Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their imperfections, follow up on flying horses, Justice Blackmun omitting Mel Ott from Flood vs. Kuhn, and a possible defense of pitcher hitters, then assess the state of the standings and playoff races, contemplate a position change for Fernando Tatis Jr., discuss the Field of Dreams Game, and consider a point in favor of robot umps and signs of spin-rate resurgence.

Audio intro: David Bowie, "Win"
Audio outro: Oh Pep!, "The Race"

Link to article about how horses fly
Link to article on Blackmun and Ott
Link to Ben on pitcher hitters/position-player pitchers
Link to post on Canseco pitching
Link to video of Holt pitching
Link to post on slowest possible pitches
Link to thread on slowest possible pitches
Link to FanGraphs Playoff Odds
Link to Mike Petriello on the Mets’ offense
Link to Petriello on the Jays’ offense
Link to Justin Choi on the Jays
Link to Rob Mains on team mobility
Link to Rob Arthur on the absence of superteams
Link to article on Tatis in the outfield
Link to Field of Dreams episode
Link to paper on umpire discrimination
Link to thread about umpire discrimination
Link to tweet about resurgent spin

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of Céspedes Family BBQ banter about Jake’s baseball bike trip (and Jordan’s accompanying car ride) from New York to Chicago. Then, in honor of Mike Trout’s 30th birthday, they draft their favorite things about Trout and his incredible career.

Audio intro: Jay-Z, "30 Something"
Audio outro: Smash Mouth, "You Are My Number One"

Link to Jake’s fundraising site
Link to Jake’s trip stats
Link to Episode 762
Link to Sam on Trout and Grichuk
Link to Sam on Trout’s 2012 season
Link to story on Trout’s no. 1 jersey
Link to post about Trout’s August 2015
Link to video of Trout’s left-handed BP
Link to Pedro Moura on Trout’s future
Link to Ben on Trout’s rookie year
Link to Ben on Trout’s dad
Link to Trout’s spring training stats
Link to Trout’s Hardy homer robbery
Link to 2009 draft video
Link to Trout Weather Channel video
Link to 2012 SuperPretzel press release
Link to 2016 SuperPretzel ad
Link to SuperPretzel website
Link to list of Trout hypotheticals

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball (and steeplechase?) at the Olympics, then answer listener emails about teams intentionally drafting players they don’t intend to sign, Willy Adames as an NL MVP candidate, Dominic Smith and reverse platoon splits, secret ball-strike counts, and which is better (or worse), position-player pitchers or pitcher hitters, then meet major leaguers Shea Spitzbarth and Stephen Ridings and do a Stat Blast about Flood v. Kuhn and Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, the original Rememberer of Some Guys (plus a postscript about the life and death of legendary Astros ace J.R. Richard).

Audio intro: The Baseball Project, "Gratitude (For Curt Flood)"
Audio outro: Joni Mitchell, "The Last Time I Saw Richard"

Link to story about Olympic baseball
Link to Tess Taruskin on prospects at the Olympics
Link to steeplechase wiki
Link to Devan Fink on the NL MVP race
Link to research on reverse platoon splits
Link to Sam Miller on abolishing the strike zone
Link to Ben on pitcher hitters/position-player pitchers
Link to Tribune-Review on Spitzbarth
Link to Post-Gazette on Spitzbarth
Link to Newsday on Ridings in 2021
Link to Newsday on Ridings in 2016
Link to WFAN on Ridings
Link to story on Yankees’ three debuts
Link to Ridings press conference video
Link to story about Haverford’s baseball execs
Link to Flood v. Kuhn wiki
Link to Flood v. Kuhn opinion
Link to SABR research on Flood v. Kuhn
Link to Blackmun Stat Blast data
Link to Cabell’s comments about Richard
Link to MLB.com on Richard
Link to Allen Barra on Richard

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mets not signing first-round pick Kumar Rocker, owner Steve Cohen’s comment about the decision, and the amateur draft as a salary-suppressing institution, then discuss how injuries have destabilized some of the major end-of-season awards races. After that (31:51), they talk to Cleveland native (and Baseball Prospectus writer) Russell Carleton about his history as a fan of the team soon to be known as the Cleveland Guardians, when he changed his mind about changing its name, the real history of the old name, what he and other Clevelanders think of the new name, the potential for a rechristening in Atlanta, and more (plus a postscript on a record streak of alternating wins/losses).

Audio intro: Bruce Springsteen, "I’m a Rocker"
Audio interstitial: Blind Melon, "Change"
Audio outro: Jackson Browne, "My Cleveland Heart"

Link to report about the Mets and Rocker
Link to story on Rocker’s future
Link to story about later Mets selections
Link to Steve Cohen tweet
Link to Brendan Gawlowski on the draft
Link to Joon Lee on Angels minor leaguers
Link to Russell on minor league housing
Link to stream Stove League
Link to Russell on the Guardians
Link to Joe Posnanski on the Guardians
Link to Nancy Kelsey-Carroll on the Guardians
Link to academic paper on Sockalexis
Link to pictorial history of Chief Wahoo
Link to the “Curse of Rocky Colavito”
Link to the “Curse of Chief Wahoo”
Link to story on “racist uncles”
Link to Patrick Dubuque’s Guardians sketch
Link to Guardians of Traffic history
Link to story about the roller derby team
Link to story about an Atlanta name change
Link to longest alternating W-L streaks

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley recap the busiest trade deadline ever, first examining why it was so frantic and then going division by division to analyze the actions or inaction of every team that made a trade (which was, well, every team).

Audio intro: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, "Heard You’re Moving"
Audio outro: Vanessa Peters, "Moving Day"

Link to FanGraphs trade reactions
Link to FanGraphs deadline roundup
Link to Ben on the busy deadline
Link to Ken Rosenthal on the busy deadline
Link to MLB.com on the busy deadline
Link to trade activity graph
Link to “All-Stars traded in a day” data
Link to Zach Kram on trading top prospects
Link to Baumann on deadline returns
Link to Ben on the Scherzer/Turner trade
Link to Baumann on the giant Yankees
Link to Mike Petriello on Gallo and Rizzo
Link to story on outfielder Randy Johnson
Link to C. Trent on Votto

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the one-for-one A’s-Marlins swap involving Starling Marte and Jesús Luzardo, Marte’s underrated career, and Miami’s enviable pitching stockpile, then discuss the circumstances surrounding a potential trade of Max Scherzer. After that (35:21), they talk to FiveThirtyEight senior writer Neil Paine about the factors that affect whether teams add or subtract at the trade deadline, Neil’s “Doyle Number” metric for assessing trade-season incentives, how this year’s unusual playoff picture has created unusual deadline conditions, and specific teams that should or shouldn’t be motivated to make moves.

Audio intro: Guided By Voices, "Bellicose Starling"
Audio interstitial: Modest Mouse, "Bankrupt on Selling"
Audio outro: Arthur Brown, "Come and Buy"

Link to Marte WAR comparison
Link to Zach Kram on trading top prospects
Link to Ken Rosenthal on the Scherzer talks
Link to Jay Jaffe on the Nationals
Link to story on Scherzer’s contract
Link to “Doyle Number” articles
Link to Jayson Stark on execs at the deadline
Link to 2021 “Doyle Number” data
Link to Rob Arthur on the playoff picture
Link to Neil’s “Hall of Good” series
Link to FiveThirtyEight’s forecast history
Link to Neil’s research on true talent
Link to Hot Takedown podcast

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Padres trading for Adam Frazier and other pre-deadline activity, Joey Votto’s offensive resurgence, Shohei Ohtani’s dirty uniform, and more, then react in real time to the Mariners surprisingly trading Kendall Graveman to the Astros for Abraham Toro. They also answer listener emails about adding a pitcher/DH position, bringing back unlimited two-strike foul bunts to combat the shift, trading catchers at the deadline, the possibility of pitchers, not catchers, calling pitches, and enjoying baseball via stats alone. After that, they do a “Meet a Major Leaguer” on two rookies recently traded to the Pirates, Hoy Park and Tucupita Marcano, and share a Stat Blast on Merrill Kelly and the longest team streaks in which the only wins were in starts by one pitcher (plus postscripts on trades, “pulling the goalie,” cycles, and more).

