Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about advice for working from home, Chris Sale’s Tommy John surgery, concerns about pitcher health in a shortened season, the possibility of playing more doubleheaders when baseball comes back, how late would be too late for the season to start, the overuse, injury, and treatment of pitcher Wes Ferrell, how COVID-19 could affect MLB service time, rewatching old games and FOX Sports Detroit re-airing 2019 Tigers games, and baseball coming back in Japan and South Korea, then (39:58) talk to former minor league pitcher-turned-attorney Garrett Broshuis about the ongoing legal fight for improved pay for minor leaguers, how the pandemic has impacted minor leaguers, grassroots efforts to support temporarily unemployed players, the effect of public pressure on teams and MLB, the potential for a future minor league union, and his new organization, Advocates for Minor Leaguers (plus a postscript on two sets of same-named players).

Audio intro: Mapache, "Life on Fire"
Audio interstitial: Margo Price, "Pay Gap"
Audio outro: Smoke N Bones, "Nobody Knows"

Link to latest FG COVID-19 roundup
Link to Eno on injury spikes
Link to Pages From Baseball’s Past
Link to Wes Ferrell story
Link to article about MLB and ballpark workers
Link to article about lost service time
Link to story about re-airing Tigers games
Link to info on MLB games on YouTube
Link to FG games to rewatch, Part 1
Link to FG games to rewatch, Part 2
Link to article about doubleheaders
Link to article about baseball in Japan and South Korea
Link to Advocates for Minor Leaguers site
Link to Advocates for Minor Leaguers press release
Link to MLB press release about minor league pay
Link to ESPN article on minor league pay
Link to NYT article on Advocates for Minor Leaguers
Link to LAT article on Advocates for Minor Leaguers
Link to Adopt a Minor Leaguer
Link to More Than Baseball
Link to story on the two Mike Smiths
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller follow up on a previous discussion of advance scouting’s contribution to Kirk Gibson’s legendary 1988 home run and banter about the strangeness of not having a date for Opening Day, then answer listener emails about how to get into baseball for the first time, how a shortened season could affect future perceptions of players’ careers, whether a shortened season would create more uncertainty in the standings (and whom it would help), whether baseball would be better if the top of the order led off every inning, and the Angels’ ownage of Yusei Kikuchi, plus a Stat Blast about the history of same-named teammates.

Audio intro: Field Music, "Shorter Shorter"
Audio outro: Elliott Smith, "A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to Be Free"

Link to Leonard Koppett book
Link to Craig Edwards on a shortened 2019 season
Link to Dan Szymborski on shortened-season playoff odds
Link to Ben on pitcher hitting
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about life during self-isolation and delayed media consumption and explore some of the long-considered and ultimately rejected article ideas in Sam’s tickler file, including Ken Griffey Jr.’s rap career, an undiscovered baseball star in Yosemite, an advance-scouting conspiracy theory, an unorthodox solution to extra-inning games, and a complaint about baseball inspired by Shel Silverstein (plus a brief baseball coronavirus update and the recommended baseball distraction of the day, about the new Statcast system and Hawk-Eye).

Audio intro: John Lennon, "Isolation"
Audio interstitial: Kid Sensation (Feat. Ken Griffey Jr.), "The Way I Swing"
Audio outro: Built to Spill, "The Wait"

Link to Timóteo video 1
Link to Timóteo video 2
Link to Timóteo video 3
Link to Statcast presentation video
Link to Statcast presentation summary
Link to Statcast presentation notes
Link to article about new Statcast physics
Link to order The MVP Machine

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In the absence of real baseball (and with plenty of solitary time on fans’ hands), Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley devote an episode to three new fictional depictions of baseball, speaking to novelist Emily Nemens (9:18), the author of spring training tale The Cactus League, novelist Gish Jen (36:56), the author of dystopian baseball saga The Resisters, and actor Hank Azaria (1:08:59), the star of IFC TV series Brockmire, which is about to return for its futuristic fourth and final season.

Audio intro: Belle and Sebastian, "Storytelling"
Audio interstitial 1: Lone Justice, "Cactus Rose"
Audio interstitial 2: Everclear, "Science Fiction"
Audio interstitial 3: Richard O’Brien, "Science Fiction/Double Feature"
Audio outro: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, "Let’s Pretend That it’s Summer"

Link to order The Cactus League
Link to The Cactus League review
Link to order The Resisters
Link to The Resisters review
Link to stream Brockmire Seasons 1-3
Link to stream the Brockmire Season 4 premiere
Link to Ben on Brockmire
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to MLB’s COVID-19-caused cancellation of the remainder of spring training and the postponement of Opening Day and discuss the disquieting week and the ramifications for the culture and the 2020 baseball season.

Audio intro: Dan Bern, "Ballpark"
Audio outro: Frank Sinatra, "I Get Along Without You Very Well"

Link to MLB announcement
Link to FDR letter
Link to story on baseball’s previous responses to disease
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Padres outfield un-fun facts, then discuss MLB’s $1 million “The Vault” competition to predict several statistical leaders of the 2020s, producing their picks in each category, reviewing how hard it would have been to pick the winners of the 2010s, and ruminating on the nature of baseball predictions and the inexorable impending decline of Mike Trout.

Audio intro: Tacocat, "Crystal Ball"
Audio outro: Tame Impala, "Let it Happen"

Link to MLB’s vault competition
Link to Dan on Trout’s inevitable decline
Link to Ben on Lords of the Realm
Link to Sam’s last Pujols pain post
Link to Trout baby video
Link to Smith LASIK surgery story
Link to order The MVP Machine

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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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 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

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