Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Noah Syndergaard‘s True Win, an 81-pitch complete game for Kyle Hendricks, the AL Central after Corey Kluber‘s injury and the Twins’ hot start to the season, Tyler Glasnow’s breakout, the Chris Archer trade in review, the impermanence of coaching success, and the latest comments about the baseball by David Price and Rob Manfred, then (28:43) talk to Jeopardy! phenom James Holzhauer about how sabermetrics influenced his future career, his history of betting on baseball, his former (and future?) aspirations of working for an MLB team, how his Jeopardy! strategy (and the backlash to his success) is analogous to baseball, the future of gambling on baseball, how other contestants treat him, how he studies baseball and follows baseball, what other game shows he’d excel at, how Jeopardy! could stop contestants like him, and more.

Audio intro: Yo La Tengo, "If it’s True"
Audio interstitial: Dan Mangan, "Jeopardy"
Audio outro: Shout Out Louds, "Too Late Too Slow"

Link to Sam on Syndergaard
Link to Ben Clemens on Glasnow
Link to Baumann on Glasnow
Link to Laurila on Glasnow
Link to article about the baseball
Link to 2015 Jeopardy! video
Link to MGL interview about betting on baseball
Link to Marc on Holzhauer
Link to cranky column about Holzhauer
Link to FiveThirtyEight on Holzhauer’s strategy
Link to FiveThirtyEight on Holzhauer vs. Jennings
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Hall of Famers Mike Trout just surpassed in WAR (featuring a story about Goose Goslin and Joe Cronin) and Trout’s recent improvements in plate discipline, then answer listener emails about Cody Bellinger’s extreme hot streak, whether most baseball fans notice the rising strikeout rate, a Statcast conspiracy theory, when it makes the most sense to trade Madison Bumgarner (and other players), and the level at which the best pitcher in baseball would be favored to throw a perfect game in every outing, plus a Stat Blast about pitchers hitting in high-leverage situations.

Audio intro: The Stroppies, "Better Than Before"
Audio outro: The Bees, "Hot One!"

Link to Sam on Trout’s April
Link to Adler on Trout’s April
Link to Jay on Trout compared to other Hall of Famers
Link to Sam on Trout’s 2012
Link to highest-WAR months
Link to Devan Fink on Bellinger
Link to Ben on strikeouts
Link to Sam on extra innings
Link to Dave on the cost of wins in July
Link to Dave on valuing relievers in the postseason
Link to video of Proctor’s walk-off
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Co-hosts assemble! Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Meg Rowley banter (briefly and sans spoilers) about baseball in Avengers: Endgame and follow up both about Meg’s attempt to keep track of baseball at a bachelorette party and about pricing on Cameo for Kevin Pillar and Mike Trout, then talk about baseball and happiness, comparing their picks for the World Series winner, division winners, WAR leader, rules change, baseball occurrence, and alteration in past World Series outcome that would most increase the amount of happiness in the world.

Audio intro: Spoon, "Utilitarian"
Audio outro: Buzzcocks, "Everybody’s Happy Nowadays"

Link to story about the Mets in Endgame
Link to survey on hated teams
Link to Ben on Astudillo
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Rich Hill‘s dominant rehab start, the most famous catches in history and Sam’s article about recreating Kevin Mitchell’s barehand catch, their own best baseball plays, and when it becomes objectionable to sit a player who’s pursuing a single-season record, then answer listener emails about the entertainment value of high-strikeout teams, whether rebuilding teams should try to plan for forthcoming rules changes, how fast a pitch would have to be to knock over a catcher, and the pitchers with the most one-pitch outings, plus an email-inspired Stat Blast about teams with DHs who bat toward the bottom of the order (and why apparent positional trends are sometimes spurious).

Audio intro: Billy Idol, "Catch My Fall"
Audio outro: Super Furry Animals, "Show Your Hand"

Link to story on Hill’s rehab start
Link to Sam’s tweet about famous catches
Link to Sam’s Mitchell article
Link to Galvis catch
Link to research on the value of a day off
Link to Sam on third base as a power position
Link to Dave on first base offense
Link to dying DH post
Link to Ben on why WAR always changes
Link to David Kagan’s baseball physics site
Link to Steve on unwritten-rules origins
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the long-awaited promotion of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., baseball-watching etiquette at a bachelorette party, and Mike Trout if he weren’t trying, then answer listener emails about Rhys Hoskins, Jacob Rhame, and the latest unwritten-rules flare-up between the Phillies and Mets, Tyler Wade, Andrelton Simmons, and a questionable application of replay view, how home-plate umpires would perform with transparent players, what type of MLB players they’d prefer to be, how best to distribute 50 WAR across a career, the odd assortment of baseball players (and fees) on Cameo, balls bouncing into the strike zone, and the potential effects of a bigger and/or heavier baseball.

