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 joining the women’s sports boom via the expansion/launch of professional leagues this year and next by talking to Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated about the Athletes Unlimited Softball League and AU’s innovative scoring model (49:15), and Kiri Oler of FanGraphs about the Women’s Professional Baseball League and her work as a data scientist on MLB: The Show (1:25:28).

Audio intro: Guy Russo, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio interstitial: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Austin Klewan, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Sasaki’s announcement
Link to MLBTR on Sasaki
Link to previous Sasaki episode
Link to Ben on Sasaki
Link to Ben on the Dodgers in 2015
Link to Ben on the Dodgers’ advantage
Link to Dodgers depth chart
Link to team SP projections
Link to team WAR projections
Link to Emma’s book post
Link to Emma’s author archive
Link to Hannah/Lindsey episode
Link to Emma on AU in 2021
Link to Emma on Olympic softball
Link to AUSL wiki
Link to AU scoring system
Link to AUSL announcement
Link to Emma on baseball dying
Link to Emma on the Players’ League
Link to Emma on the WPBL
Link to AUSL announcement
Link to Justine Siegal EW episode
Link to WPBL wiki
Link to Kiri’s LinkedIn
Link to Ben on The Show
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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 previous conversations about “breakout” creep, answer a couple of questions about breakouts, and then respond to listener emails on other topics, including nicknames for pitches, the evolving meaning of “moneyball,” phasing out Hall of Famers, and a modification to the infield fly rule.

Audio intro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Lynch NYT obit
Link to Uecker NYT obit
Link to Uecker acting roles
Link to Brown NYT obit
Link to Brown AP obit
Link to Brown SABR bio
Link to Brown text interview
Link to Brown audio interview
Link to MLBTR on Brown
Link to 1940s clippings on Brown
Link to Ben’s Brown Twitter thread
Link to The Athletic on Morii
Link to Silver on breakouts
Link to skeuomorph wiki
Link to Detroiters on Netflix
Link to Ben on Detroiters
Link to Baker on LinkedIn
Link to infield fly play
Link to Strike Four
Link to listener emails database
Link to grumkins wiki
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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 owner Steve Cohen’s financial returns, Nick Castellanos on MVP Jose Iglesias, and a 19th-century curved-bat idea (1:08:44), plus (1:22:40) a Stat Blast on the players who’ve appeared in the most distinct team matchups.

Audio intro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to breakouts post
Link to Jeff on HoF artifacts
Link to Clemens on Hoffman
Link to MLBTR on Hoffman
Link to Hoffman press release
Link to Madisynn clip
Link to MLBTR on Sasaki
Link to article on Sasaki effects
Link to Flanagan arb post
Link to WSJ on Cohen
Link to Castellanos clip
Link to banana bat article 1
Link to banana bat article 2
Link to banana bat article 3
Link to banana bat article 4
Link to banana bat article 5
Link to Alan Nathan physics site
Link to bat boning wiki
Link to Stat Blast sheet 1
Link to Stat Blast sheet 2
Link to Ben on Stairs
Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter
Link to MiLB draft data
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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 coordinator of baseball information services (and former FanGraphs writer) Bradley Woodrum, plus (1:59:04) a few follow-ups.

Audio intro: Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “Effectively Wild Theme (Horny)”
Audio interstitial: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: El Warren, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Speier post
Link to original Speier post
Link to Edwards article 1
Link to Edwards article 2
Link to Edwards article 3
Link to Edwards article 4
Link to Mike Edwards wiki
Link to Marshall Edwards wiki
Link to Dave Edwards wiki
Link to Tucker arb article
Link to Sheehan on Tucker
Link to fan ban article
Link to bullpen catchers article
Link to Aaron’s LinkedIn
Link to Denver Post article
Link to Emma on bullpen brawls
Link to brawl video
Link to brawl article
Link to Bradley’s LinkedIn
Link to Bradley’s FG archive
Link to Bradley’s YouTube video
Link to Lewie Pollis episode
Link to lotto ad
Link to Calbert Cheaney
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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 select 10 minor league free agents each and compete to see whose roster will accumulate the most combined MLB playing time in 2025.

Audio intro: Austin Klewan, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Baumann on Verlander
Link to Dubuque on Verlander
Link to Verlander pitch values
Link to Verlander max speeds
Link to Verlander stuff ratings
Link to Ben L. on Kershaw
Link to Ben C. on sliders
Link to Ben C. on spending
Link to FG SP projections
Link to last year’s draft
Link to FA draft wiki
Link to competitions sheet
Link to historical picks sheet
Link to BA list
Link to Neosho alumni
Link to Neosho wiki
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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 is the hardest sport to play and why MLB’s potential TV-driven decrease in revenue is worthy worrying about, plus a postscript (1:33:54).

Audio intro: Ian H., “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Rooker tweet
Link to pet peeve wiki
Link to breakout picks article
Link to R.J.’s 2024 picks
Link to R.J.’s picks revisited
Link to Ben’s tweet about R.J.
Link to MLBTR on Morton
Link to FG post on Morton
Link to McCarthy interview
Link to team SP projections
Link to individual SP projections
Link to team payrolls
Link to O’s payroll page
Link to McCarthy interview
Link to baseball exceptionalism wiki
Link to Ben on caliber of play
Link to Allegory of the Cave
Link to Seidler story 1
Link to Seidler story 2
Link to Seidler story 3
Link to Seidler story 4
Link to Chargers story
Link to neutral zone wiki
Link to listener emails database
Link to EW Episode 2104
Link to 2-strike tOPS+
Link to 2-strike sOPS+
Link to Schunk story
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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 variations on the Golden Batter (and the Golden Batter vs. the zombie runner), relaxing substitution rules, defining “changeup,” and $ per HR.

Audio intro: Tom Rhoads, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Alex Ferrin, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Seinfeld episode
Link to Seinfeld clip
Link to MLBTR on Kim
Link to Ted Turner story
Link to player/owner story
Link to player/owner post
Link to Ben on arbitration
Link to Sam on lineup resetting
Link to Sam on pits
Link to listener emails database
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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.

Audio intro: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to weak positions sheet
Link to FG team projections
Link to FA projections
Link to SP projections
Link to WAR leaders page
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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 Sasaki update
Link to Mains on NL vs. AL
Link to Posnanski post
Link to Jeremy Frank tweet
Link to B-Ref HR page
Link to active HR leaders
Link to season preview predictions
Link to Red Sox prospects
Link to Bryant car story
Link to crotch bump story
Link to crotch bump clip
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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 listener-nominated topic about each National League team that wasn’t previously covered on the podcast in 2024 (plus a real-time reaction to Shohei Ohtani’s announcement that he’s going to be a dad).

Audio intro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “Effectively Wild Theme (Pedantic)”

Link to Lindsey’s Substack
Link to Hannah’s Substack
Link to MLBTR on Teoscar
Link to Passan on Teoscar
Link to MLBTR on Burnes
Link to Ben C. on Burnes
Link to Gammons on Hazen
Link to Hannah on diving catches
Link to Ohtani’s Insta post
Link to Toglia’s Insta post
Link to Burnes’s Insta post
Link to Snow/Baker video
Link to Shaq meme
Link to MLBTR on Maxwell
Link to Maxwell on EW
Link to missed stories links
Link to EW gift subscriptions

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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, then (26:59) […]