Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about injuries at spring training (specifically the Orioles’) and Jorge Soler and the Giants’ offseason, Stat Blast (21:04) about Kenley Jansen and the age of active career leaders in pitching appearances and

Effectively Wild Episode 2105: The Stories We Missed in 2023

Dec 30th, 2023 1h 56m

Ben Lindbergh is joined by Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer, formerly of Yahoo Sports and the Bandwagon podcast, to discuss at least one listener-nominated, previously overlooked topic from 2023 about each MLB team. Audio intro: Beatwriter, “Effec

Effectively Wild Episode 2098: A Team Deferred

Dec 14th, 2023 1h 25m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley call for a listener referendum on how to treat Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented contract in the EW free-agent-contract over/under draft, then (20:43) banter about the Royals’ recent pitching additions and a wizardly Wi

Effectively Wild Episode 1954: ’Los Got Physical

Jan 12th, 2023 1h 46m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley recap the conclusion of the Carlos Correa free agency saga, breaking down his new, actually finalized contract with the Twins, reviewing his offseason odyssey, and trying to anticipate his future. Then (28:20) they

Effectively Wild Episode 1848: Shantz Encounter

May 13th, 2022 2h 14m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about which is more impressive, Reid Detmers throwing a two-strikeout no-hitter or right-handed hitter Anthony Rendon homering from the left side against a position-player pitcher, recount (11:50) the surpris

Effectively Wild Episode 1799: Miller’s Crossing

1 1 Jan 19th, 2022 1h 9m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley reconnect with former cohost Sam Miller to discuss what he’s been up to since he stopped working for ESPN in December 2020, how the 2021 Giants rekindled his fandom, the pros and cons of paying attention to projecti

Effectively Wild Episode 1662: Season Preview Series: Angels and Royals

Mar 3rd, 2021 1h 44m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about spring training games starting, Jeff Mathis batting cleanup in a spring training game (and once improbably batting fifth in a regular-season game), the latest reports about suspended Angels pitching coa

Effectively Wild Episode 1454: Where Have You Gone, Mr. Robinson?

1 Nov 9th, 2019 1h 29m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s return from vacation and Meg and Sam’s episodes in his absence, former Angels minor leaguer Mike Fish (not to be confused with Mike Trout), and a roundup of recent news, including Stephen Strasbur

Effectively Wild Episode 1453: Time Is on Our Side

1 Nov 7th, 2019 41m 29s

Sam Miller and Meg Rowley revisit a fast-moving 1916 afternoon tilt between the Asheville Tourists and the Winston-Salem Twins with some historic significance, and engage in an Effectively Wild experiment. Audio intro: Ben Gibbard and Feist “Tr

Effectively Wild Episode 1332: The Life of Riley

1 Feb 8th, 2019 1h 17m

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan dissect the trade that sent catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Marlins to the Phillies for Jorge Alfaro, Sixto Sanchez, and Will Stewart, honor the legacy of Frank Robinson, and then (22:28) bring back 88-year-old 19

Effectively Wild Episode 1320: Mets Are From Mars

1 Jan 10th, 2019 1h 5m

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo going viral yet again, his iconic winter-league home-run pose and the state of celebration in baseball, the improbable personality of an improbable player, Astudillo’s future in Mi

Effectively Wild Episode 1226: Straight from the Fireman’s Mouth

1 Jun 6th, 2018 1h 16m

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the improving defense of Mike Trout and Matt Kemp, two minor observations prompted by amateur draft coverage, and a confusing quirk in the standings, then time travel back to a dramatically different

Effectively Wild Episode 1215: The Giant-Catcher Club

1 May 12th, 2018 1h 11m

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a new newsletter about baseball debuts, Shohei Ohtani’s latest exploits, the pitiful state of the AL Central, the even more pitiful performance of Orioles starter Chris Tillman, pitchers’ perplexing

Effectively Wild Episode 1211: The 21-Loss Salute

1 May 3rd, 2018 1h 6m

Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee banter about Trevor Bauer, sticky substances, and spin rate, Ken Giles’s self-harming home-run reaction, the best baseball clips to rewatch, the unwritten rules of not avoiding hit by

Effectively Wild Episode 1153: Johnny on the Spot

1 Dec 22nd, 2017 1h 6m

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the perplexing potential end to Manny Machado trade rumors, then bring on former major leaguer and current fun-fact star/national treasure Johnny O’Brien to discuss his life and career with the Pirat

Effectively Wild Episode 1141: The Overlooked Negro Leagues Legend

1 Nov 24th, 2017 54m 57s

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

Effectively Wild Episode 1081: The Not-Quite-Cold Call

1 Jul 8th, 2017 50m 39s

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss the correct all-time leaderboard of non-qualified offensive seasons, Carlos Correa’s complaint about Roberto Osuna, and the state of the race between the Brewers and Cubs. Then they call former big league

Effectively Wild Episode 1004: The Joe and Rany Re-Reunion

Jan 10th, 2017

Ben talks to Joe Sheehan and Rany Jazayerli about unsigned free agents, baseball economics, trends to watch in 2017, and the perplexing Royals.

Effectively Wild Episode 964: The Return of the Cold Call

1 Oct 12th, 2016

Ben and Sam banter about Kidz Bop, answer emails about facing MLB pitching, a time-traveling manager, and communicating with catchers, and then cold-call the star of the Play Index segment.

Effectively Wild Episode 762: The Best Barry Bonds Facts

Nov 9th, 2015

Ben and Sam talk about the best Barry Bonds facts with Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of Cespedes Family Barbecue.

Effectively Wild Episode 722: Cold-Calling Ned Garver

1 Sep 10th, 2015

Ben and Sam answer listener emails, come across a baseball mystery, and get answers straight from a primary source.

Effectively Wild Episode 2003: Return of the Mack

May 5th, 2023 2h 8m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about more examples of players whose names describe what they do (like Colin Holderman), the return of Justin Verlander, Juan Soto’s overdue hot streak, Keynan Middleton calling out Carlos Correa, the differe

Effectively Wild Episode 1762: They Write Mike Trout Hypotheticals in Outer Space, Too

Oct 23rd, 2021 1h 8m

Meg Rowley and guest co-host Ben Clemens discuss the Astros’ pitching woes, the role of starters in the postseason, Dave Roberts’ decision to have Brusdar Graterol hit in Game 5 of the NLCS, Yordan Alvarez, how a 3-2 series deficit feels for fa

Effectively Wild Episode 2155: Just for (Slow) Starters

1 day ago 1h 32m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Rockies (and their charter pilots) running afoul of the FAA, Jackson Holliday’s slow start, whether the Astros or Twins has hurt their division-title chances more, two embarrassing umpire incidents,

Effectively Wild Episode 2154: Sliding Doors and Sliding Home

4 days ago 2h 28m

Amid a wave of pitcher injuries, Ben Lindbergh talks to Dr. Rich Nye (4:20), a former major leaguer whose career-ending injury became a career-beginning injury when he decided to become an exotic-animal veterinarian (among other occupations). T