Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a genuine, no-foolin’ instance of “Strategy” (aka a mid-PA pitching change), Christian Walker’s affinity for Dodger Stadium, a Triple-A Waxahachie Swap, the Nationals optioning EW legend Joey Meneses, the Marlins DFA’ing Tim Anderson, and the latest Royce Lewis injury, plus follow-ups about bullpen-cart-driver tipping and fan catches. Then (36:10) they bring on Patreon supporter Wayne Teeger to discuss responses to recent discussions about K-Zone, ABS, and the challenge system and answer emails about ABS at lower levels, broadcasts missing pickoff attempts, green-screen issues (and other ad problems) on broadcasts, whether the path a champion takes through the playoffs matters to fans, pinch-hitting to negate a mound visit, and tracking 10K games for pitchers. Next, they Stat Blast (1:41:13) about the most major leaguers ever to play for a non-major-league team, followed by (1:48:53) a Future Blast from 2187.

Audio intro: Andy Ellison, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to “Strategy” game
Link to Banda pitch
Link to Lovullo clip
Link to Ben on “Strategy”
Link to Girardi on “Strategy”
Link to Walker article
Link to Twins Triple-A Swap
Link to Ben on the Swap
Link to MLBTR on Meneses
Link to Ben on Meneses
Link to Wood’s number tweet
Link to MLBTR on Anderson
Link to lowest wRC+ since 2023
Link to Ottavino video
Link to bullpen-cart driver EW
Link to O’s fan catch
Link to O’s fan pitch
Link to Lewis clip
Link to Lewis quote
Link to MLBTR on Lewis/Lee
Link to Twins prospect list
Link to Wayne’s LinkedIn
Link to KBO ABS article
Link to baserunning leaderboard
Link to Giamatti Rhino scene
Link to pitcher wins article
Link to Stat Blast cover
Link to 2024 Mexican League
Link to 2024 Diablos Rojos
Link to 2022 River Cats
Link to 2013-14 Tigres del Licey
Link to 2009 Bears
Link to Kenny Jackelen’s Twitter
Link to listener emails database
Link to Future Blast wiki
Link to Future Blast text
Link to Rick Wilber’s site
Link to Alan Smale’s site
Link to Episode 2074 Future Blast
Link to Episode 2093 Future Blast
Link to Updike article
Link to Williams HR video 1
Link to Williams HR video 2
Link to Gowdy call
Link to Mays catch video
Link to Future Blast sound samples
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Phillies reliever José Ruiz threatening Ryan Webb’s career record for games finished without a save, Aaron Judge’s Hall of Fame case, the Mariners having a .540 winning percentage, just as Jerry Dipoto foretold (sort of), Dallas Keuchel being back in the big leagues, the White Sox, weirdly, dictating the trade deadline, and the collective performance of the Boras Four (or Five), then (54:27) answer a listener email about catchers fooling pitchers into issuing bad challenges under the challenge system, and (1:01:13) meet major leaguers Spencer Bivens, Jake Bloss, and Jacob Bosiokovic.

Audio intro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Alex Glossman and Ali Breneman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to GF with no saves leaders
Link to Webb/Albers wiki
Link to Ben on Webb/Albers
Link to Webb/Albers on EW
Link to Triple Crown redundancy EW
Link to EW on Dipoto and .540
Link to Dipoto clip
Link to Dipoto follow-up
Link to .540 spreadsheet
Link to MLBTR on Montgomery
Link to MLBTR on Luzardo
Link to MLBTR on Flaherty
Link to 2023 ABS article 1
Link to 2023 ABS article 2
Link to 2024 ABS article
Link to MaML wiki
Link to B-Ref’s new debuts
Link to Buchanan on Bivens
Link to Bivens on Twitter
Link to Bivens on Insta
Link to Bloss call-up article
Link to Eric’s Astros prospects
Link to Georgetown major leaguers
Link to “The” OSU explainer
Link to “Hoya Saxa” explainer
Link to Cronin on EW
Link to MLBTR on Bosiokovic
Link to MLB.com on Bosiokovic
Link to Dispatch on Bosiokovic
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the one (and only one) case where the zombie runner was warranted, why pitchers throw strikes to Aaron Judge (10:00), and MLB’s new Home Run Derby rules (21:11), then answer listener emails about how different baseball would be if runners didn’t have to tag up (34:49), the best arguments for full ABS over the challenge system (49:56), and what would happen if ejected players couldn’t be replaced (1:11:16), plus a few follow-ups (1:22:57).