Audio intro: The Pretty Things, "Joey"
Audio outro: Lana Del Rey, "Mariners Apartment Complex"

Link to Dan Szymborski on the Frazier trade
Link to latest Ohtani two-way outing
Link to story on the “phantom DH”
Link to story on electronic pitch-calling
Link to The Hidden Language of Baseball
Link to story on Maddux pitch-calling
Link to Gallo shift before two strikes
Link to Gallo shift with two strikes
Link to story on the two-strike-bunt rule
Link to Travis Sawchik on foul balls
Link to story on Marcano
Link to Stat Blast data
Link to Ryan Divish on the Mariners’ reaction
Link to story on Piniella’s “cycle”
Link to tweet about Kepler
Link to Facebook thread on cycles and no-nos
Link to Mary Shane podcast

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the new name and look of Cleveland’s MLB team, the Guardians, then react to the Rays trading for Nelson Cruz and dealing away Rich Hill, analyze a new electronic system for sending signs from catchers to pitchers that’s about to be tested in A ball, and salute Juan Soto’s post-Home Run Derby hot streak. Then (38:42) they bring on FanGraphs writers Ben Clemens and Kevin Goldstein to talk about their just-completed ranking of the 50 players with the most trade value, touching on how the series’ sausage was made, the most divisive players, the toughest omissions, valuing pitchers vs. hitters, evaluating Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Max Kepler, Ramón Laureano, and other players, synthesizing stats and scouting info (and production and pay), what they expect at this year’s trade deadline, and how teams’ behavior at the deadline has changed (plus a postscript on historic pitching matchups and more alternate cycles).

Audio intro: Lou Reed, "Guardian Angel"
Audio interstitial: The Bats, "Trade in Silence"
Audio outro: Sloan, "I Can Feel It"

Link to Guardians announcement video
Link to Guardians logo and lettering
Link to Guardians uniforms
Link to story on Tom Hanks and Cleveland
Link to article about the Guardians name selection
Link to Dan Szymborski on the Cruz trade
Link to BP IL Ledger
Link to report on electronic signs system
Link to story on Soto and the Derby
Link to story about the Derby “curse”
Link to Trade Value series

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the return of the debate about batting around and other unending debates they do or don’t care about, whether MLB should borrow the NFL’s plan to make clubs forfeit games that can’t be played because of unvaccinated players, Willians Astudillo being back in the big leagues, and listeners’ suggestions for alternate cycles, then answer listener emails about Zack Greinke and the Expos, turning the zombie runner into a ghost runner, beliefs about baseball that they have changed their minds about or will change their minds about, a baseball equivalent of pulling the goalie, and how long it would take aging former stars’ career WARs to hit zero, plus a Stat Blast about the Mariners and teams with the longest droughts since their last sweep of a homestand or road trip.

Audio intro: Lou Reed, "Endless Cycle"
Audio outro: Death Cab for Cutie, "Debate Exposes Doubt"

Link to WSJ batting around article
Link to Deadspin batting around article
Link to 2019 batting around video
Link to 2021 batting around video
Link to “triple short of cycle” games
Link to “Miggy cycle” games
Link to story about NFL forfeits
Link to post about pulling the goalie
Link to post about civilian WAR
Link to post about potato WAR
Link to Stat Blast data

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the length of the baseball season (and postseason) compared to other sports’, whether Shohei Ohtani ever grows frustrated with his mere-mortal teammates, the prolific predictions of the Rockies’ Mike Redmond, a possible modification to the zombie-runner rule, an update on the Marlins’ run differential, a story about a broadcaster bet gone wrong, a listener report on Tony La Russa, Willie Stargell’s stars, an Ohtani playing-time fun fact, the AL MVP race, the Blue Jays returning to Toronto (and a hat tip to John McDonald), a few potential variations on the cycle, and when MLB will welcome its first active, openly gay player, then close with a discussion of MLB’s first month sans sticky stuff, focusing on the offensive effects and whether cheating is overrated.

Audio intro: Vetiver, "Been So Long"
Audio outro: The Posies, "Flavor of the Month"

Link to study on postseason randomness
Link to Neil Paine on MLB vs. the NBA
Link to Ohtani’s postgame comments
Link to The Onion on Ohtani
Link to Ohtani Week intro
Link to Redmond predictions story
Link to Nightengale on the zombie-runner rule
Link to The Athletic on the zombie-runner rule
Link to Jim Rooker story
Link to Jake Mintz’s ride
Link to Buster Olney on Stargell’s stars
Link to Engadget on Stargell’s stars
Link to cycle tweet
Link to story on Ron Wright
Link to story on the “Saint Cycle”
Link to Ben on sticky-stuff effects

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the conditions David Fletcher has faced during his hitting streak compared to those Joe DiMaggio faced, follow up on a discussion of baseball in a multiverse scenario, discuss the difficulty of extending (or trading) Byron Buxton, mention a quest to collect Willians Astudillo cards, puzzle over the stagnation of former top prospect Nomar Mazara, and marvel at Padres rookie reliever Daniel Camarena’s improbable grand slam. Then (32:53) they talk to Jake Mintz of Cespedes Family BBQ about his All-Star week experience, his upcoming baseball bike ride from New York City to Chicago, the teams he’ll see along the way, his fateful bet about the White Sox not hiring Tony La Russa, how La Russa has handled the job in Chicago, the challenge of gauging how effective any manager is, Jake’s friendship with Jordan Shusterman, and more.

Audio intro: Billy Bragg & Wilco, "Joe DiMaggio Done it Again"
Audio interstitial: 2nd Grade, "My Bike"
Audio outro: The Dukes of Stratosphear, "Bike Ride to the Moon"

Link to Stats about DiMaggio’s streak
Link to story about official scorers and DiMaggio
Link to list of pitchers Fletcher faced
Link to Larry Niven story
Link to Buxton extension story
Link to Astudillo card collector
Link to Wallach card blog
Link to Sam on the Wallach card collector
Link to one million Cubs cards account
Link to 2019 Mazara moonshot
Link to Camarena homer
Link to Camarena backstory
Link to Camarena high-school stats
Link to story about Duggleby
Link to Andy McCullough on La Russa
Link to 2014 Cespedes BBQ road trip
Link to Jake’s 2021 trip website
Link to Lost Boyz Inc.

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s airport problems, discuss the All-Star Game (touching on mic’d up and profane players, unsightly uniforms, All-Stars being friendly on the field, and MLB embracing the game’s lack of stakes), lament that the zombie-runner rule may not be (un)dead after all, follow up on more players with high highlight-to-value ratios, reflect on Will Craig seeking solace in the KBO, celebrate David Fletcher’s 24-game hitting streak and unique offensive profile, examine some entertaining pettiness between Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve, and assess the state of the standings, focusing on teams that may make a late-season charge. Then they wrap up with a Stat Blast about the underperforming (but opponent-outscoring) Marlins and note some news about Roy Campanella.

Audio intro: The Byrds, "The Airport Song"
Audio outro: Beady Eye, "Back After the Break"

Link to mic’d up Ohtani and Soto
Link to mic’d up Tatis
Link to mic’d up Hendriks
Link to Ben on mic’d up players
Link to Rovell’s first Derby tweet
Link to Rovell’s second Derby tweet
Link to Manfred’s comments
Link to article about Craig
Link to Fletcher leaderboard
Link to Fletcher’s Baseball Savant page
Link to Fletcher hitting head-high pitch
Link to BP on the Yanks-Astros beef
Link to the Chronicle on the Yanks-Astros beef
Link to the Post on the Yanks-Astros beef
Link to FanGraphs playoff odds
Link to FanGraphs BaseRuns standings
Link to FanGraphs team pitching Clutch scores
Link to B-Ref team pitching high-leverage splits
Link to Craig R. Wright on Campanella

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Rob Manfred teasing a possible permanent reprieve from zombie runners and seven-inning doubleheaders, react to Monday’s Home Run Derby and outpouring of appreciation for Shohei Ohtani, and lament Ronald Acuña Jr.’s season-ending injury (and assess the state of the Braves). Then (45:46) they bring on FanGraphs Lead Prospect Analyst Eric Longenhagen and National Writer Kevin Goldstein to break down the amateur draft, touching on the Pirates’ surprising first-overall pick, the best player picked, draft-day maneuvering, players who fell further than expected, how to break news about the next players picked, teams with “types,” the best and most eyebrow-raising team approaches, the Angels’ no-hitter draft, the draftees who’ll make the majors fastest, the potential two-way players, the oldest player ever drafted, the impact of the late draft date, the future of the draft, standouts at the Futures Game, and more.

Audio intro: Willie Nelson, "Denver"
Audio interstitial: Eli “Paperboy” Reed, "Pick a Number"
Audio outro: Bob Seger, "Get Out of Denver"

Link to story about Manfred’s comments
Link to story about Players Alliance donation
Link to story about Ohtani ASG rules
Link to Ben on the Derby
Link to MLB The Show Tatis promo
Link to MLB Network Ohtani interview
Link to players’ reactions to Ohtani
Link to amateur draft results
Link to Eric and Kevin’s last mock draft
Link to Eric and Kevin’s Day 1 draft recap
Link to story on the Angels’ draft
Link to list of oldest players drafted
Link to Ben on Ohtani’s origin story

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the 10th anniversary of Mike Trout’s promotion to the majors, Rey Ordóñez and other players with high highlights-to-value ratios, opting against an Albert Pujols pun, MLB wisely forgoing the humidor for the Home Run Derby, and a quibble with the Derby bracket, then follow up on a discussion of mid-inning coaching visits for hitters and answer listener emails about the value of an above-average broadcast crew, letting All-Stars wear a special patch on their regular jerseys, how baseball would be different in a multiverse scenario, the differing levels of outrage that resulted from MLB’s assorted cheating scandals, and when rooting for individual players crosses over into rooting for teams.

