Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Vinnie Pasquantino’s new espresso machine, how the Phillies’ firing of Rob Thomson compares to Boston’s coaching overhaul and how Thomson’s dismissal both does and doesn’t make sense, Mason Miller’s “slump,” Shohei Ohtani’s WAR distribution, Max Scherzer’s major league last gasp, Travis Bazzana’s debut, and how the Mexican League’s Diablos Rojos have handled high altitude. Then (55:48) they talk to Jason Benetti, TV voice of the Tigers and new lead MLB broadcaster for Sunday Night Baseball on NBC, about how he got his new gig, juggling jobs and employers, teaming up with different broadcast partners (including a besuited John Kruk) every week, how NBC approaches baseball, the AL Central’s mediocrity, Kevin McGonigle’s precocious success, Jason’s full-circle Bob Costas story, and Mr. Monopoly vs. Mr. Peanut.

Audio intro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to espresso machine post

Link to Nespresso wiki

Link to Baumann on Thomson

Link to MLBTR on Thomson

Link to Paine on Thomson

Link to Phillies’ record under Thomson

Link to batter WAR under Thomson

Link to pitcher WAR under Thomson

Link to team defense

Link to team run differentials

Link to playoff odds changes

Link to Gelb on Thomson

Link to Cora report 1

Link to Cora report 2

Link to MLBTR on Crochet

Link to Miller story

Link to Soriano story

Link to combined WAR leaderboard

Link to MLBTR on Scherzer

Link to Scherzer’s daughter’s letter

Link to Baumann on Bazzana

Link to MLBTR on Bazzana

Link to 2026 FG top 100

Link to Bazzana at Prospect Savant

Link to list of debut IBBs

Link to The Devil Wears Prada 2

Link to Patrick Brammall wiki

Link to Song Sung Blue

Link to Tenet dialogue story 1

Link to Tenet dialogue story 2

Link to Nolan dialogue explanation

Link to sound mixing story

Link to MLBTR on Bazzana

Link to Mexican League elevations

Link to Octavio Hernández

Link to Coors hangover article 1

Link to Coors hangover article 2

Link to Coors hangover article 3

Link to Benetti at Saberseminar

Link to SBJ profile

Link to NBC Sundays schedule

Link to this Sunday’s schedule

Link to Jason’s broadcast partners

Link to Walton-Benetti story

Link to Kruk’s suit

Link to Curb “middling” scene

Link to Ben on Albert/Stockton

Link to interdivision records

Link to bat weight research

Link to Mr. Monopoly wiki

Link to Mr. Peanut wiki

Link to Mr. Peanut tweet

Link to Benetti’s podcast

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Red Sox suddenly sweeping their coaching staff clean, projected contenders off to even worse starts than the Sox, MLB offense in Mexico City, a double ball-strike challenge, Kyle Harrison as the new Quinn Priester, and Kevin McGonigle out-phenoming Konnor Griffin, then Stat Blast (38:37) about Brandon Phillips and major league afterlives, teams hitting for the homer cycle in a single inning, and individual net five-homer games. Then (53:38) they talk to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier about how and why the Red Sox fired Alex Cora and Co. and whether there’s more house-cleaning to come.

Audio intro: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio interstitial: The Spaghettis, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Ian H., “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to FG post on Sox firings

Link to MLBTR on Sox firings

Link to MLBTR on Sox hirings

Link to original Cronin wiki

Link to van photo

Link to Four Seasons Total Landscaping

Link to Whitlock quote

Link to Story quote

Link to player reactions round-up

Link to firing timing Stat Blast

Link to Sportradar firing fact

Link to “Chad” wiki

Link to Cora reactions story

Link to Cora text

Link to Cora tweet

Link to fired coaches photo 1

Link to fired coaches photo 2

Link to Paine’s Sox analysis 1

Link to Paine’s Sox analysis 2

Link to playoff odds changes

Link to Diamondbacks Mexico City win

Link to Mexico games

Link to Ben on Mexico City scoring

Link to Monterrey stadium

Link to Mexico City stadium

Link to run-scoring comparison

Link to Vancouver expansion story

Link to double challenge clip

Link to double challenge story

Link to Refsnyder challenge story

Link to Baty challenge story

Link to Harrison’s five-start averages

Link to FG on-pace leaders

Link to Griffin’s first dinger

Link to Phillips contract story

Link to EW on delayed retirements

Link to major league afterlives data

Link to Kenny Jackelen

Link to Phillips B-Ref page

Link to PCL wiki

Link to SIS Cameron story

Link to SIS Cameron post

Link to Red Sox preview pod

Link to team HR leaderboard

Link to team SP WAR

Link to Sheehan on the Sox offense

Link to Napoli photo

Link to Napoli story

Link to team payrolls page

Link to Rosenthal on Cora

Link to team payrolls page

Link to listener meetup tool (PW: EW2026)

