Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Sam’s unusual plan to immerse himself in the beginning of the baseball season, watching games as a writer vs. watching games as a fan, two responses to previous listener-email answers, whether “ball” is synonymous with baseball, why baseball has hit a dry spell for single-season record chases, the most breakable unbreakable records, Ichir...

In a bonus episode of EW, Ben Lindbergh talks to SABR’s Jacob Pomrenke about the centennial of the notorious 1919 White Sox, SABR’s new “Eight Myths Out” project, the persistent misconceptions about why the Black Sox threw the 1919 World Series, whether the scandal could have stayed secret, the complicated legacy of Eight Men Out , what Jacob wishes he knew about the Black...

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Willians Astudillo making the Twins’ Opening Day roster, whether Astudillo’s uncanny ability to make contact is more mental or physical, and what Oliver Perez and the rest of the remaining LOOGYs can do to preserve their endangered places on major-league rosters when the three-batter minimum goes into effect in 2020, then complete the 30-team p...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners-A’s opening series, the emotional last game featuring Ichiro Suzuki , and the uncertain degree to which the recent rash of contract extensions reflects players’ anxiety about free agency, then preview the 2019 New York Yankees (38:17) with The Athletic’ s Yankees beat writer, Lindsey Adler , and the 2019 Miami Marlins (1:14:3...

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter at length about Mike Trout’ s extension, why he may have wanted to stay with the Angels, what makes him different from other players, and why he’s underpaid despite his record contract, then preview the 2019 Houston Astros (44:38) with The Athletic’ s Astros beat writer Jake Kaplan , and the 2019 Detroit Tigers (1:15:05) with Detroit Free Press...

Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Effectively Wild listener and Mike Trout Tier Patreon supporter Anthony Scheff banter about the Blue Jays raising salaries for minor leaguers, the team’s motivations for doing so, and whether other teams will follow suit, then answer listener emails about A.J. Hinch getting ejected in a split-squad spring training game, MLB’s demoralizing offseason and wh...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg witnessing actual baseball being played, her plans for watching the Mariners’ and Athletics’ international Opening Day matchup, Willians Astudillo ’s spring training, the long list of 2019 and 2020 rules changes announced by MLB and the MLBPA, Meg’s new hires at FanGraphs, and Jessica Mendoza’s dual role with ESPN and the...

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about parity in the NL and imbalance in the AL, then preview the 2019 Dodgers (7:08) with Los Angeles Times national baseball writer Andy McCullough , and the 2019 Kansas City Royals (1:02:45) with The Athletic’ s Royals beat writer, Rustin Dodd . 2019 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MI...

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the fallout from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’ s oblique injury and the signings of Adam Jones and Martin Maldonado as referenda on free agency, then answer listener emails about whether the Indians and Astros could have significantly upped their playoff odds by making more moves (and fan bases that should be aggrieved about their teams’ winter inacti...

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Max Scherzer ’s supremacy and the changes coming to the Atlantic League in 2019 as part of its partnership with MLB, include an altered base size, mound distance, strike zone, and more, then preview the 2019 Nationals (29:00) with Washington Post columnist Barry Svrluga , and the 2019 Seattle Mariners (1:04:16) with Seattle Times Mariners beat writer...

Ben Lindbergh (re)introduces new co-hosts Sam Miller of ESPN and Meg Rowley of FanGraphs. Together, they explain the show’s new format and schedule, pay tribute to departed co-host Jeff Sullivan, and answer listener emails about a team made of clones of Ken Griffey Jr. , how to reacclimate to baseball after taking an offseason off, and what they’re most anticipating about the 2019 seas...

Ben Lindbergh and guest co-host Steven Goldman of The Infinite Inning banter about Luis Severino’ s injury and the perils of spring training, Sonny Gray ’s slider problem and the perils of player development, and Ben’s series at The Ringer about scouting past and present, then preview the 2019 Cubs (34:19) with The Athletic’ s Cubs beat writer Sahadev Sharma , and the 2019...

Ben Lindbergh and guest co-host Emily Waldon of The Athletic banter about how Emily got into covering the minor leagues, the perils and rewards of minor-league coverage, the progress of player development, the benefits of speaking Spanish, prospects of particular interest, the growing media interest in minor-league pay, and more, then (27:18) discuss the future of the minor-league-pay problem with...

