Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk to a beat writer and a broadcaster—The Athletic’s White Sox reporter James Fegan and Diamondbacks and MLB Network Radio host Mike Ferrin—about how they plan to tackle the unique challenges of covering the 2020 season, touching on how often they’ll be at the ballpark, how restricted access to players will affect their work, how they’ll blend baseball coverage with allusions to national news, how their audiences reacted to MLB’s latest labor battle and the news of a season starting amid a pandemic, what they think the response from fans and teammates would be to a player sitting out the season, how White Sox and Diamondbacks fans will view the shortened season, which changes in sports media they expect to be permanent, running low on article ideas, and more.

Audio intro: Nathaniel Rateliff, "Don’t Get Too Close"
Audio outro: Feist, "The Park"

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley answer listener emails about statistical leaders and record-setters in a small-sample season, what would make winning a championship in a 60-game season more impressive, the odds of good teams missing the playoffs, bad teams making the playoffs, and teams having unrepresentative 60-game stretches, the possibility of losing a perfect game, what types of teams are built for this strange season, KBO’s catching techniques compared to MLB’s, why American sports are averse to ties, and service-time manipulation and top-prospect promotion in a short season, plus a Stat Blast about Billy Hamilton’s value as an extra-inning runner, featuring FanGraphs writer (and visiting Stat Blaster) Ben Clemens.

Audio intro: The Rock*A*Teens, "Billy Really"
Audio outro: Tennis, "Runner"

Link to Ben on the randomness of a 60-game season
Link to Sam and others on short-season stats
Link to Jay on team entropy in a 60-game season
Link to Stark on losing a perfect game
Link to Alex Eichler’s Stat Blast song cover
Link to Jeremy Frank’s Hamilton hypothetical
Link to Ben Clemens on the Hamilton scenario
Link to Kapler’s comments on Hamilton
Link to Jon Tayler on the extra-innings-runner rule
Link to Sam’s 2014 Hamilton hypothetical
Link to Reds pitching staff article
Link to Eno on team pitching staff depth
Link to paper on America’s aversion to ties
Link to article about the history of ties in baseball

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the long-in-the-making announcement about the MLB season starting, touching on the resolution of the dispute between the league and the union, their deeply conflicted feelings about baseball being played during a pandemic, the strangeness of a 60-game season, how to reframe fandom and reorient rooting interests in a short season, starting extra innings with runners on second, and an especially perplexing Scott Boras analogy. Then (45:20) they bring on epidemiologist, incoming Emory University professor, and sports data analyst Zach Binney to discuss MLB’s health-and-safety protocol, the difficult of preventing transmission in baseball compared to other sports, the recent coronavirus outbreaks in baseball, the ethics and efficacy of COVID-19 testing in sports, whether temperature and symptom screenings work, how long players who test positive might have to sit out, prohibitions on spitting, touching, and equipment sharing, how to protect non-players who work for teams, what it might take for MLB to stop the season, the trajectory of the pandemic in the country at large, and more.

Audio intro: Neil Young, "For the Turnstiles"
Audio interstitial: Richard Thompson, "Keep Your Distance"
Audio outro: Ted Berg, "Small Sample Size Song"

Link to Ben on the MLB season starting
Link to info on new Darvish pitch
Link to Dan’s playoff odds and projected standings
Link to Neil Paine on “paper champions”
Link to Neil on the 60-game season
Link to Neil on observing true talent in various sports
Link to Eno Sarris on short seasons
Link to Russell Carleton on the 60-game season
Link to Boras analogy article
Link to 2020 MLB operations manual
Link to summary of manual
Link to Zach’s website
Link to Zach’s Football Outsiders archive
Link to epidemiologist survey about attending sporting events
Link to SI article about baseball’s non-bubble plan

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Meg Rowley is joined by the New York Daily News’ Bradford William Davis and Baseball Prospectus’ Shakeia Taylor to discuss Major League Baseball’s response to the police killing of George Floyd and the recent Black Lives Matter protests, why the league’s statements have been so wanting, whether teams have a role to play — both in their communities and in their clubhouses — in conversations about systemic racism, players’ increased willingness to support BLM publicly, some concrete steps MLB should be taking to make baseball more accessible to Black players and fans, and how the media should engage with players around activism and questions of social justice, police brutality, and racism. Plus, Shakeia and Bradford share their thoughts on the strange, short season of baseball we’re about to see.

Audio intro: Otis Redding, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
Audio outro: The Police, “Truth Hits Everybody”

Link to Shakeia’s piece on Tim Anderson.
Link to Bradford’s piece on the need for pro sports leagues to say more in their statements on police brutality.
Link to Shakeia’s piece on how diversity in baseball begins in Little League.
Link to Bradford’s piece on how MLB is (and isn’t) involving public health officials in its resumption of play plans.
Link to the Five and Dive showpage, the podcast Bradford co-hosts at Baseball Prospectus with Craig Goldstein of BP and Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated.
Link to Demetrius Bell’s piece “What Jackie Knew,” the first in a series of articles at Baseball Prospectus by Black authors that will explore op-eds and articles written by Jackie Robinson throughout and after his career.

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley review the latest lack of progress toward starting the MLB season, touching on the false hope offered by a meeting between Rob Manfred and Tony Clark, the subsequent breakdown in talks, a poll about where the public places blame for the standstill, what negotiations without leaks would look like, how the parties will proceed, and more. Then they discuss a series of COVID-19 outbreaks in baseball, the feasibility of a safe season, the importance of mask-wearing, and a Scott Boras quote about taking baseball’s temperature, plus a Stat Blast about the players who played for the most World Series-winning teams without appearing in the World Series, and a warning about top prospects’ proximity to trampolines.

Audio intro: The Sleepy Jackson, "I Understand What You Want But I Just Don’t Agree"
Audio outro: Ezra Furman, "Thermometer"

Link to story on the latest MLB disagreements
Link to The Athletic on the midpoint problem
Link to Eugene Freedman’s post
Link to The Athletic on the backgrounds of MLB owners
Link to The Athletic on COVID outbreaks in baseball
Link to study on the number of prevented infections
Link to study on the effectiveness of mask-wearing
Link to second study on the effectiveness of mask-wearing
Link to Morning Consult poll results
Link to Boras article with Verducci quotes
Link to Mayo Clinic thermometers page
Link to Stat Blast song cover by Kyle Cripps
Link to list of players with most rings without a WS appearance
Link to Wander Franco trampoline post
Link to Idiocracy thermometer scene

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss Rob Manfred’s rapid flip-flop from expressing 100 percent confidence about an MLB season starting to expressing a lack of confidence in an MLB season starting, his ultimatum to the union, how Manfred has floundered at a pivotal time and how that failure effects his future, how some owners’ reluctance to start the season is hurting themselves and the sport, how COVID complicates plans to play, the worst-case scenario for the league, the odds of a season, and more. Then they answer listener emails about how to support players while still supporting teams, expanding the division series, the impact of future NBA seasons overlapping longer with MLB’s, whether players could form their own league, teams’ incentive to win in 2020, and whether and why pulled homers are the most aesthetically pleasing, plus Stat Blasts about players with the least playing time by number of years of service time and an unsurpassed feat by Mark Buehrle.

Audio intro: Courtney Barnett, "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence"
Audio outro: Drive-By Truckers, "Grievance Merchants"

Link to The Athletic on the latest in MLB’s big dispute
Link to Craig Edwards on Manfred’s latest comments
Link to Jeff Passan on Manfred
Link to Ken Rosenthal on Manfred
Link to Stat Blast song cover by John Choiniere and Lucas Apostoleris
Link to Lucas’s debut album
Link to service time spreadsheet
Link to starters with most games facing the minimum
Link to Rany on Buehrle

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller interview AJ Shnack, the director of ESPN’s new 30 for 30 documentary about the 1998 home run race, Long Gone Summer, touching on the involvement of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, how AJ structured the story, which slugger was the star of the race, the myth that the home run race “saved baseball,” whether he thought about interviewing Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds, what the auctioned-off record home run balls are worth now, Jeff Tweedy’s score, and more. Then (26:51) Ben and Sam banter about what the ’98 home run race was like at the time, what they learned or remembered about it from the documentary, whether baseball could be that big again, the role of the ball in the offense of the so-called PED era, how we remember McGwire and Sosa, and more.

Audio intro: Dan Bern, "I Miss the Steroid Era"
Audio interstitial: The Roots, "Rising Up"
Audio outro: Lonestar, "Don’t Let’s Talk About Lisa"

Link to Long Gone Summer
Link to David Schoenfield on the 1998 season
Link to Schoenfield on the 1998 home run race
Link to Tim Keown on the 1998 home run race
Link to Matt Trueblood on Sosa’s offensive evolution
Link to Steve Wilstein’s 1998 andro article
Link to Ben on steroids and the 1998 home run race
Link to Tom Tango on the 1990s home run spike
Link to Eric Walker’s site about steroids and home runs
Link to Rob Arthur on steroids, the ball, and power surges
Link to Nate Silver on stats and steroids

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the continued standstill over starting the season, MLB’s series of superficially different, substantively identical, and equally unproductive proposals, public perceptions of the owners’ and players’ positions, the difference between a 50-game season and an 80-game season, and how the “negotiations” seem destined to end, plus a Stat Blast about repeatedly drafted players. Then (27:01) they talk to FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen about which teams did and didn’t appear to do well in the 2020 draft, how limiting the draft to five rounds affected team strategy, how the pandemic changed draft prep and draft predictions, the potential of Tigers top pick Spencer Torkelson and other notable names, what will happen to the hundreds of players who didn’t get drafted, and the latest on when and where prospects will play in 2020.

Audio intro: Mates of State, "My Only Offer"
Audio interstitial: I Was a King, "Eric"
Audio outro: Wild Flag, "Short Version"

Link to latest Craig Edwards analysis
Link to Jeff Passan report on most recent MLB offer
Link to Eno on season length
Link to Angus Kellett’s Stat Blast song cover
Link to spreadsheet about most-drafted players
Link to Eric’s 2020 draft primer
Link to Eric’s Day 1 draft recap
Link to Eric’s draft odds and ends
Link to story about amateurs signing with NPB teams

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Ben Lindbergh talks to Braves outfield prospect Trey Harris about how he’s processed the murder of George Floyd and learned from the ongoing protests, how race and racism have affected his life and career, the additional barriers black players face, how he’s tried to talk to teammates, coaches, and friends about systemic racism and recent events, why baseball has historically been quiet about social justice compared to other sports and why players have started speaking up, the scarcity of black players, how to cover baseball better, the precarity of minor league life, acting casual in big league camp, the difficulty of not knowing if there will be a baseball season, how he’s trying to train and stay prepared to play, his thoughts on MLB’s negotiations with the MLBPA, how he’s used technology to improve as a player and what that might mean for the future of player development, and more.

Audio intro: The Pollies, "Things You Learn to Know"
Audio outro: Treyballcrazy, "Treyballin"

Link to Trey’s Twitter account
Link to recent Trey video interview
Link to start of section on Trey in The MVP Machine
Link to video of Trey at the AFL
Link to article about Trey’s 2019 season
Link to The Athletic on Trey
Link to Andrew McCutchen piece in The Players’ Tribune
Link to Adam Jones’ 2017 comments about racism
Link to Clinton Yates on black players and the Dream Series
Link to Victor Luckerson on Black Wall Street
Link to 13th on Netflix
Link to Votto’s opinion piece

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Ben briefly explains this week’s podcast hiatus.

Link to Joon Lee on players’ statements
Link to Marc Carig on MLB’s response
Link to Bradford William Davis on team and league statements
Link to Randy Wilkins on MLB’s statement
Link to Doug Glanville and other ex-players on race and baseball
Link to Shakeia Taylor on civil rights and black baseball
Link to Stephon Johnson on being a black baseball fan
Link to Shakeia Taylor on Tim Anderson’s 2019 suspension
Link to James Fegan on Tim Anderson and Lucas Giolito
Link to Clinton Yates on black ballplayers and the MLB Dream Series

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