Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the end of Ben’s jury duty and Meg’s first colonoscopy, then discuss an investigation into Dodgers owner Mark Walter’s finances, Roki Sasaki’s big glove, Munetaka Murakami’s performance against good velocity, a squirrel sighting (and top prospect Max Clark’s arrival) in Detroit, baseball’s animal kingdom, who gets to claim Jimothy, the frustrating Mariners, Curtis Mead’s im-mead-iate injury, and pre-deadline unrest in Philly. Then (1:05:16) FanGraphs contributor Kiri Oler joins to preview the Women’s Pro Baseball League’s inaugural season and consider its prospects for long-term success.

Audio intro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio interstitial: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to WSJ on Walter’s finances
Link to WSJ on Walter’s stroke
Link to Ben on the Dodgers in 2015
Link to WSJ on Sasaki
Link to June FG post on Sasaki
Link to Roki’s rolling WAR
Link to Roki’s four-seamer speed by start
Link to Murakami vs. velo article
Link to extended squirrel video
Link to MLB.com squirrel article
Link to BP squirrel article
Link to PAWS page
Link to animal appearances video
Link to MLB.com on Clark’s call-up
Link to BP on Clark’s call-up
Link to baseball exceptionalism wiki
Link to Jimothy wiki
Link to M’s Jimothy promotion
Link to Trash Pandas’ Jimothy promotion
Link to food guarding info
Link to Mead injury article
Link to Mead recovery report
Link to BP IL Triage tool
Link to Gelb on the Phillies
Link to Paine on the Phillies
Link to WPBL wiki
Link to Kiri on the WPBL teams
Link to Kiri on WPBL managers
Link to Kiri’s 2025 pod appearance
Link to Kiri on other women’s leagues
Link to WPBL team pages
Link to AP on the WPBL
Link to ESPN’s WPBL press release
Link to 2025 WPBL announcement
Link to Women’s Baseball World Cup article
Link to Ben on the OWL
Link to A League of Their Own scene
Link to Roki game story

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s daughter’s first MLB game, and Ben briefly interviews the four-year-old Sloan about her spectator experience. Then they discuss the MVP races (with an emphasis on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s status as the NL frontrunner over Shohei Ohtani), the Nationals and Red Sox swapping Curtis Mead and Connelly Early, a Kerry Wood trick pitch, John Kruk’s Sunday Night Baseball attire, teams’ tendency to covet Tarik Skubal vs. their reluctance to trade top prospects for rental players, and the biggest pre-deadline positional strengths for non-contenders and positional weaknesses for contenders.

Audio intro: Grant Brisbee, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Dodgers vs. Mets game
Link to “if baseball were different” wiki
Link to Goodnight Baseball
Link to Decoy Saves Opening Day
Link to Moana box office
Link to Maui’s nipples article 1
Link to Maui’s nipples article 2
Link to Disney nipples history
Link to Mario nipples article
Link to FG WAR leaderboard
Link to B-Ref WAR leaderboard
Link to Roberts on MVP Ohtani
Link to Ohtani pen session news
Link to top baserunners
Link to Paine on PCA
Link to Witt injury article
Link to MLBTR on the Nats-Sox trade
Link to FG on the Nats-Sox trade
Link to Red Sox HR leaders
Link to Breslow quote
Link to Friedman quote
Link to winner’s curse wiki
Link to team SP projections
Link to Mead injury article
Link to Wood Reddit post
Link to Wood tweet
Link to “what kind of move” tweet
Link to Meg’s Kruk post
Link to article on Kruk broadcast
Link to Sheehan on rentals
Link to Cooper on traded prospects
Link to Paine on deadline deals
Link to Dan S. on deadline importance
Link to irresistible force paradox
Link to Juggernaut meme
Link to replacement-level killers series
Link to FG playoff odds
Link to projected positional WAR
Link to Ben’s color-coded spreadsheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Donald Trump claim about Shohei Ohtani, José Caballero’s battle with MLB about his pre-pitch routine, Yandy Díaz spurning ABS, James Wood’s impressive results with a seemingly suboptimal approach, whether the Nats would be better off if they hadn’t traded pitching prior to the season, David Rubenstein’s Orioles optimism, and Corbin Carroll’s triples pace. Then (1:04:45) they talk to EW listener Jacob Redmon, who found himself at the center of a viral video this week when he was slapped by a man who objected to his staying seated during the National Anthem, about how the incident developed, what the video didn’t show, and what he took from the experience. Finally (1:57:33), Ben talks to Kenny Lofton about his exclusion from the Hall of Fame, his Cooperstown-caliber career, and his outlook for induction.

