Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Tarik Skubal is the latest athlete to return to play faster than anticipated thanks to a new surgical technique or technology. But there’s something even better than coming back more quickly from an injury: avoiding an injury in the first place. Can injury prevention be improved as much as injury treatment? In this themed episode, Ben Lindbergh talks to four guests about three potential ways to keep players healthy. First (5:14), Mariners biomechanist Cedric Attias joins to discuss how pitching mechanics affect elbow stress, whether injuries stem more from nature or nurture, and whether MLB teams are prioritizing injury research. Second (49:23), Daryl and Adam Moreau, the father-and-son inventors of FlexProGrip, explain how forearm weakness endangers the UCL, how they designed and validated their training tool, and how the device has been adopted in the game. Third (1:41:18), Steve Rowson, director of the Helmet Lab at Virginia Tech, shares how helmets have improved across sports, why dangerous impacts are different in football and baseball, and why catcher’s masks may need an overhaul to minimize concussions.

Audio intro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio interstitial 1: Luke Lillard, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio interstitial 2: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Grant Brisbee, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to NanoNeedle AP piece

Link to NanoNeedle Athletic piece

Link to Ben on protecting pitchers

Link to Ben on pitcher roster limits

Link to McGregor/ElAttrache article

Link to MLB/ElAttrache article

Link to article on Altuve’s return

Link to article on Alvarez’s return

Link to internal brace info

Link to article on Tatum’s return

Link to article on Mahomes’s return

Link to article on Kittle’s return

Link to summary of Cedric’s research

Link to Cedric’s research paper

Link to other research on lower arm slots

Link to pulldowns explainer

Link to Ben on team secrets

Link to Rieekan quote

Link to lower-arm-slots trend

Link to video clip about the trend

Link to Crizer on arm slots

Link to Misiorowski game

Link to FlexProGrip site

Link to FlexProGrip article 1

Link to FlexProGrip article 2

Link to FlexProGrip article 3

Link to FlexProGrip article 4

Link to FlexProGrip white papers

Link to Driveline research

Link to The Layback Podcast

Link to The Island of Doctor Moreau

Link to Edward Scissorhands

Link to Helmet Lab concussions research

Link to helmet ratings site

Link to Rowson’s faculty page

Link to CNN Helmet Lab story

Link to Ben on catcher concussions

Link to Carlin baseball vs. football bit

Link to risk compensation wiki

Link to Helmet Lab testing footage

Link to Marvin the Martian wiki

Link to Great Gazoo wiki

Link to Dark Helmet wiki

Link to Torres protective cap article 1

Link to Torres protective cap article 2

Link to Torres cap footage

Link to pitcher cap inserts info 1

Link to pitcher cap inserts info 2

Link to pitcher cap inserts info 3

Link to softball pitcher mask article

Link to softball fielder mask article

Link to softball fielder mask research

Link to The Athletic on catcher nut shots

Link to SIS on catcher nut shots

Link to Knoxville incident

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon.

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the listener response to their conversation with Adrian Chiles, newly minted major leaguer LuJames Groover, and a big Giants comeback (in defiance of the team’s historically walk-averse ways), then (21:25) answer listener emails about how long-term team outlooks factor into present-day disappointment levels, spectacle vs. analysis in closer-entrance pageantry, whether umps should be able to challenge themselves, how future sub-Ohtani two-way players will be perceived, the entertainment value of human managers and hypothetical robo-managers, a pre-playoffs rest period, and stats used as verbs, plus Stat Blasts (1:27:23) about teams that turned deficits into large leads, Paul Skenes and glad-to-see-him-go games, and the Angels’ used-to-be-good guys.

