With Meg Rowley on vacation, Ben Lindbergh continues his quest to (temporarily) resurrect a few dearly departed baseball podcasts. Next Up: The Baseball Show With Rany and Joe, featuring Ben, Rany Jazayerli, and Joe Sheehan of the Joe Sheehan Newsletter. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Ben, Rany, and Joe talk about what’s worth watching the rest of the way: playoff races, awards chases, roster reshuffling, and more. They also examine some big-picture trends pertaining to MLB’s low-average offense, pitcher usage, expansion, and popularity.

Audio intro: Garrett Krohn, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: The Gagnés, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Baseball Show podcast archive
Link to the Joe Sheehan Newsletter
Link to Rany’s medical practice
Link to Rany on the Royals
Link to Rany on Pitcher Abuse Points
Link to Ben on postseason usage
Link to Dan S. on 2026 playoff rosters
Link to Dan S. on the postseason crapshoot
Link to playoff randomness by sport
Link to Kiger wiki
Link to De Paula homer
Link to 2023 Cranston promo
Link to attendance-boost story
Link to article on Vlad’s homer
Link to article on Fischer’s homer
Link to the Teoscar resurgence
Link to Laurila on SP usage
Link to Ben on improving player talent
Link to Elly throw video
Link to Elly throw article
Link to Passan on expansion
Link to NBA franchise values
Link to KC ballpark update
Link to Veblen good wiki
Link to Sarris on sinkers
Link to Ben C. on expanded playoffs
Link to Dan S. on expanded playoffs
Link to FG combined WAR leaderboard
Link to Schlittler MVP article
Link to leaguewide K rates
Link to leaguewide non-pitcher K rates
Link to Ben on Ks in 2017
Link to foul-ball info
Link to Ben on pitcher limits
Link to Ben on improved defense
Link to Rany on Ben’s gaming pod

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With Meg Rowley on vacation, Ben Lindbergh continues his quest to (temporarily) resurrect a few dearly departed baseball podcasts. Next Up: The Ringer MLB Show, featuring Ben, Michael Baumann of FanGraphs, and Bobby Wagner of Patreon and Tipping Pitches. Ben, Baumann, and Bobby banter about their old show and the absence of one member of the Ringer MLB crew, how MLB commemorated 9/11, who’s to blame for banged-up Shohei Ohtani, whether they’re buying Anthony Volpe’s power spike, and what the widespread mockery of Vivek Ramaswamy’s baseball swing says about politicans’ eagerness to invoke baseball, the danger of appearing inauthentic by faking ball knowledge, and the difficulty (relative to other sports) of not looking doofy doing baseball activities without past playing experience. Then (54:49) Ben plays “Did This Famous Figure Play College Baseball?” and they draft (1:02:38) the top 24 MLB players who are in their age-24 seasons or younger.

Audio intro: Dave Armstrong and Mike Murray, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Alex Ferrin, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Ringer MLB Show feed
Link to Ringer Baseball feed
Link to Baumann’s FanGraphs archive
Link to Tipping Pitches
Link to 2021 young players ranking
Link to 2021 young players podcast
Link to 2022 young players ranking
Link to MLB’s 9/11 press release
Link to Baumann on Ohtani
Link to Woo on Ohtani
Link to Ardaya on Ohtani
Link to Ohtani comments
Link to Volpe reinvention article
Link to Triple-A wOBA leaders
Link to Triple-A xWOBA leaders
Link to Volpe gamelog
Link to Cruz vs. El-Sayed
Link to Vivek’s football jersey
Link to EW on politician sports fails
Link to Jeffries bat post
Link to Vivek’s baseball post
Link to eyewitness account
Link to Vivek’s tennis post
Link to Vivek’s bowling post
Link to Vivek’s basketball post
Link to post deletion story
Link to Vivek name article
Link to Curtis on baseball language
Link to list of Baumann games
Link to Eisenhower baseball controversy
Link to RoS ZiPS projections
Link to 2028 ZiPS projections
Link to rest-of-career ZiPS projections

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With Meg Rowley on vacation, Ben Lindbergh continues his quest to (temporarily) resurrect a few dearly departed baseball podcasts. Next Up: The Bandwagon, featuring Hannah Keyser of CNN and Zach Crizer of The Bandwagon (the ongoing newsletter). Ben, Hannah, and Zach discuss Hannah’s transition from baseball specialist to sports generalist, her visit to Driveline Baseball for velocity training, and why position-player pitchers throw so slow. Then they banter about baseball bits and bobs: the buzzer-beating, pre-postseason returns of Aaron Judge and other prominent players; the future of rehab assignments; Zach’s 2026 rebuild rankings and his and Hannah’s debate about how bad David Stearns has been for the Mets; Mickey Gasper’s hot streak and Munetaka Murakami’s slump; a possible Rockies sale; Thomas Pannone’s Triple-A perfect game; and how the challenge system has affected catcher framing and defensive value, plus postscript follow-ups.

