Presented here is a guide to some of the more memorable segments and episodes of Effectively Wild, the thrice-weekly podcast from FanGraphs and formerly of Baseball Prospectus. (iTunes feed)
Our detailed write-ups on episodes 1-26 can be found at our EW Rewind section. Some of the show’s more enduring running jokes and references were explained during our annual Wild Four Tournaments.
You can also browse Ben’s EW Songs and Sounds list, and listener Arthur Rudolph’s Spotify playlist of available songs.
More details on each episode can be found at the EW Wiki.
Newly added pre-2017 entries in bold.
2012 (7 episodes) [expand]
| # | Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7/18/12 | "Gong" | |
| Each time out, we'll pick an interesting topic or two from the previous night's news and action to discuss in depth, and with any luck, we'll wrap up the episode in around 10 minutes. | |||
| 22 | 8/16/12 | "Why BP Didn't Break the Melky Cabrera Suspension" | |
| Ben and Sam discuss how they came to know that Melky Cabrera was about to be suspended for a positive PED test before the news broke, and how they decided what to do about it. | |||
| 56 | 10/4/12 | A Very Special Simulpodcast with FanGraphs Audio | |
| Ben and Sam join/are joined by Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs for a longest-ever episode about the worst predictions teams and players made about themselves, Bryce Harper’s historical significance, and the baseball players who led the league in our hearts in 2012. | |||
| 57 | 10/5/12 | The Teams That Will Win a World Series in the Next Five Years/Are Beat Writers Becoming More or Less Important?/The O's Start Saunders | |
| Ben and Sam are joined by Marc Normandin, formerly of Baseball Prospectus and currently of SB Nation, to discuss which teams will win a World Series in the next five years, the changing role of beat writers, and Joe Saunders, the Orioles' starter in tonight's play-in game. | |||
| 70 | 10/26/12 | World Series Game Two/Protective Gear for Pitchers | First multiple of 5 on a Friday |
| Ben and Sam discuss all the notable events from World Series Game Two, including Madison Bumgarner's impressive outing, the line drive off of Doug Fister's head, and Jim Leyland's decision to play the infield back in the seventh, then assess the odds of a comeback by the Tigers. | |||
| 78 | 11/7/12 | Quantifying Coaches/Why Some Fielders Look Better Than They Are/How Do We Know What Pitchers Should Weigh? | First full email listener episode |
| Ben and Sam answer listener emails about the importance of coaches, defensive stats, and how we know whether pitchers should gain or lose weight, with guest appearances by Colin Wyers and Doug Thorburn. | |||
| 100 | 12/12/12 | Astros Pro Scouting Coordinator Kevin Goldstein on Being Inside Baseball | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Kevin Goldstein about his life after leaving Baseball Prospectus to work for the Houston Astros, what he's working on, and what he's learned about how baseball teams work. Also, what he's drinking. | |||
2013 (12 episodes) [expand]
| # | Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 5/10/13 | Will Leitch on Media, Fans, and Media and Fans | |
| Writer Will Leitch about the evolution of baseball coverage and the fan's relationship with sports media. | |||
| 204 | 5/16/13 | The Yankees and Luck/How We Watch Baseball/Consuming Scouting Reports | |
| Ben and Sam team up for a simulpodcast with Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs and FanGraphs Audio to discuss whether the Yankees have been lucky, the best way to watch baseball, and the value of old scouting reports. | |||
| 206 | 5/20/13 | When Does it Make Sense to Fire Managers?/What We Think about Hot Streaks | Origin of "Wobbly Chair" ("hot seat" discussion continues in 207). |
| Ben and Sam talk about the circumstances under which they'd feel comfortable recommending that a manager be fired, then discuss different beliefs about hot streaks. | |||
| 246 | 7/18/13 | Anniversary Episode Emails | |
| On EW's one-year anniversary, Ben and Sam chat with Jason Wojciechowski about baseball and copyright law, then answer other listener emails. | |||
| 249 | 7/23/13 | Gabe Kapler on Advanced Stats from the Player's Perspective | |
| Ben and Sam interview former big-league outfielder Gabe Kapler about his respect for sabermetrics and the purpose advanced stats can serve for players. | |||
| 265 | 8/14/13 | Answers to Your Burning Baseball Questions | "Baseball on ice" |
| Ben and Sam answer listener emails about baseball with clockwise bases, whether in-game managerial moves help or hurt, who pays players who get released, and more | |||
| 300 | 10/4/13 | Brian Kenny on Sabermetrics, Broadcasting, and Confrontation | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Brian Kenny about the reaction to his campaign to kill the win and why sabermetrics needs a confrontational face. | |||
| 311 | 10/26/13 | The Postseason Mythbusters Edition | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Russell Carleton about whether momentum and previous playoff experience matter, whether bunts are always bad, and the importance of shutdown innings | |||
| 320 | 11/1/13 | Colin Wyers on Mathematical Modeling for the Astros and the Future of Public-Sector Sabermetrics | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Colin Wyers about how he got hired by the Astros, working in baseball, and where sabermetrics is headed. | |||