Audio intro: Josh Busman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Episode 2489

Link to Groover debut story

Link to 2025 Groover story

Link to 2025 Groover clip

Link to Groover shirt story

Link to Eldridge game story

Link to Eldridge game box score

Link to ultimate slams story

Link to Giants BB%+

Link to Krukow/Kuiper clip

Link to Knicks comeback story

Link to Ben on Larry David

Link to Burnes setback story

Link to Crochet setback story

Link to Crochet setback confusion

Link to Michael’s BOOG intro

Link to BOOG pod appearance

Link to Jay on the White Sox

Link to Duran entrance video

Link to story about ballpark loudness

Link to call on Contreras

Link to Miller hot-mic moment 1

Link to Miller hot-mic moment 2

Link to Miller hot-mic moments article

Link to Sam on the Umpire Manual

Link to info on umps and HFA

Link to Sam on the two-way balance

Link to two-way draft prospects story

Link to “obligate” definition

Link to Grandstand Managers Night

Link to Ballers’ AI manager

Link to Twitch Plays Pokémon

Link to moonwalking robot

Link to running robot

Link to kicking robot

Link to Laws of Robotics

Link to Deep Thought wiki

Link to Marvin robot

Link to Grant on mascot pants

Link to NBA Cup

Link to Paine on the NBA Cup

Link to more Paine on the NBA Cup

Link to Knicks banner news

Link to Schlittler quote

Link to Shakespeare usage shifts

Link to Bulls vs. Tides story

Link to big comebacks data

Link to harmonic mean wiki

Link to listener emails database

Link to Skenes game story

Link to more on Skenes game

Link to bullpen blowups data

Link to Mancini comeback story

Link to past Angels Blasts

Link to used-to-be-good guys data

Link to Boog/Mancini survival story

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the bunt’s rehabilitation and (17:49) the President publicly picking a side in MLB’s labor battle, then talk to two guests about falling in love with and learning about baseball as adults. First (32:35), beloved BBC presenter and The Guardian columnist Adrian Chiles breaks his baseball silence to expound on how he got bitten by the baseball bug, his long-distance Rays relationship, the loneliness of following baseball from afar, cross-sport comparisons, Chiles-like wonder, and what mystifies him as a fan. Second (1:21:39), Jade Van Kley joins to discuss her journey from registered nurse to baseball content creator, bingeing baseball history, finding an audience for baseball lore drops and video diaries of her first season as a fan, and what fascinates her about the sport.

Audio intro: Moon Hound, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio interstitial: Kite Person, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Philip Tapley and Michael Stokes, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Leo on left-handed hitting

Link to Other Ben on bunting

Link to Stat Blast about bunting

Link to The Wire quote

Link to Padres’ three bunts

Link to MSG boos

Link to Trump interview comments

Link to BP on Trump comments

Link to Drellich on Trump comments

Link to Drellich on Trump’s influence

Link to Trump’s Yankee Stadium visit

Link to Dodgers White House visit

Link to EW episode on Trump’s baseball past

Link to voter registration research

Link to article on screwworms

Link to Adrian’s baseball column

Link to Adrian’s Guardian archive

Link to Chiles wiki

Link to West Bromwich Albion wiki

Link to Adrian’s BBC show

Link to Adrian’s book about drinking

Link to Adrian’s columns collection

Link to article about Adrian 1

Link to article about Adrian 2

Link to article about Adrian 3

Link to article about Adrian 4

Link to Chiles headline generator

Link to Machado comments

Link to European Super League wiki

Link to EW episode on promotion/relegation

Link to “silly position” at EW wiki

Link to Playing Hard Ball book

Link to foul strike rule

Link to foul tip rule

Link to Snickometer wiki

Link to British baseball wiki

Link to “Baseball Brit” EW episode

Link to “London Series” EW episode

Link to Adrian on soap dispensers

Link to Whales logo

Link to @backlinenurse on Instagram

Link to Jade interstitial video

Link to Jade on her first game

Link to Sulphur Dell wiki

Link to Green Cathedrals book

Link to Veeck As In Wreck

Link to Ben on Veeck As In Wreck

Link to Ben on losing track of the count

Link to pitcher hitting by year

Link to backline wiki

Link to Jade article 1

Link to Jade article 2

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon.

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani’s career-year pace, how often his number of times on base has exceeded his times on base allowed in his two-way games, and his awards outlook, discuss Aaron Judge’s injury and the wide-open AL MVP race, and then (1:06:39) Stat Blast about the most former catchers in one game, Brayan Bello’s woes as a starter, clustering a team’s plate appearances in one inning, perfectly parallel pitch counts for piggybackers, long-lasting low-WAR players, where in the batting order teams tend to go back-to-back-to-belly, players with the longest streaks of having a teammate in the World Series, the most times striking out looking, the best duos drafted consecutively, and more.

