Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Rays’ four-man outfield against Cavan Biggio and the gradual ascendance of four-man outfields across the league, Sam’s belated thoughts on the Mets and baseball in Avengers: Endgame, a few underappreciated aspects of the late Bill Buckner’s career, and the record number of MLB debuts this decade by sons of former big leaguers (including the return of star-caliber sons), then discuss the origins and sustainability of the Minnesota Twins’ best-in-baseball start to the season, what makes the Twins an entertaining team, Cleveland’s comparatively disastrous first two months, and more.

Audio intro: Garcia Peoples, "Four Walls"
Audio outro: Weezer, "Trampoline"

Link to picture of four-man outfield against Biggio
Link to article about Biggio’s swing change
Link to four-man-outfield instances per season
Link to Ben on the history of four-man outfields
Link to Buckner on the Fielding Runs leaderboard
Link to Buckner on the Defensive WAR leaderboard
Link to examples of the Mets in post-apocalyptic movies
Link to Travis on MLB fathers and sons
Link to Stubbs interview episode
Link to Foley’s book-signing event
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about snow in Colorado, the Rockies and the decline of Kyle Freeland, and the new-look Lucas Giolito and the White Sox rebuild, then discuss the state of the standings and the number of teams out of contention, touching on how the bad teams got that way, the impact of losing on attendance, the merits of rebuilding, the struggles of the Indians and Nationals (and the success of the Twins), the frequency of blowouts, Mike Trout leading the league in WAR, and consuming the season via players instead of via teams, and more.

Audio intro: Vampire Weekend, "Spring Snow"
Audio outro: The Proper Ornaments, "Who Thought"

Link to THT piece on Coors Field
Link to Freeland interview episode
Link to Devan on Giolito
Link to video of Giolito mechanics
Link to Eaton-Frazier feud explainer
Link to Rob Arthur on bad teams being out of the race
Link to Rob Arthur on losing and attendance
Link to Rob Mains on the decline of comebacks
Link to Jay on Cleveland’s offense
Link to Devan on the Memorial Day checkpoint
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Robinson Cano hurting himself hustling, Chris Carter dominating the Mexican League, the incredible continuing career of Ruben Rivera, pop-up dekes, a possible fun fact involving Orioles homers, the return of Ryan Feierabend (and an uncommon complete game), multiple improvements for instant replay review, and the significance of Carter Stewart signing with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the NPB, then answer listener emails about using Statcast for fair/foul calls, the most unique lineups in a single season (and league-wide unique-lineup creep, plus the most painful thing ever to happen in baseball history), and a shift in which the pitcher covers first, plus a Stat Blast about the gradual disappearance of games with more walks than strikeouts.

Audio intro: Run-DMC, "Hit it Run"
Audio outro: Jenny Lewis, "On the Line"

Link to Ben on the cost of Cano not hustling
Link to GIF of Cano’s injury
Link to video of Carter
Link to Mexican League leaderboard
Link to Rivera’s bottomless B-Ref page
Link to Passan on the Mexican League
Link to Jay on Feierabend’s knuckleball
Link to Kiley on Stewart and Boras
Link to Passan on Stewart
Link to KG on Boras loopholes
Link to lineups data
Link to info on teams maximizing minor-league options
Link to video of Colon vs. Gordon
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Sean Doolittle’s delivery and Steve Pearce’s even/odd-year pattern, then discuss current record chases (involving Cody Bellinger, Christian Yelich, and the Orioles’ pitching staff), whether it’s possible to have exciting record chases based on Statcast stats, the significance of five-tool players (and scouting tools) in 2019, and more, plus a bit of one-sided banter about the Mets.

Audio intro: Dinosaur Jr., "Stick a Toe In"
Audio outro: Said The Whale, "Record Shop"

Link to story on Cubs’ Doolittle protest
Link to Doolittle vs. Edwards GIF
Link to Sam on .400 hitters
Link to story on .300 hitters
Link to Jeff on Raburn
Link to Ben on five-tool players
Link to Ben on Cano’s hustle
Link to Dan on Orioles homers allowed
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the bounceback of Chris Davis, which Statcast stats they would most want to have for the entirety of baseball history, which aspect of instant replay review most dramatically changes the game, and the new-look Josh Bell and Tommy La Stella, then (28:36) talk to FanGraphs prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen about the recent wave of MLB debuts by top prospects (including the Angels’ new two-way player Jared Walsh, Cole Tucker, Nicky Lopez, Nick Senzel, Keston Hiura, Carter Kieboom, Austin Riley, Griffin Canning, Shed Long and, soon, Brendan Rodgers), why we’ve seen so many prospect promotions, Boston’s bullpen duo of Darwinzon Hernandez and Travis Lakins, the contrasting seasons of Justus Sheffield and Casey Mize, the impending return of Luis Urias, how the new Triple-A ball has affected scouting and player development, and more, plus a preview of the best players, overall talent level, and teams with the biggest opportunities in the upcoming amateur draft.