| 324 | 11/7/13 | Kevin Kerrane on Scouting and Dollar Sign on the Muscle | |
| Ben and Sam talk to author Kevin Kerrane about the Dollar Sign on the Muscle reprint and the world of scouting. | |||
| 326 | 11/11/13 | The Minor League Free Agent Draft | Squeaky laugh (intro/outro) |
| Ben and Sam select 20 minor league free agents with decent chances to see big league playing time in 2014. | |||
| 355 | 12/27/13 | The Last and Longest Show of 2013 | |
| Ben and Sam close out the year by answering listener emails until Sam’s battery dies | |||
2014 (18 episodes) [expand]
| # | Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 371 | 1/24/14 | Listener Emails: The Mariachi A-Rod Edition | |
| Ben and Sam discuss Baseball Prospectus 2014 and Mariachi A-Rod, then answer listener emails about quality of competition, contract clauses, PED placebos, and more. | |||
| 396 | 2/28/14 | Your Emails, Answered | “If baseball were different, how different would it be?” |
| Ben and Sam answer listener emails about scouting based on one swing, how much GMs know, paying young players, psyching out opponents, and more. | |||
| 406 | 3/14/14 | The Answers You Seek | First discussion of Webb-Albers (later mentioned in 423, 436, 536, 583, and much more) |
| Ben and Sam answer listener emails about Andrelton Simmons, finishers who can’t close, pitcher injuries, and more. | |||
| 416 | 3/28/14 | Listener Emails: One Miguel Cabrera, Many Mike Trouts | |
| Ben and Sam answer listener emails about the Miguel Cabrera contract extension, bullpen usage, productive at-bats, multiple Mike Trouts, and more. | |||
| 427 | 4/14/14 | Owen Good on the Past, Present, and Future of Baseball Video Games | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Owen Good about MLB 14: The Show, where baseball video games have been, and where they're going. | |||
| 430 | 4/17/14 | Dirk Hayhurst on Cheating, Beaning, and Clubhouse Race Relations | Other Hayhurst episodes: 441 and 603 |
| Ben and Russell talk to Dirk Hayhurst about doctoring baseballs, hitting batters, and the perceived effect of race on clubhouse chemistry. | |||
| 431 | 4/18/14 | The Rising Strikeout Rate Symposium | |
| Ben discusses the origins and implications of baseball's skyrocketing strikeout rate with a panel of experts including Harry Pavlidis, Rob Neyer, Brian Bannister, and Alan Nathan. | |||
| 457 | 5/27/14 | Do the Astros Have a Perception Problem? | Smash Mouth banter |
| Ben and Sam discuss whether the Astros’ analytical approach has become (or could become) a PR problem. | |||
| 490 | 7/11/14 | Announcements and Aces | |
| Ben and Sam discuss their new jobs and the future of the podcast, then talk about how ace starters are defined. | |||
| 496 | 7/21/14 | The Q&A Episode | Snowpiercer discussion (also in 570 and 571) |
| Ben and Sam banter about unwritten rules, then discuss the Angels-Padres trade, Oakland's ingeniousness, and a few other subjects. | |||
| 498 | 7/23/14 | The Astros’ Draft Postmortem | Diamondback headlines contest (also in 499, 502, and more) |
| Ben and Sam banter about banning the shift, then discuss the way the Astros’ draft deadline went down. | |||
| 500 | 7/25/14 | The Somewhat Special 500th Episode | |
| Ben, Sam, Grant Brisbee, and Jeff Sullivan draft their favorite things about baseball. | |||
| 512 | 8/12/14 | TV Blackouts Will Rot Your Brain | Sam sings the Effectively Wild theme song ("remixed" in 526) |
| Sam and Craig Goldstein bring on Wendy Thurm to talk about a big ruling out of New York that could affect MLB’s television territories and blackouts. | |||
| 533 | 9/12/14 | Life in an Indy League | |
| Ben and Sam talk to 2014 St. Paul Saints pitcher Andy Johnson about what life is like in the independent leagues. | |||
| 538 | 9/19/14 | Nate Silver, By Popular Demand | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Nate Silver about baseball analysis and the first six months of FiveThirtyEight. | |||
| 551 | 10/8/14 | Debating Postseason Unpredictability and Decisive Game Fours | Sam's "distractions/dying/rigor mortis" soliloquy |
| Ben, Sam, and Zachary Levine discuss whether the postseason is too unpredictable and then break down the managerial decisions from two decisive NLDS games. | |||
| 575 | 11/18/14 | The Giancarlo Stanton Extension | Non-revelatory |
| Ben and Sam banter about non-revelatory rumors, replay-review revisions, and Barry Zito, then discuss the reported terms of the Marlins' historic Giancarlo Stanton extension. | |||
| 589 | 12/18/14 | How Super Mega Baseball Was Made | |
| Ben talks to Scott Drader of Metalhead Software about the development of their successful new video game, Super Mega Baseball. | |||
2015 (16 episodes) [expand]
| # | Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 598 | 1/12/15 | The A's, Rebuilding, and Ben Zobrist | |
| Ben and Sam banter about Ryan Lavarnway and Billy Beane fan fiction, then discuss the Ben Zobrist trade. | |||
| 619 | 2/20/15 | 2015 Season Preview Series: Baltimore Orioles (And an Announcement) | Ben and Sam announce their new job with the Sonoma Stompers |
| Ben and Sam make an exciting announcement and preview the Orioles' season with Jeff Long, and Sahadev talks to MASNSports.com Orioles beat writer Roch Kubatko (at 32:04). | |||
| 635 | 3/15/15 | 2015 Season Preview Series: Texas Rangers | Ben and Sam in California; Lindbergh burrito method |
| Ben and Sam preview the Rangers’ season with Russell Carleton, and Sahadev talks to FOX Sports Southwest reporter Anthony Andro (at 28:13). | |||
| 662 | 4/22/15 | Michael Schur on Metacommentary 10 Years After Fire Joe Morgan's First Post | |
| On the 10th anniversary of Fire Joe Morgan's first post, Ben and Sam talk to Michael Schur about FJM, sports-media sins in the age of Twitter and, oddly enough, The O.C. | |||
| 675 | 5/12/15 | The Ways Teams Could Cheat, and the Ways We Would Punish Them | Tree in the Infield |
| Ben and Sam banter about trees on the field and Kevin Gregg, then discuss the punishments for a few hypothetical crimes. | |||
| 1184 | 7/8/17 | When Would You Want Your World Series? | |
| Ben and Sam discuss the optimal distribution of World Series wins across an average lifespan. | |||
| 705 | 7/17/15 | The Anniversary Emails Edition | "The Daylight Play Guy" |
| On the podcast's third anniversary, Ben and Sam answer emails about how much baseball players work, whatever happened to offensive shortstops, breaking unwritten rules, projecting prospects, and more, then place an impromptu call. | |||
| 720 | 9/4/15 | The Extra-Long Listener Email Blowout | Gonny Jomes |
| Ben and Sam banter about the Mets, Matt Harvey, and Scott Boras, then answer listener emails about pitcher stuff, park effects, permanent shifts, a magic Jonny Gomes, playoff seeding, and much more. | |||
| 722 | 9/10/15 | Cold-Calling Ned Garver | |
| Ben and Sam answer listener emails, come across a baseball mystery, and get answers straight from a primary source. | |||
| 735 | 9/30/15 | Podcast Court is in Session | Trout punctuation; first "Rich Hill contract" discussion |
| Ben and Sam banter about Mike Trout’s punctuation, then answer listener emails about the fastest fastball, pennant-race anxiety, Rich Hill, shortstop studs, and a fantasy-league dilemma. | |||
| 744 | 10/15/15 | The Texas-Toronto Seventh-Inning Insanity Draft | "Sam's Dark Analogy" |
| Ben and Sam draft their favorite moments from the unbelievable seventh inning of Blue Jays-Rangers Game Five. | |||
| 757 | 11/2/15 | World Series Lessons Learned | |
| Ben and Sam say goodbye to Grantland, the World Series, and the 2015 season. | |||
| 760 | 11/5/15 | Andy McCullough Reveals Every Royals Offseason Move | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Kansas City Star Royals beat writer Andy McCullough about why the Royals won the World Series and what their offseason might look like. | |||
| 762 | 11/9/15 | The Best Barry Bonds Facts | |
| Ben and Sam talk about the best Barry Bonds facts with Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of Cespedes Family Barbecue. | |||
| 774 | 11/26/15 | The Thanksgiving Emails Episode the World Didn't Want You to Hear | |
| Ben and Sam banter about troublesome software (for some reason), then answer emails about constructing sensible trades, solving moral hazard, subbing for Andrelton Simmons, and what makes free agents happy. | |||
| 786 | 12/18/15 | The Longest-Awaited Listener Email Answers | |
| Ben and Sam banter about a fictitious player from TV, then answer listener emails about Mike Trout, opt-ops, paying players not to play, persuading a parent to value Barry Bonds, and more. | |||
2016 (25 episodes) [expand]
| # | Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 791 | 1/6/16 | Brewster's Emails | "Baseball movies" |
| Ben and Sam banter about Justin Upton and answer listener emails about baseball movies, rap lyrics, restructuring divisions, free-agent demands, and more. | |||
| 797 | 1/14/16 | How to Have the Trout Talk | |
| Ben and Sam banter about Chris Davis and burning ships, then answer a listener email about how to make Mike Trout matter to non-fans. | |||
| 820 | 2/17/16 | The Posing Pineda Edition | |
| Ben and Sam banter about a picture of Michael Pineda, then answer emails about deferred contracts, players they wish would write books, Michael Jordan the minor leaguer, and more. | |||
| 843 | 3/19/16 | Cole Figueroa is Your Sabermetric Spirit Animal | |
| Ben and FiveThirtyEight author Rob Arthur talk to Pittsburgh Pirates multi-position player Cole Figueroa about his use of statistics, why athletes should keep a close eye on what teams are tracking, and how his future depends on a small sample. | |||
| 855 | 4/5/16 | Jeff Passan on Righting the Elbow and Writing The Arm | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Yahoo! Sports columnist Jeff Passan about his new book, The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports. | |||
| 878 | 5/6/16 | Gender Imbalance in Baseball Operations | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Dodgers Baseball Operations Coordinator Emilee Fragapane and Senior R&D Analyst Megan Schroeder about their backgrounds and responsibilities and the gender imbalance in baseball operations departments. | |||
| 888 | 5/20/16 | Meet the Minor Leagues' Latest Recruit | Saldivar returned in Episode 954, joined by fellow former Stomper, Dylan Stoops |
| Ben and Sam talk to former Sonoma Stomper (and The Only Rule Is It Has to Work character) Santos Saldivar, a pitcher they discovered on a spreadsheet last summer who was just signed by the Brewers. | |||
