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

3 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

Effectively Wild Episode 2153: Whoops it Up

6 days ago 1h 42m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Carlos Correa’s nerdiness, the Pirates pulling phenom Jared Jones after 59 effective pitches, the zombie runner, what Jontay Porter’s lifetime NBA ban portends for MLB, Shohei/Ippei conspiracy theories

Effectively Wild Episode 2152: The Worst Vibes in Baseball

7 days ago 1h 59m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about MLB jerseys as Fremen stillsuits, an update on Blake Snell the self-perceived strike-thrower, Brent Suter and being the “best teammate,” which MLB team is last in the league in vibes, the struggling Mar

Effectively Wild Episode 2151: The MLB Reboot

12 days ago 1h 29m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the lack of an uptick in stolen bases this season, which of the teams that are off to surprisingly hot or cold starts has changed their minds the most, analogs to baseball’s epidemic of UCL tears in ten

Effectively Wild Episode 2150: Crime Doesn’t Ippei

13 days ago 1h 41m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to news about Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara being charged with bank fraud, discuss the revelations in the government’s stunning, detailed complaint, and assess the implications for Ohtani a

Effectively Wild Episode 2149: Protective Eyewash

14 days ago 1h 39m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about White Sox manager Pedro Grifol’s anti-eclipse eyewash, the shrinking moon, an eyebrow-raising quote by Blake Snell, the latest signature Elly De La Cruz game, the hot starts of Mike Trout, Anthony Volpe

Effectively Wild Episode 2148: Backyard Baseball

18 days ago 1h 39m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the earthquake in the Northeast, Juan Soto’s choice of walk-up song, J.J. Hardy building a ballpark in his Arizona backyard, the pluses and minuses of living in or near a ballpark, and how Shohei Ohtani

Effectively Wild Episode 2147: Rising Tides

19 days ago 1h 36m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Athletics’ intermediate move to Sacramento, the Royals’ failed public funding referendum, a Davis Schneider self scouting report, a wild Diamondbacks-Yankees game that ended with a pitcher at the pl

Effectively Wild Episode 2146: Long May You (Salmon) Run

21 days ago 1h 35m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a grab of topics, including a team meeting after two games, early bad blood and benches-clearing incidents, the continued terribleness of the new uniforms, a Bryce Harper blooper, a missing first-base c

Effectively Wild Episode 2145: Opening Daze and the 2024 Team Fun Draft

25 days ago 2h 12m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Opening Day naps, a Bryce Harper pandering update, Nelson Cruz’s Mariners retirement and the one-day-contract tradition, and Yusei Kikuchi’s latest intriguing revelation, then (21:16) share some highlig

Effectively Wild Episode 2144: Season Preview Series: Dodgers and Rockies

28 days ago 2h 5m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley remind people to vote in their preseason predictions game, discuss the completion of the season preview series, and then (10:15) analyze Shohei Ohtani’s remarks from Monday and preview the rest of the 2024 Los Angel

Effectively Wild Episode 2143: The 2024 Preseason Predictions Game

29 days ago 1h 55m

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs authors Michael Baumann and Ben Clemens play “Character Who Appears in Shōgun the Novel (but Not the TV Series) or International Amateur Baseball Player” (3:13), banter about an MLBPA power struggle (8:3

Effectively Wild Episode 2142: Season Preview Series: Yankees and Nationals

Mar 23rd, 2024 1h 51m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the J.D. Martinez and Michael Lorenzen signings, Eury Pérez‘s elbow, Jackson Holliday not making the O’s Opening Day roster, and MLB’s crowded, mediocre middle, then preview the 2024 New York Yankees (1

Effectively Wild Episode 2141: What Did Sho Know?

Mar 23rd, 2024 1h 9m

In an in-depth discussion that became a bonus episode, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley explore the state of the sports-betting scandal surrounding Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, breaking down the stakes, the most pressing

Effectively Wild Episode 2140: Don’t Bet on It

Mar 21st, 2024 1h 50m

After a brief preamble about the betting scandal surrounding Shohei Ohtani and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the first game of the regular season, whether gloves have gotten more permeable, the odds of a

Effectively Wild Episode 2139: Season Preview Series: Braves and White Sox

Mar 20th, 2024 2h 17m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Giants signing Blake Snell, whether Snell is now underrated, San Francisco’s offseason, Scott Boras’s offseason, leaguewide spending, an MLBPA power struggle, and (39:03) a 150-year-old message abou

Effectively Wild Episode 2138: Our Favorite Offseason Moves

Mar 15th, 2024 1h 37m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Dylan Cease trade, the post-trade outlooks for the Padres and White Sox, and the incomparably chaotic Padres POBO A.J. Preller, then (31:22) discuss who the best pitcher in baseball is with Gerrit C

Effectively Wild Episode 2137: Season Preview Series: Astros and Athletics

Mar 14th, 2024 1h 52m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest on Gerrit Cole’s elbow and how his uncertain status might affect free agents Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, then preview the 2024 Houston Astros (23:42) with The Athletic’s Chandler Rome,

Effectively Wild Episode 2136: Season Preview Series: Mariners and Royals

Mar 13th, 2024 1h 48m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the uncertain state of Gerrit Cole’s elbow (and the larger UCL scourge), the Giants controversially releasing J.D. Davis, and the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts/Gavin Lux infield switcheroo, then preview the 202

Effectively Wild Episode 2135: Season Preview Series: Rays and Pirates

Mar 9th, 2024 1h 52m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the retirement of Meg favorite Mike Zunino, some teams’ mismatched gray jerseys and pants, whether Blake Snell is still unsigned in part because his pitching isn’t fun to watch (and whether he walks bat

Effectively Wild Episode 2134: Season Preview Series: Orioles and Giants

Mar 8th, 2024 1h 49m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the A’s Las Vegas ballpark renderings, Brayan Bello’s extension with the Red Sox, and MLB’s Spring Breakout games, provide an update on EW listeners’ MLB ballpark meetup events, then preview the 2024 Ba

Effectively Wild Episode 2133: (Eternal) Rest Day

Mar 6th, 2024 1h 32m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler extension, the Giants’ Matt Chapman signing, and a Scott Boras quote about free agency, then (17:35) bring on Patreon supporter Jay Wade Edwards to answer listener emails (26:

Effectively Wild Episode 2132: Season Preview Series: Blue Jays and Reds

Mar 2nd, 2024

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk to FanGraphs writer Ben Clemens about the site’s ongoing efforts to model team depth and factor it into projections, then preview the 2024 Toronto Blue Jays (30:46) with The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath, and the

Effectively Wild Episode 2131: Season Preview Series: Phillies and Angels

Mar 1st, 2024 2h 5m

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani’s surprise marriage announcement (5:15), and Portia of Ohtani fan account @shoheisaveus returns (18:13) to tell Ben how the news was received by the Shobae community. Then Ben and Meg Stat