Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley wrap up the podcast?s 10th anniversary week by doing a dozen listener-inspired Stat Blasts and then (51:53) talking to 42-year-old Red Sox starter and podcast legend Rich Hill about how the game and his game have evolved over his long career, plus (1:31:18) a Past Blast from 1880/postscript. Audio intro: Silk [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen to banter about what accounts for the variability in how quickly prospects acclimate to the majors and detecting holes in swings, discuss (10:50) which teams have the prospects to trade for Juan Soto, review (22:59) impressive performances from the Futures Game [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley continue their celebration of the 10th anniversary of Effectively Wild by bringing on former cohost Jeff Sullivan and Most Frequent Guest (for now) Grant Brisbee to banter about Jeff?s job with the Rays and draft their favorite baseball stories from the past 10 years (plus a Past Blast from 1878). [?]

On the 10th anniversary of Effectively Wild?s first episode, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley kick off a week-long celebration by reflecting on the milestone, then (6:40) bring on producer Dylan Higgins and listener Chris Hanel for a round of Effectively Wild trivia and fun facts. After that (41:49), they dig into the podcast archive for [?]

With Meg Rowley on the road, Ben Lindbergh does an almost-all-interview episode featuring the authors of four new baseball books: First (3:22), Howard Bryant on Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original; second (42:45), Jeff Fletcher on Sho-Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani and the Greatest Baseball Season Ever Played; third (1:19:36), [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani taking over the MLB WAR lead, a Taylor Ward/Jared Walsh mixup, an on-air ?zombie runner? endorsement, another fruitless hidden ball trick attempt, and the need for an amended rule about replay reviews of slide plays, then (26:03) discuss the Blue Jays firing manager Charlie Montoyo and [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben?s hazardous last week, then discuss the ongoing mellowing of attitudes and discussions surrounding the All-Star game, embracing the game?s potential for sentimentality, how it would feel to be a team?s lone All-Star representative, the results of a new poll about robo umps, an NPB record and whether/when [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben?s unfortunate Brussels sprouts incident, then answer listener emails about the ballparks with the most and least locations where a ball would be a home run only in that park, the Rays? MLB-leading outs on the bases, the Orioles? possibly improved pitcher development, a loaner-type trade where a [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley rant and banter (ranter?) about MLB?s approach to promoting the Futures Game, then (17:33) discuss superheroes throwing baseballs, the latest exploits of the semi-superpowered Shohei Ohtani and Sandy Alcantara, and Ohtani?s chances against Aaron Judge (and others) in the AL MVP race, Stat Blast (39:03) about losing teams with two [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the possible end of the Taylor Ward/Tyler Wade broadcaster confusion, Ward getting caught unawares at first base, and the Twins turning the first-ever 8-5 triple play, then Stat Blast (11:06) about Cam Vieaux and the most pitches thrown in various types of innings, share a Past Blast (23:33) [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the varying interpretations of Bobby Bonilla Day and what may be the last-ever Bruce Sutter Day, then (17:20) discuss what an expansive ESPN profile of Rob Manfred reveals about the MLB commissioner. After that (48:49), they answer listener emails about players jumping straight from college to the majors, [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley are joined by Jake Mintz of Céspedes Family BBQ to talk about Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson leaving the team midseason to join LSU, why MLB teams are hiring coaches from college and why colleges are hiring them back, whether MLB teams should pay coaches more, the state of player [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a surprising ESPY nomination for Jorge Soler, another Tyler Wade/Taylor Ward broadcaster mixup, the massive Mariners-Angels brawl and ensuing suspensions and pizzas, Bryce Harper?s broken thumb and not-broken face, Mark Appel finally making the majors, an update on the Joc Pederson?Tommy Pham feud, the Yankees getting no-hit, the [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley answer listener emails about why players in the dugout seem so confident in pitch locations, whether it would ever help to wear two gloves, MLB Big Inning and other baseball equivalents of NFL RedZone, the extreme dimensions of the Polo Grounds, what makes it so impressive that some players perform [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about two spectacular games by Shohei Ohtani and Ohtani?s extraordinary playing-time pace and relay a sinker-iffic response from Michael Lorenzen to a previous discussion about baseball grip, then (24:22) answer listener emails about using different-colored balls to denote different levels of liveliness, how much time to train players have [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether changing managers is at all responsible for the Phillies? recent success, the Yankees? almost unparalleled winning-percentage pace, the Royals? historically terrible pitching performance and the pressure on their pitching coach, another Taylor Ward/Tyler Wade broadcaster slipup, Anthony Rendon?s season-ending surgery, Michael Lorenzen?s comments about baseball slipperiness and [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a broadcaster relatably mixing up Taylor Ward and Tyler Wade, the Dodgers ?fixing? former Rockies pitcher Yency Almonte, a deep, perplexing rabbit hole (7:46) of baseball-themed CarShield commercials, the bat spike as the new bat flip, an umpire?s close call with a broken-bat shard, and the building backlash [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about what it means to be humbled, whether Joe Maddon?s mohawk could have caught on and caused a Shohawk had he not been fired, another point about Aaron Judge?s potentially historic home-run pace, a Byron Buxton fun fact, whether Buxton or Luis Arraez is a more entertaining hitter, Ozzie [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Joe Maddon?s mohawk, the latest details about Mike Trout?s (and Tommy Pham?s and Joc Pederson?s) legendary fantasy football league, a rash of hidden-ball-trick attempts, the ?old guy?s still got it? resurgences of Nelson Cruz and Joey Votto, how big a deal Aaron Judge?s potentially historic home-run pace should [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Joe Maddon?s firing, the impact and end of the Angels? 14-game losing streak, and whether the Angels or Phillies are in a worse position for the future, Tony La Russa?s intentional walk on a 1-2 count, whether the weather and the humidor can explain MLB?s sudden upticks in [?]