Audio intro: Sharon Van Etten, "Comeback Kid"
Audio interstitial: Filthy Friends, "The Arrival"
Audio outro: The Replacements, "Talent Show"

Link to Petriello on Davis
Link to Jay on La Stella
Link to news about TrackMan and Hawk-Eye
Link to Rob Arthur on the transition to Hawk-Eye
Link to replay-review data
Link to Ben on today’s players being the best
Link to FanGraphs’ preseason top prospects list
Link to FanGraphs’ preason 2019 impact prospects list
Link to Eric on Hiura
Link to Eric on Rodgers
Link to Kiley on Riley
Link to Kiley on Senzel
Link to Rob on Triple-A homers
Link to latest mock draft
Link to FanGraphs prospect board
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Chris Sale’s seven-inning, 17-strikeout game and the Marlins’ ineptitude, then answer listener emails about differences in home-run distance, rooting for run differential, reimagining errors (and quality starts), whether catchers would still squat after robot umpires were implemented, when relief innings will surpass starter innings, no-hitters as team accomplishments, and the most runs scored in a game by one player who accounted for all of his team’s runs, plus a Stat Blast about hustle doubles.

Audio intro: Elton John, "Between Seventeen and Twenty"
Audio outro: Chip Taylor, "Michael’s Song"

Link to Craig’s post on Sale
Link to David Kagan’s site
Link to Pederson homer
Link to Acuña homer
Link to tall-catchers episode
Link to Ben on the opener and the 1993 A’s
Link to Sam on walk-off triples
Link to Mike’s tribute post
Link to Mike’s memorial page
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about inside-the-park homers versus over-the-fence homers, the gratifying rise of home-run robberies, and the unique career of Edwin Jackson (who’s about to have played for the most-ever MLB teams and with the most-ever MLB teammates), then discuss the convergence of starting pitching and relief pitching and play a game to guess whether randomly selected relievers are having good or bad seasons (plus some closing banter about bobblehead dolls).

Audio intro: Al Green, "Have You Been Making Out O.K."
Audio outro: Paul McCartney, "Nod Your Head"

Sam on deep flyouts
Ben on HR robberies
Link to Rob Arthur on bullpen roles
Link to Ben on saves distribution
Link to Ben on bullpenning
Link to Sam on reliever roles and performance
Link to Rob Mains on bullpens
Link to Sam’s bobblehead video
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about dogs, nieces, and nephews, their ambivalence about gambling and the future of gambling and real/fantasy baseball, the on-field and off-field excellence of Chris Paddack, the significance of Sinclair Broadcasting’s acquisition of 21 regional sports networks, the divisive Red Sox visit to the White House, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s slow start and the paucity of strikes he’s seeing, the new and improved Joey Gallo, the latter-day Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera (and lineup protection), and baseball in Avengers: Endgame.

Audio intro: Jellyfish, "I Wanna Stay Home"
Audio outro: Tonedeff, "Politics"

Link to Craig on Sinclair
Link to Sinclair interview
Link to Jay on Paddack
Link to James Holzhauer article
Link to article about the history of White House visits
Link to Craig on Vlad
Link to Ben on Trout’s 2011
Link to video of Bell’s dinger
Link to Ben on Gallo
Link to Eno on Gallo
Link to Jay on the Nats
Link to Dan on Cleveland vs. Minnesota
Link to pitcher inside-the-parker
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Shohei Ohtani’s return, Mike Fiers’ no-hitter, and the hard-luck Reds, do a Stat Blast and banter about True Wins vs. no-hitters and other standout starts, and answer listener emails about baseball and the gambler’s fallacy, umpires estimating the outcome of every batted ball (and whether pitchers, hitters, or fielders are the most dispensable players on the field from an entertainment standpoint), why we measure pitch speeds in mph rather than ft/s (and whether we should adjust the way we present spin rate), whether NL managers have it harder than AL managers, the long-term stylistic evolution of baseball, and more (plus, Lenny Harris sends his regards to Jeff).

Audio intro: Jason Falkner, "Say it’s True"
Audio outro: Wilco, "Tried and True"

Link to Simmons catch
Link to Sam on Simmons
Link to Sam on Simmons again
Link to Syndergaard bobblehead
Link to FG post about mph vs. ft/s
Link to explanation of why Sprint Speed is measured in ft/s
Link to Ben on today’s players being the best
Link to Harris video
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the merits of True Wins vs. no-hitters, a Pablo Sandoval fun fact, whether most pitchers would prefer to be better than average with a higher ERA or worse than average with a lower ERA, and whether the running Royals are, in fact, fun, then (26:24) talk to author Joe Bonomo about his book about about The New Yorker’s Hall of Fame baseball writer Roger Angell, touching on Angell’s notes and writing process, his career arc and evolution, his facility with words, his memory and and recall, his attitude about changes in the game, his best and most overlooked pieces, his feelings about being labeled a baseball writer, the larger themes in his work, and more.

Audio intro: Smith Westerns, "Idol"
Audio interstitial: Jenny and Johnny, "New Yorker Cartoon"
Audio outro: Donovan, "Writer in the Sun (Demo)"

Link to Sam on the True Win
Link to video of Gore-Hamilton play
Link to video of Hamilton scoring from second on sac fly
Link to Roger Angell’s New Yorker archive
Link to No Place I Would Rather Be
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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