Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a wave of injuries around MLB, affecting Oneil Cruz, Adam Duvall, Ian Anderson, and several other players, the Rays’ undefeated start, the hot starts of James Outman, Miguel Vargas, and Jason Heyward, the sensual stance of J.D. Davis, silly team celebrations, the Rocket City Trash Pandas’ no-hit loss, a downturn in pitch spin, the lack of a downturn in position player pitching, pickoff attempts and game theory, running out the clock on an intentional walk, whether the clock could change perceptions of MLB’s competence, the clock and concessions, a Royals OF shift, a ball-kid collision, a Ronald Acuña Jr. base grab, and more, plus a Past Blast (1:31:32) from 1992.

Audio intro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Fujiya & Miyagi, “Ankle Injuries/Electro Karaoke”

Link to Dan S. on Cruz
Link to video of Cruz slide
Link to story on Kelly
Link to Emma on bullpens in brawls
Link to Jay Jaffe on Duvall
Link to MLBTR on Anderson
Link to 2022 25 under 25
Link to Jay on the Rays
Link to Stathead on 10-0 starts
Link to Joe Sheehan on the Rays
Link to record career-starting streak
Link to Jay on L.A.’s outfield
Link to info on Heyward
Link to Davis thrust
Link to Angels homer helmet
Link to cheesehead celebration
Link to dong bong
Link to Baumann on the Trash Pandas
Link to Trash Pandas montage
Link to Grant on the Hawkins game
Link to Joe on position player pitching
Link to article on Eaton
Link to Ben on active pitcher limits
Link to Rob Arthur on spin
Link to Tango on pickoffs
Link to Rob Mains on stolen bases
Link to Manfred on concessions
Link to BA on concessions
Link to Crain’s on concessions
Link to article on concessions cutoffs
Link to Silver/Manfred on pace
Link to Sam on spectator attention
Link to Andrus shift violation
Link to Royals OF alignment
Link to Tango on the Royals’ results
Link to Tango on two-man outfields
Link to Ben C. on the Royals’ shift
Link to Chen’s pickoff attempts
Link to ball-kid collision
Link to ball-kid pace info
Link to Acuña base article
Link to breakaway bases
Link to bat-carrying article
Link to 1992 Past Blast source
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to AP on warming study
Link to 2012 McCarver comments
Link to 2012 Nathan analysis
Link to 11-game record run differential

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Star Wars emergency and (5:17) an nVenue Apple odds update, then (8:57) answer listener emails about how good a team has to be to convince people that it’s cheating, a hypothetical Mike Trout ultimatum about Shohei Ohtani, whether MLB would ban a real-life Sidd Finch, whether not having to bat makes pitchers more likely to hit batters, which teams will have the most and fewest pitch-clock violations, clock-defeating schemes using baseballs and beach balls, the speediest strikeout, and mascot polling, followed by Stat Blasts (1:23:57) about the biggest velo differences in a game and on back-to-back pitches, the longest streaks of pitching appearances with a decision, the hardest-hit liners caught in the infield, and the latest in a season a division has gone without any team falling out of first for good, and a Past Blast (1:38:00) from 1991.

Audio intro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Daniel Chin on Star Wars
Link to nVenue episode
Link to NBA Launchpad info
Link to more Launchpad info
Link to Jeff on baseball LeBron
Link to Rob Mains on hitting batters
Link to Machado ejection
Link to Anderson ejection
Link to Ohtani violations
Link to Rob on age and pace
Link to Russell on pace and velo
Link to pitch tempo page
Link to Pitching Ninja video
Link to 2023 velo uptick
Link to mascot poll
Link to Mariner Moose info
Link to Slider info
Link to listener emails database
Link to Stat Blasts page
Link to MPH differences sheet
Link to decision-streak queries
Link to Pederson liner
Link to hardest-hit liner
Link to Acuña liner
Link to hardest-hit-liner leaders
Link to corner liner leaders
Link to simple division analysis
Link to complex division analysis
Link to 2006 NL West graph
Link to 1991 Past Blast source
Link to 1992 article
Link to 1992 article continued
Link to 2014 article
Link to Hall obit
Link to bases website
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Ben should apply for a full-time job covering Shohei Ohtani, MLB seeking a pitch-clock sponsor, the brilliance of Sandy Alcantara, clock violations leading to ejections, post-Opening Day call-ups for top prospects (most notably Grayson Rodriguez), Alcantara compared to Jacob deGrom, the feud between Tyler O’Neill and Oli Marmol, whether teams in last place will stay there, early playoff odds changes, neither overreacting nor underreacting to early-season stats, and more, plus a Past Blast (1:18:31) from 1990.

Audio intro: Tom Rhoads, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: SAVAK, “Reaction”

Link to Ohtani job listing
Link to clock-sponsor story
Link to Ben on pitch-clock history
Link to Ben on Alcantara
Link to Machado ejection
Link to Anderson ejection
Link to Ohtani violations
Link to Ohtani and Hoberg
Link to Elias on Rodriguez
Link to Rodriguez debut video
Link to story on O’Neill and Marmol
Link to tweet about Bader/Marmol
Link to Ben C. on Ohtani’s stuff
Link to playoff odds changes
Link to Joe Sheehan on stats so far
Link to quotes about ball
Link to study on spring training stats
Link to Rob Arthur on batted balls
Link to James on signature significance
Link to “whelmed” quote
Link to 1990 Past Blast source
Link to 1989 Hadley paper
Link to Sale scissors story
Link to Turn Ahead the Clock
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to drag dashboard

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Ben Lindbergh and Noah Woodward of the newsletter The Advance Scout discuss Noah’s front-office career, the impact of the MLB rules changes on pace/time of game, the running game, and hitting and defense so far, how players may adapt, the questions Ben and Noah still have about the rules’ long-term effects, Rob Manfred’s characterization of analytics as “an arms race to nowhere,” and more. Then (1:00:26) Ben brings on LJ Rader of the Twitter/Instagram account Art But Make It Sports to explain how he cleverly juxtaposes sports scenes with images of paintings and sculptures, whether baseball lends itself well to his work, and his best baseball images, plus a Past Blast (1:40:16) from 1989 and a few closing thoughts (1:46:42).

Audio intro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio interstitial: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Beatwriter, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Noah’s Substack
Link to Noah’s BP archive
Link to Noah on changeups
Link to Noah on back-picks
Link to Noah on pickoffs
Link to Noah on pickoff substitutes
Link to Noah on Greinke
Link to article on clock momentum
Link to Jaffe on late-season momentum
Link to Dan S. on playoff momentum
Link to Russell on momentum
Link to Mariners-fan countdown
Link to Sam on Corbin
Link to Baumann on Orioles running
Link to Ben C. on steals
Link to Volpe SB article
Link to Jeff on Lester
Link to Jayson Stark on OF shifts
Link to new “sweeper” classification
Link to Ben on the pitch clock
Link to Ben on pitcher limits
Link to Ben on mound moving
Link to Tango on game times
Link to Petriello on BABIP
Link to Passan on stat changes
Link to Manfred on analytics
Link to Lewie Pollis on EW
Link to Lewie on leaving a dream job
Link to Lewie’s follow-up piece
Link to R.J. on front-office brain drain
Link to MLB Closed Captioning
Link to @UnfortunateMLB
Link to Umpire Scorecards
Link to Would it Dong?
Link to Art But Make it Sports Insta
Link to Art But Make it Sports Twitter
Link to Art But Make it Sports website
Link to Araujo EW episode
Link to SI on LJ
Link to LJ’s Bednar post
Link to LJ’s proposal post
Link to LJ’s Ventura/Ryan post
Link to LJ’s Siri post
Link to LJ’s Muncy post
Link to LJ’s Murphy post
Link to 1989 Past Blast source
Link to 1989 Hadley paper
Link to 1992 Hadley paper
Link to 1993 Hadley paper
Link to 1991 MLB payrolls
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to Ward/Wade wiki
Link to Arcia prediction story
Link to Turner mic’d up
Link to Ben on mic’d up players
Link to McKenna/Duvall video
Link to Stathead on Duvall
Link to Pagliaroni game
Link to errors preceding walkoffs
Link to EW on Shamsky
Link to EW on Shamsky again
Link to Bowie Baysox meetup
Link to Caught Steelin’ band

