Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the difficulties of postseason scheduling, both opening games of the NLDS, a better bullpen game by the Brewers, the Rockies’ decision to pitch to Mike Moustakas , what Christian Yelich is doing differently, the composition of the Braves and the depth of the Dodgers and Astros, and Chis Sale’s history of fading down the stretch, then answer...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan review the saber-savvy ESPN broadcast of the NL wild card game, relive the highs, lows, and pivotal/memorable moments of both wild card games, defend the bullpen game from an analytical standpoint (and criticize it from an aesthetic standpoint), and ruminate about every division series matchup. For the first time in ages, they do not discuss Willians Astudillo, alth...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a wild end to the regular season, including the season’s final Willians Astudillo update (maybe), endings for Joe Mauer , David Wright , and Mike Scioscia , Khris Davis batting .247 again , the Orioles’ final ignominy, surgery for Shohei Ohtani , final regular-season stats about strikeouts, hits, homers, and fastball velocity, Jeff Wilpon&#8...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the MVP races, the definition of value, Jacob deGrom , and Christian Yelich , plus an investigation into teams’ international practices, CC Sabathia ’s costly hit by pitch, whether steroids were really responsible for steroid-era home run rates, and (don’t worry) Willians Astudillo . Then they review the 2018 regular season, including...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo , Chris Davis and Khris Davis , the end of a Clayton Kershaw streak, Jacob deGrom , the ever-changing NL playoff race, the rapid spread of the opener, Joe Maddon’s comments about Addison Russell , and the worst team collapses of 2018, then answer listener emails about the Cubs’ offense and the most surprising division race...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo , Jeff McNeil , and Juan Graterol , Shaq Thompson and the highest minor-league strikeout rates, the last week of the season, the lowest ERAs of the second half, Bryan Mitchell , and why voting for pitcher awards may be getting even more complicated, then (20:14) bring on The Athletic’s Levi Weaver to talk about the Rangers&#8217...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the response to their previous episode, whether improvements in catching or improvements in umpiring have done more to reduce the variation in framing performance among teams, a Mike Trout snub, Breyvic Valera ‘s contact rate, and the latest revelations about Addison Russell ’s alleged domestic abuse, then answer listener emails about Luke V...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Trevor Story ’s close call, then (9:04) bring on former MLB pitcher Michael Schwimer , the founder and CEO of Big League Advance , to talk about the mechanics and morality of giving money to minor leaguers in exchange for a percentage of their future earnings if they make the majors, why the company was the subject of a now-dropped lawsuit, the di...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo and Jacob deGrom (as usual), the perception of the Cubs vs. the reality of the Cubs, the dramatic, puzzling increase in infield shifting against Mike Trout , the checkered career of honest but pugnacious umpiring legend Tim Hurst, the future of two-way players, Joel Sherman’s column about new stats driving fans away from basebal...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo going viral again, a Shohei Ohtani fun fact, J.D. Martinez , Mookie Betts , and how to gauge a player’s value to his teammates, the emergence of A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano , the impending ends to the careers of David Wright and Joe Mauer , a Kyle Freeland update, the surprising NL West race and AL wild card race, and th...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the unlikely championship season of the Northwest League’s Eugene Emeralds, Jacob deGrom ‘s latest hard-luck loss, and maintaining perspective about the Phillies’ late-season swoon, then answer listener emails about an MLB ballpark sleepover, whether making ballparks bigger would counter the three true outcomes, Chris Davis ’s st...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo , Jeff’s ideal afterlife, Mike Trout ‘s future and what an extension for Trout might look like, the Tyler Flowers extension, Michael Kopech ‘s impending Tommy John surgery and the UCL scourge, how being Tampa Bay’s “bulk guy” is affecting Ryan Yarbrough ‘s WAR, Mallex Smith vs. Giancarlo Stant...

Ben Lindbergh, The Ringer’s Michael Baumann , and Tommy John surgery researcher Jon Roegele convene to discuss every aspect of the news that Shohei Ohtani will likely undergo Tommy John surgery, including how the Angels handled him and whether they bear any blame for the outcome, their recent rash of similar injuries and unusual treatments, Ohtani’s ongoing hitting heroics, whether his...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Dee Gordon ‘s walk rate, Jonathan Villar ‘s daring baserunning, how much the “opener” has contributed to the Rays’ success, and Todd Frazier ’s variation on the hidden-ball trick. Then they bring on FanGraphs writer Sheryl Ring (22:02) to discuss what the MLB Players Association hiring new lead negotiator Bruce Meyer...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Trevor Story ‘s improvement, Brady Feigl vs. Brady Feigl , Joe West vs. Austin Davis and an information card, a Carter Capps update, the Mariners’ clubhouse brawl, the continued dominance of Edwin Diaz , the disconcerting pitching return of Shohei Ohtani , and Kyle Schwaber’s lack of clutchness this season, then answer emails about Jac...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Matt Chapman ‘s misleading error total, Tyler White and “cheap” home runs, Danny Hultzen , Aaron Nola , and the concept of “safe” players, the latest on Shohei Ohtani and Willians Astudillo , Jacob deGrom and the NL MVP race, a conditional trade followup, Magneuris Sierra and the woeful Marlins, Mike Foltynewicz ‘s sp...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan have a possibly premature discussion of whether Shohei Ohtani lived up to the preseason hype, then answer listener emails about the Angels’ historic record in two-run games, the last player who’ll be older than them, using expected offensive stats instead of actual ones in WAR, and David Robertson ‘s far-fetched contract incentives, plus a Stat Bla...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the surprising home run streak of Kendrys Morales , Lucas Giolito , Michael Kopech , and the fluctuating state of the White Sox rebuild, an unusual Yankees save streak and the changing distribution of saves across the majors, and the Rays-Pirates Chris Archer trade in retrospect. Then (25:41) they bring on Rockies starter Kyle Freeland to discuss growin...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the returns of Mike Trout and Willians Astudillo , Astudillo’s new hobby, Jose Ramirez ‘s power/speed combo, the NL Rookie of the Year race between Ronald Acuna , Juan Soto , Harrison Bader , and Brian Anderson , the decreasing incidence of stolen bases and sacrifice bunts, the Angels’ active offseason in retrospect, the Angels’...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a listener-created tool to determine the first big leaguer to be born after and the last big leaguer to be born before any given date, the waiver-claim process, the Nationals’ trades, disastrous season, and hazy outlook, the Cubs acquiring Daniel Murphy and the Rockies opting not to, the Mariners’ second annual Women in Baseball Night, and M...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Clayton Kershaw ’s resurgence and opt-out odds, the state of the playoff races, the Mariners’ balk-off weekend win, an unusual aspect of the 2008 CC Sabathia trade, the impending free agency of Nelson Cruz , and Ben’s article about the 1993 Athletics’ platoon-starter experiment, a precursor to the current Rays’ “opene...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ben’s introduction to climbing, a Mets-Phillies blowout, Scott Kingery ‘s slow pitches, Jacob deGrom ‘s run support, Jose Ureña ‘s suspension and how to punish hit by pitches, the Rangers’ odd triple play and the 2002 debut of Ron Wright , Matt Kemp ‘s slump, and an umpire’s rapid reaction, then answer listener...

Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and writer Rachael McDaniel banter about a Scott Boras quote about Bryce Harper , the hot streaks of Matt Carpenter and Ronald Acuña , an Ender Inciarte comment, aging in relation to baseball players, the cold streak of Luis Severino , and a possible old example of groundskeeping gamesmanship. Then (24:22) they bring on former major-league outfielder and current MLB A...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ben’s book activities, David Bote ‘s exciting grand slam, Ramon Laureano ‘s highlight throw, a few surprisingly (and not-so-surprisingly) streaking players, Taylor Ward ’s call-up news, and a weird walk-off win in the minors. Then (26:10) they bring on Zach Ricketts, assistant head groundskeeper at the Oakland Coliseum, to talk a...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Felix Hernandez ‘s demotion to the bullpen, Willians Astudillo and the hidden-ball trick, former major leaguers who are still excelling internationally, an Augusta GreenJackets tweet, Dee Gordon ‘s walk rate, Javier Baez ‘s success, the state of the MVP races, Tyler Glasnow ‘s apparent reinvention and the staying power of coachin...