Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their Opening Day experiences, the pleasure of immersing themselves in baseball again, baseball players being better than ever, and MLB’s arbitration championship belt, then (22:25) talk to Joey Mellows, AKA “The Baseball Brit,” about how he became a baseball convert, his worldwide baseball travels and his quest to see 162 games this season, the logistics of his journey, the fan experience in the U.S. compared to South Korea and Japan, watching indy ball vs. watching MLB, baseball’s popularity in the UK, the upcoming MLB games in London, his best and worst ballpark experiences, how he explains baseball to non-fans, how he’s learned about baseball history, and much more.

Audio intro: The Mountain Goats, "First Few Desperate Hours"
Audio interstitial: The Pretty Things, "Joey"
Audio outro: Frank Sinatra, "Day By Day"

Link to Ben’s story about MLB’s improving caliber of play
Link to story about the championship belt
Link to THT piece about Joey Mellows
Link to story about Caps Off
Link to Bat Flips and Nerds
Link to Joey’s map of all the U.S. ballparks
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Sam’s unusual plan to immerse himself in the beginning of the baseball season, watching games as a writer vs. watching games as a fan, two responses to previous listener-email answers, whether “ball” is synonymous with baseball, why baseball has hit a dry spell for single-season record chases, the most breakable unbreakable records, Ichiro Suzuki as an almost-record-setting pinch hitter, why no one has hit .400 for so long, why doubles are the most immutable hit type, the Royals’ strange spring training, string training effort level, Orlando Cabrera’s wildly improbable on-base streak, and more, then answer listener emails about whether analytics have been a net positive for players and the best stat to represent a player’s power output, plus a Stat Blast about the longest streaks of years in which one team topped a league or division rival.

Audio intro: Lily & Madeleine, "Cabin Fever"
Audio outro: The Hives, "Here We Go Again"

Link to Dario’s YouTube broadcast
Link to Sam on seeing something new in games
Link to Hang Up and Listen on “ball coach”
Link to Sam on the most breakable unbreakable records
Link to article on the increasing homogeneity of ballparks
Link to Ben on the changing distribution of saves
Link to Ben on spring training stats
Link to Sam on the 21-strikeout game
Link to Ben on Ichiro as a pinch hitter
Link to Sam on .400 hitters
Link to division-rival data
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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In a bonus episode of EW, Ben Lindbergh talks to SABR’s Jacob Pomrenke about the centennial of the notorious 1919 White Sox, SABR’s new “Eight Myths Out” project, the persistent misconceptions about why the Black Sox threw the 1919 World Series, whether the scandal could have stayed secret, the complicated legacy of Eight Men Out, what Jacob wishes he knew about the Black Sox, the future of gambling and baseball, and more. Then (34:57) Ben brings on FanGraphs’ Paul Sporer to discuss Paul’s history with baseball video games, digital baseball versus digital versions of other sports, and why Paul’s face is in MLB The Show 19, and Ben and Paul discuss the evolution of The Show and the latest installment in the franchise (45:56) with Sony community manager and game designer Ramone Russell.

Audio intro: Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez, "Extra"
Audio interstitial: Guided By Voices, "Just to Show You"
Audio outro: The Rolling Stones, "On With the Show"

Link to SABR’s “Eight Myths Out”
Link to Scandal on the South Side
Link to Episode 589 on Super Mega Baseball
Link to Paul and Chris Sale in MLB The Show 19
Link to Paul’s Twitch channel
Link to Ben’s 2018 article on The Show mirroring the majors
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Willians Astudillo making the Twins’ Opening Day roster, whether Astudillo’s uncanny ability to make contact is more mental or physical, and what Oliver Perez and the rest of the remaining LOOGYs can do to preserve their endangered places on major-league rosters when the three-batter minimum goes into effect in 2020, then complete the 30-team preseason series by previewing the 2019 Boston Red Sox (18:40) with Boston Globe reporter Alex Speier, and the 2019 Baltimore Orioles (53:12) with MLB.com Orioles beat writer Joe Trezza.

Audio intro: The Weakerthans, "The Last Last One"
Audio interstitial 1: Guided By Voices, "Alex and the Omegas"
Audio interstitial 2: Chip Taylor, "Nine Soldiers in Baltimore"
Audio outro: Neil Young, "No More"

Link to Rob’s article about endangered LOOGYs
Link to SI article about endangered LOOGYs
Link to Ben on early-season Sale vs. late-season Sale
Link to Ben on champions standing pat and the Boston bullpen
Link to Ben and Baumann on the MLB extension spree
Link to listener’s minor-league free agent tracker
Link to Banished To The Pen’s team preview posts
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners-A’s opening series, the emotional last game featuring Ichiro Suzuki, and the uncertain degree to which the recent rash of contract extensions reflects players’ anxiety about free agency, then preview the 2019 New York Yankees (38:17) with The Athletic’s Yankees beat writer, Lindsey Adler, and the 2019 Miami Marlins (1:14:31) with The Athletic’s Marlins beat writer, Andre Fernandez.

