Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo, Shohei Ohtani’s true two-way prospects (look, there’s no other news), MLB’s extraordinarily slow November, and trampoline pitching, then talk to volcanologist Erik Klemetti about how baseball would weather volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and other fascinating but terrifying geologic events. Audio intro: Miniature Tigers, "Tell it to the Volcano" Audio interstitial: Eleanor Friedberger, "Early Earthquake" Audio outro: Elf Power, "Quiver and Quake" Link to Ben’s article about MLB’s slow November Link to trampoline pitching video  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter, as always, about Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as the slow start to the offseason and baseball takeaways from news about basketball and football. Then they look for players who performed better in team losses, talk about two twins, and answer listener emails about the most valuable memo writer, robot bloggers, Stanton’s opt-out clause, two Ohtani hypotheticals, Mike Trout’s defensive position and spot in the batting order, Steve Matz’s future and starter-reliever conversions, Aaron Judge’s maximum contact rate, the best team superpower, and more, before wrapping up with a brief aside about Bitcoin. Audio intro: Hop Along, "I Saw My Twin" Audio outro: Harpers Bizarre, "High Coin"  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a slow week in baseball and the likely effects of MLB’s impending pitch clock, then talk to former front-office executive (and former FanGraphs writer) Tony Blengino about how baseball brain trusts could and should be crafting their responses to the seven questions that Shohei Ohtani’s agent recently sent to teams. Audio intro: The Tokens, "Please Write" Audio interstitial: Randy Newman, "Memo to My Son" Audio outro: Fleetwood Mac, "Homework" Link to Jeff’s pitch-clocks post Link to info on the Ohtani memo Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan profess their thanks for each other, answer listener emails about the 1890s Orioles’ field manipulations, the importance of Carlos Beltran to the 2017 Astros, and how free-agent auctions would work, then welcome researcher Peter Gorton and director Paul Irmiter to talk about little-known Negro Leagues legend and scouting pioneer John Donaldson, their efforts to uncover Donaldson’s stats, and their forthcoming Donaldson documentary, 39 Seconds. Audio intro: The Avett Brothers, "Nothing Short of Thankful" Audio interstitial: Neil Young, "Unknown Legend" Audio outro: Fairport Convention, "Now Be Thankful" Link to 39 Seconds John Donaldson documentary site Link to John Donaldson film footage Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

After an abnormally busy baseball news day, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Aaron Judge’s shoulder surgery, Joe Morgan’s letter about steroids and the Hall of Fame, the Shohei Ohtani posting agreement, and MLB’s severe sanctions against the Atlanta Braves, then welcome listener Mike Juntunen to help them answer emails from other listeners about a Miguel Cabrera contract clause, the Hall of Fame cases of Omar Vizquel and Joey Votto, what would most amaze a time-traveling baseball fan, the premium for a free agent who could deliver Ohtani, Albert Pujols’ prospects in Anaheim, the latest line on Mike Trout’s Baseball-Reference page, and more. Audio intro: James Brown, "The Payback" Audio interstitial: Eric B. & Rakim, "The Punisher" Audio outro: B.B. King, "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss" Link to Joe Morgan’s letter Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Shohei Otani “deadline” and Braves prospect Ronald Acuna, then bring on FanGraphs managing editor Dave Cameron to discuss a dispute about WAR and valuing players between Bill James and sabermetric stat sites, the evolution of awards (and Hall of Fame) voting, why Dave expects certain teams to dictate the way the winter unfolds, and the free agents he sees as notable bargains or busts. Audio intro: Waxahatchee, "Misery Over Dispute" Audio interstitial: My Morning Jacket, "War Begun" Audio outro: The Killers, "Deadlines and Commitments" Link to first Bill James WAR article Link to second Bill James WAR article Link to Joe Posnanski’s WAR article Link to Dave’s WAR article Link to Dave’s top 50 free agents Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Gabe Kapler’s prospects as Phillies manager, Aaron Judge’s hard hitting, various end-of-season awards results, MLB’s baseball-studying committee, and Shohei Ohtani’s value to AL and NL teams and the difficulty of gaming the CBA to sign him, then answer listener emails about an Ohtani sign-and-trade, homegrown value vs. free-agent value, intentional walks in the automatic-IBB era, the best games to time travel to, and an odd three-way trade. Audio intro: Jethro Tull, "Living in the Past" Audio outro: Alan Parsons, "No Future in the Past" Link to Matt Gelb’s Gabe Kapler article Link to Jeff’s Aaron Judge post Link to article about Ohtani and CBA loopholes Link to article about all-1B three-way trade Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about pitcher Luis Perdomo’s unusual triples total, Carlos Beltran’s retirement, and Giancarlo Stanton’s trade value, then answer listener emails about Aaron Judge’s similarities to Ryan Howard, an automatic nine-inning, five-run pitcher, the difficulty of evaluating pitch-calling, and bathroom breaks in baseball. Audio intro: Beastie Boys, "Triple Trouble" Audio outro: The Strokes, "Meet Me in the Bathroom" Link to Jeff’s post about Luis Perdomo Link to New York Times article about athlete bathroom breaks Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Mookie Betts’ bowling exploits and Jeff’s AL Rookie of the Year ballot, then predict and review the results of Jerry Crasnick’s annual insiders survey, draft winter World Series odds movers, and do another draft of free agents’ estimated earnings. Audio intro: Jale, "Double Edge" Audio outro: Camera Obscura, "Double Feature" Link to Jerry Crasnick’s 2017 survey Link to early-offseason World Series odds Link to MLBTR’s free-agent rankings Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the latest Shohei Otani news, the contract requests of free agents J.D. Martinez and Jay Bruce, the Tigers’ MLB-worst World Series odds, and changes in catcher-framing stats, then review the results of Jeff’s survey on 2017 fan satisfaction. Audio intro: Colin Blunstone, "Pay Me Later" Audio outro: The Rolling Stones, "Happy" Link to Sam’s study on free-agent requests Link to Jeff’s article on 2017 framing stats Link to Jeff’s 2017 fan-satisfaction survey Link to Effectively Wild t-shirts  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source