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

Link to Trump on Ohtani
Link to Trump on Kershaw
Link to White House visit recap
Link to EW on Trump’s baseball career
Link to Caballero video 1
Link to Caballero video 2
Link to Caballero video 3
Link to Caballero comments
Link to Caballero article 1
Link to Caballero article 2
Link to Caballero article 3
Link to Caballero article 4
Link to Caballero article 5
Link to Caballero article 6
Link to “violation” comment
Link to CloseCallSports video 1
Link to CloseCallSports video 2
Link to Stanky draft episode
Link to Crizer on Yandy
Link to Yandy article 1
Link to Santana article
Link to MLBTR on Santana
Link to Yandy article 2
Link to batting team challenges
Link to Sam on bad challenges
Link to BP piece on Wood
Link to EW on Wood in 2025
Link to Nats WAR leaders
Link to team hitting WAR
Link to team pitching WAR
Link to Rubenstein quote
Link to Rubenstein quote thread
Link to Carroll triples fact
Link to triples park factor
Link to “55 burgers” ITYSL sketch
Link to National Anthem
Link to slap video
Link to Lucy Dacus tweet
Link to Lucy Dacus shirt
Link to Wednesday concert
Link to Chavez video
Link to Cubs statement
Link to EW Episode 2189
Link to 2022 Hoerner homer
Link to “third place” wiki
Link to Ben on the Hall of Fame
Link to Lofton highlights video
Link to Lofton playoffs video
Link to CF JAWS leaders

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s ongoing jury service and meet major leaguers Zac Thornton and Tyron Guerrero, who used to be—but also never really were?—named Zach Thornton and Tayron Guerrero, respectively. Then (35:29) they attempt to diagnose Cal Raleigh’s offensive ills, check in on Patrick Bailey’s bat, examine how the Red Sox and Phillies wound up where they were supposed to be by a very roundabout route, assess the state of trade-deadline speculation, and consider where they would want a few top trade candidates to go.

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

Link to Meet a Major Leaguer wiki
Link to semantic satiation wiki
Link to Newsday on Thornton
Link to Thornton’s Grand Canyon page
Link to Guerrero call-up article
Link to Cotillo’s Guerrero tweet
Link to Guerrero name pronunciation
Link to Guerrero wiki
Link to MLBTR on Guerrero
Link to The Land Before Time characters
Link to Soroka name tweet
Link to Britton name article
Link to Varland name article
Link to Lovelady name article
Link to Stanton name decision
Link to Carmona/Hernández name change
Link to Jerry Gergich wiki
Link to Raleigh batted-ball profile
Link to Sam’s Raleigh posts
Link to Raleigh’s 2025 splits
Link to Raleigh’s 2026 splits
Link to original Bailey discussion
Link to profane, offensive Ferguson
Link to hitting after IBB article 1
Link to hitting after IBB article 2
Link to hitting after IBB article 3
Link to preseason playoff odds
Link to updated playoff odds
Link to Breslow on the deadline
Link to Crizer on the Red Sox
Link to Slaten quote
Link to Dan S. on managerial firings
Link to BaseRuns standings
Link to team batting WAR
Link to team pitching WAR
Link to team 2B WAR
Link to The Athletic trade candidates
Link to ESPN trade candidates
Link to MLBTR on Arraez
Link to Goodman rumor
Link to MLBTR on the Goodman rumor
Link to MLBTR on the Angels’ deadline
Link to JKG injury article
Link to Crotchfelt signing

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s jury duty and his reaction to Meg and Craig’s pillow talk on the preceding episode. Then they discuss why All-Star Game pitching is overpowering, whether the Home Run Derby balls were juiced (and whether it matters), another earliest-ever Opening Day, MLB’s crackdown on teams’ boundary-pushing use of dugout iPads, Shohei Ohtani’s pitching pause, MLB app complaints, extensions for Chase Burns and Kyle Bradish, Luis Arraez as a prize of the trade deadline, and the funniest tech startups the Dodgers have seeded.

