Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast
2,149 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 2.5K ratingsDaily baseball statistical analysis and commentary
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Episodes
Effectively Wild Episode 1798: The 2022 Minor League Free Agent Draft
January 15, 2022 04:12 - 1 hour - 72.7 MBBen Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs writer Ben Clemens banter about a few details of MLB’s latest labor proposal to the players, the conclusion of and possible confounding factors behind a Bill James study about how switching teams affects a player’s chances of Hall of Fame induction, another historic hire of a woman in baseball, […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1797: Familiarity Breeds Contempt
January 14, 2022 02:42 - 1 hour - 82.6 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a bargaining meeting between MLB and the MLBPA that reportedly produced little progress toward a deal, the odds of a punctual start to the season, the retirement of Jon Lester and their lasting fascination with his pickoff-throw yips, a familiarity penalty for relievers who face the same team […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1796: Major League Biasball
January 11, 2022 23:32 - 1 hour - 76.5 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Rachel Balkovec becoming the first female manager in affiliated ball, Genevieve Beacom making her pro debut in Australia, and other women breaking baseball boundaries, then (13:20) conclude their “Measuring the Unmeasurable” series about studying difficult-to-quantify aspects of the sport by bringing on Rob Arthur of Baseball Prospectus and […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1795: Measured Tones
January 08, 2022 01:47 - 1 hour - 86.3 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley continue their “Measuring the Unmeasurable” series about studying difficult-to-quantify aspects of the sport by bringing on Rob Mains of Baseball Prospectus to banter about ESPN’s new Sunday Night Baseball broadcasting plans and discuss Rob’s studies about competitive balance, team mobility and inequality, starter vs. reliever performance, the magnitude and history […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1794: Play Up and Pay Up
January 07, 2022 02:49 - 1 hour - 70 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley continue their “Measuring the Unmeasurable” series about studying difficult-to-quantify aspects of the sport by talking to Patrick Brennan about his studies on assessing player development at the major and minor league levels, the challenges of evaluating player development, the data he wishes he had, the most and least successful player […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1793: Measuring the Unmeasurable
January 05, 2022 02:54 - 1 hour - 102 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Fanatics purchasing Topps and MLB Network reportedly parting ways with Ken Rosenthal because of his criticism of Rob Manfred. Then (27:36) they kick off a series of episodes about measuring difficult-to-quantify aspects of the sport by talking to Cameron Grove about translating his study of astrophysics into baseball […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1792: Should Old Infractions Be Forgot
January 01, 2022 00:45 - 1 hour - 94.8 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss Ben’s decision regarding his Hall of Fame ballot, and how to handle Hall of Fame voting in the future. Then (38:05) they complete their series of discussions of Korean baseball drama Stove League by breaking down the last four episodes (13-16) and reflecting on the series as a whole. […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1791: The Stories We Missed in 2021
December 31, 2021 02:29 - 1 hour - 74.5 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the retirement of Kyle Seager and the lockout implications of a recent report about player payrolls, then discuss an assortment of listener-nominated, team-centric topics that they had previously overlooked on the podcast in 2021. Audio intro: Spooky Tooth, “Kyle” Audio outro: Hockey Dad, “I Missed Out” Link to list of […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1790: The Fandom Menace
December 29, 2021 02:24 - 1 hour - 90.8 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their holidays, how the omicron variant is affecting sports and personal decisions, and how analyzing COVID case counts is (kind of) akin to analyzing baseball stats, discuss the pace and prominence of signings of former major leaguers by KBO and NPB teams, the results of 2021 interleague play, […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1789: One-Dan Band
December 21, 2021 09:31 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBBen Lindbergh concludes a short series of conversations with baseball content creators who work mainly in a medium other than writing or podcasting by talking to singer-songwriter Dan Bern about his origins as a baseball fan and musician, rooting for different teams at different times, his songwriting process, sneaking into Wrigley Field, composing his first […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1788: Toil on Canvas
December 21, 2021 03:58 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBBen Lindbergh continues a short series of conversations with baseball content creators who work mainly in a medium other than writing or podcasting by talking to painter Graig Kreindler about Noah Syndergaard, Nick Adenhart, and the best way to pay tribute to past players via uniform number, how Graig got started as a baseball fan […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1787: Effectively Foolish
December 20, 2021 07:02 - 1 hour - 73.8 MBBen Lindbergh kicks off a short series of conversations with baseball content creators who work mainly in mediums other than writing or podcasting by talking to YouTuber Bailey Freeman of Foolish Baseball about the Mets hiring Buck Showalter and the challenge of evaluating managers, how many bases Rickey Henderson would steal today, Bailey’s origins as […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1786: The Rosin for the Season
December 17, 2021 02:59 - 1 hour - 77.4 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the United States of Shohei Ohtani and Baseball-Reference player page popularity, a perplexing fact about fielding percentage, time-shifted baseball (and watching only wins), learning to love a sport later in life, whether pruney fingers would be a performance-enhancer for pitchers, the great rosin bag battle of the 1920s […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1785: What is This, a Cooperstown Episode?
