Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Roger Angell-identified way in which baseball is different from other sports, discuss the Mariners signing AJ Pollock and the Phillies trading for Gregory Soto , and respond to the Dodgers cutting ties with Trevor Bauer , MLB reinstating former Braves GM John Coppolella, and KBO ace An Woo-jin not being rostered on South Korea’s WBC squad, plus mus...

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and longtime listener and Patreon supporter Jacob Barak banter about Jacob’s baseball-fan background, EW origin story, and much-discussed post about a Shohei Ohtani conundrum in the podcast’s Facebook group, then (10:35) answer listener emails about why we use dashes instead of slashes in displaying hitter’s hits and at-bats, unorthodox infield designs,...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the Red Sox signing Rafael Devers to a lengthy extension, the state of the Sox, the next two free-agent classes, and Carlos Baerga the newsbreaker, then banter about bad news for Charles Leblanc , a Congressional baseball analogy, the Sears/Willis Tower, a painful slide by a broadcaster, the Dodgers’ offseason, and redefining the pitcher win, plus a Past...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Hall of Famer Jim Palmer ‘s endorsement of Netflix series Emily in Paris , a questionable Cubs-related baseball scene in the EiP series premiere, a Royals rookie record and a follow-up on Harold Ramírez ’s hair, Ben’s latest former major leaguer Facebook friend recommendations, another way in which baseball is unique (or at least highly u...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley close the book on 2022 by bantering about the year in Effectively Wild, the Marlins signing Jean Segura , the heretofore-unsuspected existence of Charles Leblanc , and the pitch-calling accuracy of 10 retiring umpires, plus followups on how the zombie runner affects plate appearance totals, Lars Nootbaar ’s pepper grinder, the year-to-year consistency of team rep...

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs writer Ben Clemens continue a cherished podcast tradition by conducting the 10th annual Effectively Wild Minor League Free Agent Draft, in which they select 10 minor league free agents each and compete to see whose roster will accumulate the most combined MLB playing time in 2023. First they explain the history and ground rules of the draft, and then they s...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Carlos Correa ’s contract limbo, the Pirates signing Rich Hill , the Rangers signing Nathan Eovaldi , the Red Sox signing Corey Kluber , the Blue Jays trading Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the Diamondbacks for Daulton Varsho , the Braves extending Sean Murphy , and the Phillies signing Craig Kimbrel . Then (39:51) they discuss at least on...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest Carlos Correa -related reporting, the Giants’ signings of Michael Conforto and Taylor Rogers , the hijinks potential of twin teammates Taylor and Tyler Rogers , the final results of the free-agent-contract over/under draft, their cautious optimism about the Angels (28:35), the Reds’ spending constraints (39:19), owners complaining ab...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley break down every incredible angle of the biggest twist of the MLB offseason: free agent Carlos Correa ’s overnight pivot from a 13-year agreement with the San Francisco Giants to a 12-year deal with the New York Mets. After their incredulous Correa reactions, they close with a few thoughts on the Pirates’ latest innovation in the realm of announcing signing...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the differences, if any, between a two-year deal with an opt out after the first year and a one-year deal with a player option for a second year, then discuss the Dansby Swanson signing, the destinations of the winter’s top four shortstops, and the state of the Cubs, the spending of the White Sox, the AL Central, and the trajectories of Andrew Benint...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Yankees signing Carlos Rodón , Rodón’s recent trajectory and future, New York teams at the top of the payroll leaderboard and starting-pitcher projections, the career of the late Curt Simmons , and the perfect pace of this offseason. Then (31:06) they answer listener emails about the best players to pick for a snowball fight, using the same baseb...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Pirates’ Vince Velasquez hype video, a “mutant option” for Cody Bellinger , and a Francisco Rodríguez -only Hall of Fame ballot, then (22:09) discuss Carlos Correa ’s 13-year contract with the Giants and its implications for the NL West, the Twins and Cubs, and the future of old-player production, along with musings on the state...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the two teams at the top and bottom, respectively, of the MLB payroll hierarchy, the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics, touching on the Mets’ signings of Brandon Nimmo , Kodai Senga , and David Robertson , the A’s trading away Sean Murphy , and what a vast disparity in spending does and doesn’t signify for MLB’s competitive balance. Th...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their AI chatbot counterparts, then discuss the ramifications of the Padres signing Xander Bogaerts (12:58), the significance of the Red Sox losing Bogaerts and the trend toward very long-term contracts (51:26), and a report about multiple models of the baseball being used during the 2022 season (1:19:59), plus updates and a Past Blast from 1940 (1:49:43)....