Ben Lindbergh and guest co-host Jesse Thorn of Maximum Fun banter about Bryce Harper signing with the Phillies and the intriguing NL East, Jesse’s Giants fandom, being an ambassador of baseball to non-fans, and Jesse’s beliefs about baseball fashion, then preview the 2019 St. Louis Cardinals (30:00) with man of many outlets Will Leitch , and the 2019 San Francisco Giants (1:09:47) with...

Ben Lindbergh and guest co-host Zach Kram of The Ringer banter about Clayton Kershaw ’s bum arm, a rash of semi-suspiciously-timed signings, the Atlantic League as a testing ground for MLB rules changes, the latest Bryce Harper rumors, extensions for Nolan Arenado , Miles Mikolas , and Aaron Hicks , the Marwin Gonzalez signing and its implications for Willians Astudillo , and Matt Wieters jo...

In Jeff Sullivan’s final episode as the co-host of Effectively Wild (but not the podcast’s final episode), he and Ben Lindbergh discuss his new job as an analyst for the Tampa Bay Rays, what it was like to be courted by teams, why he decided to depart FanGraphs and why he feels guilty about it, why teams wanted him this winter, his hopes and fears as he enters a new phase of his career...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about whether contract extensions are actually on the rise, the increasingly curious career of Rinku Singh , and Pirates owner Bob Nutting’s confusing comments about payroll, then preview the 2019 New York Mets (14:07) with The Athletic’ s Mets beat writer Tim Britton , and the 2019 Toronto Blue Jays (45:22) with Sportsnet’ s baseball editor...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Manny Machado signing with the Padres and what the news means for the free-agent market and the futures of the NL West, the Phillies, and Bryce Harper , then preview the 2019 Los Angeles Angels (31:34) with The Athletic’ s Angels beat writer, Fabian Ardaya , and the 2019 Milwaukee Brewers (1:02:42) with The Athletic’ s Brewers beat writer, R...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about differently shaped players being in the best shape of their lives, the Luis Severino extension, and three trends: the disappearance of highly ranked pitching prospects, the plateauing of league-wide fastball velocity, and arbitration-eligible players signing team-friendly extensions. Then they preview the 2019 Minnesota Twins (17:54) with Baseball Prosp...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo ’s visa problem, Doug Fister’ s retirement and CC Sabathia’ s retirement tour, Johnny Cueto’ s late horses, the current size of Yoenis Cespedes , players’ newly coordinated messaging about baseball economics, and Aaron Nola’ s extension, then answer listener emails about when baseball will cease to...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the return of Brett Lawrie and two-way draftee Kyler Murray’s decision to pursue playing football over baseball, then preview the 2019 Atlanta Braves (8:45) with From the Diamond host Grant McAuley , and the 2019 Arizona Diamondbacks (43:23) with the Arizona Republic’ s Diamondbacks beat writer, Nick Piecoro . 2019 EW Season Preview Series A...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a bunch of proposed rules changes, FanGraphs readers’ responses to them, and the general desirability of change of some sort, then preview the 2019 Colorado Rockies (19:57) with former Rockies outfielder and current AT&T SportsNet Rockies analyst Cory Sullivan , and the 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates (46:20) with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’ s...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan dissect the trade that sent catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Marlins to the Phillies for Jorge Alfaro , Sixto Sanchez , and Will Stewart , honor the legacy of Frank Robinson , and then (22:28) bring back 88-year-old 1950s two-way player and podcast king Johnny O’Brien , along with his 24-year-old grandson, current Tampa Bay Rays minor leaguer Riley O’Brien...

In the first installment of the seventh annual Effectively Wild season preview series, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Bryce Harper, Scott Boras, team meetings with free agents, the season preview series, the Super Bowl, and mortality, then preview the 2019 Reds (12:11) with The Athletic’ s C. Trent Rosecrans , and the 2019 Athletics (47:46) with the San Francisco Chronicle&#821...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about rumors and the offseason, then answer listener emails about forming a team from remaining free agents, the definition of “Baseball IQ,” small-market teams banding together, the best thing for a team to be bad at, incentivizing teams to win, and whether front offices are planning for a work stoppage, plus Stat Blasts about the worst drafts ev...