Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest home run predictions (by Carlos Estévez and Lawrence Butler ), top closers blowing leads, the compelling, competitive postseason, highlights of recent games, broadcasters invoking momentum, replay controversies, and Padres-Dodgers bad blood, plus follow-ups on green screens (or the lack thereof) on baseball broadcasts, fun-fact qualifiers, and t...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Pete Alonso ’s huge homer off of Devin Williams , the chaos and colorful characters surrounding the Mets, the difficulty of counting the qualifiers in an Alonso fun fact, Alonso’s free agency, the compelling nature of the Division Series matchups, previews of each series, the front-office shake-ups of the Cardinals and Giants, the Reds hiring T...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about distracting digital and between-pitch ads and ever-present win probability graphs on playoff broadcasts, the concept of controlling your own destiny, Orlando Arcia hugging Manny Machado , consternation about postseason small samples, Monday’s memorable Mets-Braves doubleheader, Carlos Mendoza’s Edwin Díaz decision, the most compelling postseaso...

In (dis)honor of the 2024 White Sox displacing the 1962 Mets atop the modern-era single-season losses leaderboard, Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, FanGraphs’ Ben Clemens , and Yahoo Sports’s Jordan Shusterman conduct a draft of facts and stats about this record-setting Sox season, scored by Sox Machine White Sox reporter James Fegan , who also describes covering the team’s disastrous...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the 50th anniversary of the first Tommy John surgery and how baseball would be different if the procedure had never been pioneered, then (15:14) preview the 2024 postseason by pinpointing the biggest strength and weakness of each AL (21:40) and NL (1:00:17) playoff team. Audio intro : Jimmy Kramer, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio out...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about MLB’s oddly extended YouTube highlight videos, the league’s handling of a crucial, rained-out Mets/Brave series, the zombie runner rearing its ugly head in games with playoff implications, teams that are well-positioned for an especially free-for-all October, Emmanuel Clase’ s Cy case, the value of top position players vs. top pitchers, a...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s return from vacation, Corbin Burnes’ s cutter comeback, the demotion of CJ Abrams , the no-longer-dynamic duo of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer , the firing of Reds manager David Bell, the Tigers promoting Jackson Jobe , Shota Imanaga’ s post-NPB performance, teams refusing to use injuries as an excuse, Charlie Blackmon’ s...

Ben Lindbergh and FanGraphs’ Ben Clemens dissect the glorious game in which Shohei Ohtani founded the 50-50 and 51-51 Clubs, Ohtani’s most awe-inspiring feats, and his future, followed (29:51) by banter about the state of defensive stats, the mystery of Salvador Perez ’s swing decisions, questionable kudos for Bud Black, whether Victor Robles made the worst steal attempt of all t...

In a bonus EW episode, Ben Lindbergh talks to screenwriter and former editor-in-chief of The Onion Robert Siegel about his classic Onion opinion piece, “In My Day, Ballplayers Were For Shit,” how The Onion used to approach sports coverage, the importance of headlines and stock photos, satirizing baseball vs. satirizing other sports, why The Onion hasn’t lost its fastball, and mor...

Ben Lindbergh and Joe Sheehan banter about high school, the persistent, befuddling allure of Craig Kimbrel , the Orioles’ recent struggles, the playoff-fumble potential of four teams that previously possessed 90-plus-percent playoff odds, their prediction philosophies, the potential for legislation to curb the excesses of sports betting, and what the surprise “retirement” of Adri...

Ben Lindbergh and FanGraphs’ Dan Szymborski banter about Ben’s timing in respect to Declan Cronin’ s homerless streak, the perils of podcasts, predictions, and regression to the mean, the White Sox cutting payroll and their projections for the rest of this season, next season, and beyond, Gerrit Cole’ s ignominious intentional walk, Alex Cora’s seeming admission that...

Ben Lindbergh and R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports debate whether Jackson Holliday , Jackson Chourio , or Jackson Merrill will be the best player long term, discuss the addition of ads to batting helmets and continued MLB ad creep, and ponder the possibility of publicly owned ballclubs. Then (55:52) Ben talks to Mojo Hill about covering Derek Bender , the Twins minor league catcher who was released for...