Audio intro: Earlimart, "10 Years"
Audio outro: The Big Bopper, "Bopper’s Boogie Woogie"

Link to MLB.com on Trout’s 10-year anniversary
Link to Ben on Trout’s rookie year
Link to Michael Baumann on Lindor and the Mariners
Link to Ordóñez defensive highlights video
Link to story on Vieira’s debut
Link to story on the humidor and the Derby
Link to FanGraphs TV broadcaster crowdsourcing
Link to FanGraphs radio broadcaster crowdsourcing

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Rays’ combined seven-inning hitless game, knuckleballer Mickey Jannis as a secret weapon in MLB The Show, Jacob deGrom and the near-impossibility of breaking the ERA record, Billy Hamilton and players with the highest highlight-to-value ratios, a six-man outfield against Joey Gallo, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the retelling of player predictions, a first for Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera’s recent semi-resurgence, Pablo López and an (almost) unprecedented one-pitch loss, Sonny Gray getting naked, another Max Muncy, the hidden difficulties of Shohei Ohtani’s two-way season, Max Stassi and the virtues of a catcher who can frame, and the Angels without Mike Trout, plus a Stat Blast about Jake Arrieta and the fewest pitches before grand slams. Then (1:05:34) they talk to Hat Club community manager Benjamin Christensen about the online backlash to the New Era “Local Market” and “Mixed Font” caps, why those caps are more successful than they seem, the process of designing hats, the overlap (or lack thereof) between Baseball Twitter and baseball-cap buyers, baseball caps as fashion statements, the continued cap dominance of MLB, how caps can promote the sport, and his favorite baseball caps.

Audio intro: Oasis, "(Probably) All in the Mind"
Audio interstitial: The Rose Petals, "The Man Who Sold the Hats"
Audio outro: First Aid Kit, "Ugly"

Link to story about Rays’ “notable achievement”
Link to Jannis in MLB The Show 21
Link to Ben on mid-PA pitching changes
Link to video of Hamilton catch
Link to shift against Gallo
Link to Vlad prediction clip
Link to full mic’d up video
Link to Ben on in-game interviews
Link to BP on López and Cabrera
Link to story on López and Art Schallock
Link to story on Gray getting changed
Link to FanGraphs mock draft
Link to info on the new Muncy
Link to video of Ohtani at-bat and homer
Link to story on Ohtani and Stassi
Link to Ohtani curve/fastball overlay
Link to Ben on the .500-ish Angels
Link to tweet about economical grand slams
Link to Stat Blast spreadsheet
Link to WaPo on the “Local Market” caps
Link to BP on the “Mixed Font” caps
Link to Hat Club website
Link to story about Griffey’s backward cap
Link to Shakeia Taylor on hats and hip-hop culture

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their long weekends, birthday boy (and two-way All-Star) Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s perplexing timing when it comes to announcing awards and All-Star honors and scheduling special events such as the Futures Game and the amateur draft, the Yankees’ continuing troubles, pitchers who’ve struggled since the sticky stuff crackdown began, and Kyle Schwarber falling prey to the hamstring-injury epidemic. Then (35:34) they “Meet a Major Leaguer” up close by bringing on Mickey Jannis, right-handed knuckleball pitcher for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, who discusses making his major league debut for the Baltimore Orioles last month, his journey from the 44th round to indy ball to the O’s, how he learned the knuckleball, how high-speed video has helped him refine his unusual pitch, being inspected for sticky stuff, the future of the knuckler, and more.

Audio intro: The Decemberists, "Down on the Knuckle"
Audio outro: Hinds, "Finally Floating"

Link to story about all-Star Ohtani
Link to video of Ohtani steal/walkoff
Link to video of Walsh/Ohtani hug
Link to video of Ohtani whiff
Link to story about the Yankees and analytics
Link to Lindsey Adler on Cole and Chapman
Link to video on Cortes
Link to video of Cortes vs. Ohtani
Link to Devan Fink on Richards
Link to BP article on hamstring strains
Link to Derek’s hamstring injury visualization
Link to Ben on Jannis and the knuckleball
Link to Jannis’ Twitter account
Link to Jannis’ first MLB out (and K)
Link to Jannis’ spring training knuckler
Link to Jannis’ knuckler grip
Link to Jannis’ knuckler on high-speed video
Link to story on Jannis’ “perfect” loss
Link to Ben on the Castellanos meme
Link to new Castellanos clip

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about passing the halfway point of the regular season, the early effects of the sticky-stuff crackdown, a historically high-scoring day, the white-hot Brewers (and Willy Adames) and the red-hot Nationals (and Kyle Schwarber), a Germán Márquez gem, and a study on how kids become fans that helps explain how Ben and Meg became co-hosts. Then they talk to two academics who have used baseball data to study psychology: Professor James Archsmith of the University of Maryland (33:37) on umpires and decision fatigue, and Professor Hengchen Dai of the UCLA Anderson School of Management (56:33) on midseason trades and performance resets (plus a postscript about foreign-substance beef between Josh Donaldson and Lucas Giolito).

Audio intro: Cheap Trick, "Hard to Tell"
Audio interstitial 1: Kelley Stoltz, "Decisions, Decisions"
Audio interstitial 2: Tri-State, "Start Again"
Audio outro: Lucy Dacus, "Going Going Gone"

Link to Jeff Sullivan on preseason projections
Link to Jeff on predicting second-half records
Link to Eno Sarris on sticky stuff
Link to Rob Arthur on sticky stuff and the Dodgers
Link to Ben on the PED era
Link to Will Sammon on the Brewers
Link to Brewers predicting a home run
Link to Brewers predicting a comeback
Link to Eric Cummings data on defensive turnarounds
Link to Sam Miller on “True Wins”
Link to study on age and fandom
Link to Professor Archsmith’s website
Link to paper on umpires and decision fatigue
Link to study on umpires and air quality
Link to article about umpires and air quality
Link to study on umpires and racial discrimination
Link to article about discriminatory umpires study
Link to study on umpires and status bias
Link to study on umpires and the Gambler’s Fallacy
Link to Freakonomics on umps and the Gambler’s Fallacy
Link to study on players and rational inattention
Link to Rob on pitchers taking their time
Link to Rob on hitters taking their time
Link to Professor Dai’s website
Link to study on trades and fresh starts
Link to article about trades study
Link to Donaldson/Giolito story

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s experience attending the worst start of Shohei Ohtani’s MLB career, then (15:04) discuss the Dodgers’ and MLB’s response (and their own reactions to) this week’s serious assault allegations against Trevor Bauer. (Warning: This episode contains some swears, starting at 18:18.)

Audio intro: Vanessa Peters, "Rather Bad Day"
Audio outro: Teenage Fanclub, "Tears Are Cool"

Link to Jay Jaffe on the Ohtani game
Link to Twitter thread on traveling to see Ohtani
Link to the RAINN hotline
Link to the National Domestic Violence Hotline
Content warning: Some of the links below include detailed descriptions of alleged sexual and physical assault.
Link to TMZ report about Bauer
Link to The Athletic on the restraining order
Link to The Athletic on the Dodgers, MLB, and Bauer
Link to The Athletic on Bauer’s scheduled Sunday start

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s borderline excessive consumption of Angels games and the latest, greatest exploits of Shohei Ohtani, who and what is to blame for the Yankees’ ongoing struggles, Gerrit Cole’s performance post-sticky stuff, Hector Santiago becoming the first pitcher ejected for alleged foreign substance use, a Triple-A umpire’s broken-belt ejection, Zach McKinstry keeping his eye on the ball, the Tigers’ recent respectability, and more.

