Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

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 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”

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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 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

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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

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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

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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 a baseball reference in summer sci-fi flick The End of Oak Street and new reporting on players’ unwillingness to wear cups, then (32:30) discuss career years for Pete Alonso and Gabriel Moreno, Mason Miller’s changeup, Cal Raleigh’s swing change, and whether MLB will follow other leagues’ leads in establishing a tournament or trophy apart from the playoffs, before Stat Blasting (1:17:47) about the worst/least-experienced lineups ever, the most prolifically .500 teams, and the hierarchy of double-play frequency.

Audio intro: Kite Person, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The End of Oak Street wiki

Link to David Robert Mitchell wiki

Link to Detroit references in movie

Link to Parrish 1982 gamelog

Link to Doctor Strange Tigers reference

Link to protective cups article

Link to Luke 22:42-44

Link to Chisholm article

Link to Forbes article on JKG

Link to Time article on JKG

Link to best hitters in August

Link to on-pace leaderboard

Link to pitch run values since 2025

Link to Miller’s changeup count

Link to Cruz homer clip

Link to Miller article 1

Link to Miller article 2

Link to game theory meme

Link to Cal swing article

Link to Neil on alternate champions

Link to Neil on the NBA Cup

Link to Knicks NBA Cup decision

Link to regular-season-champion article

Link to regular-season-champion episode

Link to Yankees’ six-run win

Link to Stat Blast wiki

Link to Giants loss article 1

Link to Giants loss article 2

Link to Giants unfun fact

Link to Sam post 1

Link to Sam post 2

Link to 2022 White Sox .500 records

Link to Rochester Hop Bitters info

Link to Preston’s FB post

Link to “9 to 5” video

Link to double-play data

Link to Hembekides clip

Link to Hembekides graph

Link to Molina 3-2-8 double play

Link to Nootbaar play

Sponsor Us on Patreon

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Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

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