Audio intro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Rockies-Sox game
Link to Doyle’s catch
Link to zone rate leaderboard
Link to Judge’s zone rates
Link to Petriello on Judge
Link to Judge’s 40-game streak
Link to Judge’s 50-game streak
Link to lineup-protection explainer
Link to new Derby rules
Link to Calcaterra on the HRD
Link to Levi on the HRD
Link to Judge’s Derby victory
Link to Strike Four
Link to Sheehan on ABS 1
Link to Sheehan on ABS 2
Link to strike zone changes
Link to Triple-A ABS change
Link to Ben on ABS
Link to Meg on the penalty box
Link to listener emails database
Link to John Poff’s fundraiser
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a player/league/umpire spat over on-screen strike-zone plots, whether “K-Zone” and its ilk have had a harmful effect on the game, where they stand on a hitter vs. pitcher dispute about the mid-game use of advanced pitching machines, the promotion of Nationals top prospect James Wood (and the future of Orioles top prospect Jackson Holliday), and Byron Buxton’s recent success. Then (59:08) they identify and discuss the teams, hitters, and pitchers that have most surpassed or fallen short of their preseason projections halfway through the regular season.

Audio intro: Dave Armstrong and Mike Murray, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Drellich on zone plots
Link to Reddit thread on plots
Link to BP piece on plots
Link to ESPN on pitching machines
Link to Ben on pitching machines
Link to Ben on moving the mound
Link to Ben on roster limits
Link to MLBTR on Wood
Link to Nationals depth chart
Link to FG’s The Board
Link to MLB Pipeline top 100
Link to AAA wRC+ leaders
Link to Holliday’s game logs
Link to O’s prospect list
Link to Orioles depth chart
Link to Buxton’s sprint speeds
Link to sprint speed leaderboard
Link to team projections sheets
Link to hitter projections sheets
Link to pitcher projections sheets
Link to preseason team projections
Link to preseason hitter projections
Link to preseason pitcher projections
Link to MLBTR on Phils injuries
Link to Sam on Duran
Link to Laurila on Hauck
Link to Sox pitching piece 1
Link to Sox pitching piece 2
Link to Sox pitching piece 3
Link to Sox pitching piece 4
Link to team DRS leaderboard
Link to Paine on the Cubs
Link to McKenzie feature
Link to Peña interview clip
Link to Ben on in-game interviews
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Nolan Schanuel’s aversion to day games, the Astros reaching .500 and coming for the Mariners, Houston’s weekend opponent (the Mets) making it back to .500 and nearing a playoff spot, the success (and good fortune) of Reynaldo López, the bad fortune of Adam Duvall, and how “expected” stats have changed perceptions of performance, Hunter Greene and vomiting on the mound, a Dodgers bat…man’s clutch catch, Shohei Ohtani’s RBI streak, Ohtani’s dog’s backpack, and pedantic questions (1:20:55) about leaving the bases loaded, when a game is “all” one team, and how umpires signal a full count.

Audio intro: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Washington quote
Link to Schanuel splits
Link to Sam on Schanuel power
Link to FG playoff odds
Link to ESPN SoS
Link to BaseRuns standings
Link to Winker video
Link to BP on Brown’s sinker
Link to Mets Grimace story
Link to McDonald’s wiki
Link to Grimace wiki
Link to pitcher wOBA-xWOBA
Link to hitter wOBA-xWOBA
Link to lowest ERAs
Link to xERA-ERA sheet
Link to xHR-HR
Link to Duvall on cans of poop
Link to CBS on Greene
Link to Reynolds video
Link to BP on Reynolds
Link to Greene water tweets
Link to Ben on sick starters
Link to Herrera’s play
Link to Dodgers batmen story
Link to Ohtani RBI story
Link to SABR on longest streaks
Link to longest streaks wiki
Link to Ohtani and dog pic
Link to pet Randoseru
Link to Randoseru video
Link to Randoseru article
Link to Randoseru Reddit thread
Link to listener emails database
Link to Montgomery PitchCom clip
Link to O’s fan interview
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Edwin Díaz’s sticky-stuff suspension, a new name for the internal brace alternative to Tommy John surgery, Blake Snell’s latest setback, the success and extension of Cristopher Sánchez (and the Phillies’ excellence), Shota Imanaga’s regression and Meg’s preseason prediction about Imanaga vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Kyle Finnegan’s first-of-its-kind clockoff, the respective impressiveness of starts by Bailey Ober and Pablo López, a follow-up Steven Kwan-versation, the much-improved Guardians offense, an incredible catch by a Baltimore fan, the latest slow start by Julio Rodríguez, and (1:27:17) Ben’s pedantic report about brand-new baseball movie Ultraman: Rising.

