Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk (4:09) to baseball agent and attorney Scott Boras, the founder, owner, and president of the Boras Corporation (as if you didn’t know who Scott Boras was), about his busiest days, his process for brainstorming metaphors, similes, and puns, his fondness for nautical analogies, other wordplay-related matters, the CBA, his agency’s evolving use of analytic...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the old-and-improved Albert Pujols , Mike Trout’ s homer streak, the White Sox winning, Elvis Andrus making the A’s pay, James Karinchak’ s inconclusive hair inspection, the Dodgers prematurely celebrating a clinching (and the concept of clinch creep), the puzzle of Cody Bellinger , and the retrospective puzzle of Edwin Díaz ’s 2019...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about how the White Sox have played in Tony La Russa’s absence, then discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the rules changes coming to MLB in 2023: a pitch clock, restrictions on pickoff attempts and the shift, and bigger bases (with asides on a new WAR, Zack Greinke ’s front-office acumen, and Ben’s hiccup cure). Then (52:40) they’re joi...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the late Queen Elizabeth II’s first baseball game, the latest on Joey Meneses and Juan Soto (and on Soto being booed!), an Albert Pujols / Willians Astudillo fun fact, a Mets/Yankees first-place race update, additional thoughts on Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani , Paul Goldschmidt and the traditional Triple Crown vs. the “sabermetric” Tripl...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a baseball (and softball) toilet flapper, discuss (13:32) the continued excellence of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani (and the benefits of celebrating both instead of elevating one over the other), follow up on the Angels’ shutouts, Mike Trout’ s post-injury rebound, the MLBPA’s effort to unionize minor leaguers (38:09), players whose homer...

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and listener/Patreon supporter Nathan Valentine banter about Nathan’s dual team fandom, then answer listener emails (9:58) about Aaron Judge ’s lead over the next-most-prolific HR hitter, handing out awards for all of MLB rather than each league, Jhoan Duran and defining an “off-speed” pitch, what constitutes actually visiting a stadium, and wheth...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the annual promotion of Terrance Gore as a harbinger of the changing seasons, the modest September roster expansion and the arrivals or returns of Gunnar Henderson , Oswald Peraza , and Billy Hamilton , an umpire caught swearing on a hot mic (4:45), whether the Yankees could actually lose their lead in the AL East (7:59), the continued torrid hitting of Jo...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s habitual misappraisal of checked swings and the potential for automated checked-swing calls, then discuss the potential unionization of the minor leagues via minor league players joining the MLBPA, Nationals rookie replacement Joey Meneses outplaying Juan Soto and Josh Bell since the trade deadline, Shohei Ohtani , Aaron Judge , and the AL Cy Y...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Julio Rodríguez ‘s complex, long-term extension with the Mariners, which wild card contenders Meg is most worried about as a Mariners fan, George Kirby’ s game-starting strike streak and the nature of a strike, the new CBA’s impact on midseason callups, and Bryce Harper’ s return, follow up on MLB players playing KBO players, &#8220...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the approving responses to Ben’s blistering (by Ben’s standards) Yankee Stadium review, Christian Walker ’s scale-breaking defense at first base, “defended” vs. “defensed,” the Dodgers’ historic run of regular-season success, and the battle between teammates Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt for NL MVP front...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the inflation of flames for fast pitches on baseball broadcasts, Oneil Cruz’ s record-setting hard hit and the limitations of tools, Ben’s review of a trip to Yankee Stadium and Red Sox pitcher Josh Winckowski’ s review of Wrigley Field compared to Fenway Park, the potential impact of a forthcoming Angels franchise sale, the latest Tony L...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the impending premiere of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon , the projection-system verdict on the Braves’ extension of Michael Harris II , the White Sox signing Elvis Andrus , the possibly underrated, could’ve-been-Hall-of-Fame career of José Abreu , and the sophomore improvement of Ha-Seong Kim , then (25:06) answer listener emails...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up on Tony La Russa’s suspicious pinch-runner call, banter about Joey Gallo on the Dodgers and Andrew Benintendi on the Yankees, the utility of booing, and the parochial concept of being unable to play in New York, the curious timing of the Rangers’ firing of long-tenured executive Jon Daniels, the Athletics’ curious release of Elvis Andrus , t...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter a bit more about whether Dottie dropped the ball on purpose in the movie version of A League of Their Own , then discuss an Angels defensive meltdown, a vomiting Oakland Athletic, a Javier Báez bad-ball batted ball, Tony La Russa (and Bill Veeck) taking suggestions from the stands, the Mets’ promotion of Brett Baty , Francisco Lindor , Andrés Giménez , and...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Dottie dropped the ball on purpose in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own , then (steering clear of spoilers) review and discuss the highs and lows of the new TV reboot, the first season of which debuted on Friday on Amazon Prime Video. After that (49:54), they answer listener emails about whether hard infield throws pose a danger to first basemen...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners’ soaring playoff odds, a wild Mariners-Yankees game, the other greatest team gainers and losers in playoff probability over the past month, the difference between Baseball-Reference’s playoff odds and other sites’ versions, Keith Hernandez’ s thoughts on the Phillies, how their own preseason predictions have held up, St...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Dodgers’ and Mets’ “statement” series and the awe and anxiety inspired by Jacob deGrom , follow up on Vin Scully’s musical taste, retractable mounds, and Justin Verlander vs. Max Scherzer , and discuss a recent Rockies pickup and promotion and a hazardous mound visit, followed (33:00) by a Past Blast from 1887. Then (46:52...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a possible solution to the quandary of not enough slashes in “triple slash stats,” discuss the increasing excitement surrounding Aaron Judge ’s home run record chase, and (20:00) share a Past Blast from 1886. Then (24:47) they welcome back singer-songwriter, baseball balladeer, and converted Dodgers fan Dan Bern to talk about his apprecia...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Clayton Kershaw ’s back, balky backs in general, some of the players traded at the deadline who made immediate impacts in their debuts, and the perhaps surprisingly small impacts that deadline moves make on playoff and World Series odds. Then (15:09) they answer listener emails about intentionally scuttling a trade for leverage in a future negotiatio...