Audio intro: Camera Obscura, "Number One Son"
Audio outro: Jenny Lewis, "The Next Messiah"

Link to Vlad tweet
Link to Mets/Phillies events
Link to video of hidden-ball trick
Dave on slide replay reviews
Link to Ben on Trout’s defensive improvement
Link to baseball listings on Cameo
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the numbers behind the Yankees’ historic injury stack, an inspired piece of pitch-framing by Francisco Cervelli, Ramon Laureano as a human highlight machine, how often hitters would (and should) swing if they knew every pitch would be in the strike zone but still be called a ball, and the hitters they’re paying particular attention to, then discuss how Christian Yelich elevated himself onto a Hall of Fame trajectory, how the Marlins’ latest round of trades looks in retrospect, the Brewers’ WAR without Yelich, how every new breakout burnishes the greatness of Mike Trout, and the fastest and slowest runners of the season so far (plus an update on the Royals’ base-stealing).

Audio intro: Ben Folds Five, "Missing the War"
Audio outro: MGMT, "Someone’s Missing"

Link to list of most players on the IL
Link to list of most WAR on the IL
Link to Yankees injury timetables
Link to video of Cervelli frame
Link to Jeff on Molina frames
Link to video of Laureano play
Link to FanGraphs Guts! page
Link to MLB.tv GameChanger
Link to Ben on GameChanger
Link to Ben on Harper’s hot streak
Link to Sam on Hall of Fame probabilities
Link to Sam on Yelich
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg seeing the Padres in person, the Phillies’ attendance surge, rooting for writers who’ve taken team jobs, and the Mariners’ lousy last week, then discuss the aesthetic and competitive ramifications of the huge spike in home-run rate in the majors and minors, why Rob Manfred is still insisting that the ball isn’t responsible, and what, if anything, MLB should do. Then (35:18) they talk to veteran baseball writer Danny Knobler, author of the new book Unwritten: Bat Flips, the Fun Police, and Baseball’s New Future, about the purpose and future of the unwritten rules, the latest incidents involving Chris Archer and Derek Dietrich and Brad Keller and Tim Anderson, whether MLB is being hypocritical by promoting celebratory displays without condemning intentional plunkings, the concept of “respect,” and the current cultural conflict’s fault lines.

Audio intro: Sloan, "Flying High Again"
Audio interstitial: Sloan, "Who Taught You to Live Like That?"
Audio outro: The Tragically Hip, "The Rules"

Link to Rob on the Triple-A rabbit ball
Link to summary of MLB ball report
Link to Manfred comments from February
Link to Sam on MLB disclosing changes to the ball
Link to video of Vlad Jr. homer
Link to Danny’s book, Unwritten
Link to Sam on unwritten rules
Link to Boone bat-flip commercial
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Johnny Cooney as the Vroom Vroom Guy, minor-league closer Dusten Knight’s backflip save-celebration ritual, the extreme struggles of the Red Sox, and a new way to represent Willians Astudillo’s success at making contact, then answer listener emails about umpires calling balls and strikes from second base and the most commonly known things about baseball, plus a Stat Blast about the disappearance of old pitchers.

Audio intro: The Undertones, "Jump Boys"
Audio outro: The Capes, "First Base"

Link to backflip videos
Link to Chapman somersault video
Link to Jeff on classifying closer celebrations
Link to Astudillo leaderboard
Link to umpire-accuracy article
Link to The Roots video
Link to post on White Sox caps and hip-hop culture
Link to piece on politicians’ baseball metaphors
Link to Sam on a 50-inning game
Link to Ben on early-season stat changes
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about baseball equivalents of Tiger Woods winning the Masters, follow up on two topics from the previous week (Willians Astudillo’s disputed whiff and Don Zimmer’s bases-loaded suicide hit and run) and, in a time-honored tradition, discuss whether selected league-wide stats from the first few weeks of the season are reflective of real trends.

Audio intro: The Milk Carton Kids, "Nothing is Real"
Audio outro: The Zombies, "Play it for Real"

Link to Rob on stopping at second
Link to Ben on avoiding the strike zone
Link to changes to curtail sign-stealing
Link to FanGraphs post on 2019 pitch selection
Link to Sam on pitchouts
Link to Ben on pitchouts
Link to Jeff on first-pitch swings
Link to Sam on young players’ production
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners’ fun, surprising, and unsustainable start (and how it might affect the franchise), Austin Hedges’ chest protector, the extraordinary nature of Ozzie Albies’ extension, why he might have signed it, what it says about baseball’s economic market, and why we should care, the frustrating MLB/MiLB crackdown on sharing game video, Marcell Ozuna’s weird week, whether we’re beyond the golden age of bloopers, and the Twins’ meltdown inning against the Mets.

Audio intro: Sonny & The Sunsets, "Cheap Extensions"
Audio outro: Herman’s Hermits, "Marcel’s"

Link to Sam on creating MLB nicknames
Link to Dan on the Albies extension
Link to Craig on the Albies extension
Link to Meg on baseball and politics
Link to Ozuna blooper
Link to story on highlights crackdown
Link to summary of the Twins’ ugly inning
Link to Dylan on FanGraphs Audio
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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