Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Effectively Wild Episode 2381: Week in (P)review

7 snips
Sep 30, 2025
Ben and Meg discuss playoff livestreams and MLB's modest attendance growth. They highlight thrilling highlights from the final weekend, including clutch plays and walk-offs. The duo ranks the dramatic collapses of the Astros, Tigers, and Mets, while debating the fairness of tiebreakers. They ponder potential first-time champions and preview intense wild-card matchups. Insightful thoughts on managerial decisions and postseason strategies round out their lively conversation, making for a week filled with exciting baseball narratives.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Attendance Growth Was Technically Tiny

  • MLB announced three straight years of attendance growth but the headline hid that average per-game attendance rose by only 13 fans.
  • The raw numbers show growth but context (one extra game, teams in minor-league parks) makes the boost marginal.
ANECDOTE

Late-Season Clinchers And Coaching Save

  • Fans witnessed clutch moments like Alejandro Kirk's grand slam and CJ Cephas' walk-off hit-by-pitch that clinched playoff spots.
  • Sandy Alomar Jr.'s base-coach intervention likely prevented a base-running blunder during the Guardians celebration.
INSIGHT

End-Of-Season Pitching Strategy

  • Teams late in the season sometimes prioritize series/round readiness over winning a single nonessential regular-season game.
  • Managers will save aces or preserve arms when home-field edge in a short series matters more than one extra regular-season win.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app