Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about some good news and bad news about breakout picks, Junior Caminero’s unbeatable bat flip and home run trot in the LIDOM playoffs, the latest MLB The Show cover model(s) and the lone MLB franchise that hasn’t put a player on the cover of a video game, the Ryan Pressly trade and whether Houston has a plan, and…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s memories of Ichiro and his sensational MLB debut, Ippei Mizuhara’s letter about his work with Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki’s dog, the misleading name of “Sluggball,” Jurickson Profar and the prospect of a Braves rebound, which players will get “shorter” thanks to the challenge system, two new rules chan…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley bring on FanGraphs senior writer Jay Jaffe to break down the Hall of Fame voting results, from new honorees to one-and-done candidates to trends in support to forecasts for future ballots and much more. Audio intro: Philip Bergman, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio outro: Tom Rhoads, “Effectively Wild Theme” Link to Hill r…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley revisit and update their recent discussion on the Dodgers, competitive balance, and what’s good for the game in light of L.A.’s latest additions, then (1:06:18) discuss the Blue Jays’ signing of Anthony Santander and the outlook for Pete Alonso, followed by (1:20:02) a Stat Blast on Bob Uecker and the players with the h…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to the news that Roki Sasaki is signing with the Dodgers (shocker!), breaking down how the posting process played out, the Dodgers’ ridiculous rotation, whether L.A.’s talent-acquisition advantage is good or bad for baseball, the runners-up for Roki, and more. Then they explore how softball and baseball are joinin…

Deaths don’t actually come in threes—unfortunately, there are many more than that—but Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley begin by marking the passings of a trio of notable figures: David Lynch, Bob Uecker, and Tommy Brown. Then (35:27) they talk about the maybe-momentous signing of a Japanese player not named Roki Sasaki (Shotaro Morii), follow up on pre…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a new escalation in “breakout” creep, the Blue Jays signing Jeff Hoffman, risk tolerance in transactions, alternate spellings of names, Roki Sasaki’s effect on the market for international amateur free agents, another example of a team offering a higher salary in arbitration than a player requested, Mets ow…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about salary arbitration, Kyle Tucker, and the unique case of Mike Edwards, then (15:55) kick off a series of interviews about unsung baseball jobs by talking to Rockies bullpen catcher and major league operations assistant (and now, minor league hitting coach) Aaron Muñoz, followed (1:06:09) by former Marlins co…

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Ben Clemens banter about the Giants signing Justin Verlander, a plateau in leaguewide slider usage, and why spending on free agents has exceeded expectations so far. Then (20:55) they continue a cherished podcast tradition by conducting the 12th annual Effectively Wild Minor League Free Agent Draft, in which they sele…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley rant about the practice of picking “breakout” players who have already broken out, react (22:20) to the Orioles’ Charlie Morton signing and discuss (38:24) Morton as one of the pitchers who best embodies his era, and answer listener emails (52:14) about whether the existence of the minor leagues suggests that baseball i…

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Patreon supporter Jordan Smith banter about Jordan’s baseball background, the Tigers’ 2025 hopes, the Dodgers signing Hyeseong Kim, and more, then (30:48) answer listener emails about per-game stats, “advanced” stats, televised arbitration cases, an owner playing in games, pit stops on the basepaths, assorted variatio…

As the halfway point of the offseason approaches, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the relative merits of the first half of the offseason vs. the second half of the offseason, assess the weakest projected positions on contending teams and the best remaining free agents, and list MLB stories they’re looking forward to following. […]…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest on Roki Sasaki’s posting process, the NL-AL imbalance, and why the active homer leader doesn’t have more homers, then (50:44) review the team goals from the 2024 season preview series. Audio intro: Kite Person, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio outro: Cory Brent, “Effectively Wild Theme” Link to Sas…

Ben Lindbergh, Lindsey Adler, and Hannah Keyser talk about Lindsey and Hannah’s evolving relationships to baseball writing, near-simultaneous Substack-starting, and (ongoing) pursuits of self-discovery and creative fulfillment. Then (45:27) Ben and Hannah analyze the Teoscar Hernández and Corbin Burnes signings and (1:05:49) discuss at least one li…

Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann play “College Baseball Player or U.S. Army Air Forces Pilot Who Took Part in Operation Vengeance,” banter about Jake Burger’s three consecutive seasons with a .250 batting average, the Tigers signing Gleyber Torres, and how the ruling about Diego Pavia’s NCAA eligibility could affect college (and pro) baseball, the…

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the career and life of Rickey Henderson, focusing on changes in public perceptions of his play and personality, how underrated he was (even though he was highly rated!), and his impact on the modern game and media, then (41:52) catch up on a flurry of transactions, including a run […]…

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Pebble Hunting’s Sam Miller banter about Michael Lorenzen embracing an Effectively Wild hypothetical, Ben and Sam’s past predictions about baseball in the 2020s, and Paul Skenes and the ERA title, then discuss what will be remembered about baseball in 2024 (plus a postscript). Audio intro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively …