Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Mike Trout’s career spring training stats, then preview the 2020 Minnesota Twins (9:01) with the The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman, and the 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates (46:33) with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey, plus a conversation between Ben and Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller (1:19:30) about Keller’s historically unlucky debut MLB season.

Audio intro: Union Street Preservation Society, "Meet Me in Spring"
Audio interstitial: Sleater-Kinney, "Leave You Behind"
Audio outro: Ages and Ages, "Just My Luck"

Link to Max Marchi on spring training stats
Link to story on Takashi Miyoshi’s new role
Link to Matt Trueblood on not extending Theo Epstein
Link to Jason on the Pirates’ pitching plan
Link to Ben on the Archer trade
Link to Ben on Keller’s debut year
Link to the Banished To The Pen preview series
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Meg Rowley and Sam Miller briefly banter about the state of Chris Sale’s arm and appreciating one’s friends when they are on vacation, then preview the 2020 Boston Red Sox (4:40) with the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, and the 2020 San Francisco Giants (38:40) with The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee.

Audio intro: David Bowie, “Under Pressure”
Audio interstitial 1: David Bowie, “Changes”
Audio interstitial 2: Dan Bern, “The Sun Shines on McCovey Cove”
Audio outro: David Bowie, “Heroes”

Link to order Homegrown: How the Red Sox Built a Champion from the Ground Up
Link to order The MVP Machine

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With Ben Lindbergh on vacation, Meg Rowley and Sam Miller answer a few very special listener emails on Shohei Ohtani, what they want to know about the 2020 season (complete with a twist), and how we treat umpires. Plus, a Statblast!

Audio intro: The Police, “Message In A Bottle”
Audio outro: Letters to Cleo, “Cruel to be Kind”

Link to Meg’s piece “Time Has Come Today”
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Twins reliever Zack Littell’s powerful affinity for cruise ships and bidding for baseballs from a baseball movie, then preview the 2020 Washington Nationals (12:39) with the Washington Post’s Sam Fortier, and the 2020 Kansas City Royals (40:26) with The Athletic’s Alec Lewis.

Audio intro: Frankie Ford, "Sea Cruise"
Audio interstitial 1: Yo La Tengo, "Season of the Shark"
Audio interstitial 2: Cold War Kids, "Royal Blue"
Audio outro: John Cale, "Ski Patrol"

Link to Littell story
Link to first Knives Out auction
Link to second Knives Out auction
Link to Ben on champions standing pat
Link to Fortier on Kieboom
Link to story on Parra
Link to Lewis on John Sherman
Link to Lewis on Matheny
Link to Lewis on Keller
Link to Lewis on Staumont
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about passing the halfway point of the season preview series, Zach Eflin’s spring training feedback on a possibly less lively baseball, the effect of sign stealing on the average time between pitches, a recent rash of spring pitcher injuries, and the incredible career trajectory of former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., then preview the 2020 Mets (19:06) with The Athletic’s Tim Britton, and the 2020 Blue Jays (58:23) with Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Audio intro: Aceyalone & RJD2, "Junior"
Audio interstitial 1: Yo La Tengo, "Meet the Mets"
Audio interstitial 2: Guided By Voices, "Blue Jay House"
Audio outro: Crowded House, "Now We’re Getting Somewhere"

Link to Eflin story
Link to Ben on sign stealing and pace
Link to Kershaw’s comments on 2017
Link to post about Amaro
Link to story about Mets fans and Venmo
Link to Tim on Ramos
Link to Ben on the one-knee catching trend
Link to The Resisters
Link to The Cactus League
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Astros confiscating signs at spring training and Madison Bumgarner’s rodeo alter ego, Mason Saunders, then preview the 2020 Athletics (13:58) with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, and the 2020 Rockies (39:47) with The Athletic’s Nick Groke, plus a postscript on the implications of Luis Severino’s season-ending surgery (1:13:16).