Link to meetup tool Reddit post

Link to sub-two-hour-marathon story

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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 whether JR Ritchie should want to keep the ball that was hit for a homer on his first major league pitch, José Soriano’s season-starting hot streak, and the Yankees’ new alternate uniforms, plus follow-ups on accidental challenges, player pecks on the cheek, jersey numbers, and Nolan McLean’s apology, and a mini-Blast about the Rockies’ historically hot start (compared to last year). Then (50:36) they take a break from interviewing octagenarian former players to interview a youthful, quadragenarian former player: former All-Star Brad Lidge. An infamous manager once proclaimed, “The closer is the closer because he’s the closer.” But what if the closer becomes an archaeologist? Ben and Meg talk to Lidge at length about his post-playing pivot to archaeology: what drew him to the field, how he’s pursued a second profession (and how it differs from his first one), ancient Etruscans, misconceptions about archaeology, what he could learn from excavating a ballpark, discovering dice (note: not a gambling ad), discussing his career reinvention at cocktail parties, the pleasures and procedures of communing with the past, archaeology’s moneyball, and much more, followed by his thoughts on fellow fastball-slider artist Mason Miller.

Audio intro: PJ Harding, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Philip Bergman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Only Rule closer line

Link to line’s EW wiki entry

Link to Lidge’s SABR bio

Link to postseason saves leaders

Link to best post-’88 RP seasons

Link to Pujols homer

Link to 2008 WS victory

Link to Episode 2323

Link to Wood’s HR

Link to Ritchie game story

Link to Yankees jerseys report 1

Link to Yankees jerseys report 2

Link to Yankees jerseys report 3

Link to jersey number history

Link to Gilbert “catch”

Link to Gilbert “catch” rules

Link to Vargas “accidental” challenge

Link to Gonzales “accidental” challenge

Link to Martin-Davis smooch

Link to Soriano’s six-start stretches

Link to Soriano’s 2025 stretch

Link to Soriano’s 2026 stretch

Link to exit velo responsibility

Link to Soriano article 1

Link to Betteridge’s law 1

Link to Soriano article 2

Link to follow-up McLean report

Link to fastest team improvements data

Link to 2018 archaeoLidgey article

Link to 2026 archaeoLidgey article

Link to Lidge Explorers Club

Link to Poggio Civitate wiki

Link to Under the Tuscan Sun wiki

Link to Etruscan civilization wiki

Link to Roman Empire meme

Link to Lidge’s publications

Link to Lidge’s dice paper

Link to North American dice article 1

Link to North American dice article 2

Link to Ben on Detectorists

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about vagueposting screenshots of Baseball Savant percentiles, a Ron Darling comment during the Mets’ 12th consecutive loss about why pitchers shouldn’t apologize to batters for throwing inside, team-level changes in pitch usage and results this season, why MLB partly escaped the NBA’s tanking epidemic, why relievers are struggling so far, baseball parallels to track’s quest to produce lighter shoes, and an EW listener meetup tool (password: EW2026), then Stat Blast (1:25:12) about player home run totals that outstripped team win totals, winning streaks built from other teams’ losing streaks, and batting orders with jersey numbers that matched lineup slots, plus (1:39:40) a postscript.

Audio intro: Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “Effectively Wild Theme (Horny)”

Audio outro: Alex Ferrin, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to vagueposting wiki

Link to Buxton/McLean matchup

Link to pitch before homer

Link to home run pitch

Link to Clemens on McLean

Link to Clemens on hard in, soft away

Link to Ben on the Pirates

Link to Sawchik on the Pirates

Link to THT on the Pirates

Link to Dan S. on the Mets

Link to SNY ritual clip

Link to MLB.com on SNY ritual

Link to Baumann on Lumineers curse

Link to Mr. Met/Lumineers post

Link to NYT on Mamdani curse

Link to Rosenberg Mr. Met story

Link to team pitching changes

Link to 2025 team FA%

Link to 2026 team FA%

Link to Senzatela pitch usage

Link to pitch-type usage by year

Link to 2025 team Stuff+

Link to 2026 team Stuff+

Link to 2025 team contact%

Link to 2026 team contact%

Link to 2025 team pitching WAR

Link to 2026 team pitching WAR

Link to Sportico on NBA tanking

Link to Gold Plan wiki

Link to Gilbert “catch”