Audio intro: Tom Rhoads, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Díaz incident
Link to X-Files episode
Link to UCL surgery sheet
Link to internal brace explainer
Link to Snell comments
Link to “slapdick” story
Link to Giants depth chart
Link to P fWAR since 5/11
Link to Dombrowski comments
Link to Dan S. on the extension
Link to MLBTR on the extension
Link to preseason predictions pods
Link to Finnegan play
Link to Finnegans Wake wiki
Link to violations leaderboard
Link to clockoff game log
Link to clockoff gamer
Link to shrimp post
Link to Sam on walk-off errors
Link to Sam on walk-off strikeouts
Link to Langs pitch-count stat
Link to Stathead on Ober games
Link to first Kwanconversation
Link to article on Guardians whiffs
Link to recent Kwan profile
Link to Cleveland wind tunnel
Link to fan’s catch
Link to Julio’s splits
Link to Julio’s swing changes
Link to Neil on Julio’s starts
Link to wOBA-xWOBA
Link to Ultraman wiki
Link to Ultraman: Rising wiki
Link to Ken’s stats screenshot
Link to 400+ HR sheet
Link to .500-est teams
Link to Turner’s helmet play
Link to Sam on helmets
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the highlights of the MLB at Rickwood Field game and broadcast, Mike Trout’s unsurprisingly slow return from knee surgery, Matt Waldron’s sustained success, the incredible Royce Lewis, the challenge system’s continued ascendance over full ABS, Barry Bonds as a baseball ambassador, Elly De La Cruz’s stolen-base slump, the Yankees-Orioles AL East race, Michael Jordan and subjective stats, Buck Showalter’s scouting criteria at the MLB Draft Combine, and Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge as MVP candidates.

Audio intro: The Gagnés, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Luke Lillard, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Jackson clip
Link to full Jackson appearance
Link to retro broadcast clip
Link to Smoltz-Alexander trade
Link to Trout update
Link to EW 2158 Trout intro
Link to BP IL Ledger
Link to Waldron leaderboard
Link to Lewis leaderboard
Link to Lewis WAR/600
Link to ABS/challenge story
Link to Bonds/Griffey clip
Link to Bonds allegations
Link to EW 2165 on Elly
Link to Sam on Elly
Link to Trueblood on Elly
Link to Becker on the Reds
Link to Becker on Yanks-Orioles
Link to FG playoff odds
Link to team SP projections
Link to Haberstroh on Jordan
Link to DiMaggio streak scoring
Link to HR rules changes
Link to book on Babe’s HR
Link to errors/scoring Stat Blast
Link to Draft Combine page
Link to Showalter clip
Link to Jim’s Dwight impression
Link to FG WAR leaders
Link to Petriello on Judge
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh, Rany Jazayerli, and Neil Paine discuss the death of Willie Mays, Mays as the last legendary link to an earlier era, the statistical cases for Mays as the greatest all-around player and greatest player, period in major league history, and (36:45) baseball’s new greatest living player, plus (46:02) banter about Kansas courting the Royals with public funding and (50:38) the competitive trajectories of the Royals and Mets. Then (1:01:08) Ben brings on frequent Stat Blast correspondent Ryan Nelson for Blasts about teams that hover near .500, pitchers replacing same-surnamed pitchers, prolific umpire-player ejection combos, the most players with the same first name in the same game, and Alex Verdugo’s grounders.

Audio intro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Rany’s Mays article
Link to Neil’s Mays article
Link to FG’s Mays obit
Link to Mays statement
Link to Manfred statement on Mays
Link to Carig on Mays
Link to Mays fielding slump
Link to EW 1927 on Mays
Link to Mays stumble story 1
Link to Mays stumble story 2
Link to B-Ref career WAR leaders
Link to Ben on quality of competition
Link to Posnanski on the GLP
Link to EW 2161 on public funding
Link to Kansas funding details
Link to deMause on Kansas funding
Link to race to the bottom wiki
Link to FG playoff odds
Link to BP playoff odds
Link to BaseRuns standings
Link to Grimace explainer
Link to Neil on team true talent
Link to Neil on Witt and Brett
Link to Neil’s Substack
Link to Podracing podcast
Link to Kauffman Corner podcast
Link to Mike Conte’s Stat Blast cover
Link to Wolf of Wall Street quote
Link to Langs on .500 teams
Link to Ben on .500 teams
Link to .500 teams/Ryne Stat Blast
Link to Kelly/Alexander game
Link to Retrosheet ejections data
Link to ejections Stat Blast data
Link to ejections-per-G graph
Link to SABR on ejections
Link to Evers wiki
Link to “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”
Link to “Luis” game
Link to The Bob Emergency
Link to same-names data
Link to swimmer David Young
Link to 2024 grounder leaders
Link to 2021-4 grounder leaders
Link to 2019-24 grounder leaders
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Nike’s City Connect uniforms have run their course, the Dodgers’ double whammy of injuries to Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (and Kyle Bradish going back on the IL), the approaching returns of Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, and Clayton Kershaw, Carlos Correa’s hot streak, Elly De La Cruz and the excitement of scoring unexpectedly, a better way to handle a hypothetical hitter who only hits grand slams, David Fletcher’s strange season and transition to true two-way play, the potential fallout from umpire Pat Hoberg’s gambling scandal, a dead ball in NPB, and how pitching phenom Roki Sasaki’s lack of durability could affect his future free agency.