Audio intro: Jonathan Coulton, "I’m a Mason Now"
Audio interstitial 1: Johnny Cash, "Wreck of the Old 97"
Audio interstitial 2: Willie Nelson and Ray Price, "This Cold War With You"
Audio outro: Porcupine Tree, "Sever Tomorrow"

Link to Morning Consult sign-stealing poll
Link to Mason Saunders story
Link to story on Monfort’s 94-wins quote
Link to Ben on spring training elbow injuries
Link to Astros response to cheating lawsuit
Link to order The MVP Machine

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In a special narrative episode of Effectively Wild, Ben Lindbergh traces the parallels between baseball’s latest sign-stealing crisis and an almost 60-year-old sign-stealing scandal that caused a comparable upheaval in the sport, drawing on archival clips, contemporary music, and interviews with author Paul Dickson and former major leaguers Eddie Robinson, Al Worthington, and Jay Hook to explore how illicit sign stealing starts, whether players can prevent it, and why it keeps recurring.

Audio intro: Bob Dylan, "Stealin’"
Audio interstitial 1: Elvis Presley, "Suspicion"
Audio interstitial 2: Gene Vincent, "I’m Goin’ Home (To See My Baby)"
Audio interstitial 3: Helen Humes, "‘Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-Ness If I Do"
Audio interstitial 4: Goldie Hill, "I Slipped Off My Wedding Ring"
Audio interstitial 5: Patsy Cline, "Your Cheatin’ Heart"
Audio outro: Ray Charles (Feat. Margie Hendricks), "Tell the Truth"

Link to The Hidden Language of Baseball
Link to Robinson’s memoir
Link to Veeck As In Wreck
Link to Rob Arthur’s Astros research
Link to Major League II scene
Link to Greenberg autobiography
Link to 1913 McGraw article
Link to first part of 1962 Sporting News sign-stealing feature
Link to second part of 1962 Sporting News sign-stealing feature
Link to 1962 Hook article
Link to 1957 Williams pigeon-shooting article
Link to Robinson interview episode
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Will we see baseball’s sign stealers in court, or will attempts to take legal action be a suing and a miss? In a bonus episode of EW, Ben Lindbergh talks to sports-law expert Nathaniel Grow about the viability of and precedents for several lawsuits related to MLB’s ongoing sign-stealing scandal, as well as another case that could overturn teams’ traditional lack of liability for fan injuries sustained from foul balls.

Audio intro: Lindisfarne, "Court in the Act"
Audio outro: Frank Loesser, "Sue Me"

Link to story about Bolsinger case
Link to story about nine demoted pitchers
Link to Rob Arthur on sign stealing’s effectiveness
Link to story about Wallach case
Link to story about other ticket cases
Link to story about Olson case
Link to Clifford filing
Link to article about foul ball case
Link to article about 2008 PEDs case
Link to video of Bonds homer
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the AL/NL distribution of the season preview pods so far and a few notable numbers from the newly published FanGraphs playoff odds, then preview the 2020 Indians (8:11) with Sports Illustrated’s T.J. Zuppe, and the 2020 Rangers (38:55) with The Athletic’s Levi Weaver.

Audio intro: Della Mae, "The Odds of Getting Even"
Audio interstitial: The Jam, "I’ve Changed My Address"
Audio outro: Willie Nelson (Feat. Sinéad O’Connor), "Don’t Give Up"

Link to FanGraphs playoff odds
Link to Levi on the Rangers’ versatility
Link to Levi on Solak
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about walk-off balks, a Zack Greinke oral history, and how teams will use the new 26th roster spot, break down the responses to a Jayson Stark survey of baseball insiders about the winter and upcoming season, and answer listener emails about players’ outspoken criticisms of the Astros’ sign-stealing and Rob Manfred’s response, and which transgressions might merit vacating a team’s title, plus a Stat Blast about the ultra-rare walk-off catcher’s interference.

Audio intro: Clem Snide, "Don’t Be Afraid of Your Anger"
Audio outro: Neil Young, "Speakin’ Out"

Link to post about walk-off balks
Link to Greinke oral history
Link to Schoenfield on the 26th roster spot
Link to Stark’s survey
Link to Ben on the endless sign-stealing scandal
Link to story about players speaking out
Link to story about Astros immunity
Link to Olney on Manfred protecting the Astros
Link to Emma on players’ use of social media
Link to order The MVP Machine

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