| 892 | 5/26/16 | Carson Cistulli on Ranking Baseball's Broadcasts | |
| Ben and Sam talk to FanGraphs writer Carson Cistulli about his recently completed television broadcast rankings for baseball's local markets. | |||
| 909 | 6/21/16 | Vin Scully Meets Mount Rushmore | |
| Ben and Sam banter about Clayton Kershaw and clarify five-man infields, then discuss who would be on a baseball Mount Rushmore and dig through Sports Illustrated's archives to pinpoint what makes Vin Scully so great. | |||
| 918 | 7/5/16 | One Word: Plastics | |
| Sam and Craig talk to Russell Carleton and Kate Morrison about their recent series covering the complexion of MLB’s front offices. | |||
| 937 | 8/8/16 | A Requiem for A-Rod | |
| Ben and Sam banter about an odd ad, a Terry Collins quote, Andrew Miller, and more, then discuss the lessons we can learn from the legacy and career of Alex Rodriguez. | |||
| 940 | 8/15/16 | Live at Saber Seminar! | |
| In their first live episode of Effectively Wild, recorded on Saturday at Saber Seminar, Ben and Sam answer listener emails with help from two players, John Baker and David Aardsma. | |||
| 951 | 9/9/16 | THE ONLY RULE Book Club Companion Podcast | |
| Ben, Sam, and Sonoma Stompers GM Theo Fightmaster answer listener emails about the Stompers’ past two seasons and Ben/Sam’s book, The Only Rule Is It Has to Work. | |||
| 952 | 9/11/16 | Dave Roberts Did What? | "Emergency" weekend episode |
| Ben, Sam, and Los Angeles Times Dodgers beat writer Andy McCullough discuss Dave Roberts’ decision to remove Rich Hill after seven perfect innings on Saturday. | |||
| 957 | 9/23/16 | The Man Who Makes Pitch (Almost!) Perfect | |
| Ben and Sam talk to Mike Fisher, the baseball coordinator of Moneyball and the new Fox series Pitch, about how he makes baseball look realistic on screen (and what he might have missed). | |||
| 959 | 9/28/16 | Mike Trout's Highest Hurdle | |
| Ben and Sam banter about Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, and Shohei Otani, then answer listener emails about Mike Trout, playoff formats, inflated homer totals, their introductions to baseball, and more. | |||
| 972 | 11/3/16 | The Cubs, the World Series, and Game Seven | |
| Ben and Sam reflect on what they learned from Game Seven of the World Series and the Chicago Cubs’ first championship since 1908. | |||
| 973 | 11/7/16 | The Potential Lasts of 2016 | |
| Ben and Sam banter about the attendance at the Cubs’ World Series celebration, then discuss several things we may (or may not) have seen for the last time during the 2016 season. | |||
| 980 | 11/23/16 | The Baseball-Book Draft | |
| Ben, Sam, and Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times draft a few of their favorite baseball books. | |||
| 982 | 11/30/16 | Scouting the Yankees and Signing the Cespedes | Return of Nora Morse |
| Ben and Sam banter about a scene from Major League, an Adam Jones tweet, and the return of Nora Morse, then talk to BP’s Jeff Paternostro about the Yankees’ farm system, the Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes signing, and the future of international free agency. | |||
| 983 | 12/2/16 | The Non-Endless-Lockout Edition | |
| Ben and Sam banter about an endless lockout and an A.J. Ellis rumor, then answer listener emails about odd MVP votes in Japan, peak Pedro vs. peak Koufax, what they would bid for Charley Kershaw’s baseball career, and more. | |||
| 996 | 12/24/16 | The Second Draft of Things About Baseball | |
| Ben, Sam, Grant Brisbee, and Jeff Sullivan produce a sequel to Episode 500 by drafting 12 more things about baseball. | |||
| 998 | 12/29/16 | The Podcast's (and Baseball's) Future | |
| Ben and Sam announce Sam’s upcoming departure from the podcast and Effectively Wild’s future at FanGraphs with Ben and Jeff Sullivan, and then discuss several big questions about baseball’s next 50 years. | |||
| 999 | 12/30/16 | The One Before 1000 | |
| In their penultimate show as co-hosts, Ben and Sam answer listener emails about baseball amnesia, iconic photos, Mike Trout hitting lefty, designing ballparks, and more before reminiscing about how they almost didn’t do email episodes. | |||
| 1000 | 12/31/16 | The Old and the New | |
| In Sam’s last show as co-host, he and Ben talk to Astros pro scouting director Kevin Goldstein. Then, Ben talks to incoming co-host Jeff Sullivan before Jeff leaves on a fantastically timed vacation. | |||
2017 (31 episodes, 1 new) [expand]
| # | Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | 1/3/17 | The One After 1000 | |
| Ben and SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee banter about baseball ads, then talk about last season’s forgettable baseball stories, Grant’s favorite writing of 2016, covering the playoffs in person, and Barry Bonds and the BBWAA. | |||
| 1002 | 1/5/17 | Mike Trout Turns Around | |
| Ben, Carson Cistulli, and Eric Longenhagen scrutinize an unearthed video of Mike Trout taking batting practice in high school from both sides of the plate. Then Ben and Carson discuss podcasting, umpiring, Jeff Sullivan and more. | |||
| 1003 | 1/6/17 | Happiness, the Human Condition, and Cracker Jack | |
| Ben and Slate’s Mike Pesca banter about incentive clauses, happiness, analogies, injuries, and the Mets, then discuss sabermetric thinking about non-baseball subjects, optimism, podcasting, and preparation. | |||
| 1004 | 1/9/17 | The Joe and Rany Re-Reunion | |
| Ben talks to Joe Sheehan and Rany Jazayerli about unsigned free agents, baseball economics, trends to watch in 2017, and the perplexing Royals. | |||
| 1005 | 1/11/17 | Dan Haren's New Job and Old Fear of Hall of Famers | |
| Ben talks to former major league pitcher (and newly hired Diamondbacks Pitching Strategist) Dan Haren about his new job, how players handle the media, his struggles and success against Hall of Fame-caliber hitters, his own hitting skills, PEDs, trades and free agency, baseball’s salary structure, and more. | |||
| 1006 | 1/13/17 | Sullivan's Travels | Jeff's first show as co-host |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk about the Mariners' moves while Jeff was away, then answer listener emails about Mike Trout, Barry Bonds, the home run spike, taking pitches, fans on the field, and more. | |||
| 1007 | 1/17/17 | Baseball News is Back | Lenny Harris (also in 1008 and more) |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Lenny Harris and Jerry Dipoto, then celebrate the end of a long baseball news drought by discussing a few recent and imminent transactions, including the Jose Bautista signing and the Danny Duffy and Wil Myers extensions. | |||
| 1012 | 1/27/17 | Rating the Rankings | Trampolines |
| https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/effectively-wild-episode-1012-rating-the-rankings/ | |||
| 1015 | 2/3/17 | You Need to Know Nakashima | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan fixate on their new baseball obsession, NPB shortstop (and offensive outlier) Takuya Nakashima. Then they discuss prospect terminology and the nebulous significance of the “ceiling.” | |||
| 1040 | 4/3/17 | Opening Day and the Post-Trampoline Prospect | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the difficulty of keeping perspective on Opening Day events, the lone disagreement between their preseason predictions, and a common reader misconception about prediction “groupthink.” Then they talk to Astros Double-A catching prospect and trampoline survivor Garrett Stubbs about his childhood trampoline injury and still-crooked finger, his dramatically different rankings on stats-based and scouting-based prospect lists, how size affects his future as a catcher, how he learned to hit for power, how he and the Astros focus on pitch framing, and more. | |||
| 1048 | 4/21/17 | Such is This Game, and Such is Life | "Such is baseball, such is life" quote |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ichiro’s home run in his return to Seattle, the feasibility of intentionally allowing dingers, a John Jaso quote, and manager bobbleheads, then discuss the present and future use, abuse, and presentation of Statcast data. | |||
| 1049 | 4/25/17 | Throwing Baseballs at Butts | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk to Grant Brisbee of SB Nation about acceptable ballpark behavior, Madison Bumgarner, the Giants, and baseball’s latest tests of unwritten (and written) rules involving beanball wars between the Tigers and Twins and the Orioles and Red Sox. | |||
| 1055 | 5/9/17 | A Scorecard, a Save, and a Home-Run Reveal | Matt Albers' first save |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk to 18-year-old Effectively Wild listener/pitcher Connor Watrous about his heroic accomplishment of keeping score at an 18-inning Cubs-Yankees game, banter about a besieged closer and a Matt Albers milestone, and discuss the implications of a new development in the high-home-run-rate mystery. | |||
| 1059 | 5/18/17 | Is Your Bat Boned? | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a mid-start adjustment by Clayton Kershaw and answer listener emails about what constitutes a “jam,” pitchers who’ve allowed the most first career hits, how to analyze player problems and improvements, team abbreviations, hitters who homer and bunt, left-handed infielders, whether bats could be causing the home-run surge, and more. | |||
| 1064 | 5/30/17 | Harper Throws Hands, Trout Hurts His | First Sam Miller guest appearance |
| Ben Lindbergh and a Jeff Sullivan substitute banter about Clayton Kershaw, then discuss all of the fallout from Mike Trout’s surgery and Bryce Harper’s brawl. | |||
| 1069 | 6/9/17 | A Real-Life Left-Handed Catcher | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an odd Neifi Perez appearance, John McCain’s Diamondbacks mention, EW’s August eclipse event, and a questionable fun fact, then talk to Janell Wheaton, a left-handed catcher for the Florida Gators Women’s College World Series team, about why baseball is biased against left-handed catchers (and why it shouldn’t be). Lastly, Ben banters (with himself) about an ankle-injury hypothesis. | |||
| 1073 | 6/20/17 | The Plus-Plus Podcast | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the results of Jeff’s survey about what constitutes a “jam,” Justin Verlander’s comments about the height of baseball seams, and a Mike Chernoff quote about working in baseball, then talk to writer Joe Lemire about his glossary of scouting terminology, the evolution of scouting, and the unbreakable link between baseball and Marriott hotels. | |||
| 1079 | 7/2/17 | The Most and Least Satisfying First Halves | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s latest hiking expedition, then try to determine which teams had the most and least satisfying first halves. Lastly, they talk to Brian Lacusky, who reminisces about about his role in the construction of Coors Field. | |||
