Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Michael Lorenzen, Shohei Ohtani, and two-way terminology, marvel at Eugenio Suárez and other surprises from the 2019 home run leaderboard, celebrate the AL wild card race, salute the improving A’s and Rays, and discuss teams that are reshaping their potential playoff rosters late in the regular season, respond at length to the breaking news that the Red Sox have fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski less than a year after winning the World Series, and then play a Cy Young award game and analyze the legacy of Justin Verlander.

Audio intro: Ben Folds, "Fired"
Audio outro: Midnight Oil, "Short Memory"

Link to story on Mitch Garver’s reinvention
Link to Ken Rosenthal’s speculation about Dombrowski
Link to Alex Speier’s book Homegrown
Link to Ben on Boston’s post-championship complacency
Link to Passan report on Dombrowski
Link to Baumann on Verlander
Link to FiveThirtyEight article on Verlander
Link to Craig Edwards on Verlander’s home run rate
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s time in the mountains and subsequent September disorientation, attempt to divine the family dynamics of a Colin Moran vs. Brian Moran matchup, talk about the Twins pulling away in the AL Central race and the implications for Cleveland, and discuss the downsides of the annual debate about the definition of “value” in the MVP award debate (plus more musings about Daniel Palka’s 1-for-53 start to his 2019 MLB season).

Audio intro: Mavis Staples, "Brothers and Sisters"
Audio outro: Joe Jackson, "Nineteen Forever"

Link to story on the Morans
Link to video of the Morans
Link to THT piece on MVP voting criteria
Link to Sam on Trout’s 2017 MVP award
Link to video of Palka’s lone MLB hit from 2019
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller debate whether a fact about Michael Lorenzen’s multi-way play is fun, banter about Nelson Cruz’s unflagging offense, technology and the future of the knuckleball, and an ignominious achievement by Billy Hamilton, then answer listener emails about the lack of four-homer games, what would happen if foul balls caught in the stands counted as outs, and whether (and how) MLB should ask its audience what it wants to see, plus a Stat Blast about the most-ever talent on one team and another fun-fact debate (about Cody Bellinger).

Audio intro: The Stooges, "No Fun"
Audio outro: The Scruffs, "You’re No Fun"

Link to Lorenzen story
Link to Ben on Cruz
Link to Ben on the knuckleball
Link to Travis on foul balls
Link to Sam on the most talented teams
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Cardinals, the Nationals, and the NL’s increasingly interesting playoff races, the pluses and minuses of expanded September rosters, a caveat about time-traveling to see Mike Trout’s final game, and Justin Verlander’s third no-hitter and the role of health in determining pitchers’ careers, then discuss the significance of five fun (and not-so-fun) facts: Oakland’s history of slow starts and fast finishes; Cleveland’s performance against good and bad teams, Buster Posey’s second-half swoons and the veteran stars having the most disappointing seasons; the Marlins’ attendance and baseball’s future as a remote viewing experience; and the Tigers’ lack of above-average hitters and the entertainment value of terrible teams (plus an update on Aristides Aquino and facts about fastest starts).

Audio intro: The Resonars, "Three Times Around"
Audio outro: John Doe and The Sadies, "The Cold Hard Facts of Life"

Link to Glanville on expanded rosters
Link to Sam on Stallings
Link to Sam on Statcast no-hitters
Link to article about Verlander’s low point
Link to Sam’s power rankings contributions
Link to Max Marchi on who’s ahead of whom
Link to Neil Paine on the terrible Tigers
Link to Aquino story
Link to Sam on Bellinger
Link to Sam on Yelich
Link to Ben on knuckleballs
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about GPS, resisting the urge to take the bait on bad takes, and the debate about access for broadcasters who double as team personnel, answer listener emails about not replacing broken bats, earning/working walks, and players with underutilized skills, and close with a discussion of Félix Hernández’s future and some podcast metacommentary (plus a postscript about another unintended consequence of mercy rules).

Audio intro: Tame Impala, "Be Above it"
Audio outro: Pete Townshend, "You’re So Clever"

Link to Meg on the 12-minute game
Link to Marc on double-duty broadcasters
Link to article about broken bats
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about whether they would take a time machine into baseball’s future, Yu Darvish’s midseason makeover and ability to pick up new pitches, then answer listener emails about whether the warning track should be widened, players having the second halves of Hall of Fame careers, and a robot ump challenge system, plus a Stat Blast about the most common stolen base totals for players with lengthy careers.