December 16, 2021 06:35 - 1 hour - 78.3 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about how baseball writers are coping with the lockout, revisit the burst of spending that preceded its start, and marvel at the wide variety of Hall of Fame ballots that have surfaced so far. Then (19:01) they talk to Sean Gibson and Ted Knorr, two of the founders of […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1784: Have You Heard The Rumor?
December 16, 2021 02:46 - 1 hour - 77.7 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the reasons for and consequences of MLB’s lack of compelling record chases (à la Alex Ovechkin’s in the NHL, Stephen Curry’s in the NBA, and Tom Brady’s in the NFL). Then (21:16) they talk to Sam Dingman and Mac Montandon, the hosts of The Rumor, a just-completed six-part […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1783: The Rumor Chill
December 11, 2021 02:48 - 1 hour - 93.1 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the slow drip of baseball news during the lockout, why MLB’s competitive balance gets a bad rap, the Rays’ historic collective minor league winning percentage, and the difficulty of evaluating individual defense in the age of Statcast-based and non-Statcast-based metrics. Then (33:09) they continue their series of discussions […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1782: Six Plaque Confabs
December 08, 2021 02:33 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk to Adam Darowski, the baseball historian, Hall of Fame scholar, and Head of User Experience at Sports Reference, about working on the Baseball-Reference website, creating the Hall of Stats, the Hall of Stats vs. the Hall of Fame, the appeal of 19th-century baseball, the Hall of Fame elections of […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1781: Hidden Balls Trick
December 07, 2021 03:12 - 1 hour - 65.5 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about listener responses to their earlier conversation about the proper pluralization of “hit by pitch,” then (11:41) bring on Bradford William Davis and Dr. Meredith Wills to discuss the reporting and research that revealed that two types of baseballs were used during the 2021 MLB regular season, as well […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1780: Thank You for Your Service
December 04, 2021 02:39 - 1 hour - 83.3 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about which teams have the most unfinished roster construction to complete post-lockout and the league’s and union’s dueling playoff format proposals, then answer listener emails about what Wander Franco would make as a free agent today, a plan to combat tanking, and the proper pluralization of “hit by pitch,” […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1779: The Show Must Go On
December 03, 2021 00:56 - 1 hour - 75.6 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the beginning of the lockout, which marks MLB’s ninth work stoppage and the first in 26 years. They also discuss a flurry of buzzer-beating transactions, including the Dodgers re-signing Chris Taylor, the Cubs signing Marcus Stroman, the Brewers and Red Sox swapping Jackie Bradley Jr. and Hunter Renfroe, […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1778: The Storm Before the Calm
December 01, 2021 02:33 - 1 hour - 84.1 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the onslaught of transaction activity leading up to the expiration of the CBA, touching on why they and others misread how fast the market would move, why players and teams have done deals so quickly and how the burst of spending could affect labor talks, the group of non-playoff […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1777: Happy Francsgiving
November 25, 2021 01:36 - 1 hour - 91.2 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Rays signing 20-year-old Wander Franco to a long-term extension, rapid movement in the starting-pitcher market (capped off by the Cardinals signing Steven Matz and Mets owner Steve Cohen tweeting out his reaction), and the White Sox inking Kendall Graveman. Then (36:41) they continue their series of discussions […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1776: How Can You Not Be Romantic About Baseball?
November 24, 2021 01:45 - 1 hour - 80.2 MBBen Lindbergh talks to baseball writer and romance novelist KD Casey about Unwritten Rules, her new romance novel about catchers and catcher framing, focusing on her history as a fan and writer, the intersection of sports and romance fiction, fictionalizing MLB teams, delivering details about baseball without alienating readers who aren’t fans, the ethics of […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1775: Ask the Audience
November 23, 2021 02:33 - 1 hour - 84.2 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up on an earlier conversation about ERA vs. FIP and banter about Seiya Suzuki being posted, Noah Syndergaard’s explanation of why he left the Mets, the rumored Sandy Alcantara extension and the future of the Marlins, how Canada’s new policy about unvaccinated athletes could affect the Blue Jays, and […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1774: In Defense of FIP
November 20, 2021 01:51 - 1 hour - 88.1 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley recap the results of awards week, focusing on the controversy over Corbin Burnes’s victory over Zack Wheeler in NL Cy Young voting, the inconsistency between the AL and NL Cy Young results, how voting patterns are evolving, whether anyone actually discounts the value of innings, FIP vs. ERA and a […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1773: Hats Off
November 19, 2021 07:19 - 1 hour - 90.5 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Astros re-signing Justin Verlander and MLB’s plan to house minor leaguers, then (19:53) bring on listener and top-tier Patreon supporter John Choe to discuss the single game he played in indy ball, the Moonlight Graham Society he co-founded to recognize minor league cups of coffee, how his […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1772: Bananas in Pajamas
November 17, 2021 01:20 - 1 hour - 81.8 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a flurry of signings and other transactions, including the Tigers signing Eduardo Rodriguez, the Angels signing Noah Syndergaard, the Blue Jays extending José Berríos, and the Mets (finally) hiring a GM, Billy Eppler, plus musings on the Tigers and Mariners “turning the corner,” followups on player rankings, unorthodox […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1771: Take the Money and Pun
November 12, 2021 09:43 - 1 hour - 99.3 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest batch of silly Scott Boras quotes, featuring Meg’s real-time reactions to hearing them for the first time, a “fake quote or real quote?” quiz, and a discussion of the motivations behind the superagent’s annual stand-up routine, then discuss Boras’s comments about competitive integrity and try to […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1770: Only the Finest Free Agents
November 10, 2021 06:17 - 1 hour - 72.9 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley announce new perks available to their Patreon supporters, then (12:03) bring on Ben Clemens, the lead author of FanGraphs’ top 50 free agents ranking, to discuss qualifying offers, early transactions, and Wade Miley and size up this offseason’s free agent class, focusing on the strong selection of shortstops and starters, […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1769: The Lockout Lookout
November 09, 2021 01:40 - 1 hour - 57 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk to Evan Drellich, senior writer for The Athletic, about the state of labor negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA, the major issues separating the two sides, the odds of a work stoppage, how long a potential lockout could last, how the CBA talks may affect transaction activity, how previous […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1768: The Braves Blueprint
November 05, 2021 04:52 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s return from podcast paternity leave, the quality of the 2021 postseason, whether the Braves were underrated or simply overperformed, what teams might learn from and emulate about Atlanta’s success, postseason pitcher usage and game length, the career and retirement of Buster Posey, their upcoming discussion of TV […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1767: Goodbye World Series, Hello Winter Ball
November 04, 2021 02:32 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Eric Longenhagen discuss the conclusion of the World Series, including how Brian Snitker and Dusty Baker managed their depleted pitching staffs, the future of postseason pitching, Jorge Soler’s pyrotechnics, when they realized Atlanta was going to win the Series, and what’s next for the Astros and the Braves. Then they […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1766: Fingers in Several Rays Pies
November 03, 2021 00:37 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBMeg Rowley and erstwhile Effectively Wild co-host and current Tampa Bay Rays employee Jeff Sullivan discuss World Series game start times, how Jeff’s job has changed compared to the 2020 season, Wander Franco, the Rays’ uniforms, what it is like to root (and work) for a team in the playoffs, the Rays’ ALDS against Boston, […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1765: Of Cinnabon and Shifts
October 29, 2021 22:25 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBBefore Game 3 of the World Series, Meg Rowley and guest co-host Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated discuss postseason travel for sportswriters, the forgotten virtues of suburban malls, Emma’s piece on how Atlanta shifted its stance on the shift midseason, and how the front office, Ron Washington, and the players came together to adopt the […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1764: Decrying the Sliderization of Baseball
October 29, 2021 02:53 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBIn a crossover event Marvel would envy, Meg Rowley and guest co-host Michael Baumann of The Ringer discuss Games 1 and 2 of the World Series, what the loss of Charlie Morton means for Atlanta, the narrative role of the starter, how to navigate the moral conundrum that is fandom, the ever-growing length of postseason […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1763: World Series Preview, Fun Fact Edition
October 26, 2021 02:15 - 55 minutes - 50.8 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Sarah Langs of MLB.com banter about Sarah’s participation in MLB’s first game to feature an all-women broadcast crew, her research process, and what makes for a good fun fact. Then Sarah shares some Braves and Astros statistical oddities ahead of the World Series, including fun facts about Joc Pederson, Brian […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1762: They Write Mike Trout Hypotheticals in Outer Space, Too
October 23, 2021 00:27 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Ben Clemens discuss the Astros’ pitching woes, the role of starters in the postseason, Dave Roberts’ decision to have Brusdar Graterol hit in Game 5 of the NLCS, Yordan Alvarez, how a 3-2 series deficit feels for fans of the team with the upper hand, and Ben’s look at Ian […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1761: Those Wacky, Tacky Balls
October 21, 2021 00:45 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Grant Brisbee catch up on some non-postseaosn news, including Grant’s elbow injury, MLB’s decision to provide housing for minor leaguers, and Rob Arthur’s research suggesting spin rate and pitch movement have recovered after cratering in light of sticky stuff enforcement, then banter about Laz Diaz’s strike zone in Game 4 […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1760: Choose Your Own NLCS Adventure
October 15, 2021 00:22 - 49 minutes - 45.1 MBMeg Rowley is joined by guest co-host Mike Petriello of MLB.com. They discuss Mike’s role in the booth as a part of ESPN’s Statcast broadcasts, how what is affectionately referred to as the Nerdcast got started, how Mike prepares for games, how he balances being analytics-heavy while still appealing to a broad audience, how the […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1759: In Hindsight, This Was Inevitable
October 14, 2021 01:28 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Bradford William Davis of Insider discuss his new job as an investigative features writer and what the shift from being a daily columnist has meant for how he engages with players, sources, and baseball, and the stories he’s able to tell. Then they turn their attention to the playoffs and […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1758: Desperately Sweaty Energy
October 13, 2021 01:30 - 1 hour - 69.6 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Jon Tayler of FanGraphs banter about the Boston Red Sox’s victory over the Tampa Bay Rays to advance to the American League Championship Series, including Jon’s experience of the series as a Red Sox fan, Alex Cora’s managerial style, Boston’s particular brand of chaos ball, when Jon knew Garrett Whitlock […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1757: Farewell to Rhubarb
October 10, 2021 23:45 - 1 hour - 66.2 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio discuss his recent trip to Monument Valley before recapping the weekend’s ALDS and NLDS action and looking ahead to what might come next, including thoughts on the Giants’ approach to platooning, Cody Bellinger‘s season-long slump, AJ Pollock‘s past postseason woes, the Brewers offense, Eduardo […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1756: Ichabod Crane Comes to Bat
October 08, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 89.7 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Eric Longenhagen banter about Walker Buehler’s unusual approach to opening beers and their own past dental emergencies before recapping the AL Wild Card game. They consider what went wrong for the Yankees, and assess the Red Sox’s good starters, potent lineup, and shaky defense, as well as Nick Pivetta and […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1755: Chaos Letdown
October 05, 2021 03:55 - 1 hour - 81.3 MBMeg Rowley and guest co-host Craig Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus recap the final weekend of regular season baseball before previewing this week’s Wild Card games. They discuss the Mariners’ decision not to promote Julio Rodríguez, their disappointment at the lack of tiebreaker games, franchise player farewells, the current playoff format, what comes next for Seattle […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1754: Never Tell Me the Odds
October 01, 2021 23:53 - 47 minutes - 43.9 MBWith the postseason around the corner, Meg Rowley and guest co-host Ben Clemens discuss the playoff picture, how the Seattle Mariners got where they are, which team Ben would prefer to see his Cardinals match up against in the NL Wild Card, and the biggest surprises of the season. Then they discuss Ben’s recent work […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1753: Bringing Up Baby
September 30, 2021 01:30 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about what Shohei Ohtani might mean for the Mariners’ slight playoff chances and Riley O’Brien’s recent debut, before Ben shares some (good) personal news. Then (17:33) they bring on Will Leitch to discuss the St. Louis Cardinals. Will shares what it has been like to root for the team […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1752: Photo Finish
September 28, 2021 07:34 - 1 hour - 89.9 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Giancarlo Stanton’s awe-inspiring weekend at Fenway, the most aesthetically pleasing home run hitters, what the Cardinals’ 16-game winning streak portends (or doesn’t portend) for their playoff hopes, and the last week in the remaining playoff races. Then (26:32) they bring on Patreon supporter Dylan Buell to talk about […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1751: The Playoff Matchups Draft
September 25, 2021 22:40 - 1 hour - 71 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about teams pitching around Shohei Ohtani and a second conspiracy theory about Rays/Jays Cardgate, then rank the fun quotient of potential playoff teams and draft their preferred playoff matchups. Audio intro: Steve Gunn, "Protection" Audio outro: Frankie Siragusa, "I Don’t Want to See You Again" Link to article about Ohtani’s walks […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1750: The Gift of the Maggi
September 25, 2021 05:36 - 1 hour - 76.1 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Cardinals being unbeatable, the Giants setting a record for outperforming PECOTA, the Orioles’ and Diamondbacks’ race to MLB’s worst record, the White Sox and Yankees also having identical records (and the vagaries of unbalanced schedules and divisional assignments), the saga of Drew Maggi’s call-up and demotion and […]
Effectively Wild Episode 1749: Cheat Sheet
September 22, 2021 11:47 - 1 hour - 75.5 MBBen Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the unwritten rules controversy stemming from Kevin Kiermaier absconding with a Blue Jays scouting card, the Padres’ collapse, dysfunction, and outlook for 2022, the Cardinals’ surge and the Braves’ revamped outfield, Anthony Gose’s return to the majors as a pitcher, a number of injured arms making comebacks, the […]