| 1081 | 7/7/17 | The Not-Quite-Cold Call | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss the correct all-time leaderboard of non-qualified offensive seasons, Carlos Correa’s complaint about Roberto Osuna, and the state of the race between the Brewers and Cubs. Then they call former big leaguer Glenn Borgmann, who caught for the Twins and White Sox from 1972-1980, to ask about being behind the plate for the game with the most stolen bases by one team in the live-ball era, being involved in the big Bobby Grich brawl, playing with Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew, and Lyman Bostock, facing Nolan Ryan, handling his relegation to a backup role by a 20-year-old rookie, and more. | |||
| 1085 | 7/17/17 | Indy Ball Is Beautiful | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Mike Trout’s return, the Nats-A’s trade, a Matt Holliday play, and a Jon Heyman tweet, then bring on Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press to talk about a borderline unbelievable independent league game and an even more beautifully fake-sounding indy league franchise. | |||
| 1088 | 7/25/17 | Sabermetrics Meets Japan | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Royals-Padres trade, Khris Davis’s arm, Keon Broxton’s demotion, Clayton Kershaw’s injury, and the Dodgers’ degree of need for a starter, then talk to Shingo Murata, baseball strategy group manager for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (the team with the best record in Nippon Professional Baseball), about how he got a job in Japanese baseball, the resistance to sabermetrics in Japan, and Rakuten’s cutting-edge analytical efforts to optimize their in-game tactics and evaluate players both at home and abroad. | |||
| 1092 | 8/6/17 | Live at Saber Seminar (for the Second Time) | |
| In Effectively Wild’s second annual live recording at Saber Seminar, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk to former major league pitcher (and current Red Sox pitching development analyst) Dave Bush about his new job in the Red Sox front office, how he’s using data to develop minor league pitchers, his experience coaching in China, and his success against Barry Bonds. Then they call up three current or former pitchers from the minors or high-level indy leagues (Dan Blewett, Dave Fischer, and Kevin Vance) to discuss how they will (or did) know when it’s time to stop playing, their experience in international leagues, pitching to (and being or not being bitter about) Tim Tebow, having Tommy John surgery, and the attitudes of the former major leaguers with whom they’ve played. | |||
| 1093 | 8/7/17 | Live at the Bell House with Fernando Perez | |
| At the Bell House in Brooklyn for a Pitch Talks event, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk to former major leaguer Fernando Perez about Mike Trout’s birthday pranking, the return of Carter Capps, Perez’s injury history, his late conversion to switch-hitting, what makes a pitcher deceptive, the problems with player development and batting practice, the evolution of the ex-athlete analyst, conformity in the clubhouse, Perez’s inclusion in the Chris Archer trade, and more. | |||
| 1094 | 8/9/17 | Not-Live Listener Emails | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about live shows, bounced throws, the spread of “such is life,” stats displayed on baseball broadcasts, more strange fields, a Dan Haren rules question, and the best non-All-Star seasons, then answer more listener emails about the Angels and Albert Pujols, an odd Brian Dozier game, crooked numbers, Chris Tillman’s first-inning problems, the Dodgers’ World Series odds, Corey Kluber’s breaking-ball usage, and more. | |||
| 1095 | 8/10/17 | Ken Rosenthal on Sticking to Sports and Pivoting to Video | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the new-look, less-stuff Carter Capps, then bring on MLB on FOX reporter and MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal to discuss how and when Rosenthal relaxes and takes vacations; how baseball news leaks; how the Dodgers’ deep front office works; how he knows when a source has ulterior motives; how he evolved from a beat writer to a well-known national writer, and the differences between covering baseball nationally and locally; whether he’s learned from news-breakers in other sports; his contacts list; the origin of his bowtie-wearing; sticking to sports; Fox’s shift to video and the future of media; and more | |||
| 1097 | 8/13/17 | How the Big Mac Was Made | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about “Babe Ruth’s Legs,” then talk to researcher and statistician David Neft about how he rebuilt baseball’s historical record to create the Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia, or “Big Mac,” which provided the most comprehensive and accurate account of the sport’s statistical past when it was published in 1969, and which made baseball’s sabermetric revolution possible. | |||
| 1100 | 8/22/17 | Exploring the Longest Play | Eclipse game; Sam Miller guest appearance |
| Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and a special guest conduct a nighttime, roundtable discussion (around a rectangular table) in Jeff’s living room about the Effectively Wild eclipse event and Sam Miller’s listener-inspired ESPN article about the longest play in baseball history. | |||
