Effectively Wild: A Fangraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the significance of some teams’ slow starts to the season, the slowest batter in baseball, and a curious coincidence on another show. Then they have a mini baseball econ class with FanGraphs managing editor Dave Cameron, who discusses the non-news about Carlos Correa’s contract, the surprisingly static price […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Mike Trout topping the WAR leaderboard, Stephen Wright’s vulnerability to the elements, and baseball-player social media behavior, then talk about the increase in game times in 2017, the factors slowing pace of play, and the coming of the pitch clock. Audio intro: The New Pornographers, "Clockwise" Audio outro: Jefferson Airplane, […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan drop the no-Reds rule to banter about Michael Lorenzen and Joey Votto, then answer listener emails about a player who’s always in the rain, stats on baseball broadcasts, a curious scoreboard fun fact, the wave, early closer meltdowns, two framing hypotheticals, how many Kemps equals a Kiermaier, an extended draft […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Mets’ starting rotation, a Keon Broxton sighting, and the five WAR leaders vs. the five WAR trailers, then talk to Rob Neyer about his oral history of Michael Jordan’s baseball career, how good Jordan was and could have been, the ways in which the Jordan experiment is […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Keon Broxton and batting helmets, statistical soothsaying, and the two-way-player attempts of Michael Lorenzen and Christian Bethancourt, then discuss the early results of several preseason players and teams of interest. Audio intro: Son Volt, "Too Early" Audio outro: Parliament, "I Misjudged You"  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jake Arrieta’s velocity loss, the league’s artificial velocity gain, and whether the Astros won the winter, then answer listener emails about topspin and the turf, the Mariners’ and Blue Jays’ 40th anniversaries/seasons, disagreeing with projections, intentional-walk predictions, Madison Bumgarner’s batting, the negative value of player mistakes, single-game double-play […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the difficulty of keeping perspective on Opening Day events, the lone disagreement between their preseason predictions, and a common reader misconception about prediction “groupthink.” Then they talk to Astros Double-A catching prospect and trampoline survivor Garrett Stubbs about his childhood trampoline injury and still-crooked finger, his dramatically different […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the end of the offseason, a Canada-only Clayton Kershaw, and Drew Smyly’s health status, then discuss whether the advancement of technology and the latest sabermetric insights still favor defense over offense, or whether hitters have started to even the score. Audio intro: The Mountain Goats, "Balance" Audio outro: Pete Townshend […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Carter Capps mimic, several recently released Effectively Wild favorites, a baseball use for trampolines, and Derek Jeter’s prolific publishing career, then answer listener emails about a different kind of fantasy league, a player who can see slightly into the future, speed vs. velocity, a home-run/strikeout pitcher, spring […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Robbie Ray ejection, Tom Hamilton’s Brody Chernoff interview, a quote about Mike Trout, a Takuya Nakashima shift, and a Terry Francona comment about Ryan Raburn, then preview the Pirates’ 2017 season with Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs and the Yankees’ 2017 season with Jared Diamond of the Wall […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jered Weaver, David DeJesus, and Dan Duquette’s comments about Jose Bautista, then preview the Tigers’ 2017 season with Jason Beck of MLB.com and the Rays’ 2017 season with David Roth of Vice Sports. Audio intro: Lou Reed, "Average Guy" Audio interstitial: ABBA, "Tiger" Audio interstitial 2: Dillard & Clark, "In the […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan share responses submitted to a smattering of recent topics and banter about whether old scouting reports have value to teams, then answer listener emails about MVP-vote streaks, Brady Anderson and ex-player executives, predicting pitches perfectly, middle-infield offense, Aroldis Chapman copying Carter Capps, non-traditional starting rotations, and more. Audio intro: Ike & […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about anticipatory player celebrations, then preview the Rangers’ 2017 season with Levi Weaver of WFAA and the Marlins’ 2017 season with Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel. Audio intro: Kanye West, "Celebration" Audio interstitial: Neil Young, "Texas Rangers" Audio interstitial 2: Laura Marling, "Always This Way" Audio outro: Wilco, "Glad it’s Over"  iTunes […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a beautiful Javier Baez tag, then preview the Mets’ 2017 season with Ted Berg of For The Win and the Orioles’ 2017 season with Jake Mintz of Cespedes Family BBQ. Audio intro: Jay Z, "Poppin’ Tags" Audio interstitial: Laura Stevenson and The Cans, "The Healthy One" Audio interstitial 2: Stephen Malkmus […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about WBC tiebreakers and the efficacy of the infield shift, then answer listener emails about a Mike Trout body snatcher, dropped third strikes, bricks behind home plate, premature rebuilds, your WAR compared to Tim Tebow’s, new Statcast stats, and more. Audio intro: Lenny Randle & Ballplayers, "I’m a Ballplayer" Audio outro: […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an Ian Desmond quote and a curious Dick Williams managerial motivational tactic, then preview the Mariners’ 2017 season with Meg Rowley of Baseball Prospectus and the Rockies’ 2017 season with Jen Mac Ramos of the Sonoma Stompers. Audio intro: Eliza Doolittle, "Team Player" Audio interstitial: Wings, "Soily" Audio interstitial 2: Teenage […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan preview the Blue Jays’ 2017 season with Joshua Howsam of BP Toronto and the Athletics’ 2017 season with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Audio intro: Rod Stewart, "Sonny" Audio interstitial: First Aid Kit, "Blue" Audio interstitial 2: Destroyer, "From Oakland to Warsaw" Audio outro: Billy Joel, "Weekend Song" Link to Bill Hands […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan answer listener emails about one-pitch innings, trampoline stats, winning in spring training, David Price and pitcher pace, a baseball scene in Chicago Justice, automatic homer hitting, putting hitters away with two strikes, underrated first basemen, banning player mannerisms, signing with an anonymous team, intentionally walking Mike Trout, and a Clayton […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Carter Capps, Noah Syndergaard, and salary distributions, then preview the Angels’ 2017 season with Pedro Moura of The LA Times and the Diamondbacks’ 2017 season with Nick Piecoro of AZCentral Sports. Audio intro: The Super Friendz, "Give the Sign" Audio interstitial: Teenage Fanclub, "It’s a Sign" Audio interstitial 2: The Milk […]

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a bad highlight, then preview the Cardinals’ 2017 season with Will Leitch of Sports on Earth and the Royals’ 2017 season with Rany Jazayerli of The Ringer. Audio intro: Genesis, "Get ‘Em Out by Friday" Audio interstitial: The Jackson 5, "Never Can Say Goodbye" Audio interstitial 2: Great Lake Swimmers, "Everything […]