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley break down the rest of the action from the Winter Meetings, including Arson Judge not signing with the Giants, Aaron Judge re-signing with the Yankees, the Padres missing out on Judge and Trea Turner , the Dodgers’ lack of interest in Carlos Correa , the Giants signing Mitch Haniger , the Cardinals signing Willson Contreras , the Cubs signing Jameson Taillon and...

With Meg Rowley on the IL, Ben Lindbergh and FanGraphs author Dan Szymborski discuss the first batch of news from a busy Winter Meetings, including the big-money market as a whole, the blockbuster signings of Jacob deGrom , Justin Verlander , and Trea Turner , the outlooks for the Rangers, Dodgers, and Astros, the Padres’ interest in Turner and its implications for Fernando Tatis Jr. , the g...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s daughter’s first steps, follow up on differentiating players with the same name, equipment replacements, and suggested recreational sports for Ben to play, and then discuss the Royals’ remade coaching staff (19:43), the career of the late, all-time-great Gaylord Perry (22:57), and the latest ESPN Crasnick/Rogers annual offseason MLB...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s latest former major leaguer Facebook friend recommendation and an important update (3:49) to the dictionary.com definition of “ghost runner,” then follow up (17:00) on a previous rumination on free-agent tours by touching on a Carlos Correa comment about playing in Minnesota, Eduardo Escobar ’s deep-seated affection for Fogo d...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their Thanksgivings, Joe Kelly ’s comments (10:29) about free agents’ team visits being “outdated and cheesy,” the Astros signing José Abreu (30:25), and some standout totals (45:17) from the preliminary ZiPS-projected standings for 2023, plus Past Blasts (1:15:48) from 1935. Audio intro : The Shivas, “ If I Could Choose...

Ben Lindbergh convenes a roundtable of hitting analysts— Robert Orr from Baseball Prospectus , Esteban Rivera from FanGraphs, and Ryan Parker , formerly of Baseball Prospectus and the Los Angeles Angels—to diagnose the problems with free agent Cody Bellinger ’s much-diminished bat and recommend how to revive it. They also discuss their approaches to analyzing hitting, coachability, the diffe...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about omissions from their Baseball Twitter draft, a few transactions (including the Kyle Lewis trade, the Gio Urshela trade, and multiple shortstop swaps), the Angels acquiring average players, the Dodgers non-tendering Cody Bellinger , the Phillies extending Dave Dombrowski, the new BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot and Ben’s ballot decision, a series of sports-...

With the future of Twitter uncertain, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley welcome Craig Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz of Fox Sports and Céspedes Family BBQ to draft the best tweets and traditions from more than a decade of content on Baseball Twitter (plus a Past Blast from 1932). (Warning/preview: Prepare for somewhat saltier language than usual.) Audio intro...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about redefining the MVP award, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s unearthed baseball blogs, Billy Beane’s new role with the A’s, and the Braves’ spinoff from Liberty Media, plus a Past Blast from 1931. Then (30:27) they bring on listener and top-tier Patreon supporter Peter Bonney to discuss his baseball background and answer listener email...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani and the Cy Young Award, Buck Showalter and the Manager of the Year Award, Bryce Harper’ s elbow surgery, the Angels signing Tyler Anderson , Anthony Rizzo and the Yankees’ record Defensive Runs Saved total, the Mariners trading for Teoscar Hernández , title inflation and the “associate manager,” and Royals owner John S...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Scott Boras’s opinions about postseason pitch clocks and a neutral-site World Series, discuss Meg’s NL Rookie of the Year vote (14:16) and the rookie class, and then conduct two drafts: the eighth free-agent-contract over/under draft (35:37), and the fifth World Series odds movers draft (1:29:46), plus a Past Blast (1:48:40) from 1929 and a pos...