Audio intro: Guy Russo, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Andy Ellison, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Bandwagon podcast archive
Link to The Bandwagon newsletter
Link to Hannah’s CNN archive
Link to CNN Explains series
Link to first Bandwagon reunion pod
Link to second Bandwagon reunion pod
Link to Hannah and Lindsey appearance
Link to Marte’s cap
Link to Alcaraz vs. Shelton story
Link to Jay on position-player pitching
Link to Sam on position-player pitching
Link to underhand free throws story
Link to Episode 2372
Link to position-player velo by year
Link to late-comeback candidates
Link to Hannah and Zach on Trajekt
Link to Ben on Trajekt
Link to Dan S. on Judge
Link to Judge on his abbreviated return
Link to Judge/Jones fun fact
Link to Schwarber postseason comeback
Link to Cohen on Stearns
Link to Ben on Mets turnover
Link to team rookie batting WAR
Link to negative-run-differential division story
Link to Yankees hitting without Judge
Link to Yankees pitching without Judge
Link to Gasper/Murakami leaderboard
Link to Gasper wiki
Link to Rockies/McCarthy play
Link to Paige’s Rockies report
Link to report summary
Link to Greg Penner wiki
Link to BP on team sales
Link to Pannone story
Link to Pannone photos
Link to minor league perfectos list
Link to Jeff on framing
Link to Ben on framing in 2018
Link to team defensive challenges
Link to Tango on team challenges
Link to catcher-defensive deviation data
Link to catcher-defense deviation graph
Link to Ohtani/De Paula news
Link to catcher’s interference explainer
Link to 23 ways piece
Link to 23 ways book
Link to Nine Innings to Love trailer
Link to Nine Innings to Love premiere
Link to Tiglath-Pileser III wiki
Link to Yankees winning-season streak

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With Meg Rowley on vacation, Ben Lindbergh brings a few dearly departed baseball podcasts (briefly) back to life. First up: The Roundtable, featuring EW cofounder (and Pebble Hunting author) Sam Miller and The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee and Andy McCullough. Ben, Sam, Grant, and Andy discuss the worst and best ballpark promotions, Doug Eddings’s cap decree and bid to become MLB’s new infamous umpire, what 2026 taught us about ump importance, whether umps uphold unwritten rules, future revelations about the Astros’ banging scheme, a trivia question in a new movie about the number of ways to reach base, Ketel Marte and the mountains teams try to climb, Sam’s recent writing about the boundaries of baseball performance, Andy’s ace updates, and Shohei Ohtani’s pitching outlook.

Audio intro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Austin Klewan, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Roundtable archive
Link to Roundtable cancellation post
Link to Pebble Hunting
Link to Grant’s author archive
Link to Andy’s author archive
Link to Jelly Roll wiki
Link to Ben on baseball pizza discounts
Link to Taco Bell promotion wiki
Link to Jessica Simpson quote
Link to Zoolander clip
Link to Eddings wiki
Link to Eddings article 1
Link to Eddings article 2
Link to Eddings article 3
Link to Eddings article 4
Link to umpire retirements
Link to Ben on ABS
Link to Gattis on Kershaw
Link to banging-scheme site
Link to banging-scheme research 1
Link to banging-scheme research 2
Link to banging-scheme research 3
Link to banging-scheme research 4
Link to Noggin Boss
Link to MLB Isoblox cap
Link to “dadhat” definition
Link to The Sun Never Sets wiki
Link to Joe Swanberg wiki
Link to mumblecore wiki
Link to Fennessey on mumblecore
Link to automatic double wiki
Link to Snapple on reaching base
Link to SABR on reaching base
Link to Enders on reaching base
Link to Marte article 1
Link to Marte article 2
Link to Marte article 3
Link to Marte article 4
Link to double summit wiki
Link to Sam on bad challenges
Link to Sam on pitcher mistakes
Link to Sam on strike rates
Link to Tango on miss distance
Link to Sam on Kershaw mistakes
Link to Rob Arthur on ball variation
Link to Andy on aces
Link to Ohtani pitching update
Link to Sam on two-way Ohtani
Link to Beyond the Scrum
Link to Sportswriters Blues
Link to “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about duplicate episode titles and the Angels being slightly less bad than previously indicated, Stat Blast about extended team droughts between multi-hit MLB debuts, and discuss the arrival and role of Padres prospect Ethan Salas, a (deep breath) Cubs-produced, TikTok-based, baseball-themed, microdrama rom-com, whether they have any interest in VR baseball broadcasts, and an apparent change in Minor League Baseball’s ball, followed by additional Blasting about a Jordan Walker fact that may or may not be fun, catcher hot-swaps, center fielders on the mound, and all-win/loss days for divisions.