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

Link to EW Episode 2506
Link to Kepner on the ASG
Link to 2018 ASG box score
Link to Heyman on Harper
Link to Insta post with Harper quote
Link to MLB HRD notes
Link to longest Harper homers
Link to longest Caminero homers
Link to longest Contreras homers
Link to exit speed responsibility
Link to 2024 NBA ASG wiki
Link to 2026 NBA ASG wiki
Link to top-selling jerseys
Link to Sheehan on the lack of stars
Link to Paine on ASG philosophies
Link to 2027 MLB schedule
Link to EW season preview series wiki
Link to World Cup expansion
Link to March Madness expansion
Link to Ohtani news
Link to ulnar nerve entrapment
Link to MLB app betting odds
Link to latest FG app updates
Link to The Athletic iPads report
Link to Ben on front office encroachment
Link to Ottavino clip
Link to Dubuque on Burns
Link to Bradish on Burns
Link to MLBTR on Burns
Link to Trent’s tweet about Burns
Link to Burns pitch usage
Link to MLB pitching WAR leaders
Link to MLBTR on Bradish
Link to sweepstakes wiki
Link to sweeps week wiki
Link to MLBTR on Arraez
Link to Andrews on Arraez
Link to BZZR article 1
Link to BZZR article 2
Link to BZZR article 3
Link to BZZR article 4
Link to FOIAball post
Link to 2015 Dodgers investment news
Link to 2016 Dodgers investment news
Link to 2018 Dodgers investment news
Link to R/GA companies page
Link to Global Sports Venture Studio
Link to Elysian Park companies page
Link to 2023 Elysian Park article
Link to Elysian Park wiki
Link to Elysian Fields wiki
Link to Gilbert/Creighton interview

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With Ben Lindbergh serving jury duty, Meg Rowley is joined by Baseball Prospectus editor-in-chief Craig Goldstein. The pair discuss the perils of hotel pillows and showers, then turn their attention to the 2026 All-Star Game, how the in-person experience compares to the TV one, and the challenges of making it a fun event relative to the Home Run Derby. Then Craig offers his thoughts on the CBA negotiations and Rob Manfred’s approach to communicating (38:58), before he and Meg discuss a few of the things they are looking forward to (and one thing they’re dreading) about the season’s second half, including the White Sox, good teams playing well, a potentially weird deadline, and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

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

Link to the Five and Dive episode where Craig discusses the Rays
Link to Craig on the weird deadline ahead
Link to Steven Goldman on the All-Star Game
Link to Jake Mintz on the All-Star Game Sandlot tribute
Link to Jayson Stark on the AL’s All-Star pitching dominance
Link to Andy McCullough on the All-Star Game
Link to Michael Baumann on Philly as the haters’ All-Star Game
Link to Katie Woo on Jordan Walker
Link to Ben Clemens on Dillion Dingler
Link to Davy Andrews on Pete Crow-Armstrong
Link to Ryan Blake on Lance McCullers Jr. Trade
Link to Dan Szymborski on an AL team with a losing record making the postseason

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about all aspects of the Home Run Derby spectator experience, both in the ballpark and from afar: the new format, the Netflix broadcast, the Philly fans, Jordan Walker’s win, and more. Then (49:12) they discuss how All-Star selections increasingly reflect same-season performance, Bruce Meyer’s and Rob Manfred’s comments to the BBWAA, negotiations over MLB players’ participation in the 2028 Olympics, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ceddanne Rafaela’s mutual lovefest, and the ice-cold A’s and red-hot Red Sox.

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

Link to FG HRD recap
Link to LHB-heavy preview
Link to MLB HRD notes
Link to LHB park factors
Link to RHB park factors
Link to “Year of the LHH” post
Link to MLB.com on Walker
Link to list of youngest HRD winners
Link to Walker on inspirational value
Link to historical HRD results
Link to McGwire Simpsons scene
Link to Marchand on Netflix
Link to Sam on the Derby’s future
Link to HRD X wiki
Link to Meg’s Arozarena photo
Link to Posnanski on the HRD
Link to Philly Drew/batteries incident
Link to Philly Santa Claus incident
Link to Paine on All-Star selections
Link to past EW discussion on selections
Link to Manfred competitive balance quote
Link to Meyer on MLB.TV ads
Link to Meyer/Manfred messaging summary
Link to Passan on the Olympics
Link to Drellich on the Olympics
Link to The West Wing quote
Link to Rafaela/PCA article
Link to FG WAR leaderboard
Link to playoff odds changes
Link to A’s firing article
Link to team road FIP
Link to team home FIP
Link to team batting WAR
Link to Sheehan on the Sox
Link to conn wiki

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen banter about Zack Wheeler declining MLB’s last-minute All-Star invitation, JJ Wetherholt’s long-term contract extension, and how the Futures Game and amateur draft fell flat as spectator events, then discuss the top tier of draft picks, some surprising picks and revamped approaches by teams under new management, why better data hasn’t made teams much better at drafting, why no team has tried blowing by its bonus allotment, and more, plus closing banter about Bryce Harper’s explanation of his video message for a sports-betting addict.