Audio intro: Frank Sinatra, "Bewitched"
Audio outro: Bombadil, "Leather Belt"

Link to Ohtani homer on Friday
Link to Ohtani homer on Sunday
Link to Ben’s article on Ohtani
Link to Ohtani Twitter stan account
Link to Ohtani WAR pace graphic
Link to Santiago article
Link to second Santiago article
Link to article on Ottavino trade
Link to Lindsey on the Yankees’ offense
Link to Lindsey on LeMahieu
Link to belt/ejection video
Link to belt/ejection blog post
Link to Matsuda article
Link to McKinstry quote
Link to batter ball-tracking research

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the brief big league stay of knuckleballer Mickey Jannis, Joey Votto’s predictions, decline, and reminders of mortality, Greg Maddux forecasting foul balls, and the states of the Cubs and Dodgers post-combined no-hitter. Then they answer listener emails about whether MLB regrets making Statcast data publicly available in the wake of scandals about the ball and foreign substances, why coaches don’t visit hitters mid-inning the way they visit pitchers, why WAR isn’t tailored to individual teams, and how much worse rooting for a terrible team is than rooting for one that’s merely bad, with closing banter about Aaron Nola tying the consecutive-strikeout record and the potential for a seven-inning game to thwart a pitcher’s attempt to record a 21-strikeout outing.

Audio intro: Tokyo Police Club, "Can’t Stay Here"
Audio outro: Isotopes, "Rule 21"

Link to Ben on Jannis and the knuckleball
Link to Votto article
Link to Maddux article
Link to story about Nola
Link to Sam on 21-strikeout games

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about MLB’s much-maligned All-Star Game uniforms and a pair of odd games, discuss the highs and lows of the first few days of MLB’s enforced foreign-substance ban (with special attention to Max Scherzer, Joe Girardi, and Sergio Romo), review Wander Franco’s debut and note the less-hyped arrivals of Lars Nootbaar and knuckleballer Mickey Jannis, relate a Jesse Winker home-run prediction, and close by exploring the ways in which the first-place Houston Astros, to the dismay of many Astros haters, are still very good.

Audio intro: Slothrust, "New Red Pants"
Audio outro: The Donnas, "Hot Pants"

Link to ASG uniforms
Link to Angels game story
Link to Nats-Phillies game story
Link to Manfred on sticky-stuff enforcement
Link to Rizzo on Girardi
Link to video of Scherzer and Romo
Link to video of Ohtani inspection
Link to Simpsons scene
Link to Ben on Jannis and the knuckleball
Link to Javier’s headshot
Link to Zach Kram on the Astros

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Ben Lindbergh and guest co-host Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio and the Diamondbacks’ broadcast crew discuss the D-Backs’ 17-game losing streak and more extended stretch of futility before bantering about Shohei Ohtani’s Player of the Week Award-winning performance and the potential for Ohtani to own All-Star Week, the call-up of (and expectations for) Rays infielder and MLB top prospect Wander Franco, and Manny Machado getting distracted by the wave. Then (50:09) Ben talks to biomechanics expert, former Dodgers analyst, and current CEO of Reboot Motion Dr. Jimmy Buffi about how sticky stuff enhances performance, whether Tyler Glasnow was right about the foreign-substance crackdown increasing injury risk, why injury rates are up this season, and whether Jacob deGrom’s ever-escalating velocity and series of minor injuries are causes for concern. Lastly (1:25:37), Ben talks to Rays pitching prospect Graeme Stinson about the lefty’s experience with sticky stuff, the wisdom and effects of the enforced foreign-substance ban, the experimental pickoff rules that have boosted base stealing in A ball, housing and nutrition in the minor leagues, and the founding and future of StatStak, the performance-tracking company he helped start during the pandemic.

Audio intro: Grateful Dead, "Loser"
Audio interstitial 1: Electric Light Orchestra, "Hold on Tight"
Audio interstitial 2: Dave Clark and Friends, "Rub it In"
Audio outro: Sharon Van Etten, "Seventeen"

Link to list of longest losing streaks
Link to Peacock plate appearance
Link to Peacock backstory
Link to Ohtani Player of the Week highlights
Link to Ohtani’s Coors BP
Link to FanGraphs Rays prospect ranking
Link to Franco origin story
Link to all-time list of youngest MLB players
Link to video of Machado and the wave
Link to Buffi’s first podcast appearance
Link to Glasnow comments
Link to Mike Sonne’s fatigue research
Link to Buffi’s elbow/forearm study
Link to Reboot Motion website
Link to 2021 experimental rules
Link to Jayson Stark on A-ball base stealing
Link to Stinson’s Twitter account
Link to StatStak website
Link to Diamondbacks game story
Link to article on sticky stuff and batted balls
Link to average 4-seam spin rate by day chart
Link to Meg on Lind
Link to Maldonado video

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up on previous discussions about player predictions and game postponements, answer listener emails about a sticky-stuff pitcher protest, the talent level in the College World Series, the wave as a player-distraction device, a six-year-old who roots for walks, and when the Astros will stop being booed (with an aside about foreign-substance use and the Hall of Fame), then unload a Stat Blast about the Twins and teams with the most and least lineup turnover after Opening Day, before closing with a “Meet a Major Leaguer” segment on Mariners outfielder Dillon Thomas and Monarchs two-way great Bullet Rogan.

Audio intro: Franz Ferdinand, "Bullet"
Audio outro: Franz Ferdinand, "Walk Away"

Link to article about Puckett’s called shot
Link to article about Nationals delay
Link to Jeff Passan on sticky stuff
Link to Ben on mid-PA pitching changes
Link to Ben on college player development
Link to info on distracting free-throw shooters
Link to post about swinging against deGrom
Link to tweet about swinging against deGrom
Link to story on the Astros being booed in Boston
Link to Baseball Prospectus IL Ledger
Link to Stat Blast data
Link to SABR on the Cobb replacement game
Link to news segment about Thomas
Link to video of Burrows throwing (up)
Link to Baseball-Reference Negro Leagues hub
Link to Bullet Rogan’s B-Ref page
Link to SABR on Rogan’s 1921 game
Link to MLB.com on Negro Leagues two-way stars
Link to THT on Negro Leagues two-way stars

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Jose Altuve forgoing a home run trot, then break down the details of MLB’s plan to enforce the rules against foreign-substance use starting on June 21, covering the pros and cons of putting that plan into action at midseason and opting to ban all substances, what the effects on offense will be, whether Tyler Glasnow’s injury presages many more arm injuries ahead, a Scott Boras metaphor, and much more. Then (51:07) they bring on EW listener and criminology scholar Josh Beck to explain what the principles of punishment and deterrence can tell us about the efficacy of MLB’s approach to preventing cheating.

Audio intro: John Lennon, "Cold Turkey"
Audio interstitial: Grateful Dead, "Victim or the Crime"
Audio outro: Paul McCartney & Wings, "Spin it On"

Link to video of 2012 Morse homer
Link to video of Altuve homer
Link to details of MLB’s plan
Link to Ben on sticky stuff
Link to Jeff Passan on sticky stuff
Link to Boras statement
Link to info on deterrence
Link to paper on deterrence theory
Link to five findings about deterrence
Link to paper on cheating in baseball

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s experience seeing Shohei Ohtani pitch, hit, and play right field in person, why balks can be so incomprehensible, the differing recent fortunes of the Angels and the Diamondbacks (and Albert Pujols), Jacob deGrom’s dominance and durability, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the big bats (and playoff fortunes) of the Blue Jays, and Baseball-Reference relaunching with the Negro Leagues reclassified as major leagues. After a break, they return (41:43) to talk more about the Baseball-Reference redesign, hearing first from researcher Larry Lester and Josh Gibson’s great-grandson Sean Gibson on the historic and personal significance of the new presentation of Negro Leagues stats and information, before bringing on Sports Reference president Sean Forman to explain how and why his company updated its display of Negro Leagues data, the ethical and practical considerations involved, and what will happen next.

Audio intro: The Minders, "Same Time, Same Place"
Audio interstitial: The Baseball Project, "They Played Baseball"
Audio outro: The Baseball Project, "Jackie’s Lament"

Link to highlights of Ohtani game
Link to Ohtani balks breakdown
Link to Ohtani balk face
Link to Jay Jaffe on Ohtani’s MVP case
Link to Sam on balks
Link to Jon Bois balk rules
Link to Blue Jays hard-hit-balls stat
Link to MLB.com on deGrom
Link to Dan Szymborski on the ERA record
Link to Episode 1560 (with Larry Lester)
Link to Episode 1626 (with Sean Gibson)
Link to Episode 1630 (with Ron Teasley)
Link to Larry Lester’s website
Link to the Josh Gibson Foundation
Link to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Link to the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database
Link to Ben on Negro Leagues reclassification last August
Link to Ben on Negro Leagues reclassification last December
Link to Shakeia Taylor on merging records
Link to James Wagner on the Baseball-Reference redesign
Link to the new Baseball-Reference Negro Leagues hub

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee discuss Grant’s experience co-hosting a podcast with Hunter Pence and Grant’s hatred of the zombie-runner rule, before attempting to explain how and why the San Francisco Giants have baseball’s best record and what they should do at the trade deadline.