Ben Lindbergh and FanGraphs’ Michael Baumann play a game of “College Baseball Player or Vuelta a España Stage Winner?”, discuss Kumar Rocker ’s potential and path to the majors, and (17:38) meet major leaguers Tyler Jay and Richard Fitts , before talking (39:33) to *checks notes* Marlins reliever Big Mike Baumann about becoming the second major leaguer ever to play for five...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the solution to a Carlos Estévez prediction cold case, share a baseball-sicko experience prompted by the band Hinds’s new single, put actors on baseball-movie Mount Rushmore (in honor of the late, great, James Earl Jones), scrutinize two suggestions for HBP policing, assess the risks and history of ceremonial first pitches, Nora Ephron’s fandom, and...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the impressiveness of a prediction by Carlos Estévez , how to say the score from the losing team’s perspective, and getting hit in the head by a hot dog. Then (23:13) they discuss getting hit in the head (or the hands) by a baseball : how often it happens, how dangerous it is, and whether (as Whit Merrifield argues) MLB must act to discourage it. The...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Giants extending Matt Chapman and Manny Machado’ s pursuit of Nate Colbert’ s Padres home run record, Stat Blast (20:42) about Luis Arraez’ s extreme three-true-outcome avoidance, Ben Joyce ’s potentially unprecedented pitch speeds, and whiff-averse flamethrowers, and then discuss (54:31) the Yankees’ left-field dilemma(?)...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani , Ronald Acuña Jr. , and quantifying power/speed excellence and the White Sox somehow playing way worse under Grady Sizemore, follow up on hippos, A-Rod’s relationships, double plates/bases, 40-something hitters, player predictions, and one-pitch first strikeouts, and react to a new kind of bases-loaded walk and private equity’s i...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Juan Soto’ s free agency and Aaron Judge ’s ego, follow up on in-season exhibition games, and (18:51) answer listener emails about the possibility of adding games to the baseball season, bullpen pitchers robbing a home run robbery, redrawing (or enforcing) coach’s boxes, pronouncing “wRC+,” programming ABS to help starters go...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about ad proliferation on podcasts and make a sheepish plea for listener support, then discuss the reversal of offensive fortunes for first basemen and shortstops and Oneil Cruz’ s move to center field before following up (35:33) on the Mariners’ managerial hiring and the Selig Rule, a Rich Hill record (and dueling Hill fun facts), the effect of equi...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Derek Jeter ‘s (and Aaron Judge’ s) championship-or-bust rhetoric, Alex Rodriguez’ s date night, Judge’s home-run robberies, Judge’s offensive prowess compared to Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds , how clutchness (or the lack thereof) could affect the AL MVP race, Juan Soto’ s defense, how the trajectory of Seattle’s seas...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners firing Scott Servais, the Angels not firing Perry Minasian, Joey Votto ’s career and retirement, the continued collapse of Craig Kimbrel , NPB players pushing for a faster path to domestic and international free agency, and the NWSL abolishing its draft. Then (42:45) they’re joined by Patreon supporter Sam Horton to answer listener...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the stretch run, the “championship season,” the surprising solidity of the playoff picture, and how the playoff field could change before the end of the season. They also discuss the turnarounds of Jeff McNeil and Corbin Carroll , the return on the Rangers’ pitching blueprint, and whether A’s fans should consider supporting other ML...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether the custom-painted bats featured during Players’ Weekend should be usable all season, Alex Verdugo’ s batting-glove allergy, Rich Hill ’s predictable-yet-curious choice of team, where the Rookie of the Year races stand, how the Pirates should handle Paul Skenes down the stretch, the magnitude of the Skenes Day attendance boost, th...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the White Sox walking Juan Soto to face Aaron Judge , how Judge’s season could’ve been even better , the world’s untapped baseball talent, Shohei Ohtani ’s run at a 50-50 season, ways to discourage intentional walks, a proposal to mandate six-inning outings for starting pitchers, a changing of the guard atop the FanGraphs farm syste...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about how Jorge López has done since his release from the Mets, Juan Soto ‘s underrated dominance, George Springer ’s post-replay rage, whether the Rangers are a candidate for Angels-esque August waiver shenanigans, whether Dodgers pitchers are particularly prone to Tommy John surgeries, and the divisive value of Salvador Perez . Then (41:56) they we...