Audio intro: Tom Rhoads, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: El Warren, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to FG combined WAR leaderboard

Link to batting pace leaders

Link to pitching pace leaders

Link to Ohtani game story

Link to “true win” wiki

Link to “I’m the Greatest”

Link to Judge injury article

Link to Judge injury testing article

Link to article on Judge injury impact

Link to Judge quote

Link to Raiders scene

Link to story about Raiders scene

Link to Beer Barrel Man wiki

Link to Ben on Ohtani and Judge 1

Link to Ben on Ohtani and Judge 2

Link to Amtrak event

Link to Crizer on scoreless innings streaks

Link to The Miz on Pokémon

Link to Sánchez meal plan

Link to Red Sox vs. Guardians game

Link to Sox catchers tweet

Link to The Onion blades article

Link to Ben on Padres shortstops

Link to Russell on emergency catchers

Link to catchers Blast text

Link to catchers Blast data

Link to article on first-inning scoring

Link to info on first-inning scoring and HFA

Link to Bello Stathead query 1

Link to Bello Stathead query 2

Link to story on Bello being optioned

Link to MLBTR on Bello

Link to Yankees’ 13-run inning

Link to % of PA in one inning text

Link to % of PA in one inning data

Link to Miller-Castillo game

Link to parallel pitch counts text

Link to SABR on Allan Roth

Link to longest-lasting players

Link to consecutive-homers text

Link to consecutive-homers data

Link to The Human Centipede 3 wiki

Link to Jágr streak tweet

Link to Jágr streak post

Link to Jágr wiki

Link to The Rural Juror clip

Link to teammate WS streaks data

Link to looking-strikeouts text

Link to Beltrán K

Link to previous “Toothpick” Jones episode

Link to draft duos data

Link to harmonic mean wiki

Link to Brett-Schmidt draft round

Link to listener emails database

Link to Emil Gumbel wiki

Link to @ScoringChanges tweet 1

Link to @ScoringChanges tweet 2

Link to @ScoringChanges tweet 3

Link to loose bodies clip

Sponsor Us on Patreon

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the duality of Jo Adell’s defense (after the FARTBAT low that followed his triple-robbery high), Spencer Arrighetti and MLB’s monthly player honors as the last bastion of old-school-stat-based awards, whether a team with a losing record could make the playoffs this season, Paul Goldschmidt’s pleasing platoon role, how much credit the Brewers deserve for Kyle Harrison’s success, Louis Varland’s value, the Tigers’ rapid plummet out of contention, the twilights of Nick Castellanos’s and Andrew McCutchen’s careers, and (1:15:01) whether the CBA negotiations merit horse race-style coverage.

Audio intro: Alex Glossman and Ali Breneman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme 2”

Link to Adell’s FARTBAT

Link to Adell quote

Link to Adell’s three robberies

Link to dramatic robbery photo

Link to EW robbery discussion

Link to Adell’s 2020 FARTBAT

Link to Canseco FARTBAT

Link to May’s Pitchers of the Month

Link to Pereda nut shot

Link to Pennywise quote

Link to Desk Set wiki

Link to Player of the Month Award wiki

Link to past PotM winners

Link to THT article on the award

Link to pitcher WAR leaders in May

Link to Sportico on the unbalanced leagues

Link to MLB.com on the lower October bar

Link to Jay on the Tigers

Link to Skubal rehab update

Link to Rosenthal on Skubal

Link to lowest-win playoff teams

Link to Curt on Harrison

Link to Location+ leaders

Link to Brewers WAR leaders

Link to reliever WAR leaders

Link to four-seamer velo leaders

Link to MLBTR on McCutchen

Link to MLBTR on Castellanos

Link to Clemens on the opening offers

Link to Drellich on Meyer/Caplin quotes

Link to Drellich on Manfred quotes

Link to The Athletic on open books

Link to story on Sánchez’s streak

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Effectively Wild Subreddit

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Apple Podcasts Feed

Spotify Feed

YouTube Playlist

Facebook Group

Bluesky Account

Twitter Account

Get Our Merch!

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