Audio intro: The Baseball Project, "The Giants Win the Pennant"
Audio outro: The New Pornographers, "Need Some Giants"

Link to Baseball Barista
Link to Baggs & Brisbee
Link to Grant’s Pence scouting report
Link to Grant on the zombie-runner rule
Link to The Athletic on the Giants’ offensive improvement
Link to Grant on Oracle Park
Link to Grant on the Giants’ bullpen
Link to Tim Keown on the Giants

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about another prescient player prediction (this time involving the Phillies’ Luke Williams), Nick Madrigal’s hamstring injury, another aspect of the baseball scene in A Quiet Place Part II, and a few observations about the foreign-substance scandal, including teams’ culpability, how the perception of sticky stuff use may mirror the perception of the PED era, Pete Alonso’s conspiracy theory about MLB manipulating the baseball, and how the evolution of sticky stuff mirrors the evolution of the spitball. Then they answer listener emails about the underperforming Yankees offense, outs on the bases, and WAR for base coaches, whether MLB needs new names for positions, the “father-son” rule in Australian Rules Football, how vaccination status might affect player trade value, seven-inning-game gamesmanship, and John Gant and regression.

Audio intro: Pavement, "Spit on a Stranger"
Audio outro: The Rentals, "Conspiracy"

Link to FanGraphs newsletter
Link to story about the Williams walk-off
Link to James Fegan on Madrigal
Link to video about baseball movies
Link to Brittany Ghiroli on team/MLB culpability
Link to Devan Fink on spin and performance
Link to Ben on offense in the steroid era
Link to Alonso comments
Link to history of spitballs
Link to Pages from Baseball’s Past
Link to Cluster Luck leaderboard
Link to wOBA-xwOBA leaderboard
Link to 2021 team RISP splits
Link to B-Ref outs on the bases leaderboard
Link to Russell Carleton on third-base coaches
Link to Ben on positions and the shift
Link to cricket positions graphic

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter (sans spoilers) about baseball movie A Quiet Place Part II, Eric Sogard sliding over first base, a Travis Jankowski TOOTBLAN, Miguel Sanó repeatedly predicting success, and Jesse Winker raking, then consider whether it’s actually “unfortunate” that the first true two-way player in ages is as good as Shohei Ohtani, answer listener emails about the two-way-player Mendoza Line and whether pitcher Ohtani or hitter Ohtani would win a head-to-head matchup, and conclude with an in-depth discussion about what might happen and what we’ll learn if MLB does crack down on foreign-substance usage.

Audio intro: Dawes, "Crack the Case"
Audio outro: Bachelor, "Aurora"

Link to Sogard slide
Link to Jankowski TOOTBLAN
Link to Twins triple play
Link to 2017 Sanó triple play prediction
Link to 2021 Sanó triple play prediction
Link to Sanó 3-homer-game prediction
Link to Sanó 2014 season prediction
Link to list of players with multiple 3-homer games
Link to Devan Fink on Winker
Link to Jeremy Frank tweet about Ohtani
Link to R.J. Anderson on Ohtani vs. Ohtani
Link to video of Ohtani facing himself in VR
Link to Buster Olney on MLB’s crackdown
Link to Ken Rosenthal on Joe West and MLB
Link to Bauer’s Players’ Tribune piece
Link to Bauer on morals
Link to Dylan Hernández on Bauer and the Dodgers
Link to Fabian Ardaya on Bauer and spin
Link to The Athletic on Spider Tack
Link to Ben on foreign substances
Link to SI on foreign substances
Link to Travis Sawchik on foreign substances

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Sports Illustrated’s Emma Baccellieri banter about Ryan Yarbrough throwing a rare Rays complete game, then share their thoughts on the recent debate about media access in sports sparked by tennis star Naomi Osaka, touching on how access to athletes compares across sports, the dubious value of press conferences, athletes’ obligations and mental health, how media coverage can help players, reporters, and the public, the ongoing efforts to restore MLB clubhouse access, and whether it makes sense for baseball teams (and Joe Girardi) to dissemble and withhold information about tactics and player availability. Then they examine recent research that suggests that defensive positioning (but not the infield shift!) may be responsible for much of MLB’s offensive outage, and discuss Emma’s recent deep dives into newspaper archives to see what contemporary writers, players, and baseball officials said about the 1968 Year of the Pitcher and the 1917 spree of no-hitters, reflecting on the value of historical research, how baseball history (and coverage) repeats itself, how the 1968 discourse mirrored and differed from today’s, whether we’ve gotten better at diagnosing baseball’s problems, putting pitchers in holes, and much more.

Audio intro: The Rolling Stones, "Yesterday’s Papers"
Audio outro: Split Enz, "History Never Repeats"

Link to Joe Posnanski on Osaka
Link to Bryan Curtis on Osaka
Link to Curtis on NBA press conferences
Link to Ken Davidoff on Girardi
Link to Devan Fink on Harper
Link to Rob Arthur on defensive positioning
Link to Rob on fielders playing deeper
Link to Rob on outfield shifts
Link to Russell Carleton on four-man outfields
Link to study on optimizing outfield positioning
Link to story on Fowler in 2016
Link to story on Jones in 2017
Link to Emma on baseball dying
Link to story on the 1963 strike zone expansion
Link to Emma on 1968
Link to Rob Mains on 1968
Link to Emma on 1917

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about why “Zombie Runner,” not “Manfred Man,” remains their preferred term for the automatic runner, zombies in general, position player pitchers vs. pitcher hitters, the benefits of forfeits, the increasing rate of pitcher hitters not attempting to put the ball in play, MLB’s bad timing with NFTs, the minor league sticky substance crackdown, and the death of Mike Marshall and the chances of ever seeing another pitcher like him. Then (42:04) they talk to Ethan Singer, the creator of the @UmpScorecards Twitter account and UmpScorecards.com, about how and why he started tracking umpire accuracy, how his audience grew, why assessing umpire performance is complicated, how his methodology has evolved, accuracy vs. consistency, team-level umpiring metrics, fan anger at umps, what the robo zone could look like, his new-feature plans, and more.

Audio intro: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, "Runner"
Audio interstitial: The Jazz Butcher, "Zombie Love"
Audio outro: Marbles, "Out of Zone"

Link to Bradley PA
Link to Walker PA
Link to data on pitchers not swinging
Link to story about the NFT bubble
Link to story about Gehrig NFT
Link to story about NFTs’ environmental impact
Link to story about minor league suspensions
Link to Joel Sherman on foreign substances
Link to Passan on Marshall
Link to Russell Carleton on pitching roles
Link to Umpire Scorecards on Twitter
Link to Umpire Scorecards website
Link to Ethan’s website

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Luis Urías, the zombie runner, and walk-off wins, a few other aspects of the Will Craig/Javier Báez play, a new stat called the “Boner,” MLB and NFTs, Theo Epstein’s recent comments about making changes to the game, Shohei Ohtani’s player-page traffic and the future of two-way players, the Rays and Rich Hill, how the aftermath of the spitball ban relates to the future of foreign substance use, the definition of a “generational talent,” whether to credit teams or players for positioning, and whether MLB should ban in-game analytics use (and coaching visits), plus a Stat Blast about Trey Mancini and players who’ve accrued the highest-ever percentages of their teams’ runs and RBI.

Audio intro: The Replacements, "Gary’s Got a Boner"
Audio outro: David Newberry, "The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth"

Link to Brewers walk-off game story
Link to Craig’s comment about his boner
Link to Dan in Milwaukee’s field diagram
Link to story about Gehrig NFT
Link to story about Topps NFTs
Link to story about NFTs’ environmental impact
Link to Theo Epstein story
Link to Ben on Ohtani
Link to story about the spitball ban
Link to Pages from Baseball’s Past
Link to Servais “generational player” quote
Link to Tango on sports generations
Link to story about Joe West confiscating card
Link to “lasers in the outfield” story
Link to Stat Blast “Contribution Rate” data
Link to Ben Clemens on Lindor
Link to All-Star Game lawsuit story
Link to second All-Star Game lawsuit story
Link to listener David Newberry’s album

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Javier Báez and Will Craig combining on a baffling blooper, a naked streaker seizing the moment during a rain delay at Nationals Park, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt’s objection to a foreign-substance inspection (and how MLB should respond), an update from New Era about its short-lived “Local Market” caps, and Francisco Lindor’s protracted season-starting slump, then answer listener emails about legalizing sticky stuff for bad teams and whether umps would improve if they didn’t rotate around the field.