Audio intro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to duplicate episode titles
Link to Episode 1240
Link to Episode 1573
Link to Paine on Moreno/Kroenke
Link to Kroenke’s land ownership
Link to Langs post 1
Link to Langs post 2
Link to debutant dingers article
Link to gaps between debuts
Link to Close Encounters scene
Link to Montes debut article
Link to Ichiro rookie hits record
Link to Ichiro video
Link to Montes video
Link to Ben on debutant batters
Link to proj. strength of schedule
Link to M’s rookie batting WAR
Link to BP on Jenkins
Link to BP on Salas
Link to ESPN on Salas
Link to New Yorker on microdramas
Link to Quibi wiki
Link to Variety on Nine Innings to Love
Link to Nine Innings to Love trailer
Link to The Notebook scene
Link to VR broadcasts article
Link to Jake/Jordan broadcast info
Link to Ben’s plot hole video
Link to Cooper on the MiLB ball
Link to Cooper on college homers
Link to Ben on the MiLB-to-MLB gap
Link to Clay on the MiLB-to-MLB gap
Link to FG on MiLB ball construction
Link to Walker alleged fun fact
Link to ITYSL meme
Link to Williams vs. Wood post
Link to catchers data
Link to The Onion on Gillette
Link to wild 1902 game
Link to Garver EW episode
Link to all-loss division days
Link to all-win division days
Link to listener emails database

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley announce an upcoming livestream and then react to the semi-surprising sale of the Angels by Arte Moreno to Stan Kroenke, considering the significance of the sale price, the outlook for the franchise, the legacies of Moreno and Mike Trout, and what the sale might portend for CBA talks. Then (43:14), in the wake of recent reporting and discussion about the volume level at games, they talk to stadium acoustics expert Jack Wrightson of design firm WJHW about how stadium sound systems are simulated and constructed, how they’ve evolved, the sonic environments of baseball and other sports, how team preferences and practices vary, fan noise vs. PA noise, sound on the field vs. sound in the stands, why ballparks are sometimes too loud, and much more, plus (1:37:57) a few postscript follow-ups.

Audio intro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio interstitial: Grant Brisbee, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Patreon registration
Link to FG on the Angels sale
Link to The Athletic sale article 1
Link to The Athletic sale article 2
Link to Trout quotes
Link to mayor quotes
Link to 2023 attendance
Link to 2026 attendance
Link to Moreno on fan preferences
Link to Kroenke wiki
Link to Moreno wiki
Link to Paine on Moreno
Link to new Angels park item
Link to froyo fraud article
Link to sale-price bubble analysis
Link to WJHW “about” page
Link to WJHW ballparks page
Link to Jack’s WJHW bio
Link to latest loudness article
Link to loudness article 2
Link to loudness article 3
Link to loudness article 4
Link to loudness article 5
Link to sound level meter wiki
Link to loudness wars wiki
Link to SIS on Cowser
Link to Langs post 1
Link to Langs post 2
Link to EW on Yandy and ABS
Link to Tango on Yandy
Link to Tango on the Rays
Link to more Tango on the Rays
Link to Jade on Skubal
Link to new Plot Hole or Not Hole

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the research Meg saw on her trip to Saber Seminar, a vintage Max Scherzer start, Tarik Skubal’s espresso-machine maneuver, a Kevin McGonigle double and rule 9.06(f), an international signing scandal (or in truth, two), MLB’s proposals for reworking offseason signings and roster rules, legal wrangling regarding prediction markets, WPBL difficulties, a Chris Sale gem, a costly FARTBAT, outfield additions, whether Shohei Ohtani will pitch again, the first team eliminated from division-title contention, and more.

Audio intro: Philip Tapley and Michael Stokes, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Luke Lillard, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Saber Seminar site
Link to Scherzer start
Link to espresso article 1
Link to espresso article 2
Link to article on player frugality
Link to McGonigle hit article
Link to @ScoringChanges explanation
Link to Posnanski post
Link to old EW on automatic singles
Link to ESPN report on signing scandal
Link to MLB proposal article 1
Link to MLB proposal article 2
Link to Baumann on MLB proposals
Link to NHL holiday roster freeze
Link to MLB prediction-market deals
Link to latest legal decision
Link to prediction-markets piece 1
Link to prediction-markets piece 2
Link to WPBL standings
Link to WPBL article 1
Link to WPBL article 2
Link to Sale article 1
Link to Sale article 2
Link to Sale game page
Link to Baldwin game precedents
Link to FARTBAT article
Link to FARTBAT wiki
Link to MLBTR on Pham
Link to Pham vs. Myers spat
Link to MLBTR on Cave
Link to MLBTR on Robert Jr.
Link to Ohtani update
Link to Reddit Rockies post
Link to Curt’s Bluesky post
Link to Cowser catch clip
Link to Cowser catch article
Link to The Sun Never Sets

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a baseball reference in summer sci-fi flick The End of Oak Street and new reporting on players’ unwillingness to wear cups, then (32:30) discuss career years for Pete Alonso and Gabriel Moreno, Mason Miller’s changeup, Cal Raleigh’s swing change, and whether MLB will follow other leagues’ leads in establishing a tournament or trophy apart from the playoffs, before Stat Blasting (1:17:47) about the worst/least-experienced lineups ever, the most prolifically .500 teams, and the hierarchy of double-play frequency.