Link to MLB.com on Legumina

Link to MLBTR on Legumina

Link to MLB SP stats

Link to MLB RP stats

Link to WSJ running shoes article

Link to Ben on MLB player improvements

Link to Cooper on fastball speed

Link to fastball speed joke graphic

Link to listener meetup tool (PW: EW2026)

Link to meetup tool Reddit post

Link to HR>wins spreadsheet

Link to losing streaks spreadsheet

Link to jersey=lineup slot data

Link to Kenny Jackelen

Link to listener emails database

Link to streak-snapping Mets gamer

Link to 1914 Federal League game

Link to 1991 Pirates-Cubs game

Link to 2011 Dodgers-Diamondbacks game

Link to 1952 Dodgers-Braves game

Link to 2017 Yankees-Rays game

Link to 1928 Cleveland-Detroit game

Link to 1923 Dodgers-Cardinals game

Link to 1934 Cardinals-Reds game

Link to 2004 Rangers-Tigers game

Link to 2019 Diamondbacks-Brewers game

Link to EW Episode 2405

Link to Nimmo/Semien comparison

Link to Murakami homers fun fact

Link to Clemens on Murakami

Link to Kruk in a suit

Link to Farley’s Matt Foley skit

Link to Farley’s Kruk skit

Link to Weaver post

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Scott Boras talking turkey, a heartwarming player-fan interaction, two more unintentional challenges, the depths of the Mets’ predicament after their 11-game losing streak, whether Munetaka Murakami can keep up his hot, extreme start, whether hitters should stop swinging against Mason Miller, whether government regulation can improve sports streaming, and the nature of on-base streaks, then Stat Blast (1:32:34) about NL and AL Central standings oddities, the longest periods out of first place, and scoring coming all in one inning, plus (1:44:34) several follow-ups and bonus blasts.

Audio intro: Dave Armstrong and Mike Murray, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Austin Klewan, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Boras quote

Link to Geese controversy

Link to brother-sister embrace

Link to Mangum comments

Link to Lorenzen clip

Link to Lorenzen quote

Link to accidental challenge story

Link to Mets streak story

Link to MLB.com on the Mets

Link to Perry on the Mets

Link to Sheehan on the Mets

Link to Szymborski on slow starters

Link to Ben on high-turnover teams

Link to team run differentials

Link to preseason playoff odds

Link to updated playoff odds

Link to “Kokomo” curse story

Link to “Kokomo” wiki

Link to “Kokomo” video

Link to Spanish-language “Kokomo”

Link to Mets borough mascots

Link to Peraza pitch image

Link to Peraza pitch clip

Link to swing/zone rate data

Link to Miller’s stats as a Padre

Link to Miller’s Stuff+ stats

Link to Murakami’s grand slam

Link to Murakami’s Savant page

Link to Longenhagen on Murakami

Link to Baumann on Murakami

Link to Murakami projections story

Link to PECOTA hitter projections

Link to NPB analyst on Murakami

Link to Kruk in a suit

Link to Farley skit

Link to Bloomberg on NFL streaming

Link to Bloomberg on MLB streaming

Link to story on Baldwin’s bill

Link to Live Nation verdict story

Link to story on Ohtani’s on-base streak

Link to times on base wiki

Link to info on DiMaggio streak scoring

Link to upside-down NL Central

Link to previous upside-down standings

Link to 4/11 AL Central

Link to 2006 NL West

Link to 2011 AL West

Link to 2022 AL East

Link to Orioles-Guardians game

Link to 2003 Phillies-Reds game

Link to 1972 Braves-Astros game

Link to 1933 Yankees-A’s game

Link to 1928 Pirates-Giants game

Link to new Rockies celebration story

Link to Rushing’s “fishy” comments

Link to Rockies celebration images

Link to Rockies celebration clips

Link to Cronenworth HBP story

Link to listener emails database

Link to new switch-hitters data

Link to name matches spreadsheet

Link to Takatsu on Murakami

Link to “Does Bat Day Make Cents?”

Link to other promotions/giveaways info

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: [email protected]

Effectively Wild Subreddit

Effectively Wild Wiki

Apple Podcasts Feed

Spotify Feed

YouTube Playlist

Facebook Group

Bluesky Account

Twitter Account

Get Our Merch!

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