Audio intro: Passenger, "The Wrong Direction"
Audio outro: Teenage Fanclub, "I Need Direction"

Link to video of Báez/Craig play
Link to GIF breakdown of Báez/Craig play
Link to Yakety Sax version of video
Link to 2012 Astros play
Link to Sam’s single-play breakdown
Link to video of streaker
Link to another video of streaker
Link to still image of streaker
Link to Shaker Samman on the streaker
Link to story about banning fans
Link to story about Shildt
Link to video of Shildt ejection
Link to video of Shildt’s comments
Link to The Athletic on foreign substances
Link to Ben on foreign substances
Link to Tony Adams Bauer video
Link to Patrick Dubuque on breaking the rules
Link to EW episode on foreign substances
Link to WaPo on the New Era caps
Link to Lindor’s Baseball Savant page
Link to Lindor’s worst 44-game stretches
Link to Deesha Thosar on Lindor
Link to Russell Carleton on changing positions

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Baseball Prospectus editor-in-chief Craig Goldstein banter about cicadas, New Era’s short-lived “MLB Local Market” caps, the exploits of Adolis García, and Byron Buxton being too fast for his own good, then discuss Craig’s recent writing on how to fix what ails baseball, touching on what exactly the problem (if any) is, whether the offensive environment could correct itself, the best ways to reduce pitch speed and strikeouts, and much more, plus a real-time reaction to the conclusion of MLB’s investigation into Mickey Callaway.

Audio intro: The Apples in Stereo, "If You Want to Wear a Hat"
Audio outro: Tall Tall Trees, "Hats"

Link to The Athletic on the caps
Link to Royals’ response to caps
Link to post about the Grand Junction Chubs
Link to first bad fun fact
Link to second bad fun fact
Link to Jamey Newberg on Garcia
Link to Levi Weaver on Garcia
Link to Buxton tweet
Link to Craig and Patrick on restrictor plates
Link to Craig’s rules suggestions
Link to Russell Carleton on rules changes
Link to Rob Arthur on time between pitches
Link to THT on ascendant strikeouts
Link to BA on TTO at all levels
Link to article on pitch clock and injuries
Link to Hot Takedown episode on offense
Link to Ben on 2021 offense
Link to Petriello on pitcher strikeouts
Link to The Athletic on foreign substances
Link to Ben on foreign substances
Link to Five and Dive podcast
Link to story about baseball on ice

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the scant separation between the top teams in each division and the division races they find the most intriguing, Buster Posey, Scott Kazmir, and other old Giants, Isiah Kiner-Falefa backing up his objection to coming in last on FanGraphs’ shortstop positional power ranking, Mariners catcher José Godoy becoming the 20,000th major leaguer (or not) and the factors that influence the way we remember history, Erik Kratz alleging that the Rockies and (seemingly) Dodgers stole signs illegally and whether the world needs another act to the sign-stealing saga, Joe West breaking the record for most games umpired and the Hall of Fame umpire drought, the motley roster of the U.S. Olympic baseball team, the latest in Oakland ballpark brinksmanship, the Hanshin Tigers’ “Curse of the Colonel,” Zach Plesac’s poor undressing skills, and a Stat Blast about new Brewers shortstop Willy Adames and extreme reverse home-road splits.

Audio intro: Ramones, "Don’t Come Close"
Audio outro: George Harrison, "Any Road"

Link to FanGraphs playoff odds
Link to Jay Jaffe on Kazmir
Link to story about Kiner-Falefa
Link to FanGraphs shortstop WAR leaders
Link to story about Godoy
Link to John Thorn on the National Association
Link to story about Kratz’s comments
Link to 2018 story about the Brewers and Dodgers
Link to Episode 1505 (on sign stealing)
Link to list of Hall of Fame umpires
Link to Adam Darowski on Hall of Fame umps
Link to AP story about West
Link to Kill the Umpire on YouTube
Link to Team USA roster
Link to list of winter/summer medalists
Link to story about Rays lawsuit
Link to Alex Coffey on Oakland’s ballpark
Link to A’s postgame show walkout
Link to Curse of the Colonel Wiki
Link to story about Adames at the Trop
Link to Stat Blast home/road splits data

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Shohei Ohtani stalker cam on Japanese telecasts of Angels games, the Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals facing Jacob deGrom, why this season’s no-hitters have all been so dominant, and why it doesn’t make sense to hold hitters responsible for strikeouts and low batting averages. Then they do a Meet a Major Leaguer segment on the Cubs’ Tommy Nance and P.J. Higgins and close by discussing the exciting NL West race, the Cubs’ lackluster rotation, some clubs failing to reach the 85 percent vaccination threshold, and whether MLB’s COVID-testing protocols should be changed for vaccinated players.

Audio intro: The Pillows, "Stalker"
Audio outro: Yusuf / Cat Stevens, "Don’t Blame Them"

Link to thread about the Ohtani cam
Link to story about deGrom’s rehab start
Link to Ben on no-hitters
Link to McClung’s video
Link to 2008-21 plate discipline stats
Link to story about foreign substances
Link to story about Nance
Link to Bleacher Nation on Nance
Link to Eric Longenhagen on Nance
Link to story on the Cubs and seam-shifted wake
Link to Hoyer on vaccinations
Link to Scherzer’s comments
Link to story on perfect game losses
Link to listener email question database

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about scheduling their days around Shohei Ohtani and the latest examples of Ohtani excitement, Tony La Russa and unwritten rules vs. fun and the White Sox clubhouse, and Spencer Turnbull and no-hitter overload (before Corey Kluber’s no-no on Wednesday), then answer listener emails about whether Ohtani is the world’s best athlete, resting or playing Ohtani during All-Star week, whether not making the playoffs is too frequent a talking point when it comes to Ohtani and Mike Trout, whether the union could file a grievance over unwritten rules, flopping vs. framing and the possibility of punishing framing, and the median number of plate appearances in an MLB hitter’s career, plus a Stat Blast about Kyle Seager and the players who’ve participated in the most career no-nos.

Audio intro: Weezer, "1 More Hit"
Audio outro: Buzzcocks, "Why Can’t I Touch It?"

Link to other athletes on Ohtani
Link to Mike Petriello on Ohtani
Link to Brendan Gawlowski on La Russa
Link to Levi Weaver on Woodward
Link to Justin Choi on Turnbull
Link to Sheryl Ring on framing and cheating
Link to Stat Blast no-hitter data
Link to Bull Durham punch scene
Link to midseason managerial changes

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Dodgers signing Albert Pujols and what the rest of his season could look like, Kevin Pillar’s broken nose and the ongoing HBP epidemic, Shohei Ohtani’s latest heroics (and modeling video) and whether he can become a face of baseball and a crossover star, MLB’s rising injury rate, Huascar Ynoa’s self-inflicted fracture (and whether teams should invest in dugout/tunnel padding), Yermín Mercedes hitting a homer off of Willians Astudillo and igniting a tired unwritten rules debate, the Twins as potential sellers, Yasmani Grandal’s wild slash line, Nick Castellanos getting revenge on Rob Manfred, and Kyle Schwarber enjoying a mid-game snack, plus a flopping vs. framing follow-up and postscripts about Mike Trout’s injury and Tony La Russa.

Audio intro: Jimi Hendrix, "Crosstown Traffic"
Audio outro: Minor Threat, "In My Eyes"

Link to Jay Jaffe on the Pujols signing
Link to Jay on the Mets’ many injuries
Link to combined WAR leaderboard
Link to MLB.com on Ohtani’s homers
Link to video of Ohtani’s oppo homer
Link to video of Ohtani’s pulled homer
Link to Ohtani’s Hugo Boss video
Link to Ohtani’s Hugo Boss page
Link to tweet about the Angels
Link to video of Mercedes homer
Link to slowest pitches hit for homers
Link to video of Andrus obstruction play
Link to postgame Castellanos interview
Link to Bryant/Schwarber Twix video
Link to video of Trout injury
Link to story about Trout injury
Link to The Onion on Ohtani
Link to Ben on Tatis and unwritten rules
Link to Sox Machine on La Russa
Link to The Athletic on La Russa

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the same-day debuts of Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert, the future of the Mariners, and whether Mariners fans have actually had it so bad, another distinction between framing and flopping, the retirement of Tyler Flowers and the impact he had on catching technique, the resurgence of Rich Hill, the state of the AL Central and whether it’s too soon to stick a fork in the unfortunate Twins, how the controversy surrounding the NBA play-in tournament mirrors the reaction to MLB’s wild card games, and the bogus revenue numbers attached to the All-Star Game, then end with a Meet a Major Leaguer segment on the Mets’ Patrick Mazeika and the Marlins’ Cody Poteet.

