Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben and Sam banter about a wide range of topics, including Ray Searage and the struggling Pirates pitching staff; the pitcher home run derby; rehabilitating Ben Cherington; the amazing Matt Shoemaker; Clayton Kershaw; crowd chants, and a bad fun fact. Source

Ben and Sam do an all-banter episode about the standings through the first 40 percent of the season, Yordano Ventura’s suspension, and the unchanging closer role. Source

Ben and Sam talk to Baseball Prospectus draft expert Christopher Crawford about what went down on day one of the amateur draft. Source

Ben, Sam and FanGraphs writer August Fagerstrom banter about the allure of Kelly Johnson and the Indians’ plan for winning without Michael Brantley, then talk about big league candidates for untried defensive alignments. Source

Ben and Sam banter about the brawl between the Orioles and Royals, then answer listener emails about Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester, beating the shift, and how bad they would be at calling balls and strikes. Source

Ben and Sam banter about a Clayton Kershaw mystery and discuss where the depressing Padres should go from here. Source

Ben and Sam reevaluate the Dodgers’ mega-trade from 2012 and discuss how far Carl Crawford, James Shields, and Ryan Howard have fallen. Source

Ben and Sam talk to ESPN Stats & Info’s Mark Simon about fun-fact philosophies, David Wright, Daniel Murphy, and other notable players, and his new book, The Yankees Index. Source

Ben and Sam banter about Matt Albers’ double and a Stompers success, then discuss the privacy/performance implications of new tracking technology employed by big league teams. Source

Ben and Sam banter about old business, then answer listener emails about deceptive defenders, gold chains, nature vs. nurture, strikeout records and more. Source