Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

With Meg Rowley on vacation, Ben Lindbergh continues his quest to (temporarily) resurrect a few dearly departed baseball podcasts. Next Up: The Bandwagon, featuring Hannah Keyser of CNN and Zach Crizer of The Bandwagon (the ongoing newsletter). Ben, Hannah, and Zach discuss Hannah’s transition from baseball specialist to sports generalist, her visit to Driveline Baseball for velocity training, and why position-player pitchers throw so slow. Then they banter about baseball bits and bobs: the buzzer-beating, pre-postseason returns of Aaron Judge and other prominent players; the future of rehab assignments; Zach’s 2026 rebuild rankings and his and Hannah’s debate about how bad David Stearns has been for the Mets; Mickey Gasper’s hot streak and Munetaka Murakami’s slump; a possible Rockies sale; Thomas Pannone’s Triple-A perfect game; and how the challenge system has affected catcher framing and defensive value, plus postscript follow-ups.

Audio intro: Guy Russo, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Andy Ellison, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Bandwagon podcast archive

Link to The Bandwagon newsletter

Link to Hannah’s CNN archive

Link to CNN Explains series

Link to first Bandwagon reunion pod

Link to second Bandwagon reunion pod

Link to Hannah and Lindsey appearance

Link to Marte’s cap

Link to Alcaraz vs. Shelton story

Link to Jay on position-player pitching

Link to Sam on position-player pitching

Link to underhand free throws story

Link to Episode 2372

Link to position-player velo by year

Link to late-comeback candidates

Link to Hannah and Zach on Trajekt

Link to Ben on Trajekt

Link to Dan S. on Judge

Link to Judge on his abbreviated return

Link to Judge/Jones fun fact

Link to Schwarber postseason comeback

Link to Cohen on Stearns

Link to Ben on Mets turnover

Link to team rookie batting WAR

Link to negative-run-differential division story

Link to Yankees hitting without Judge

Link to Yankees pitching without Judge

Link to Gasper/Murakami leaderboard

Link to Gasper wiki

Link to Rockies/McCarthy play

Link to Paige’s Rockies report

Link to report summary

Link to Greg Penner wiki

Link to BP on team sales

Link to Pannone story

Link to Pannone photos

Link to minor league perfectos list

Link to Jeff on framing

Link to Ben on framing in 2018

Link to team defensive challenges

Link to Tango on team challenges

Link to catcher-defensive deviation data

Link to catcher-defense deviation graph

Link to Ohtani/De Paula news

Link to catcher’s interference explainer

Link to 23 ways piece

Link to 23 ways book

Link to Nine Innings to Love trailer

Link to Nine Innings to Love premiere

Link to Tiglath-Pileser III wiki

Link to Yankees winning-season streak

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Effectively Wild Subreddit

Effectively Wild Wiki

Apple Podcasts Feed

Spotify Feed

YouTube Playlist

Facebook Group

Bluesky Account

Twitter Account

Get Our Merch!

var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {});
Source

With Meg Rowley on vacation, Ben Lindbergh brings a few dearly departed baseball podcasts (briefly) back to life. First up: The Roundtable, featuring EW cofounder (and Pebble Hunting author) Sam Miller and The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee and Andy McCullough. Ben, Sam, Grant, and Andy discuss the worst and best ballpark promotions, Doug Eddings’s cap decree and bid to become MLB’s new infamous umpire, what 2026 taught us about ump importance, whether umps uphold unwritten rules, future revelations about the Astros’ banging scheme, a trivia question in a new movie about the number of ways to reach base, Ketel Marte and the mountains teams try to climb, Sam’s recent writing about the boundaries of baseball performance, Andy’s ace updates, and Shohei Ohtani’s pitching outlook.