After a busy deadline day, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to all the trade activity, beginning with a high-level overview of the deadline, a recap of the Rockies’ in activity (5:28), the Padres’ Juan Soto , Josh Hader , Brandon Drury , and Joe Musgrove moves (13:58) and the mad genius of A.J. Preller, the equally unprecedented nature of the Hader- Taylor Rogers swap (33:42), and th...

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs writer Ben Clemens banter about a flummoxing fun fact, Justin Verlander’ s career vs. Max Scherzer’ s career, and Max Meyer’ s Tommy John surgery, then (24:55) discuss the Andrew Benintendi trade, Joey Gallo ’s struggles, and the biggest questions surrounding the trade deadline before (45:53) reviewing “other” Ben’s...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mike Trout ’s rare back injury, Zac Veen and vaccines, the Rangers’ one-run record, interesting team trade rumors, and teams with tough deadline decisions, plus a Past Blast from 1882. Then (42:40) they talk to MLB.com’s Mike Petriello about Statcast’s newly public bat speed and swing path data, touching on how bat speed is calculat...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a convoluted fun fact, the Cardinals’ anti-vaccination contingent, a historic Red Sox slump, an injury to top draftee Druw Jones, and a Willians Astudillo double-play pitch, Stat Blast (16:00) about Bryan Shaw and late-starting starters (plus an update on zero-RBI cleanup hitters), and share a Past Blast from 1881. Then (30:48) they talk to The Athle...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley wrap up the podcast’s 10th anniversary week by doing a dozen listener-inspired Stat Blasts and then (51:53) talking to 42-year-old Red Sox starter and podcast legend Rich Hill about how the game and his game have evolved over his long career, plus (1:31:18) a Past Blast from 1880/postscript. Audio intro : Silk Sonic, “ Blast Off ” Audio inte...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen to banter about what accounts for the variability in how quickly prospects acclimate to the majors and detecting holes in swings, discuss (10:50) which teams have the prospects to trade for Juan Soto , review (22:59) impressive performances from the Futures Game (including a booming BP by Francisco Álvarez...