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the joy of Opening Day and other news, including early reactions to the new rules, Rob Manfred’s comments about the ball-strike challenge system, Aaron Judge’s first homer, the Angels’ Tungsten Arm game, a good/bad Hunter Renfroe no-look catch, a Taylor Ward name mix-up, the Giants’ latest new left fielder, a Cristian Pache press release, Buck Martinez, George Santos’s message for the Mets, the minor league CBA, an on-field proposal gone wrong (but also sort of right), and more. Then (58:11) they conduct the third annual Team Fun Draft, in which they draft all 30 teams in order of how fun they are to follow in 2023, plus a Past Blast (1:56:06) from 1988 and a few follow-ups.

Audio intro: The Shirey Brothers, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: The Needy Visions, “Havers of Fun”

Link to Opening Day press release
Link to Opening Day stats
Link to Manfred on the zone
Link to Judge homer
Link to Grant’s Judge tweet
Link to Ward/Wade wiki
Link to story on Giants LF
Link to info on Ohtani outing
Link to Tungsten Arm story
Link to Renfroe’s catch
Link to Renfroe catch probability
Link to Pache press release
Link to Baumann’s Pache tweet
Link to Buck’s booth return
Link to Buck impression
Link to MLBTR on Verlander
Link to Santos video
Link to info on the CBA
Link to CBA ratification news
Link to Baumann on the CBA
Link to Russell on Cost in 2012
Link to Russell on cost in 2013
Link to Russell on cost in 2021
Link to proposal video 1
Link to proposal video 2
Link to TMZ on the proposal
Link to other proposal report
Link to Yankees uni numbers story
Link to Cruz homer
Link to Bard anxiety story
Link to 1988 Past Blast source
Link to Triple-A Classic wiki
Link to Triple-A Alliance wiki
Link to Sam on 1988
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to Ben on the pitch clock
Link to Ben’s preseason predictions
Link to Meg’s preseason predictions
Link to EW prediction voting results
Link to double-draft episode
Link to before/after WS odds
Link to FanDuel OD WS odds
Link to DraftKings OD WS Odds
Link to EW drafts/competitions sheet
Link to expanded playoffs incentives
Link to Forbes on Ohtani
Link to sped-up Trout/Ohtani video
Link to side-by-side Trout/Ohtani 1
Link to side-by-side Trout/Ohtani 2
Link to The Sun on Angelos
Link to Sun editorial on Angelos
Link to Angelos radio quotes
Link to Defector on Angelos
Link to The Shirey Brothers Bandcamp

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs authors Michael Baumann and Ben Clemens play “SEC Baseball Player vs. Figure Involved in the Lincoln Assassination,” banter about two umpire faux pas (3:45) and MLB’s tweaks to replay reviewing (9:45), and then (17:32) each make 10 predictions about baseball in 2023 to be voted on by listeners, followed (1:40:16) by two Past Blasts from 1987.

Audio intro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: The Baseball Project, “All Future and No Past”

Link to listener voting form
Link to Realmuto ejection
Link to AP on Realmuto
Link to Romo outing
Link to Stark on replay reviews
Link to story on Zoom replay reviews
Link to Dave Cameron on slide reviews
Link to Cameron on transfers
Link to Vogelbach/Showalter spot
Link to Clay Davenport on SBs
Link to FanGraphs playoff odds
Link to “Gay Bar”by Electric Six
Link to Rob Arthur on bat cracks
Link to Rob on bat cracks again
Link to MLBTR on Giménez’s extension
Link to 2022 Rockies deadline story
Link to Acuña 50-50 story
Link to Stark on the pie slice
Link to Bloomberg on match-fixing
Link to more on match-fixing
Link to snooker match-fixing story
Link to tennis match-fixing story
Link to Past Blast piece on brawls
Link to Pont Past Blast source
Link to more on Pont
Link to Pont’s wiki
Link to Pont’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to Chris Hanel’s Twitter
Link to Chris Hanel’s website
Another link to listener voting form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about prospects who have (Jordan Walker, Anthony Volpe) and haven’t (Grayson Rodriguez, Brett Baty) made Opening Day rosters and MLB’s player-centric PSAs about the new rules, then complete their 2023 season preview series by discussing the Atlanta Braves (15:07) with Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game, and the Colorado Rockies (53:50) with Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette, plus a Past Blast from 1986 (1:26:07), trivia answers (1:30:00), a Stat Blast (1:31:34) about the biggest WAR gaps between Opening Day starters, the worst pitchers ever to start on Opening Day, and the best pitchers and hitters never to start on Opening Day, and a postscript (1:41:09).

Audio intro: Benny and A Million Shetland Ponies, “Effectively Wild Theme (Pedantic)”
Audio interstitial: Simon Waldram, “What Were You Thinking?”
Audio outro: Benny and A Million Shetland Ponies, “Effectively Wild Theme (Horny)”

Link to MLBTR on Volpe
Link to MLBTR on Walker
Link to Mains on Cardinals PECOTA
Link to MLBTR on Turang
Link to MLBTR on Baty/Vientos
Link to FG post on Vientos
Link to MLBTR on Rodriguez
Link to Elias on Rodriguez
Link to Ben on 2022 OD promotions
Link to Ben on 2022 debuts
Link to MLB rules PSA hub
Link to Snell/Anderson spot
Link to Vogelbach/Showalter spot
Link to Cranston spot
Link to FanGraphs playoff odds
Link to FG payroll breakdown
Link to Braves offseason tracker
Link to Braves depth chart
Link to MLB Pipeline rankings
Link to From The Diamond
Link to Rockies offseason tracker
Link to Rockies depth chart
Link to Sam’s Rockies essay
Link to article on hangover effect
Link to article on curing the hangover
Link to Sarris on McMahon
Link to Danielle’s author archive
Link to Past Blast source
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to Braves-Rockies trivia answers
Link to Stat Blast spreadsheet 1
Link to Stat Blast spreadsheet 2
Link to article about LBJ’s first pitch
Link to Brown/Cole source 1
Link to Brown/Cole source 2
Link to Brown/Cole source 3
Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter
Link to Woodward on changeups
Link to EW on seam-shifted wake
Link to Forbes valuations
Link to Mains on Forbes data

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the advisability of suspending the pitch clock in certain high-stakes situations, some last-minute spring-training tweaks to the clock’s operation, and MLB’s marketing campaign about the new rules, then continue their 2023 season preview series by discussing the San Diego Padres (30:15) with AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, and the Cincinnati Reds (1:15:40) with C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, plus a Past Blast from 1985 (1:54:31), trivia answers (1:59:57), and a few followups (2:01:33).

Audio intro: Alex Glossman and Ali Breneman, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio interstitial 1: Anthony Parker, “Cloud 9”
Audio interstitial 2: Steve Wynn, “Sustain”
Audio outro: Manther, “1985”

Link to Nitkowski thread
Link to Trout’s HRD call to Ohtani
Link to Schoenfield article
Link to Drellich article
Link to ESPN on the clock tweaks
Link to MLBTR on the clock tweaks
Link to Darren Baker video
Link to Darren Baker rule
Link to Cranston ad
Link to Cranston on Hot Ones
Link to FanGraphs playoff odds
Link to FG payroll breakdown
Link to Padres offseason tracker
Link to Padres depth chart
Link to story on Cruz’s eye
Link to AJ on position battles
Link to Seidler on sustainability
Link to article on Forbes valuations
Link to Forbes valuations
Link to Reds offseason tracker
Link to Reds depth chart
Link to Trent’s author archive
Link to Trent on Castellini
Link to Trent on India
Link to Trent on Greene
Link to farm system improvement
Link to Sidd Finch story
Link to story about Finch story
Link to Sidd Finch wiki
Link to April 15 followup
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to Padres-Reds trivia answers
Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter
Link to “The Comeback” Seinfeld clips
Link to “The Burning” Seinfeld clips
Link to 20-80 scale explainer