Audio intro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Austin Klewan, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Roundtable archive

Link to Roundtable cancellation post

Link to Pebble Hunting

Link to Grant’s author archive

Link to Andy’s author archive

Link to Jelly Roll wiki

Link to Ben on baseball pizza discounts

Link to Taco Bell promotion wiki

Link to Jessica Simpson quote

Link to Zoolander clip

Link to Eddings wiki

Link to Eddings article 1

Link to Eddings article 2

Link to Eddings article 3

Link to Eddings article 4

Link to umpire retirements

Link to Ben on ABS

Link to Gattis on Kershaw

Link to banging-scheme site

Link to banging-scheme research 1

Link to banging-scheme research 2

Link to banging-scheme research 3

Link to banging-scheme research 4

Link to Noggin Boss

Link to MLB Isoblox cap

Link to “dadhat” definition

Link to The Sun Never Sets wiki

Link to Joe Swanberg wiki

Link to mumblecore wiki

Link to Fennessey on mumblecore

Link to automatic double wiki

Link to Snapple on reaching base

Link to SABR on reaching base

Link to Enders on reaching base

Link to Marte article 1

Link to Marte article 2

Link to Marte article 3

Link to Marte article 4

Link to double summit wiki

Link to Sam on bad challenges

Link to Sam on pitcher mistakes

Link to Sam on strike rates

Link to Tango on miss distance

Link to Sam on Kershaw mistakes

Link to Rob Arthur on ball variation

Link to Andy on aces

Link to Ohtani pitching update

Link to Sam on two-way Ohtani

Link to Beyond the Scrum

Link to Sportswriters Blues

Link to “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Effectively Wild Subreddit

Effectively Wild Wiki

Apple Podcasts Feed

Spotify Feed

YouTube Playlist

Facebook Group

Bluesky Account

Twitter Account

Get Our Merch!

var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {});
Source

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

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about duplicate episode titles and the Angels being slightly less bad than previously indicated, Stat Blast about extended team droughts between multi-hit MLB debuts, and discuss the arrival and role of Padres prospect Ethan Salas, a (deep breath) Cubs-produced, TikTok-based, baseball-themed, microdrama rom-com, whether they have any interest in VR baseball broadcasts, and an apparent change in Minor League Baseball’s ball, followed by additional Blasting about a Jordan Walker fact that may or may not be fun, catcher hot-swaps, center fielders on the mound, and all-win/loss days for divisions.

Audio intro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to duplicate episode titles

Link to Episode 1240

Link to Episode 1573

Link to Paine on Moreno/Kroenke

Link to Kroenke’s land ownership

Link to Langs post 1

Link to Langs post 2

Link to debutant dingers article

Link to gaps between debuts

Link to Close Encounters scene

Link to Montes debut article

Link to Ichiro rookie hits record

Link to Ichiro video

Link to Montes video

Link to Ben on debutant batters

Link to proj. strength of schedule

Link to M’s rookie batting WAR

Link to BP on Jenkins

Link to BP on Salas

Link to ESPN on Salas

Link to New Yorker on microdramas

Link to Quibi wiki

Link to Variety on Nine Innings to Love

Link to Nine Innings to Love trailer

Link to The Notebook scene

Link to VR broadcasts article

Link to Jake/Jordan broadcast info

Link to Ben’s plot hole video

Link to Cooper on the MiLB ball

Link to Cooper on college homers

Link to Ben on the MiLB-to-MLB gap

Link to Clay on the MiLB-to-MLB gap

Link to FG on MiLB ball construction

Link to Walker alleged fun fact

Link to ITYSL meme

Link to Williams vs. Wood post

Link to catchers data

Link to The Onion on Gillette

Link to wild 1902 game

Link to Garver EW episode

Link to all-loss division days

Link to all-win division days

Link to listener emails database

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Effectively Wild Subreddit

Effectively Wild Wiki

Apple Podcasts Feed

Spotify Feed

YouTube Playlist

Facebook Group

Bluesky Account

Twitter Account

Get Our Merch!

