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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In Effectively Wild’s second annual live recording at Saber Seminar, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk to former major league pitcher (and current Red Sox pitching development analyst) Dave Bush about his new job in the Red Sox front office, how he’s using data to develop minor league pitchers, his experience coaching in China, and his success against Barry Bonds. Then they call up three current or former pitchers from the minors or high-level indy leagues (Dan Blewett, Dave Fischer, and Kevin Vance) to discuss how they will (or did) know when it’s time to stop playing, their experience in international leagues, pitching to (and being or not being bitter about) Tim Tebow, having Tommy John surgery, and the attitudes of the former major leaguers with whom they’ve played.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Salina, skateboarding, and Albert Pujols, then break down all the big (and modest) trade-deadline deals and non-deals, paying particular attention to the Dodgers, the Yankees, and the competitive landscape with two months remaining in the regular season.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about humorless umpires and the on-deck circle, Michael Blazek and disaster starts, the MLB promotion of Aaron Bummer (and the nickname “Bummer” in baseball), the Brewers, Jaime Garcia and the Twins, the latest Mariners-Rays trade, Adrian Beltre’s book-worthy career, and David Price’s arm issues.

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