Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and guest co-host Ellen Adair banter about Ellen’s acting career and baseball background, the causes of (and possible solutions to) the Phillies’ post-McCutchen slump, what the (extremely far-fetched) idea of the Rays splitting time between Tampa Bay and Montreal might look like in practice, Ellen’s script for a baseball series, and her solution for maintaining her Phillies fandom in the wake of Odubel Herrera’s domestic violence suspension. Then (44:51) they bring on San Diego Padres Baseball Operations Fellow Sam Schultz to discuss her work in the Padres’ front office, her indirect route to baseball, her training in physics, the MLB Diversity Fellowship Program, the value of diversity of thought, why she chose to work for the Padres, her recommendations for baseball job-seekers, and more. Audio intro: Jason Isbell, "Brand New Kind of Actress" Audio interstitial: B.o.B., "Mellow Fellow" Audio outro: Family of the Year, "Diversity" Link to Craig Edwards on Nola Link to Ellen’s website Link to Ellen’s article about Herrera Link to article about Sam Link to website for MLB’s Diversity Fellowship Program Link to Ben on the sabermetrics of marketing Link to Ringer MLB Show episode on baseball business analytics Link to Astudillo’s catch Link to Ben’s Trout piece Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller review Sam’s latest observations on Jeff Sullivan-era EW episodes, including musings on Ketel Marte, the worst team draft of all time, and Johnnie LeMaster, then banter about Shohei Ohtani’s tools, Todd Frazier’s wild swings, Max Scherzer’s nose-breaking bunting practice, and Mickey Callaway’s odd pitching-change justification. They also answer listener emails about Scott Rolen and aliens, the Angels and the .500-est teams of all time, the Houdini-esque masters of escaping bases-loaded, no-outs jams, and a stolen base that wasn’t one, plus a Stat Blast about Ryne Sandberg and the rise of Rynes. Audio intro: Blink-182, "Aliens Exist" Audio outro: Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent, "Swing Low" Link to Jeff’s Marte post Link to Sam’s draft piece Link to video of 2019 Frazier swing Link to video of 2017 Frazier swing Link to video of Pillar swing Link to video of Scherzer bunt attempt Link to Scherzer’s tweet about pitcher hitting and the DH Link to “games above .500” discussion Link to Callaway explanation Link to picture of JBJ not stealing second Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Yankees acquiring Edwin Encarnacion and some surprising names near the top of the MLB home-run leaderboard, Kenley Jansen’s intentional balk, and a fun fact starring Hyun-Jin Ryu, then reckon with some of the most perplexing player seasons of 2019, focusing on the enigma that is the boom-and-bust trajectory of Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez. Audio intro: The Olivia Tremor Control, "Mystery" Audio outro: The Beach Boys, "You’re Still a Mystery" Link to video of Jansen balk Link to video of Segura baserunning play Link to 2018 trade value rankings Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Shohei Ohtani’s hot streak and future as a two-way player, Sam’s decision to listen to all of the Jeff-era EW episodes and his reactions to a few topics from the final few (including a description of Stan Musial’s retirement tour), and two research papers about pitchers’ perceived effort level and arm strain. Then they answer listener emails about where to host baseball games overseas, future universal uniform number retirements, outsourcing strategic experiments to other teams, and what type of player should make a minor-league hall of fame, plus a Stat Blast about Roy Smalley’s 1979 season and the worst- and best-case scenarios for Cody Bellinger’s second half. Audio intro: Rain Parade, "Look Both Ways" Audio outro: Roxy Music, "Both Ends Burning" Link to Kram on Ohtani and Ruth Link to Sam on the Ohtani two-way math Link to first Fleisig paper Link to second Fleisig paper Link to Sam on the fastest fastballs Link to Max Marchi on the fastest fastballs, part 1 Link to Max Marchi on the fastest fastballs, part 2 Link to 2015 Pacific Association simulation data Link to article on minor-league halls of fame Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s upcoming vacation and brief break from baseball, Chris Paddack’s demotion to High-A, the latest act of Clayton Kershaw’s career and the perils and possibilities of player aging, whether the home-run rate is too damn high, the state of the standings, what the trade market might look like under the unified trade deadline, and more. Audio intro: Super Furry Animals, "Long Gone" Audio outro: Bob Dylan, "Going, Going, Gone" Link to Ben on Kershaw Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about poor pronunciations, an oddity in Bash Brothers, a Byron Buxton hustle double, the running (but not running enough) Royals, whether to talk about and whether they did talk about the curiously contending Rangers, and a few takeaways from the Madison Bumgarner–Max Muncy kerfuffle, then discuss several insights they gleaned from Keith Law’s oral history of how Mike Trout was (and wasn’t) drafted a decade ago. Audio intro: Stephen