Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about all aspects of the Home Run Derby spectator experience, both in the ballpark and from afar: the new format, the Netflix broadcast, the Philly fans, Jordan Walker’s win, and more. Then (49:12) they discuss how All-Star selections increasingly reflect same-season performance, Bruce Meyer’s and Rob Manfred’s comments to the MLBPA, negotiations over MLB players’ participation in the 2028 Olympics, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ceddanne Rafaela’s mutual lovefest, and the ice-cold A’s and red-hot Red Sox.

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

Audio outro: Moon Hound, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to FG HRD recap

Link to LHB-heavy preview

Link to MLB HRD notes

Link to LHB park factors

Link to RHB park factors

Link to “Year of the LHH” post

Link to MLB.com on Walker

Link to list of youngest HRD winners

Link to Walker on inspirational value

Link to historical HRD results

Link to McGwire Simpsons scene

Link to Marchand on Netflix

Link to Sam on the Derby’s future

Link to HRD X wiki

Link to Meg’s Arozarena photo

Link to Posnanski on the HRD

Link to Philly Drew/batteries incident

Link to Philly Santa Claus incident

Link to Paine on All-Star selections

Link to past EW discussion on selections

Link to Manfred competitive balance quote

Link to Meyer on MLB.TV ads

Link to Meyer/Manfred messaging summary

Link to Passan on the Olympics

Link to Drellich on the Olympics

Link to The West Wing quote

Link to Rafaela/PCA article

Link to FG WAR leaderboard

Link to playoff odds changes

Link to A’s firing article

Link to team road FIP

Link to team home FIP

Link to team batting WAR

Link to Sheehan on the Sox

Link to conn wiki

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MLB Draft 2026

What Do Real Prospects Think About MLB’s Draft Proposal?
2026 Mock Draft 1.0
The Biggest (Literally) Draft Class Yet
Jackson Flora's Evolution, Alain Gomez-Gudino's Incredible Journey, and Other Tales from the 2026 Draft Class
2026 MLB Draft Preview and Updated Rankings
Day 1 Draft Chat
2026 Mock Draft 2.0: The Day Of
The MLB Draft Is Once Again for Diehards Only
Day 1 Recap
2026 Futures Game Recap: More Next Year, Please
Effectively Wild Episode 2504: I Choo-Choo-Choose You




Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen banter about Zack Wheeler declining MLB’s last-minute All-Star invitation, JJ Wetherholt’s long-term contract extension, and how the Futures Game and amateur draft fell flat as spectator events, then discuss the top tier of draft picks, some surprising picks and revamped approaches by teams under new management, why better data hasn’t made teams much better at drafting, why no team has tried blowing by its bonus allotment, and more, plus closing banter about Bryce Harper’s explanation of his video message for a sports-betting addict.

Audio intro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: PJ Harding, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Simpsons clip

Link to Wheeler article

Link to MLBTR on Wetherholt

Link to Wetherholt’s draft outfit

Link to Baumann on the spectator experience

Link to Cooper on the spectator experience

Link to Manfred mispronunciation article

Link to celebrity golf tournament

Link to Futures Game FAQ

Link to draft viewing FAQ

Link to Brendan on the Futures Game

Link to Eric’s draft preview

Link to The Board

Link to Baumann on big draftees

Link to MLB draft tracker

Link to FG Day 1 draft recap

Link to The Athletic on Schaffner

Link to Crotchfelt vs. Titsworth post

Link to Angels picks

Link to Ball’s draft study

Link to Seidler on blowing up the draft

Link to Ball on blowing up the draft

Link to NBA revenue info

Link to Madisynn from She-Hulk

Link to Clemens on prospect valuation 1

Link to Clemens on prospect valuation 2

Link to camel case wiki

Link to Harper’s Instagram post

Link to EW guest appearances

Link to Dodgers extra-inning game

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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 share listener solutions to the mystery of why the 12-straight-hits club is such an undistinguished group, the Home Run Derby field, Bryce Harper’s video message (13:28) to a sports-betting addict and sportsbooks’ practice of preying on whales, the disparity (35:54) in the recent treatment of two pitchers who had no-hitters in progress, and Zack Wheeler’s gripe against All-Star selecting, then (1:02:42) answer a listener email about how much a game one has to have seen to claim to have “watched” it, and Stat Blast (1:23:20) about partial home run robberies, games with matching starter pitch and strike counts, historical team no-hitter conversion rates, and prolific “first” strikeout and home-run recorders.

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

Audio outro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Tolbert record post 1

Link to Tolbert record post 2

Link to Williams 11th hit

Link to Pedroia 11th hit

Link to HRD field

Link to Norway rowing pedant

Link to Inquirer article on Harper

Link to Post article on Harper

Link to lawsuit article

Link to Giannis/Kalshi article

Link to gambling damage research 1

Link to gambling damage research 2

Link to addiction story 1

Link to addiction story 2

Link to addiction story 3

Link to addiction story 4

Link to addiction story 5

Link to story on Jones 1

Link to story on Jones 2

Link to Jones game log

Link to questions about Jones

Link to Jones Q&A

Link to Cease story

Link to BP on Cease

Link to top 2026 pitch counts

Link to Blum on pulling pitchers

Link to Scott/PCA clip

Link to Ben on no-hitter strike zones

Link to Wheeler quote clip

Link to Wheeler’s agent article

Link to latest Luzardo start

Link to 2025 Phillies ASG complaints

Link to “May I meet you?” meme

Link to Pascal’s wager wiki

Link to “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”

Link to Simpson/Adell robbery

Link to Glavine game 1

Link to Glavine game 2

Link to Nola question

Link to Bois on Stieb

Link to Stat Blast data

Link to listener emails database

Link to Cubs fact 1

Link to Cubs fact 2

Link to MLBTR on Ohtani

Link to MLBTR on Wetherholt

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about failed former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s subsequent sports ownership endeavors, a claim about Jacob Misiorowski’s pitching improvement, Jackson Chourio (batting lefty) as “a baseball player,” the recent struggles of Paul Skenes and Steven Kwan, Justin Verlander’s retirement, Zack Wheeler’s continued dominance, Andrew McCutchen’s return to the minors, the Orioles’ lack of improvement, the epitome of a Little League home run, Tyler Tolbert’s contribution to one of baseball’s great mysteries, and a 2026 Dodgers first.

Audio intro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme”

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

Link to McCourt’s new league

Link to McCourt wiki

Link to show jumping wiki

Link to Vladimir Shpunt article

Link to NPR on Fitzgerald’s quote

Link to Nickelodeon Guts wiki

Link to “Let’s go to Mo”

Link to “Aggro Crag piece

Link to Slippery Stairs video

Link to Murphy/Chourio quote

Link to Rendon lefty dinger

Link to Mr. Baseball wiki

Link to Mr. Baseball scene

Link to FG post on Skenes

Link to Sheehan on Skenes

Link to Skenes mechanics post

Link to Skenes velo tweet

Link to Skenes velo data

Link to Skenes on his velo

Link to Skenes on O’Hearn

Link to O’Hearn article

Link to Skenes hot dog ad

Link to Skenes on EW

Link to Griffin injury article

Link to sagittal band info

Link to FG post on Kwan

Link to Verlander’s retirement post

Link to Verlander Legend pick

Link to 2025 ASG box score

Link to Wheeler leaderboard

Link to Wheeler ASG article 1

Link to Wheeler ASG article 2

Link to McCutchen tweet

Link to Orioles record post

Link to Orioles WAR leaders

Link to “great call from the haters”

Link to LLHR article

Link to LLHR video

Link to Sam on the LLHR

Link to Posnanski on the LLHR

Link to BP on the LLHR

Link to FG post on the LLHR

Link to Tolbert record post 1

Link to Tolbert record post 2

Link to Dodgers extra-inning game

Sponsor Us on Patreon

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Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about two significant MLB debuts on NBC’s “Star-Spangled Sunday” (by Eddy Yean and Eliezer Alfonzo), the fallout from the Marlins pulling Eury Pérez mid-perfecto, a rare fog delay, the All-Star Game rosters (featuring a very normal number of Blue Jays, and also Rob Manfred’s good buddy Bryce Harper), whether the league set a target home-run rate (and whether that would be a bad thing), and the rotation durability of the Cards and Guards.

Audio intro: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: PJ Harding, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to “Star-Spangled Sunday” explainer

Link to minor league draft scoreboard

Link to Yean’s cart clip

Link to Yean debut article

Link to bullpen cart driver episode

Link to team RP WAR

Link to Alfonzo article 1

Link to Alfonzo article 2

Link to Contreras apology

Link to B-Ref’s new debuts

Link to Pérez article

Link to Sheehan on pulling Pérez

Link to Ben on Marlins play-by-play

Link to 2016 Hill article

Link to 2022 Kershaw article

Link to 2022 Scherzer article

Link to Stripling on his debut

Link to Bachar’s Instagram

Link to fog game article 1

Link to fog game article 2

Link to BP on the fog game

Link to foggy ABS clip

Link to Fog Bowl wiki

Link to Statcast Hawk-Eye explainer

Link to All-Star rosters announcement

Link to Vladito back injury info

Link to Harper All-Star story

Link to 2025 Harper/Manfred story

Link to recent episode on baseball behavior

Link to MLB statement

Link to Baseball Savant drag dashboard

Link to 2026 Athletic ball article

Link to 2025 Athletic ball article

Link to 2022 ball article 1

Link to 2022 ball article 2

Link to 2022 humidor article

Link to 2021 ball-deadening article

Link to eyeblack ball report

Link to NPB ball scandal article

Link to NPB ball scandal outcome

Link to Strange-Gordon farming info

Link to NBA deflation scandals

Link to Sheehan on the Cards/Guards

Link to BP IL Ledger

Link to SP used per team

Link to team SP FB velo

Link to team SP WAR

Link to Pitcher List on Guardians SP stuff

Link to Thress Pérez/Bachar post

Link to RE24 explainer

Link to SP/RP RE24 data

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com

Effectively Wild Subreddit

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Apple Podcasts Feed

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