Audio intro: The Shirey Brothers, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Meg’s tweet
Link to Facebook post
Link to Dodgers uni
Link to Mets uni explainer
Link to City Connect wiki
Link to new FG player pages
Link to FG post on the Dodgers
Link to MLBTR on Mookie
Link to combined WAR leaders
Link to hamate study 1
Link to hamate study 2
Link to MLBTR on Yamamoto
Link to Passan on Yamamoto
Link to MLBTR on Bradish
Link to MLBTR on Cole
Link to MLBTR on Scherzer
Link to MLBTR on Miller/Kershaw
Link to EW on Kershaw book
Link to Elly play
Link to slams hypothetical
Link to Vieira intentional balk
Link to Jansen intentional balk
Link to Sam on balks
Link to Bois on balks
Link to EW episode on Hoberg
Link to WaPo on Fletcher
Link to Fletcher batting game log
Link to Fletcher pitching game log
Link to Cosart fine info
Link to MLBTR on Waldrep
Link to MLBTR on Hoberg
Link to EW episode on Hoberg
Link to NPB ball scandal
Link to Allen on old ball scandal
Link to Allen on Sasaki
Link to Allen’s tweet
Link to Ben on NPB pitchers
Link to WaPo on Sasaki
Link to MLBTR on Sasaki
Link to JPPL offense
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley answer listener emails about Kyle Schwarber batting leadoff, teams paying their players not to do in-game, on-field interviews, the phrase “potential World Series preview,” a team purchasing and privatizing a valuable public baseball website, a player who can’t hit anything except grand slams, a player who homers in every game he plays but is usually injured, Justin Verlander’s Hall of Fame plaque cap, and what constitutes a “teammate” (plus a real-time reaction to the Astros releasing José Abreu). Then (1:06:33) Ben meets major leaguers Daniel Schneemann and Jamie Westbrook and (1:17:58) briefly reacts to news about MLB disciplining “perfect” umpire Pat Hoberg for gambling.

Audio intro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ian H., “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Jake on Schwarber
Link to MLB.com on Schwarber
Link to NBCS on Schwarber
Link to Inquirer on Schwarber
Link to Reddit on Schwarber
Link to Phillies batting orders
Link to Schwarber splits
Link to most HR since 2022
Link to 2023 P/PA leaderboard
Link to 2024 P/PA leaderboard
Link to Ben on interviews
Link to mic’d-up Maldonado
Link to FG WS odds
Link to MLBTR on Ramírez
Link to CapFriendly
Link to Sportico on CapFriendly
Link to RMNB on CapFriendly
Link to Athletic on CapFriendly
Link to ESPN on CapFriendly
Link to THN on CapFriendly
Link to PuckPedia
Link to Texas Leaguers
Link to Hit Tracker
Link to Chamberlain’s stats
Link to Orr’s stats
Link to Christopher book
Link to Posnanski on Christopher
Link to bases-loaded splits
Link to Tabler Stathead
Link to SI on Tabler
Link to NYT on Tabler
Link to Tabler blog post
Link to McCartney clip
Link to MLBTR on Abreu
Link to Verlander option info
Link to A-Rod/Judge post
Link to listener emails database
Link to B-Ref new debuts
Link to MLBTR on Schneemann
Link to Forbes on Schneemann
Link to MLB.com on Schneemann
Link to Deseret on Schneemann
Link to Triple-A wRC+ leadersr
Link to Triple-A xWOBA leaders
Link to Guardians prospects list
Link to Elias stat
Link to MLBTR on Westbrook
Link to MLB.com on Westbrook
Link to MLB.com on Westbrook 2
Link to Westbrook’s Insta
Link to Constellation Energy League
Link to Athletic on Hoberg
Link to ESPN on Hoberg
Link to MLBTR on Hoberg
Link to EW episode on Hoberg
Link to Ump Scorecards ranking
Link to perfect game tweet
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form

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