Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about saying the wrong episode number in the intro to Episode 2077 and the definition of a title drought, then answer listener emails (18:45) about whether it would make sense to choose a bye in the playoffs if your opponent got to draft a player from the team it defeated, letting a non-playoff team into the playoffs via a lottery, a lineup set by the opposing t...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the end of the NLCS, discuss the discourse surrounding the improbability of and fallout from the Diamondbacks-Rangers World Series matchup, banter about the Brewers always losing in the playoffs to eventual pennant winners, preview the World Series, postulate a conspiracy surrounding this postseason’s lack of extra-inning games, and react to the Red...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss assorted ALCS and NLCS action and playoff takeaways and trends, with an emphasis on Adolis García’ s heroics, the Rangers vanquishing the Astros, MLB’s handling of Bryan Abreu’ s suspension, and Craig Kimbrel ’s career (plus reactions to the Giants hiring Bob Melvin as their manager). Audio intro : The Shirey Brothers, “ Effec...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about ALCS and NLCS action, the definition of an “unanswered run,” and a forthcoming documentary about Shohei Ohtani , then (51:16) answer listener emails about a playoff hot-hand theory, how bad an underdog would have to be for a postseason upset to shock them, and a pitcher with two right hands, plus a Stat Blast (1:20:57) about the least and most...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the lack of pitch-clock violations in the postseason, an on-field Phillies smooch, the Phillies’ 2-0 lead on the Diamondbacks in the NLCS, a pivotal offseason for the Brewers, how MLB newsbreakers differ from NBA newsbreakers, the rising percentage of pitchers who’ve had Tommy John surgery, and how different baseball would be if regular-season...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the abrupt end of Kim Ng’s tenure as the general manager of the Miami Marlins, Alyssa Nakken interviewing for the Giants’ manager job, the Rangers taking a 2-0 lead on the Astros in the ALCS, and the new Netflix documentary The Saint of Second Chances . Then (48:12) Ben talks to the documentary’s subject, baseball maverick Mike Veeck, abo...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the career of the incomparable Bryce Harper , more “Attaboy” blowback, the end of the Phillies-Braves NLDS, scoring and competitiveness in the postseason as a whole, a Phillies homer-prediction contest, the pitch clock in the postseason, the Championship Series matchups, their most desired World Series matchups, why we say “balls and stri...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Diamondbacks’ victory and the Dodgers’ defeat, more musings on playoff randomness, Bryce Harper , Orlando Arcia , and the silliest sports/sports-media controversy of the year, the Astros advancing to the ALCS again (at the Twins’ expense), the all-Texas ALCS, and more. Audio intro : Justin Peters, “ Effectively Wild Theme &...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss some renewed fretting about playoff formats, long layoffs, and upsets, recap (31:44) Clayton Kershaw ’s playoff career and consider how (if at all) it will affect his legacy, and then examine (55:25) the latest action in each Division Series, plus follow-ups (1:29:49) on multiple topics from the preceding episode (including postseason sweeps and conductor...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a failing effort to make peanuts a ballpark staple in Japan, preview the various Division Series (10:32), discuss the deep, enduring desire of former GM Paul Richards to trade his team for an entire other team (47:48), answer listener emails (1:06:50) about postseason “sweeps” and traitorous base coaches (and extraneous conductors?), and Stat B...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their takeaways from sweeps week in the wild card round (how sweep it is!) and pick the division series they’re most excited about, then examine Mariners POBO Jerry Dipoto’s comments about aspiring to win 54 percent of games over a decade (46:04) and provide updates on the results of two Effectively Wild drafts (1:23:37). Audio intro : Ian...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners, the Cubs, and other teams that just missed the playoffs, discuss the firings of Giants manager Gabe Kapler and Mets manager Buck Showalter (19:21), and then (32:51) bring on FanGraphs writers Michael Baumann and Ben Clemens to assemble an ultimate playoff team by drafting components of existing playoff teams: hitting, baserunning, defense, st...