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter euphorically about the unbelievable ending of the World Baseball Classic, from Japan’s semifinal game against Mexico, to the climactic showdown between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in the USA-Japan final, to what made the whole WBC such a success. Then (52:02) they close the book on meeting major leaguers from 2022 by talking to James Bailey, author of Major League Debuts: 2023 Edition, about his new series of annual books about every player who makes the majors, his process for researching rookies, whether there are too many major leaguers, and 2022 debutants Jason Delay, Ben DeLuzio, and Donny Sands, followed by a Stat Blast (1:24:15) about Ichiro Cano and the highest-WAR combined baseball names, plus a Past Blast (1:33:14) from 1984.

Audio intro: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: The Sun, “In Perfect Time”

Link to Zach Kram on the WBC
Link to Ben on the WBC
Link to Ohtani pitch grade stat
Link to Trout-Ohtani video
Link to Japanese broadcast call
Link to 120 percent quote
Link to more than 100 percent wiki
Link to Arozarena trash talk
Link to Ohtani trash talk
Link to Ohtani’s speech
Link to Arozarena HR robbery
Link to Arozarena autographing
Link to Randy autographing again
Link to Sasaki candy story
Link to Yoshida homer
Link to Murakami walkoff
Link to Ohtani double
Link to WBC press release
Link to All-Tournament Team
Link to Meet a Major Leaguer wiki
Link to book website
Link to buy the book
Link to B-Ref’s new debuts page
Link to Ichiro Cano post
Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter
Link to Stat Blast data
Link to 1984 Past Blast source
Link to 1984 Past Blast source, cont’d
Link to EW on Florida baseball books
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to EW on RSNs
Link to local-revenue article

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Team USA’s WBC quarterfinal and semifinal victories and Jose Altuve’s injury, then continue their 2023 season preview series by discussing the New York Yankees (28:17) with Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, and the Washington Nationals (1:06:41) with Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post, plus a Past Blast from 1983 (1:47:29), trivia answers (1:52:16), and an initial reaction to a stone-cold classic Japan-Mexico WBC semifinal (1:53:33).

Audio intro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio interstitial 1: The Moaners, “Yankee on My Shoulder”
Audio interstitial 2: Krestovsky, “National Spark”
Audio outro: Keenan The First and RandiVision, “Big Game”

Link to Rosenthal on Turner’s homer
Link to Nightengale on Turner’s homer
Link to Trout reaction GIF
Link to Wainwright quote
Link to Quijada’s pitch
Link to article about Bard
Link to Rosenthal on the mound visit
Link to FG post on Profar
Link to FanGraphs playoff odds
Link to FG payroll breakdown
Link to Yankees offseason tracker
Link to Yankees depth chart
Link to Ben Clemens on Cole
Link to story on in-flight wifi
Link to framing leaderboard
Link to Higashioka analysis
Link to Woodward on back-picks
Link to Brendan’s spring preview
Link to Brendan’s author archive
Link to Rosenthal on Judge
Link to Nationals offseason tracker
Link to Nationals depth chart
Link to Jesse on Cavalli
Link to Jesse on Strasburg
Link to Jesse on Robles
Link to Jesse’s author archive
Link to Ben on Meneses
Link to Svrluga on the Nats
Link to 1983 Pirates article
Link to 1983 Phillies article
Link to baseball exceptionalism wiki
Link to David Lewis’s Twitter
Link to David Lewis’s Substack
Link to trivia answers
Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter
Link to Cashner beard article
Link to other Cashner beard article

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