Audio intro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: PJ Harding, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Simpsons clip
Link to Wheeler article
Link to MLBTR on Wetherholt
Link to Wetherholt’s draft outfit
Link to Baumann on the spectator experience
Link to Cooper on the spectator experience
Link to Manfred mispronunciation article
Link to celebrity golf tournament
Link to Futures Game FAQ
Link to draft viewing FAQ
Link to Brendan on the Futures Game
Link to Eric’s draft preview
Link to The Board
Link to Baumann on big draftees
Link to MLB draft tracker
Link to FG Day 1 draft recap
Link to The Athletic on Schaffner
Link to Crotchfelt vs. Titsworth post
Link to Angels picks
Link to Ball’s draft study
Link to Seidler on blowing up the draft
Link to Ball on blowing up the draft
Link to NBA revenue info
Link to Madisynn from She-Hulk
Link to Clemens on prospect valuation 1
Link to Clemens on prospect valuation 2
Link to camel case wiki
Link to Harper’s Instagram post
Link to EW guest appearances
Link to Dodgers extra-inning game

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley share listener solutions to the mystery of why the 12-straight-hits club is such an undistinguished group, the Home Run Derby field, Bryce Harper’s video message (13:28) to a sports-betting addict and sportsbooks’ practice of preying on whales, the disparity (35:54) in the recent treatment of two pitchers who had no-hitters in progress, and Zack Wheeler’s gripe against All-Star selecting, then (1:02:42) answer a listener email about how much a game one has to have seen to claim to have “watched” it, and Stat Blast (1:23:20) about partial home run robberies, games with matching starter pitch and strike counts, historical team no-hitter conversion rates, and prolific “first” strikeout and home-run recorders.

Audio intro: Ian H., “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Tolbert record post 1
Link to Tolbert record post 2
Link to Williams 11th hit
Link to Pedroia 11th hit
Link to HRD field
Link to Norway rowing pedant
Link to Inquirer article on Harper
Link to Post article on Harper
Link to lawsuit article
Link to Giannis/Kalshi article
Link to gambling damage research 1
Link to gambling damage research 2
Link to addiction story 1
Link to addiction story 2
Link to addiction story 3
Link to addiction story 4
Link to addiction story 5
Link to story on Jones 1
Link to story on Jones 2
Link to Jones game log
Link to questions about Jones
Link to Jones Q&A
Link to Cease story
Link to BP on Cease
Link to top 2026 pitch counts
Link to Blum on pulling pitchers
Link to Scott/PCA clip
Link to Ben on no-hitter strike zones
Link to Wheeler quote clip
Link to Wheeler’s agent article
Link to latest Luzardo start
Link to 2025 Phillies ASG complaints
Link to “May I meet you?” meme
Link to Pascal’s wager wiki
Link to “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”
Link to Simpson/Adell robbery
Link to Glavine game 1
Link to Glavine game 2
Link to Nola question
Link to Bois on Stieb
Link to Stat Blast data
Link to listener emails database
Link to Cubs fact 1
Link to Cubs fact 2
Link to MLBTR on Ohtani
Link to MLBTR on Wetherholt

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about failed former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s subsequent sports ownership endeavors, a claim about Jacob Misiorowski’s pitching improvement, Jackson Chourio (batting lefty) as “a baseball player,” the recent struggles of Paul Skenes and Steven Kwan, Justin Verlander’s retirement, Zack Wheeler’s continued dominance, Andrew McCutchen’s return to the minors, the Orioles’ lack of improvement, the epitome of a Little League home run, Tyler Tolbert’s contribution to one of baseball’s great mysteries, and a 2026 Dodgers first.

Audio intro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Alex Glossman and Ali Breneman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to McCourt’s new league
Link to McCourt wiki
Link to show jumping wiki
Link to Vladimir Shpunt article
Link to NPR on Fitzgerald’s quote
Link to Nickelodeon Guts wiki
Link to “Let’s go to Mo”
Link to “Aggro Crag piece
Link to Slippery Stairs video
Link to Murphy/Chourio quote
Link to Rendon lefty dinger
Link to Mr. Baseball wiki
Link to Mr. Baseball scene
Link to FG post on Skenes
Link to Sheehan on Skenes
Link to Skenes mechanics post
Link to Skenes velo tweet
Link to Skenes velo data
Link to Skenes on his velo
Link to Skenes on O’Hearn
Link to O’Hearn article
Link to Skenes hot dog ad
Link to Skenes on EW
Link to Griffin injury article
Link to sagittal band info
Link to FG post on Kwan
Link to Verlander’s retirement post
Link to Verlander Legend pick
Link to 2025 ASG box score
Link to Wheeler leaderboard
Link to Wheeler ASG article 1
Link to Wheeler ASG article 2
Link to McCutchen tweet
Link to Orioles record post
Link to Orioles WAR leaders
Link to “great call from the haters”
Link to LLHR article
Link to LLHR video
Link to Sam on the LLHR
Link to Posnanski on the LLHR
Link to BP on the LLHR
Link to FG post on the LLHR
Link to Tolbert record post 1
Link to Tolbert record post 2
Link to Dodgers extra-inning game

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