Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Gerrit Cole strikeout fun fact, listed heights and weights and Ketel Marte, running the bases clockwise, and a Ramon Laureano postgame comment, then answer listener emails about come-from-behind (and comeback) victories, whether the 2015 season was good or bad for Bryce Harper (and how players’ success is perceived), and whether umpiring crews should expand to include replacement umps, plus Stat Blasts about the benefit of running on 3-2 counts and the record for most MLB ballparks played in.

Audio intro: The Bevis Frond, "Enjoy"
Audio outro: Willie Nelson, "I’d Trade All of My Tomorrows (For Just One Yesterday)"

Link to Laureano video
Link to list of players who played in 40+ parks
Link to Jeff on minor-league umpires
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up on the feedback to the preceding “best players of the decade” episode and minimum innings vs. three-pitch innings, then banter about Mike Trout‘s new-and-improved throwing arm (and Ross Stripling’s new-and-improved ability to retire Mike Trout), trade-deadline procrastination, the Giants’ and Mets’ outlooks, the future of Noah Syndergaard, the newly slider-iffic (and highly effective) Jacob deGrom, the retirement and legacy of Troy Tulowitzki, which of baseball’s best pitchers are appointment viewing, Stevie Wilkerson and the first position-player save, and Ben’s feature article on the mid-PA-pitching-change strategy previously discussed on the podcast.

Audio intro: Dire Straits, "Your Latest Trick"
Audio outro: Dr. Dog, "Do the Trick"

Link to Eric Stephen on Trout’s throw and throwing arm
Link to Michael Baumann on Strasburg
Link to Zach Kram on Tulowitzki
Link to video of Wilkerson save
Link to Ben on mid-PA pitching changes
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Meg Rowley banter about “minimum innings,” striking out the side, and an anecdote about Barry Larkin bunting, then spend the rest of the episode answering a listener request to name the five best hitters and five best pitchers of the decade—but to make matters more interesting, they do so without looking at WAR and then compare their picks to the stats at the end.

Audio intro: Hot Snakes, "This Mystic Decade"
Audio outro: The Muppets, "Mah Na Mah Na"

Link to Larkin bunting story
Link to spring training Greinke story
Link to Joe Posnanski’s Greinke story
Link to Jeff’s Greinke tweet
Link to Jay on Greinke’s HOF trajectory
Link to Ben’s Beltré story
Link to 2010-19 B-Ref batting WAR leaderboard
Link to 2010-19 FanGraphs batting WAR leaderboard
Link to 2010-19 B-Ref pitching WAR leaderboard
Link to 2010-19 FanGraphs pitching WAR leaderboard
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about a bat in front of home plate that deflected a ball, the José Ramírez resurgence, the base stealer in a Statcast ad, an Andrelton Simmons shift that wasn’t, the Atlantic League, a viral Oliver Drake pitch, and a misguided (and unguided) bunt by Fernando Tatís, Jr., then discuss what a wild card is worth, how hard teams should pursue a spot in the play-in game, and what this year’s trade deadline will look like. Lastly (55:40), Ben talks to Rangers outfielder/DH and four-time all-star Hunter Pence about how and why he reinvented his swing, working with swing whisperer Doug Latta, playing in the Dominican Republic, and recent improvements in pitching and player development.

Audio intro: Peter Matthew Bauer, "Wild Light"
Audio interstitial: Everclear, "The Swing"
Audio outro: Laura Marling, "Master Hunter"

Link to GIF of bat deflection
Link to Sam on bat dropping
Link to picture of supposed Simmons shift
Link to Sam on the breakdown of traditional defense
Link to viral Drake splitter
Link to non-viral Drake splitter 1
Link to non-viral Drake splitter 2
Link to teaser for The Pence Method
Link to story on The Pence Method
Link to Ben on the trade deadline
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the podcast’s seventh birthday, the end of an impressive streak by the Twins, what to think of Aaron Boone‘s tirade against rookie umpire Brennan Miller (and Brett Gardner’s odd dugout anger), Mike Trout and the FanGraphs Trade Value series, an Atlantic League player revolt, and five trends taking over the game, including the shift, relievers, and fewer fastballs.

Audio intro: Destroyer, "Savage Night at the Opera"
Audio outro: John Mellencamp, "I’m Not Running Anymore"

Link to Boone/Gardner video
Link to Lindsey Adler on the players’ reaction to Boone
Link to Marc Carig on Boone’s reputation
Link to Trade Value top 10
Link to Meg/Kiley Trade Value podcast
Link to Atlantic League video
Link to Ben’s trends piece
Link to Ben’s bullpenning piece
Link to Sam’s flames piece
Link to Sam’s piece on the first pitches of games
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s visit to Cleveland, the Giants’ perplexing situation heading into the trade deadline, Edwin Jackson’s next destination, and the approaching addition of ads to MLB jerseys. Then they answer listener emails about whether Mike Trout’s popularity among stat-savvy fans stems from his lack of playoff appearances, the “strikeout player of the game,” whether clutch matters more at lower levels, whether players or coaches could try to doctor data in the age of tech-driven development, a Dallas Keuchel postgame comment, and showing sympathy for injured players, plus bat-dog discussion, a Stat Blast on pitchers who’ve thrown both immaculate innings and three-pitch innings, and a tribute to the late, great Rob McQuown, beloved Baseball Prospectus stat wizard.

Audio intro: Juliana Hatfield, "Everything’s for Sale"
Audio outro: The Coral, "Answer Me"

Link to Trout promo
Link to Zooperstars! mascot characters
Link to story about 1988 Cone column
Link to Keuchel’s “so-so” pitch
Link to video of Piscotty/Rengifo play
Link to picture of Rookie the bat dog
Link to list of immaculate innings
Link to list of three-pitch innings
Link to Rob McQuown’s BP article archive
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and professional player (and former Sonoma Stompers coach, catcher, and first baseman) Tommy Lyons discuss the different types of hustle in baseball, deciding what level of hustle is acceptable in a variety of situations and examining how the fan perspective on hustle differs from the player perspective on hustle, plus a postscript (1:14:40) on two Atlantic League plays, the Angels’ combined no-hitter in tribute to Tyler Skaggs, and Bob Gibson’s health.

Audio intro: The Dead Weather, "Hustle and Cuss"
Audio outro: Shinedown, "45 (Acoustic)"

Link to EW Facebook group’s hustle-play suggestions
Link to Ben on hustling to first base
Link to Sport Science segment on diving into first base
Link to THT on diving into first base
Link to FanGraphs on diving into first base
Link to Russell Carleton on trying too hard
Link to video of Upton/Longoria lollygagging argument
Link to video of Atlantic League sprint to first
Link to video of Atlantic League ejection
Link to video of Angels no-hitter
Link to Fabian Ardaya’s story on the Angels’ combined no-hitter
Link to Roger Angell’s Gibson story
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Ball Four and Jim Bouton, Million Dollar Coin Flip, Christian Yelich’s pursuit of the first 50-30 season and which combination of power and speed would be most impressive, a baseball scene on Cheers, how the MLB All-Star Game differs from other sports’ all-star games, Bubba Starling and the incredible first round of the 2011 draft, the latest Atlantic League experiments and a new rule that isn’t really about stealing first base, the effect of the unified trade deadline and the strange state of the standings, and more.

Audio intro: Lizzo, "Juice"
Audio outro: Tommy James and the Shondells, "Ball of Fire"

Link to Jay on Bouton
Link to Yelich 50-30 article
Link to THT article on Cheers
Link to Bob Costas Cheers video
Link to Ben on the baseball scene in Elementary
Link to article about all-star game ridiculousness
Link to Rany’s draft age study
Link to recap of Portland Pickles’ Future of Baseball Night
Link to Sam on the most watchable players
Link to Ben on busy trade deadlines
Link to Ben on this year’s unified deadline and strange standings
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game, Justin Verlander’s and Rob Manfred’s comments about the juiced ball, the recent rapid turnover among elite hitters, and an instance of premature celebration featuring Fernando Rodney, then answer listener emails about Verlander’s on-pace-to-be-historic strand rate, whether we should have recognized that Verlander’s decline in Detroit wasn’t permanent, whether we should redefine “scoring position,” whether it’s harder to make the majors or to stay there, and what would happen if strikeouts triggered ejections, plus a Stat Blast about a showdown (Sho-down?) between Shohei Ohtani the hitter and Shohei Ohtani the pitcher.

Audio intro: Paul McCartney and Wings, "Arrow Through Me"
Audio outro: Jonathan Coulton, "Sticking it to Myself"

Link to Baseball Savant Derby home-run tracker
Link to Zach Crizer on Verlander
Link to Jayson Stark on Verlander
Link to Ben on hitter turnover
Link to story about Rodney’s blown save
Link to video of Rodney’s blown save
Link to Stat Blast song
Link to Log5 explanation
Link to Sam on theoretical batter-pitcher matchups
Link to Rob Arthur on batter-pitcher matchups and exit velocity
Link to Mike Fast on batter-pitcher matchups and quality of contact
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Colin Poche, the “Is This Guy Good?” game for relievers, Mike Trout entering the All-Star break as baseball’s best hitter and player, whether Trout could ever have his number retired league-wide, the rate at which Trout is surpassing Hall of Famers in WAR, an old discussion about Derek Jeter jerseys and the popularity of Aaron Judge, whether catcher collisions and concussions could play a part in bringing about robot umps, Howie Kendrick and a myth about bat-dropping, Max Scherzer’s premature celebration, and more. Then they discuss the past, present, and future of the Home Run Derby, why this year’s Derby could be pivotal, whether the Derby could ever become a major standalone sport, shagging flies during the Derby, and other Derby details.

Audio intro: Prince and The New Power Generation, "The Max"
Audio outro: The Glands, "Something in the Air"

Link to Jeff’s Poche post
Link to “Is This Guy Good?” Game
Link to Ben on Trout’s 2019
Link to Sam on the Hall of Famers Trout passed in June
Link to Judge jersey sales article
Link to Russell Carleton on the value of clubhouse guys
Link to Scherzer’s premature celebration
Link to Sam on how to celebrate a game-ending error
Link to Ben on protecting catchers from concussions
Link to Sam on home run highlights being boring
Link to Sam on the future of the Derby
Link to July 4 Google Doodle
Link to Sam on kids shagging flies during the Derby
Link to order The MVP Machine

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