Effectively Wild Episode 1958: I Can Be Center Field?

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about 53-year-old Dae-Sung Koo 구대성 pitching in Australia, provide a final(?) update on Brandon Belt’s beloved Toronto chicken tenders, discuss the invisible strike zone as a feature that sets baseball apart from other sports (along with listener responses to other differentiating factors), bemoan the results of a Reddit poll about what to call the extra-inning runner, and marvel at investigations into the effect of the orientation of the baseball on its path to the plate and the predictiveness of ERA vs. FIP. Then (47:25) they answer listener emails about home run robberies vs. home run larcenies, a wrinkle in the calculation of a contract’s competitive-balance-tax cost, the competitive impact of 2023’s balanced schedule (and the Orioles’ impressive prospect rankings), how many defenders a team of 15-year-olds would need to field to keep a game against big leaguers close, ways to make other sports more like baseball, why so many arbitration cases are still unsettled, Henry Rowengartner’s velo in Rookie of the Year, and the best forgettable players, plus a real-time reaction to the Luis Arraez–Pablo López trade, a Stat Blast (1:39:44) about Adam Duvall and the latest-career moves to a premium position, and a Past Blast (1:54:53) from 1958.

Audio intro: Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Anything at All”
Audio outro: Built to Spill, “Center of the Universe”

Link to Twitter video of Koo
Link to Koo on YouTube
Link to article about Koo
Link to Koo’s SABR bio
Link to Koo vs. Johnson
Link to Bois doc on Koo
Link to Belt on chicken tenders
Link to KNBR Belt interview
Link to Ritz chef appearance
Link to Ray/Friedman interview
Link to ball orientation study
Link to ERA/FIP study
Link to BABIP/FIP study
Link to Reddit poll
Link to baseball exceptionalism wiki
Link to Bo-taoshi wiki
Link to EW emails database
Link to Speier on Devers
Link to robbery definition
Link to larceny definition
Link to Szymborski on the schedule
Link to Petriello on the schedule
Link to Guardians prospect list
Link to article on O’s prospects
Link to BP top 101
Link to BA top 100
Link to Sam on derby fielders
Link to requested arb salaries
Link to Ben on arb and extensions
Link to Rookie of the Year wiki
Link to Marlins ZiPS post
Link to Duvall’s first CF game
Link to Duvall’s first CF start
Link to defensive spectrum wiki
Link to Russell on the def. spectrum
Link to 2022 age by position
Link to oldest first-time CF/SS
Link to late movers spreadsheet
Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter
Link to Russell on position changing
Link to Adam D. on position changing
Link to Russell on emergency catchers
Link to MLBTR on the MIA-MIN trade
Link to Ben C. on the MIA-MIN trade
Link to MLBTR on Chisholm
Link to 1958 story source
Link to Rosie Reds website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

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