Audio intro: Kite Person, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The End of Oak Street wiki
Link to David Robert Mitchell wiki
Link to Detroit references in movie
Link to Parrish 1982 gamelog
Link to Doctor Strange Tigers reference
Link to protective cups article
Link to Luke 22:42-44
Link to Chisholm article
Link to Forbes article on JKG
Link to Time article on JKG
Link to best hitters in August
Link to on-pace leaderboard
Link to pitch run values since 2025
Link to Miller’s changeup count
Link to Cruz homer clip
Link to Miller article 1
Link to Miller article 2
Link to game theory meme
Link to Cal swing article
Link to Neil on alternate champions
Link to Neil on the NBA Cup
Link to Knicks NBA Cup decision
Link to regular-season-champion article
Link to regular-season-champion episode
Link to Yankees’ six-run win
Link to Stat Blast wiki
Link to Giants loss article 1
Link to Giants loss article 2
Link to Giants unfun fact
Link to Sam post 1
Link to Sam post 2
Link to 2022 White Sox .500 records
Link to Rochester Hop Bitters info
Link to Preston’s FB post
Link to “9 to 5” video
Link to double-play data
Link to Hembekides clip
Link to Hembekides graph
Link to Molina 3-2-8 double play
Link to Nootbaar play

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about takeaways from ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcast on Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara, disappointing parity (46:41), the latest public-funding ballpark boondoggles in Kansas City and Tampa (52:22), and which AL wild card contender most deserves to squeak into October (1:12:58).

Audio intro: El Warren, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Josh Busman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani
Link to Passan video on the Dodgers
Link to Passan tweets on the Dodgers
Link to EW episode on Ippei
Link to criminal complaint
Link to Starz show update
Link to 2024 Shohei/Ippei clip
Link to deMause/Bradbury EW episode
Link to KC ballpark update
Link to Tampa ballpark update
Link to more on Tampa ballpark
Link to Field of Schemes book
Link to Field of Schemes post 1
Link to Field of Schemes post 2
Link to Field of Schemes post 3
Link to TIF wiki
Link to This One Will Be Different
Link to deMause Bluesky post
Link to Hurtak Bluesky post
Link to Nippon Ham wiki
Link to Fighters wiki
Link to fruit of the poisonous tree
Link to Chinese wall wiki
Link to national debt news
Link to Alou brothers game
Link to all-Alou-outfield article

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball’s new reigning fun fact (courtesy of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Randy Arozarena), Kade Anderson’s debut and Dan Wilson’s slow hook, a Cal Raleigh rally, and the firing of Astros GM Dana Brown, then Stat Blast (41:51) about a Phillies comeback, a strange Yankees streak, an unusual double play, getting hit by both pitched and batted balls, and consecutive same names in lineups, before finishing by discussing (58:37) follow-ups and errata pertaining to the previous week’s podcasts and (1:18:02) a sign-stealing/unwritten-rules controversy courtesy of the Cubs and Diamondbacks.

Audio intro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme 2”
Audio outro: Moon Hound, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to PCA/Randy fun fact 1
Link to PCA/Randy fun fact 2
Link to FG post on Anderson
Link to Sheehan on Wilson/Anderson
Link to Cal homers video
Link to Cal homers article 1
Link to Cal homers article 2
Link to Cal slump analysis
Link to MLBTR on Brown 1
Link to MLBTR on Brown 2
Link to Nightengale on Brown
Link to Clemens on Brown
Link to Wells gear 1
Link to Wells gear 2
Link to Schwarber homer video
Link to FG Phillies post
Link to Twins comeback article
Link to comebacks Stat Blast results
Link to Yankees scoring data
Link to Stanton injury update
Link to Judge injury update
Link to double-play data
Link to triple-Brown name game
Link to Gasper clip
Link to HBP/batted ball instances
Link to listener emails database
Link to sign-stealing article 1
Link to sign-stealing article 2
Link to Sam on unwritten rules
Link to sign-stealing EW episode
Link to Ben on coaching/front offices
Link to Miz/Sale article 1
Link to Miz/Sale article 2
Link to Miz/Sale box score
Link to Randy Johnson EW interview
Link to other case of Miz-taken identity
Link to Kelly/Mikolas article
Link to Mikolas article 1
Link to Mikolas article 2
Link to puck-tracking tech

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