Audio intro: Cat Stevens, "Where Do the Children Play?"
Audio outro: Death Cab for Cutie, "Your New Twin Sized Bed"

Link to Brendan Gawlowski on Kelenic/Gilbert
Link to Baseball Prospectus on Kelenic/Gilbert
Link to Gilbert headshot
Link to MLB.com on prospect debut duos
Link to Facebook group thread on prospect debut duos
Link to Ben on Flowers’ framing improvement
Link to Ben on Flowers and league-wide framing
Link to Ben’s podcast interview with Flowers
Link to Ryan Lavarnway on Flowers’ influence
Link to 2015-19 framing leaders
Link to Ben on Molina in 2012
Link to Ben on framing and the Hall
Link to called-strike-rate data by year
Link to WaPo on the NBA play-in game
Link to NBA play-in tournament explainer
Link to HUAL episode on the play-in tournament
Link to research on NBA luck vs. MLB luck
Link to EW Multisport Sabermetrics Exchange
Link to story on Denver ASG revenue
Link to Baseball Almanac ASG revenue claims
Link to AJC on ASG revenue
Link to Gainesville Times on ASG revenue
Link to Georgia Recorder on ASG revenue
Link to study on ASG revenue
Link to Mazeika’s Twitter account
Link to story about Mazeika
Link to Sam on walk-off celebrations
Link to Mazeika walk-off videos

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners calling up pitching prospect Logan Gilbert, the late-inning dominance of Aroldis Chapman and (more unexpectedly) Kendall Graveman, Shohei Ohtani’s best start of the season, and the Astros providing housing for their minor leaguers, then answer listener emails about their favorite baseball seasons, how long it will take for 2020 footage of fan-free ballparks to seem surprising, MLB shifting to a six-game-a-week schedule, framing vs. flopping, pitchers protesting having to hit by striking out on purpose, ordering ballpark food from home, and the culture of intentional plunkings.

Audio intro: The Bangles, "One of Two"
Audio outro: Paul and Linda McCartney, "Eat at Home"

Link to MLB.com on Seattle’s prospect promotions
Link to The Athletic on Chapman’s splitter
Link to Pinstripe Alley on Chapman’s splitter
Link to Bronx Pinstripes on Chapman’s splitter
Link to Lookout Landing on Graveman
Link to Lookout Landing on Graveman again
Link to The Athletic on Graveman
Link to video of Ohtani’s Tuesday highlights
Link to post on Ohtani’s cutters
Link to Forman Stathead tweet
Link to report on Astros housing
Link to Jeff Long on minor league dorms
Link to Russell Carleton on minor league living
Link to story about schedule makers
Link to documentary about schedule makers
Link to video of Walker strikeout
Link to Dodgers Home Plates menu
Link to story about Dodger Dog supplier
Link to Dodger Dog ode

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners’ impending call-up of top prospect Jarred Kelenic, the Dodgers’ recent slump, the Oakland A’s threatening to relocate, Wade Miley’s no-hitter and how long it takes for no-no fatigue to set in, whether MLB’s offensive downturn will force the league to take action, the role of hitters in the hit-by-pitch spike, a near-umpire perfect game and the unparalleled pitch-calling accuracy of unsung umpire John Libka, the Mets’ mysterious rat/raccoon fiasco, the return of Luke Voit, zombie runners, and players and staff testing positive post-vaccine, plus a PSA about broadcasters saying “effectively wild.”

Audio intro: The Clash, "The Call Up"
Audio outro: Paul McCartney, "Keep Under Cover"

Link to FanGraphs’ top prospects
Link to ESPN report about the A’s
Link to Tony Wolfe on Miley’s no-no
Link to Rob Arthur on HBP
Link to Ken Rosenthal on HBP
Link to Sara Sanchez on HBP
Link to 2002 armor crackdown news
Link to podcast with Theo
Link to Libnak umpire scorecard
Link to Umpire Scorecards explainer
Link to Libnak call of the month
Link to Libnak Mets game
Link to Ben on umpire perfect games
Link to ump accuracy rates by game
Link to lifetime ump accuracy rates
Link to seasonal ump accuracy rates
Link to Meg on a baseball penalty box
Link to Zack Scott rat/raccoon story
Link to Jay Jaffe on zombie runners

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Byron Buxton and the Twins, discuss the Angels designating Albert Pujols for assignment, and answer listener emails about whether to accept a scenario where one’s team always finishes .500 but one also gets to enjoy the career of a generational player, pitchers accepting automatic strikeouts, the best way for catchers to call for appeals on check swings, and appreciating the community of baseball as much as or more so than the sport itself, plus a Stat Blast about Glenn Davis and the most lopsided trades of all time.

Audio intro: British Sea Power, "Albert’s Eyes"
Audio outro: Shocking Blue, "Never Release the One You Love"

Link to Rosenthal on injuries in 2021
Link to Sam in 2012 on Pujols
Link to Ben in 2017 on Ohtani and Pujols
Link to data on most hits above .300
Link to Ben on retirement gifts
Link to Meg on retirement gifts
Link to interview with LSU pitcher
Link to Ben on checked swings
Link to Stat Blast data on lopsided trades
Link to Ardaya on Pujols
Link to Rosenthal on Pujols

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Orioles ace John Means pitching a no-hitter and the dropped-third-strike rule that prevented him from having a perfect game, Tony La Russa’s latest managerial miscues, an umpire admitting he guessed at a call, the Yankees turning their season around after a slow start and the perils of small-sample team performance, heckling the Astros, Dylan Cease, Huascar Ynoa, and good and bad arguments for and against the DH, whether the zombie-runner rule leads to more or fewer balls being put in play, the Twins’ struggles in Manfredball games, and whether fans are being cheated by seven-inning games, plus a Meet a Major Leaguer on Angels utility man Jose Rojas and Brewers pitcher Alec Bettinger (and, indirectly, 19th-century Milwaukee catcher Alamazoo Jennings).

Audio intro: Sloan, "She Says What She Means"
Audio outro: Badfinger, "Perfection"

Link to video of Means no-hitter
Link to video of dropped third strike
Link to Sam on dropped third strikes
Link to MLB.com on dropped third strikes
Link to SABR on dropped third strikes
Link to James Fegan on La Russa
Link to Angel Hernandez play/quote
Link to story about Astros taunts
Link to Cease highlights video
Link to video of Ynoa’s grand slam
Link to Ben on the DH
Link to Ben on player talent over time
Link to story on Rojas
Link to BP on Bettinger
Link to MLB.com on Bettinger
Link to story on Alamazoo Jennings

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about being fully vaccinated, injuries to Dustin May, Luis Robert, Jesús Luzardo, Jacob deGrom, Shohei Ohtani, and others around the league, grumbles about Tony La Russa’s managing, the Angels’ perplexing, persistent .500-ness, the Mets firing and hiring hitting coaches, and surprising pricing for players on Cameo, then follow up on the Dodgers’ shifting against righties, umpires declaring plays too close to call, and handing out flagrant fouls for hit by pitches before ending with Stat Blasts about the most consecutive taken pitches and the longest pitcher outings without a ball being put in play.

Audio intro: Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Dosed"
Audio outro: The White Stripes, "Take, Take, Take"

Link to post on May’s pitch-type changes
Link to post on May’s injury
Link to post on Robert’s injury
Link to Luzardo story
Link to Luzardo apology
Link to BP on April injuries
Link to Jeff Passan on La Russa
Link to Rob Arthur on La Russa
Link to story about Mets firings
Link to study on offense after firing coaches
Link to defensive efficiency leaderboard
Link to story about the Angels’ defense
Link to Ben on the Angels’ .500-ness
Link to cluster luck leaderboard
Link to post on the Dodgers’ shifting
Link to Reddit thread on Cameo pricing
Link to data on consecutive takes
Link to game with most consecutive takes
Link to data on all-true-outcome outings
Link to data on all-true-outcome starts

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Rays flamethrower Shane McClanahan’s regular-season MLB debut, a Bryce Harper hit by pitch and the causes of the current HBP epidemic, and the biggest surprises of the topsy-turvy standings entering May. Then (33:32) they’re joined by listener and Patreon supporter David Whitcomb to answer listener emails about whether excelling at fantasy baseball could help someone get hired by a team, what motion umpires should make to signal that a play is too close to call, whether umps telling hitters whether a pitch they swung at would have been called a strike is an unfair advantage, the frequent intentional walks of Ichiro Suzuki, making the whole diamond (or the whole field) bigger, how baseball would be different if its history were simulated many times, whether a pitcher could succeed at low velocity, and whether a hitless start in a seven-inning game that went to extras would be classified as a no-hitter.

