Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the balletic strikeout celebrations of Rockies reliever Jefry Yan, Terry Francona’s selective opposition to ABS this spring, how frequently potential game-ending strikeouts will get challenged, and baseball in Season 2 of Poker Face. Then they preview the 2025 Arizona Diamondbacks (36:00) with The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, and […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about some members of last year’s Yankees and Dodgers still sniping about the World Series, Max Scherzer’s objection to the challenge system, how ABS has broadly been received so far, and assorted tactical considerations concerning when to challenge. Then they preview the 2025 New York Mets (29:08) with The […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether certain injuries can improve players, old-but-good guys not getting gigs, the offensive disparity between the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, and Bryce Harper’s Phanatic tattoo. Then they preview the 2025 Boston Red Sox (31:16) with The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, and the 2025 Sacramento Athletics (1:25:13) with Jason […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the end of the Yankees’ beard ban, the potential end of MLB’s business relationship with ESPN, and whether the World Baseball Classic should imitate the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Then they preview the 2025 Texas Rangers (50:07) with MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry, and the 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates (1:27:23) with […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the start of spring training games, the charms of Tigers reliever John Brebbia, whether MLB’s uniform pants were always semi-transparent, and Shohei Ohtani’s parallel parking skills. Then they preview the 2025 Seattle Mariners (27:37) with Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, and the 2025 Cincinnati Reds (1:12:53) with […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a player who signed an extension (Geraldo Perdomo), a player who didn’t sign an extension (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.), a player who’s switching positions (Mike Trout), and a player who’s not switching positions, at least for now (Rafael Devers), plus an update on Meg’s updated beliefs about Shohei Ohtani’s […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s new sound-dampening windows, listener defenses of MLB’s altered two-way-player rule, and the latest intolerable “breakout” pick, followed by Stat Blasts (15:49) about the teams with the most winless, non-lossless pitchers and the all-time past-their-prime/time-travel teams. Then they preview the 2025 Houston Astros (32:41) with The Athletic’s Chandler […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Red Sox signing Alex Bregman, the Padres signing Nick Pivetta, and Anthony Rendon’s latest long-term injury. Then they preview the 2025 Chicago Cubs (29:35) with The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma, and the 2025 San Francisco Giants (1:14:41) with The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee. Audio intro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme” […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Rob Manfred’s Super Bowl cameo, the return of not-terrible uniforms, a new finding in the “familiarity vs. fatigue” debate about the times through the order effect, two more Dodgers signings, and an intriguingly timed alteration to the criteria for two-way-player classification. Then they preview the 2025 Minnesota Twins […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Dodgers’ overstuffed 2025 bobblehead lineup, Ippei Mizuhara’s sentencing, and the Angels’ tireless pursuit of players who were good several seasons ago. Then they preview the 2025 Baltimore Orioles (35:55) with the Baltimore Banner’s Danielle Allentuck, and the 2025 Kansas City Royals (1:08:21) with the Kansas City Star’s […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mets re-signing Pete Alonso, the Twins signing Harrison Bader, and the compressed standings in the newly released FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus playoff odds. Then they preview the 2025 Tampa Bay Rays (31:35) with MLB.com’s Adam Berry, and the 2025 Milwaukee Brewers (1:09:55) with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley introduce the 13th annual Effectively Wild season preview series, then banter about the Tigers signing Jack Flaherty to a smaller-than-expected deal, a long-awaited explanation for the gambling-related firing of umpire Pat Hoberg, and the death and legacy of former commissioner Fay Vincent. Then they preview the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Max Scherzer and Jorge Polanco signings, Scherzer vs. Justin Verlander, and the changes in pitcher usage over the course of those pitchers’ careers. Then (20:17) they discuss stricter restrictions on the size of fielders’ gloves, and the merits of a tax in Meg’s county to help pay […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the overwhelming listener response to their previous conversation about cover models for baseball video games, and Ben issues some “Bo Nos” in support of his previous Royals reporting. Then (18:19) they talk about the Rays signing Ha-Seong Kim, Roki Sasaki “prospect” rankings, a recent leaguewide run on relievers, […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about some good news and bad news about breakout picks, Junior Caminero’s unbeatable bat flip and home run trot in the LIDOM playoffs, the latest MLB The Show cover model(s) and the lone MLB franchise that hasn’t put a player on the cover of a video game, the Ryan […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s memories of Ichiro and his sensational MLB debut, Ippei Mizuhara’s letter about his work with Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki’s dog, the misleading name of “Sluggball,” Jurickson Profar and the prospect of a Braves rebound, which players will get “shorter” thanks to the challenge system, two new rules […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley bring on FanGraphs senior writer Jay Jaffe to break down the Hall of Fame voting results, from new honorees to one-and-done candidates to trends in support to forecasts for future ballots and much more. Audio intro: Philip Bergman, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio outro: Tom Rhoads, “Effectively Wild Theme” Link to Hill report […]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley revisit and update their recent discussion on the Dodgers, competitive balance, and what’s good for the game in light of L.A.’s latest additions, then (1:06:18) discuss the Blue Jays’ signing of Anthony Santander and the outlook for Pete Alonso, followed by (1:20:02) a Stat Blast on Bob Uecker and the […]

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 […]

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 […]