Audio intro: Matthew Sweet, "Time Machine"
Audio outro: Sleater-Kinney, "The Future is Here"

Link to Sam on the baseball time machine
Link to Sam on Bellinger’s homers
Link to article on Darvish’s knuckle-curve
Link to article on Darvish’s midseason turnaround
Link to Glanville on the warning track
Link to Ben on Cruz
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about what GPS directions have to do with analytics-averse managers, MLB’s black and white uniforms fiasco on Players Weekend, Sam’s takeaways from his trip to see a former podcast guest’s game in the Southern California Vintage Base Ball League, a philosophy professor’s quest to establish that the tie goes to the runner and a complaint about replay review, and whether Lance Lynn’s career year and the ascendance of data-driven development suggest that players who re-sign with the same team will no longer outperform players who depart to play for a different team.

Audio intro: The Inbreds, "My Favorite Satellite"
Audio outro: PUP, "Bare Hands"

Link to column about MLB and Players Weekend
Link to podcast episode about vintage baseball
Link to Southern California Vintage Base Ball League website
Link to article about Ted Cohen’s quest to make ties go to the runner
Link to audio recording of the essay “There Are No Ties at First Base”
Link to Matt Swartz’s earliest research about other people’s players
Link to Matt’s most recent research about other people’s players
Link to Zach Kram on trading top prospects
Link to Michael Baumann on Lance Lynn
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about beer and the mercy rule, a 12-minute game finish at Fenway, whether baseball players have high job satisfaction, compelling playoff races and especially lucky and unlucky contending teams, robot ump implications (including measuring player heights, determining the shape of the zone, and preserving receivers’ sense of self-worth), and the Angels’ unorthodox rotation and the future of pitching staffs and Shohei Ohtani.

Audio intro: The Beths, "Happy Unhappy"
Audio outro: Derek and the Dominos, "Tell the Truth"

Link to Freaks and Geeks beer scene
Link to happiness study
Link to cluster luck rankings
Link to USA Today Atlantic League article
Link to Baseball America Atlantic League article
Link to Baseball Prospectus Atlantic League article
Link to info on online dating and height
Link to study on sock height and the strike zone
Link to Ben on Kratz and catchers making noise
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, and the most compelling playoff races remaining, introduce the new Effectively Wild listener email archive, then answer emails about whether a team in a three-team race suffers or benefits when its opponents play each other, whether home runs hit off of position players should be valued lower than others and whether an MLB mercy rule is a good idea, whether players should earn WAR for helping other players, whether fouling off a pitch down the middle can coincide with a good swing, and the most pitcher wins in a season against a single opponent in the divisional era, plus a Stat Blast about Shooty Babitt, Troy Neel, and the shortest careers by players who received Rookie of the Year votes.

Audio intro: The Walkmen, "Postcards From Tiny Islands"
Audio outro: Blondie, "Island of Lost Souls"

Link to Ben on letting Ohtani play two-way
Link to EW email archive
Link to Jay on position player pitching
Link to Sam on hitters facing position player pitchers
Link to Boone on the mercy rule
Link to Lucas on the mercy rule
Link to Rosenthal on Martinez
Link to story on Cleveland pitchers and Bauer
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller bring on White Sox play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti to banter about sharing the broadcast booth with Bill Walton, Mike Schur, and Mike O’Brien over the weekend and what the success of the experiment says about the future of broadcasting. Then Ben and Sam mull a one-of-a-kind dropped third strike on Scooter Gennett, MLB’s homer rate reaching an even higher level and the inflationary effect on fun facts, and what the ongoing MLB youth movement tells us about when Mike Trout will no longer be the best player in baseball.

Audio intro: Stephen Stills, "Change Partners"
Audio outro: Math and Physics Club, "Broadcasting Waves"

Link to article on Walton’s TV commentary
Link to GIF of Gennett play
Link to Baumann on Galvis in 2016
Link to Ben on the ball and the steroid era
Link to Ben on young hitters
Link to story on aging curves for phenoms
Link to story on offensive variance by era
Link to Ben on baseball’s caliber of play
Link to article about Kershaw being deposed as best pitcher
Link to article about Bellinger’s swing change
Link to order The MVP Machine

 iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)
 Sponsor Us on Patreon
 Facebook Group
 Effectively Wild Wiki
 Twitter Account
 Get Our Merch!
 Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS