Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss the hot start of Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins, the recent improvement of Byron Buxton, the position-player-pitching of White Sox minor leaguer Grant Massey, the Marlins’ Stanton-driven surge to .500 (and beyond), the Tigers-Yankees brawl, picking on umpires, and Michael Conforto’s injury as the latest symptom of the sad state of the Mets.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Rich Hill’s heartbreaking no-hit bid and the new and not-improved Carter Capps, follow up on Albert Pujols and player nicknames, and answer listener emails about what constitutes a “journeyman,” Ryan Braun and the Hall of Fame, Ryan Goins’ new type of small-sample success, what would happen if teams played all of their games against each opponent in a single extended series, Harvey Haddix and the best starts ever, a pitcher’s single-minded pursuit of no-hitters, the uniqueness of Joey Gallo, Boston’s mysteriously league-leading intentional-walk total, how to talk to players, and more.

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Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and a special guest conduct a nighttime, roundtable discussion (around a rectangular table) in Jeff’s living room about the Effectively Wild eclipse event and Sam Miller’s listener-inspired ESPN article about the longest play in baseball history.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ben’s broken mic and common cold, an almost-record day for home-run hitting (and a juiced-ball update), Arthur “Doc” Irwin and the Irwin Glove, Joey Votto’s Hall of Fame case, the increasing difficulty of projecting players, the AL wild card race and the odds (and potential ramifications) of a five-way tiebreaker, the Marlins sale and the future of Giancarlo Stanton, the Dodgers’ Curtis Granderson trade, and more.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about their upcoming eclipse event, Jered Weaver’s retirement, a Tommy Pham tweet, and two recent examples of unorthodox positioning, then follow up on player nicknames, odd fields, two-touch fielding, and Khris Davis’s arm and, finally, answer listener emails about the Indians’ record and run differential, the Giants’ disaster season, whether javelin throwers would make amazing pitchers, Chris Davis striking out on pitches down the middle, whether Albert Pujols is underpaid, a blind free-agent market, the deadline acquisitions that have paid off the most so far, and more.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about “Babe Ruth’s Legs,” then talk to researcher and statistician David Neft about how he rebuilt baseball’s historical record to create the Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia, or “Big Mac,” which provided the most comprehensive and accurate account of the sport’s statistical past when it was published in 1969, and which made baseball’s sabermetric revolution possible.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk to 17-year-old Jack Dumoulin, the first American winner of the Microsoft Excel World Championship, about how baseball stats helped him get good at spreadsheets, his high-school baseball career, how he won the championship, and his dream of working for an MLB team. Then Ben and Jeff answer listener emails about overlooked players near the top of the WAR leaderboard (with a focus on Tommy Pham), Joe Sewell on bat boning, player injury-prone-ness, whether sac bunts should be counted as outs, Leo Mazzone and a velocity mismatch, whether defense is underrated, and what would happen if two fielders had to touch a ball before one of them threw it to first.
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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the new-look, less-stuff Carter Capps, then bring on MLB on FOX reporter and MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal to discuss how and when Rosenthal relaxes and takes vacations; how baseball news leaks; how the Dodgers’ deep front office works; how he knows when a source has ulterior motives; how he evolved from a beat writer to a well-known national writer, and the differences between covering baseball nationally and locally; whether he’s learned from news-breakers in other sports; his contacts list; the origin of his bowtie-wearing; sticking to sports; Fox’s shift to video and the future of media; and more.
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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about live shows, bounced throws, the spread of “such is life,” stats displayed on baseball broadcasts, more strange fields, a Dan Haren rules question, and the best non-All-Star seasons, then answer more listener emails about the Angels and Albert Pujols, an odd Brian Dozier game, crooked numbers, Chris Tillman’s first-inning problems, the Dodgers’ World Series odds, Corey Kluber’s breaking-ball usage, and more.
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At the Bell House in Brooklyn for a Pitch Talks event, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk to former major leaguer Fernando Perez about Mike Trout’s birthday pranking, the return of Carter Capps, Perez’s injury history, his late conversion to switch-hitting, what makes a pitcher deceptive, the problems with player development and batting practice, the evolution of the ex-athlete analyst, conformity in the clubhouse, Perez’s inclusion in the Chris Archer trade, and more.
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