Effectively Wild Episode 2493: Baseball Has Marked the Time

by
June 17, 2026

EWFI
Ben Lindbergh and The Ringer’s Van Lathan banter about Van’s love of baseball, his origin story as a fan, how he got back into the sport, MLB’s resurgence in popularity, advanced stats questions, why the percentage of Black players in MLB fell, how average sports fans perceive MLB’s labor battle, and much more (warning: language). Then (1:25:38) Ben talks to Thomas Gilbert, author of Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America’s First Baseball Hero, about how Jim Creighton revolutionized pitching and reshaped the game, and how Gilbert investigated the many unknowns and misperceptions surrounding the right-hander’s life and death.

Audio intro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Guy Russo, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Van’s Ringer archive
Link to Van’s baseball outfit
Link to Van’s dad story
Link to Chico Escuela clip
Link to Ben on Dunn and Pierre
Link to B-Ref career WAR leaders
Link to wOBA glossary entry
Link to Field of Dreams scene
Link to Jeter’s dating history
Link to The Simpsons scene
Link to Death in the Strike Zone
Link to How Baseball Happened
Link to Creighton wiki
Link to Thorn on Creighton 1
Link to Thorn on Creighton 2
Link to EW on pesäpallo
Link to The Universal Baseball Association
Link to Defector on Coover’s book
Link to Ella Black series

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