Audio intro: Built to Spill, "Some Things Last a Long Time"
Audio interstitial 1: The Black Angels, "Empire"
Audio interstitial 2: Animal Collective, "Derek"
Audio outro: Fairport Convention, "Farewell, Farewell"

Link to video of Ichiro leaving his last game
Link to Jeff’s post about extensions
Link to Craig Edwards on extensions
Link to Sam on Marlins trades
Link to Andre on the Marlins’ young pitching
Link to Ben’s On Baseball Writing appearance
Link to Banished To The Pen’s team preview posts
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter at length about Mike Trout’s extension, why he may have wanted to stay with the Angels, what makes him different from other players, and why he’s underpaid despite his record contract, then preview the 2019 Houston Astros (44:38) with The Athletic’s Astros beat writer Jake Kaplan, and the 2019 Detroit Tigers (1:15:05) with Detroit Free Press Tigers beat writer Anthony Fenech.

Audio intro: Heatmiser, "Why Did I Decide to Stay?"
Audio interstitial 1: Neil Finn, "Astro"
Audio interstitial 2: John Doe and The Sadies, "Country Club"
Audio outro: Flamin’ Groovies, "The First One’s Free"

Link to Ben’s Trout extension article
Link to Sam’s Trout extension article
Link to Sam’s article about Trout on every team
Link to story about MLB considering raising minor-league salaries
Link to Banished To The Pen’s team preview posts
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Effectively Wild listener and Mike Trout Tier Patreon supporter Anthony Scheff banter about the Blue Jays raising salaries for minor leaguers, the team’s motivations for doing so, and whether other teams will follow suit, then answer listener emails about A.J. Hinch getting ejected in a split-squad spring training game, MLB’s demoralizing offseason and whether baseball is in any short-term trouble, and what qualifies as a pitcher’s “stuff,” plus Stat Blasts about the most two-year-old friendly game and the longest careers among players who only ever made the majors in September.

Audio intro: Martin Solveig & GTA, "Intoxicated"
Audio outro: Belle & Sebastian, "Lord Anthony"

Link to recent episode with Emily Waldon on minor-league pay
Link to Emily Waldon on minor leaguers’ lives
Link to Emily and Ken Rosenthal on the Blue Jays raising salaries
Link to John Lott on the Jays raising salaries
Link to Jeff on intentional walks in spring training
Link to Ben Bailey on intentional walks in spring training
Link to Hinch explaining why he was thrown out
Link to Bryan Curtis on baseball’s perceived decline
Link to box score of most two-year-old-friendly game
Link to instructions for finding MLB games on YouTube
Link to John Poff’s SABR bio
Link to live episode with Fernando Perez
Link to Episode 323 with Adrian Cardenas
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg witnessing actual baseball being played, her plans for watching the Mariners’ and Athletics’ international Opening Day matchup, Willians Astudillo’s spring training, the long list of 2019 and 2020 rules changes announced by MLB and the MLBPA, Meg’s new hires at FanGraphs, and Jessica Mendoza’s dual role with ESPN and the Mets, then preview the 2019 Indians (44:41) with senior writer for The Athletic Zack Meisel, and the 2019 White Sox (1:15:32) with The Athletic’s White Sox beat writer, James Fegan.

Audio intro: The 88, "The Real Thing"
Audio interstitial 1: The New Pornographers, "Jessica Numbers"
Audio interstitial 2: Eric B. & Rakim, "No Competition"
Audio outro: Pixies, "Into the White"

Link to video of Astudillo dinger
Link to Grant on time of game
Link to Ben’s article on the rules changes
Link to Gerald Schifman on teams exploiting minor-league options
Link to Schifman on the rise of MLB’s minimum earners
Link to Meg’s announcement about new hires
Link to Zack on Mario Kart
Link to March to Friendship website
Link to March to Friendship Facebook post
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about parity in the NL and imbalance in the AL, then preview the 2019 Dodgers (7:08) with Los Angeles Times national baseball writer Andy McCullough, and the 2019 Kansas City Royals (1:02:45) with The Athletic’s Royals beat writer, Rustin Dodd.

Audio intro: The High Water Marks, "National Time"
Audio interstitial 1: Mark Olson, "National Express"
Audio interstitial 2: Gorillaz, "Kansas"
Audio outro: Matt Costa, "Sweet Thursday"

Link to Ben’s AL/NL parity article
Link to Andy’s Farhan article
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the fallout from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s oblique injury and the signings of Adam Jones and Martin Maldonado as referenda on free agency, then answer listener emails about whether the Indians and Astros could have significantly upped their playoff odds by making more moves (and fan bases that should be aggrieved about their teams’ winter inactivity), Craig Kimbrel’s in-season negotiating leverage, whether wearing or not wearing a uniform number is a more fitting tribute, the value of scouting strengths versus scouting weaknesses, and the effects of robo umps on offense, entertainment value, and chasing pitches outside the strike zone, plus a Stat Blast about manager height.

Audio intro: The Glands, "Pie"
Audio outro: Neuseiland, "Robots of Me"

Link to Dan Szymborski on Jones and Maldonado
Link to Sam on players seeking contracts
Link to BP playoff odds
Link to Sam’s article on manager height
Link to article on the compassionate umpire
Link to article on the Bayesian umpire
Link to Baltimore/DC-area EW meetup
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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