Malkmus, "Ocean of Revenge" Audio outro: The Dream Syndicate, "Recovery Mode" Link to Buxton hustle double Link to “Fire it through the internet” shirt Link to Keith’s oral history Link to Ben Reiter’s 2012 Trout draft story Link to Ben’s 2019 scouting reports series Part 1 of study on geographical bias in the draft Part 2 of study on geographical bias in the draft Link to Dollar Sign on the Muscle Link to story of Sam spiriting away Baptista in The Only Rule Link to Ben on the career of Trout’s father Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Cubs signing Craig Kimbrel, ruminating about how he’ll help Chicago, why other teams may have held off, and why it took so long for his prolonged free agency to come to a close. Then (18:06) they bring on FanGraphs prospect experts Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen to analyze the amateur draft and modern development, touching on player picks and team approaches they liked or disliked, how their mock drafts held up, pitchers vs. position players, trends in the types of players selected, whether there’s more consensus among clubs about amateur prospects than there used to be, how data is changing the draft and development, whether technology is inclusive or exclusive, college pitch counts, 2018 draftees who’ve improved the most, whether prospects will be promoted more quickly than before, changing the time and location of the draft, the outlook for the 2020 amateur draft, the ETA for (and problems with) an international draft, and more (plus a Dallas Keuchel addendum). Audio intro: Jim James, "Better Late Than Never" Audio interstitial: Sparks, "Reinforcements" Audio outro: Super Furry Animals, "The Gift That Keeps Giving" Link to Rosenthal on the Cubs signing Kimbrel Link to Rosenthal on other teams not signing Kimbrel Link to Craig Edwards on the Kimbrel signing Link to Craig’s draft-pick valuations Link to Kiley and Eric’s first-round review Link to Kiley and Eric’s draft odds and ends Link to part one of Rany’s research on high-school hitters Link to part two of Rany’s research on high-school hitters Link to Kiley on hitter development in college Link to Ben on pitcher development in college Link to Gerald on 2019 college pitcher usage Link to Eno on draft trends Link to Kiley and Eric’s podcast on the international draft Link to Trout and Ohtani as the new Bash Brothers Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the paucity of pitchers selected at the top of the draft, the Hall of Famers Mike Trout passed in career WAR in May, Trout’s quietly impressive season, whether WAR has helped Trout’s reputation more than Trout has helped WAR’s, the surprising names at the top of the 2019 WAR leaderboard for pitchers, and Andrew McCutchen’s season-ending ACL injury, then answer listener emails about baseball-inspired national holidays, what would happen if Max Scherzer insisted on batting cleanup, and the most inconsequential topics discussed on baseball broadcasts, plus an update on the pulling-pitchers-mid-plate-appearance approach and a Stat Blast on the lack of good hitters over 30 and whether old players are getting worse or young players are just getting better. Audio intro: John Lennon, "Cleanup Time" Audio outro: The Cardigans, "War" Link to the amateur draft’s first-round results Link to Ben on the decline of top-rated pro pitching prospects Link to Sam on the Hall of Famers Trout passed in May Link to Meg on Hamels Link to Ben and Rob on old hitters and fastballs Link to Rob on old hitters’ slow pace Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about whether it would make sense for one team to “blow up the draft” by ignoring the bonus slotting system for one year, paying a premium for the top amateur talent, and incurring the maximum financial penalty. Then they discuss Ben’s new book about baseball’s player-development revolution, The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players, which is out today. (Go get it now!) Audio intro: The Tragically Hip, "Machine" Audio outro: George Harrison, "Try Some, Buy Some" Link to Passan on the MLB draft Link to first excerpt from The MVP Machine Link to Foley’s book-signing event Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners’ recent run of ineptitude, why some teams talk to the media and whether there’s a moral obligation for teams to share information about preventing player injuries, a question from a fantasy player who’s aiming to compete in 2027, a Clayton Kershaw vs. Jacob deGrom matchup as non-must-see TV, and the aging of Kershaw compared to that of Felix Hernandez, then discuss the arguments against and for extending the protective netting in MLB ballparks to the foul lines (and mention a few FanGraphs upgrades). Audio intro: Graham Parker, "Protection" Audio outro: Dr. Dog, "How Long Must I Wait?" Link to Ben on college player development Link to Ben on protecting team secrets Link to Elton question Link to study on injuries from foul balls Link to Travis on the uptick in fouls Link to Rosenthal on extending the netting Link to FanGraphs’ mock draft 3.0 Link to Kiley on college player development Link to Foley’s book-signing event Link to preorder The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source