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani’s (finally) leagues-leading jersey sales, Mets grounds crew shenanigans, and shrinking minor leaguers, then (28:18) answer listener emails about restructured pitching staffs on which everyone would throw 3-to-4 innings at a time, a speed limit for pitches, displaying error bars for WAR, allowing outfielders only a certain number of catc...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Ronald Acuña Jr.’ s historic strikeout-rate reduction is as impressive as his historic power-speed combination, the Acuña- Mookie Betts NL MVP race, the enduring defensive excellence of the late Brooks Robinson , Josh Hader ’s insistence on one-inning outings and the degree to which players should dictate their own usage, the Rockies&#8...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about The Rolling Stones’ credentials as a baseball band, Mike Trout ’s slow healing, more Padres reporting and one-run-game whiplash, the Mariners’ rough stretch, how well this year’s playoff teams are built for October, and the most bonkers stats of the season, plus a few follow-ups. Audio intro : Dave Armstrong and Mike Murray, &#...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Yusei Kikuchi ’s (and other players’) sleep habits and the possibility of a three-way AL West tie with no tiebreaker game, then (28:28) answer listener emails about surprising team assignments in Baseball-Reference headshots, a player who replicates the talent of the player who started in the same lineup spot the previous game, making mound vis...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the five-year anniversary of a Twitter wager about Adalberto Mondesi and Shohei Ohtani , then compare and contrast two in-depth articles about the problems supposedly plaguing the Padres and discuss how convincing they find those reports’ explanations for the team’s disappointing season (plus additional banter about the possible reasons for rec...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about precedents for 50-year-old Bartolo Colon retiring as a Met, whether it’s better for a player to go out on top or be humbled a bit before the end, the ramifications of the Rays’ deal for a new ballpark in St. Petersburg, whether each team is on track to have a successful season by the standard set on the podcast’s season preview series, th...

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Patreon supporter Max Harris banter about Ben’s problems remembering Orioles rookie Heston Kjerstad ’s name, Baltimore’s lookalike offensive core, and Max’s history with the podcast and baseball, then (18:22) answer listener emails about seat fillers at MLB games, hypothetical players “Mr. Repeat” and “Mr. First Time,”...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the firing of Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and the extension of Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, injuries to Max Scherzer and Sandy Alcantara and MLB’s UCL scourge, and a proposed tier system for the Hall of Fame and single-season awards, then Stat Blast (1:08:33) about Zack Greinke ’s win-loss record, Matt O...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball comps for the season-ending injury of quarterback Aaron Rodgers four snaps into his New York Jets career, the Rip Van Winkle-esque return of Orioles starter John Means after Tommy John surgery, the Mariners’ rough stretch, Meg’s pennant-race anxiety, and George Kirby ’s comments about not being pulled earlier from a start, the Ya...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the NL wild card race and Dodgers starting pitching, then (17:24) answer listener emails about league-sanctioned spies, the best second jobs for an MLB player, a clairvoyant catcher, celebrating obscure records, switch-hitters and pitchers with reverse splits, existential fandom crises, selective fun-fact framing, oddly aligned MLB logos on a Dairy Queen c...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss listener responses to their banter about surprising Statcast throwing speeds, then (12:42) discuss Nick Ahmed ’s unsung great glovework, the A’s turning out to be (slightly) less historically terrible than they initially seemed, the AL West race, and how the Rangers missing the playoffs would reinforce conflicting narratives about baseball. After th...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Statcast-standout throw by Brenton Doyle , a Statcast-standout homer by Ronald Acuña Jr. , and how closely Statcast data matches the eye test in various aspects of performance, the surges or resurgences of Cole Ragans , Blake Snell , and Trea Turner , a Julio Rodríguez fun fact, Royce Lewis’ s grand slam streak, David Fry’ s ironman position-...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a new browser game called Homer Hindsight, where all the players placed on waivers ended up, the White Sox promoting Chris Getz and the continued comeback of the ex-player GM, Brandon Lowe’ s Yankees trash talk, whether load management has diminished the grind, updates to the strike zone and pitch clock in Triple-A, and Bernie Williams ’s comme...