var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {});
Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley announce an upcoming livestream and then react to the semi-surprising sale of the Angels by Arte Moreno to Stan Kroenke, considering the significance of the sale price, the outlook for the franchise, the legacies of Moreno and Mike Trout, and what the sale might portend for CBA talks. Then (43:14), in the wake of recent reporting and discussion about the volume level at games, they talk to stadium acoustics expert Jack Wrightson of design firm WJHW about how stadium sound systems are simulated and constructed, how they’ve evolved, the sonic environments of baseball and other sports, how team preferences and practices vary, fan noise vs. PA noise, sound on the field vs. sound in the stands, why ballparks are sometimes too loud, and much more, plus (1:37:57) a few postscript follow-ups.

Audio intro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio interstitial: Grant Brisbee, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Patreon registration

Link to FG on the Angels sale

Link to The Athletic sale article 1

Link to The Athletic sale article 2

Link to Trout quotes

Link to mayor quotes

Link to 2023 attendance

Link to 2026 attendance

Link to Moreno on fan preferences

Link to Kroenke wiki

Link to Moreno wiki

Link to Paine on Moreno

Link to new Angels park item

Link to froyo fraud article

Link to sale-price bubble analysis

Link to WJHW “about” page

Link to WJHW ballparks page

Link to Jack’s WJHW bio

Link to latest loudness article

Link to loudness article 2

Link to loudness article 3

Link to loudness article 4

Link to loudness article 5

Link to sound level meter wiki

Link to loudness wars wiki

Link to SIS on Cowser

Link to Langs post 1

Link to Langs post 2

Link to EW on Yandy and ABS

Link to Tango on Yandy

Link to Tango on the Rays

Link to more Tango on the Rays

Link to Jade on Skubal

Link to new Plot Hole or Not Hole

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Effectively Wild Subreddit

Effectively Wild Wiki

Apple Podcasts Feed

Spotify Feed

YouTube Playlist

Facebook Group

Bluesky Account

Twitter Account

Get Our Merch!

var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {});
Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the research Meg saw on her trip to Saber Seminar, a vintage Max Scherzer start, Tarik Skubal’s espresso-machine maneuver, a Kevin McGonigle double and rule 9.06(f), an international signing scandal (or in truth, two), MLB’s proposals for reworking offseason signings and roster rules, legal wrangling regarding prediction markets, WPBL difficulties, a Chris Sale gem, a costly FARTBAT, outfield additions, whether Shohei Ohtani will pitch again, the first team eliminated from division-title contention, and more.

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

Audio outro: Luke Lillard, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Saber Seminar site

Link to Scherzer start

Link to espresso article 1

Link to espresso article 2

Link to article on player frugality

Link to McGonigle hit article

Link to @ScoringChanges explanation

Link to Posnanski post

Link to old EW on automatic singles

Link to ESPN report on signing scandal

Link to MLB proposal article 1

Link to MLB proposal article 2

Link to Baumann on MLB proposals

Link to NHL holiday roster freeze

Link to MLB prediction-market deals

Link to latest legal decision

Link to prediction-markets piece 1

Link to prediction-markets piece 2

Link to WPBL standings

Link to WPBL article 1

Link to WPBL article 2

Link to Sale article 1

Link to Sale article 2

Link to Sale game page

Link to Baldwin game precedents

Link to FARTBAT article

Link to FARTBAT wiki

Link to MLBTR on Pham

Link to Pham vs. Myers spat

Link to MLBTR on Cave

Link to MLBTR on Robert Jr.

Link to Ohtani update

Link to Reddit Rockies post

Link to Curt’s Bluesky post

Link to Cowser catch clip

Link to Cowser catch article

Link to The Sun Never Sets

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Effectively Wild Subreddit

Effectively Wild Wiki

Apple Podcasts Feed

Spotify Feed

YouTube Playlist

Facebook Group

Bluesky Account

Twitter Account

Get Our Merch!

var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {});
Source