’s pretend all of the covid stuff hasn’t happened, for a moment, which of these pitchers did you expect to have the best 2020: Darvish, Kluber, Lynn, or Paxton (pre-injury)?
2:03
Meg Rowley: Darvish – the way he was coming on late last season was pretty impressive.
2:04
Meg Rowley: I just bake in time lost to some sad, funky bit of nonsense for Paxton at this point.

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