| 1112 | 9/17/17 | The Insulting Infield | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Astros’ almost insulting infield alignment against Albert Pujols and minor league hit-by-pitch machine Nick Sinay, then welcome on MIT draftee/new Mariners front-office addition David Hesslink and, later in the episode, YouTube baseball-highlight creator Andrew Vargha, proprietor of the newly anointed official baseball YouTube account of Effectively Wild. | |||
| 1132 | 11/3/17 | There's No Hibernating in Baseball | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss the end of the season and the challenging (if somewhat merciful) transition to offseason mode, the resolution of the World Series and an underwhelming Game 7, the best and worst World Series performers, the significance of the Astros’ victory, the difficulty of repeating as champion, the outlooks for the Astros, Dodgers, and other 2017 playoff teams in 2018 and beyond, the uncertain status of Shohei Otani, new t-shirts for the show, and more. | |||
| 1143 | 11/30/17 | Giancarlohtani | Jeff discovers the O'Brien brothers fun-fact live on air |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter, as always, about Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as the slow start to the offseason and baseball takeaways from news about basketball and football. Then they look for players who performed better in team losses, talk about two twins, and answer listener emails about the most valuable memo writer, robot bloggers, Stanton’s opt-out clause, two Ohtani hypotheticals, Mike Trout’s defensive position and spot in the batting order, Steve Matz’s future and starter-reliever conversions, Aaron Judge’s maximum contact rate, the best team superpower, and more, before wrapping up with a brief aside about Bitcoin. | |||
| 1153 | 12/21/17 | Johnny on the Spot | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the perplexing potential end to Manny Machado trade rumors, then bring on former major leaguer and current fun-fact star/national treasure Johnny O’Brien to discuss his life and career with the Pirates, Cardinals, and Braves in the 1950s, becoming a reluctant two-way player (and experiencing immediate, surprising success), his signing by Branch Rickey, being a “bonus baby” and skipping the minor leagues, playing in the Harvey Haddix game, forming half of the only double-play duo of twins in MLB history, playing without his twin for the first time, playing for both great and terrible teams and both with and against baseball legends, being buddies with Bing Crosby, and more. | |||
2018 (8 episodes, 8 new) [expand]
| # | Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1215 | 5/11/18 | The Giant Catcher Club | Ben's pick |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a new newsletter about baseball debuts, Shohei Ohtani’s latest exploits, the pitiful state of the AL Central, the even more pitiful performance of Orioles starter Chris Tillman, pitchers’ perplexing lack of respect for the Braves’ Ronald Acuña, Ichiro’s debut as a bench coach and future in baseball, and the ongoing battle between the Yankees and Red Sox. Then (29:58) they bring on the three tallest catchers in MLB history—current Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner, former Brewers and Phillies catcher Pete Koegel, and former Red Sox catcher Don Gile—to discuss the perils of playing a smaller person’s position despite standing 6’6″, the skeptics they proved wrong, how their size affected their framing, blocking, throwing, and health, the evolution in the treatment and prevention of brain injuries, Koegel’s memories of Steve Carlton’s incredible 1972 season, and Gile’s memories of his teammate Ted Williams. | |||
| 1217 | 5/16/18 | The Sound of Strikes | Vroom Vroom Guy |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the fallout from Robinson Cano‘s 80-game suspension, the league’s latest adjustment to Shohei Ohtani, Jason Castro‘s injury and Willians Astudillo’s opportunity, and the resurgent Jordan Lyles, then answer listener emails about the topsy-turvy National League, the evolution of orthodoxy about bullpens, the impact of Willson Contreras on Cubs pitchers, preemptive PRP treatments, a Yankees and Padres roster-swap, streakers helping pitchers warm up, detecting called strikes by sound, expected prospect value and Mike Sirotka vs. Michael Soroka, the correlation between double plays and team success, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, a pitcher who watches the wave, a player who always makes outs on the bases, sabermetric bar debates and advanced milestone stats, and judging players by their eras’ standards, plus a Stat Blast about bunting success. | |||
