Effectively Wild Episode 1641: The Confounding Free-Agent Market
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about why the free-agent market has been both slow-moving and fairly lucrative for the players who’ve signed, the White Sox inking closer Liam Hendriks, whether the White Sox are the American League’s front runners, the latest report that the season will start on time, napping, MLB’s plans for fans in the stands, why MLB owners aren’t pursuing expansion, the league’s next broadcast contract with ESPN, a rumored extension for Fernando Tatis Jr., the legacy of the late Tommy Lasorda, and the recent direction of the podcast.
Audio intro: The Bangles, "Mixed Messages"
Audio outro: Dion, "(I Used to Be A) Brooklyn Dodger"
Link to Craig Edwards on the Hendriks signing
Link to report about the season starting
Link to report about health and safety standards
Link to expansion story
Link to Craig on MLB’s TV revenue
Link to Meg on Bradley
Link to Meg on Lind
Link to Outsports story on Lasorda
Link to Outsports on Lasorda and Minnie Miñoso
Link to New York Times story on Lasorda’s son
Link to Jay on Lasorda
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Love the direction of the pod and how seriously you take it. I will say I miss the Stat Blasts recently though.
I listen to this podcast to hear intelligent, thoughtful people talk about things – usually baseball, sometimes silly, but always entertaining. Pretty sure I could listen to any subset of the Effectively Wild hosts (Ben, Jeff, Meg, Sam) talk about literally anything and it would be worthwhile. Unfortunately world events have necessitated discussions about less-than-joyful topics, but I think the podcast has done an admirable job at balancing those discussions with all of the typical Effectively Wild stuff, and if anything I’ve been even more grateful for this podcast lately. Keep up the great work!
The thing that’s taken me away from the podcast a bit has been what I perceive as an excessive emphasis on viewing the game and transactions from a pro-labor lens that treats baseball as a referendum on American capitalism. It’s not that I think it’s inappropriate to tackle serious issues, particularly in a world where political and social unrest are raging along with a damn pandemic; nor do I fail to see the importance of labor relations to the game actually being played and its impact on the future of the sport. At times it just feels like the podcast, and really a lot of the online baseball community as a whole, takes on this role of general pro-labor activism and that takes a lot away from interesting analysis.
I’m not sure to what degree I have that right vs what my biases have me focus on, but it’s very much something that turns me off as a listener. And that makes me really frustrated because I used to enjoy the podcast and sites like FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus very much. I got hooked on baseball viewing things from both an on-field fan perspective as well as a more global, organization building perspective (basically, thinking how people in front offices do). It just seems like there’s been an overcorrection against the latter in favor of shouting PAY YOUR DAMN PLAYERS. And yes, signing free agents is a part of building winning teams! The marginal wins added by one player can matter a lot! But when I see writers in the community do things like call trades of stars motivated by shedding payroll ‘not moral’ or something, it becomes kind of cartoonish to me and crowds out more interesting parts of analysis.
Again, that’s not to say that I don’t see the competitive disincentives in the CBA and how they make baseball worse. I’m not an advocate for ownership by any stretch. The analysis has frankly just taken a tone that makes me feel like there’s something wrong with the way I like to view the game, which is particularly frustrating since I used to come to these podcasts and sites to get insights and analysis from that kind of perspective.
I’m not sure if I conveyed myself very well, and I apologize for making this more of a general rant (though the podcast and FanGraphs are a big chunk of it). But I hope my perspective here brings something of value to you guys or maybe can help me enjoy these things again with some discussion.
Really appreciate your thoughtful response to the critiques of the podcast. I appreciate the holistic approach to all things baseball, and as a woman, I really appreciate Meg’s voice in the discussions. Looking forward to more great content!