Audio intro: James Taylor, "First of May"
Audio outro: Death Cab for Cutie, "Your Bruise"

Link to video of McClanahan’s hardest pitch
Link to Sam on flames on the broadcast
Link to story about Harper’s HBP
Link to Rob Mains on the HBP rate
Link to Rob on HBP in 2017
Link to Rob on the most dangerous HBP
Link to percentage of HBP that are breaking balls
Link to average velocity of HBP
Link to Sarah Langs on division leaders entering May
Link to Neil Paine on small-sample records
Link to Jeff on 50-game records
Link to Jeff on the standings in June
Link to Jeff on predicting second-half records
Link to AL bold predictions by Ben Clemens
Link to NL bold predictions
Link to story about Ottoneu
Link to story about Taubman’s fantasy background
Link to Jay Jaffe on position player pitching
Link to tweet about Greinke spring training story

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s morbid press conference comment, the continued excellence of Byron Buxton, Mike Trout, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., an early-season dip in infield shifting and an interesting disparity in defensive disparity between the Padres and Dodgers, and Rob Manfred’s comment about sports betting and the pace of baseball. Then they bring on frequent Stat Blast consultant Adam Ott, who’s about to begin a new job as a data scientist in Cleveland’s R&D department, to explain how he got a job in baseball and how to work with baseball data and to deliver an in-person Stat Blast about the most successful pitchers with no outs and a runner on second (plus a bonus Stat Blast about the pitchers with the most career wins after blowing saves).

Audio intro: The Rembrandts, "April 29"
Audio outro: Jackson Browne, "Song for Adam"

Link to Shanahan comments
Link to Buxton’s 5-for-5 video
Link to Petriello on Trout
Link to Trout’s best calendar months
Link to Trout’s best 19-game spans
Link to video of Vlad’s 3 homers
Link to Ben on shifting against righties
Link to Justin Choi on shifting against righties
Link to overall shift rate by year
Link to shift rate against lefties by year
Link to shift rate against righties by year
Link to team shift rate against lefties
Link to team shift rate against righties
Link to Emma Baccellieri on early-season offense
Link to Manfred’s comment at Sportico Live
Link to Craig Goldstein on Manfred
Link to new Pioneer League rules
Link to Adam’s Stat Blast data
Link to career leaders in “stupid wins”
Link to active leaders in “stupid wins”
Link to Adam’s blog post on Opening Day starters
Link to Bill Petti on creating a Retrosheet database

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest riveting Padres-Dodgers series, the beef between Trevor Bauer and Fernando Tatis Jr., Tatis’s fielding, the end of GM Jeff Bridich’s reign with the Rockies, Madison Bumgarner’s hitless start (but non-no-hitter?), Jacob deGrom’s dominance and starts in which pitchers produce as many hits as they allow, and John Means and the O’s stopping Oakland’s 13-game winning streak, then follow up on previous discussions about collective action by fans and replay review in cricket and provide updates on Shohei Ohtani and Willians Astudillo, plus a Stat Blast on the AL West’s “ASSHAT” standings and the most common division orders in recent seasons and a Meet a Major Leaguer on Rays pitcher Louis Head and Astros pitcher Kent Emanuel.

Audio intro: Dan Bern, "Rivalry"
Audio outro: Cotton Mather, "April’s Fool"

Link to Tatis-Bauer beef summary
Link to Nick Groke on Bridich
Link to Bumgarner video
Link to Jay Jaffe on Bumgarner
Link to spreadsheet of starts like deGrom’s
Link to ASSHAT standings image
Link to most common standings 2013-20
Link to most common standings 1998-2020
Link to video of Astudillo’s dinger
Link to story about Head
Link to story about Emanuel
Link to video of Emanuel’s debut
Link to Jared Diamond on DHCMT
Link to Ken Rosenthal on DHCMT
Link to Fabian Ardaya on Ohtani’s outing

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley offer a few updates on the first subject of their “Meet a Major Leaguer” segment, Zach Pop, banter about Corey Dickerson’s impending 200th career double, and answer listener emails about weather-based scheduling, giving umpires the option of not making close calls and deferring to replay reviewers instead, the strange statistics of Javier Báez, enforcing parity (but also mediocrity), whether baseball fans could channel the collective action of the soccer fans who sank the Super League, bringing the chess clock to baseball and improving pace, and the easiest role on the roster in which to collect low-effort, low-pressure paychecks, plus a Stat Blast about Bill Buckner and the overrated or underrated players whose Black/Gray Ink scores differ most from their career WAR.

Audio intro: Cat Stevens, "Pop Star"
Audio outro: Blind Melon, "So High"

Link to Kevin Goldstein on Báez
Link to Michael Baumann on the Super League’s demise
Link to Grant Brisbee on what makes games long
Link to Ben in 2014 on the least-used players
Link to B-Ref Black/Gray Ink glossary
Link to giant Stat Blast spreadsheet
Link to Meg on Hamels
Link to video of Astudillo saying “gasolina”
Link to video of Astudillo taking cover
Link to video of Astudillo’s homer
Link to postgame video of Astudillo

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Bryce Harper’s hot streak, the players at the top of the WAR leaderboard, the exploits of Byron Buxton and Nelson Cruz, the suddenly unbeatable Oakland A’s, Ben’s new favorite stat to track (Nick Madrigal’s K%+), pitcher hitting performance reaching a new nadir, and more. Then they debut a new recurring segment (and song), “Meet a Major Leaguer,” by introducing Marlins reliever Zach Pop and Rockies reliever Jordan Sheffield. They close by discussing an article about the obstacles facing women working for MLB teams and the latest biannual, Crasnick-esque ESPN insider survey about MLB’s burning questions. (Parental warning: This episode contains a trio of swears.)

Audio intro: Tom Petty, "You and I Will Meet Again"
Audio outro: Laura Marling, "Hope We Meet Again"

Link to story about Lowrie’s knee
Link to story about Lowrie’s sleeping
Link to story about James’s sleeping
Link to story about Smith’s sleeping
Link to 2021 K%+ leaderboard
Link to post-WWII K%+ leaderboard
Link to league-wide pitcher hitting stats
Link to Ben on pitcher hitting
Link to B-Ref’s new debuts page
Link to list of 2021 rule 5 guys
Link to Joon Lee’s article
Link to EW episode 1612 (with Jen Wolf)
Link to 2021 ESPN season survey
Link to Dan Szymborski on the Royals
Link to Ben Clemens on Burnes
Link to Jay Jaffe on Burnes
Link to Facebook group songs section
Link to “Meet a Major Leaguer” song

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the brief lifespan of the soccer Super League, the gift of the Padres-Dodgers rivalry and Blake Snell vs. Joe Musgrove, position-player-pitching overload and the pitching performance of Willians Astudillo, whether the slow-starting Yankees are really doomed, the retirement of Jay Bruce, the end of Tim Locastro’s stolen-base success streak (and the unlikely basestealing prowess of an ancient Albert Pujols), player switcheroos in the minor leagues, whether MLB would air replay review deliberations, the celebration of Jean Segura’s 200th career double, the MLB return of Sean Kazmar Jr., the possibly precedent-setting NPB debut of Carter Stewart, and more, plus a Stat Blast about the most common and uncommon combinations of fielding position and lineup position.

Audio intro: Belly, "Super-Connected"
Audio outro: Hippo Campus, "Way it Goes"

Link to The Athletic on the Super League
Link to Ingenuity helicopter news
Link to Mookie catch video
Link to Emma Baccellieri on position players pitching
Link to video of Astudillo pitching
Link to Astudillo’s Instagram post
Link to video of Mercedes pitching
Link to video of Locastro caught stealing
Link to story about Pujols stealing third
Link to Lindsey Adler on the Yankees and Yankees fans
Link to Jay Jaffe on the Yankees
Link to Brendan Gawlowski on Bruce’s retirement
Link to video of Segura’s celebration
Link to video of Santana’s celebration
Link to story about Kazmar’s comeback
Link to another story about Kazmar’s comeback
Link to story about Stewart’s debut
Link to Stat Blast data
Link to 1900-2020 lineup spot chart
Link to 2015-2020 lineup spot chart
Link to DH era lineup spot chart GIF
Link to Trout’s hard-hit homer
Link to Ohtani return game story

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about why they haven’t been talking about Bryce Harper, follow up on previous points about the automatic-runner rule, optional home run trots, and player switcheroos, discuss the latest report about the Mets’ front-office culture and team president Sandy Alderson, and answer listener emails about two automatic-runner-rule variants, first base socializing (and Jackie Robinson the first baseman), catcher’s mitts the size of the strike zone, changing replay review to hide the original call, what would be in a baseball theme park, and the best positions for remembering some guys (plus a couple of reading recs).

Audio intro: The Whigs, "Don’t Talk Anymore"
Audio outro: The Capes, "First Base"

Link to Harper player poll
Link to Reddit thread on home run trots
Link to Reddit thread on Canseco swaps
Link to Canseco boxing story
Link to Markieff/Marcus Morris story
Link to latest Mets report
Link to Boardwalk and Baseball Wiki
Link to 2005 article about on-field chatting
Link to 2007 article about on-field chatting
Link to 2012 article about on-field chatting
Link to 2013 article about on-field chatting
Link to Robinson first base story
Link to Reddit thread on backup catchers
Link to Rob Arthur on the baseball
Link to Ben on Beane and Cashman

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