| 1225 | 6/2/18 | Such is This Game, and Such is John Jaso | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Clayton Kershaw‘s latest back injury, the “opener” strategy spreading to L.A., and the unexpected sources of production that have helped keep the Dodgers in the race, as well as Kole Calhoun‘s historically slow offensive start to the season, Jaime Barria and record-setting pitch counts within innings, Indians rookie Shane Bieber as the successor to Josh Tomlin, baseball analogs to the J.R. Smith debacle in the NBA Finals, and two upcoming baseball events. Then (26:21) they talk to former major leaguer and EW folk hero John Jaso about his attempt to talk his way past an usher at Tropicana Field last week, his affinity for sailing, his laid-back, “Such is Life” philosophy, why he didn’t always fit in well within baseball clubhouses, the difficulty of being oneself within a hierarchical, regimented sport, his memories of catching Felix Hernandez’s perfect game and coming up with the 2008 Rays, his recovery from concussions, his opinion of hitting for the cycle, and more. | |||
| 1230 | 6/14/18 | Our Cast Is in the Jackpot | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the end of Steven Brault‘s strikeout streak, Brandon Nimmo‘s non-HBP, Jacob deGrom‘s and Mike Trout’s latest futile heroics, the Mariners’ luck, leaked umpire audio, Hank Aaron on bottle boning, the new-and-improved Jordan Hicks, Miguel Cabrera being done for the year, post-substitution ejections, and a clever college play, then answer listener emails about Manny Margot, lineup loopholes, technical fouls, LeBron James, and Steph Curry, a league of John Jasos, strikeout-free shutouts, doubleheader hangovers and the AL East, and AL fans vs. NL fans, plus Stat Blasts about players per team, teams with the most impending retirees, and MLB fathers vs. MLB sons, two more J.R Smith analogs, and two more DH updates. | |||
| 1239 | 7/6/18 | The Astudillo Origin Story | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Rays using backup catcher Jesus Sucre as a pitcher to protect a lead, the return of Shohei Ohtani, Javier Baez’s exciting and silly steal of home, and what life would be like with deferred payments. Then (29:58) they bring on Phillies international scouting director Sal Agostinelli to discuss his Willians Astudillo-esque career, discovering, signing, and developing Astudillo, the July 2 signing period, scouting teenaged players, amateur scouting vs. international scouting, the importance of makeup, how to judge international-scouting success, signing players despite being saddled with a small bonus pool, the difficulty of focusing on baseball in Venezuela, expanding into new international markets, and more. | |||
| 1263 | 8/29/18 | Around the Majors in 36 Days | Michael Mountain's road trip was first discussed in episode 1169 |
| 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 Blast about the teams that have played the highest and lowest percentages of their games against above-.500 opponents. Then (42:32) they bring on listener (and Episode 1169 guest) Michael Mountain to review his 36-day, 30-ballpark whirlwind tour, including the hurdles he cleared along the way and his reviews of his favorite and least favorite ballparks and ballpark foods. Lastly (1:12:18), Ben brings on Angelina, the artist behind the Twitter account “Acceptably Drawn Baseball,” to talk about how she started doing baseball doodles, how and why the account has caught on, how she produces the doodles, and how she got Rich Hill’s seal of approval. | |||
| 1295 | 11/12/18 | The 120-Percent Podcast | |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jose Altuve and other players claiming to give (much) more than 100 percent and Joe Mauer‘s retirement and Hall of Fame case, then answer listener emails about Shohei Ohtani’s future role, whether Mike Trout could go contact-for-contact with Willians Astudillo, a baseball romance novel, winning a World Series MVP award without hitting, whether improved pitcher hitting could correct the so-called strikeout scourge, a 60-WAR season vs. 60 one-WAR seasons (and the theoretical single-season WAR maximum), the effects of bigger bases, and teams with no “qualifying” pitchers, plus a Stat Blast about Mallex Smith and the hitters who’ve sprinted their way to extra offensive value. | |||
| 1297 | 11/16/18 | Cistulli and Desist | Carson's last guest appearance as a FanGraphs writer |
| Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a big day for Willians Astudillo, the still-overlooked greatness of Anthony Rendon, the mystery of Jeff Mathis, John Middleton’s comments about the Phillies’ impending spending spree, and the Orioles hiring the Astros’ Mike Elias as their new GM. Then (26:50) they bring on outgoing FanGraphs managing editor Carson Cistulli to talk about how he got a job with the Blue Jays and what it will entail, his initial suspicion that the offer was a prank, his (low) level of confidence in his own abilities, how he’s managed to identify overlooked players, why teams are hiring a new type of writer, his feelings about leaving FanGraphs, why he gradually grew on the readers, and how his life will change. | |||
Previous post: Do Major Leaguers Ever Go 1-for-100?
Russell Carleton
I got three mentions? Take that Levine!
Aaron S.
I remember a great conversation–probably in a 2013 episode–about Sam and Ben’s love of extra inning games. I vividly remember a discussion about rooting for neither team to score–up until the visiting team scores, and then rooting for the home team to score the exact same number of runs. Ben also commented on possible injuries forcing players to play way out of position in late innings, to which Sam replied, “That’s not a bug, that’s a feature!” That’s one I’d recommend.
Michelle
This needs an update to include some from the Jeff Sullivan era. So… someone do it.