With Meg Rowley on the road, Ben Lindbergh talks to a trio of guests. First (4:10), he?s joined by Mr. King, the creator of Northwoods Baseball Sleep Radio, to talk about baseball as ASMR, crafting a fictional league, broadcaster, and collection of players, replicating the soothing, white-noise sounds of a baseball broadcast, putting his listeners [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mike Yastrzemski trying the ?KK play,? the distinctive smell of rat urine, Buck Showalter making a mid-PA pitching change, Dave Roberts running afoul of a position-player-pitcher rule, the wording of the zombie-runner rule, Nick Pivetta?s near-miraculous mechanical adjustment, and Mike Trout?s slump, plus a baseball-history fact from 1859. [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Joe Girardi?s firing and where the Phillies go from here, the Astros? Yordan Alvarez extension, the dip in DH offense, and the trade deadline, then answer listener emails about MLB.TV highlights, the upside of ignoring playoff odds, getting plunked on a full count, things that haven?t happened in [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley announce the availability of new Effectively Wild T-shirts, then follow up on the latest, Mike Trout-related developments in the Tommy Pham?Joc Pederson fantasy-football/slap story as well as Josh Donaldson?s comments about his teammates not supporting him. After that, they banter about a home-run robbery that wasn?t, the homer hitting of [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Nick Castellanos?s uncanny tater timing, and then (4:43) Ben attempts to explain the Joc Pederson?Tommy Pham fantasy-football dispute (and resulting slap) to Meg. After that (44:42), they discuss the Reds? resurgence, an umpire?s hot mic, updates on defensive-positioning restrictions and the forthcoming pitch clock, and whether the standings [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley answer listener emails about why we don?t see more hidden-ball tricks in MLB, why big leaguers practice fielding grounders between innings, comparing the careers of Paul Goldschmidt and Freddie Freeman, how baseball broadcasts should discuss domestic-violence suspensions, whether Rickey Henderson would still have stolen bases if he?d been inflicted with [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the apparent end of Mike Trout?s long-lasting SuperPretzel sponsorship, Willians Astudillo?s return to the majors, the Phillies? fielding and a seeming surfeit of amusingly bad defensive plays across the league, the arrival of overall no. 1 prospect (and Orioles catcher) Adley Rutschman and how to tell when a [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk to Kelly Pracht, the CEO and co-founder of predictive analytics startup nVenue, which has provided the real-time probabilities displayed on this season?s MLB Network-produced Friday Night Baseball broadcasts on Apple TV+. They discuss nVenue?s origin story, its sports-betting ambitions, its 100-plus-input machine-learning model, which factors are and aren?t predictive [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley pay tribute (for the umpteenth time) to the great Roger Angell, who died at 101 on Friday, then banter about which underperforming hitters are most in need of the kind of breakout game that slow-starting Trevor Story had this week. After that (21:41), they bring on listener and top-tier Patreon [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the rabidity of opossums and Eugenio Suárez?s keepie-uppie skills, then discuss the White Sox offense and Tony La Russa?s rationale for batting Andrew Vaughn ninth, Max Scherzer?s oblique injury, and the possibility of a Juan Soto trade, before meeting major leaguers (53:30) Logan Gillaspie (Orioles) and Brandon Hughes [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about two of the worst defensive plays of the season, which came courtesy of the Tigers and Nationals, Albert Pujols pitching and walking, the Pirates winning without a hit (but with one correct prediction), and the breakout of Taylor Ward; answer listener emails about banning gray uniforms, baseball jugglers, [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a wave of baseball ads for cryptocurrencies and NFTs coinciding with crashes in the crypto and NFT markets, injuries to Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw, the dominance of the Dodgers, Yankees, and (especially of late) Astros, the early NL West race, Robinson Canó getting a job as Jarred [?]

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 surprisingly long, largely forgotten history of the 20-seconds-between-pitches rule and the pitch clock in pro ball and the big leagues, and [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Josh Naylor?s record eight RBI after the eighth inning and the hot-hitting Guardians, José Ramírez taking a hometown discount to stay in Cleveland, Rangers manager Chris Woodward?s seemingly misinterpreted joke about Yankee Stadium, the perils of interpreting text-only quotes, Mets hitting coach Eric Chávez?s theory about MLB selectively [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the joys of a pitcher?s duel between Shohei Ohtani and Rich Hill, have a spoiler-free discussion about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness being a baseball movie, examine whether the historically hapless Reds are truly tanking or are just a case of Nutting gone wrong, and talk [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Madison Bumgarner ejection, players having to be held back, and sensual sticky-stuff inspections, the historically slow start of the Reds and Joey Votto?s response to a FanGraphs article about his season-opening slump, and a study on which teams improve pitchers. Then (24:10) they discuss how John T. [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about April?s low offensive numbers and Zack Greinke?s deadball-style success, then (7:11) talk to 32-year MLB umpire Dale Scott and SABRcast host Rob Neyer, co-authors of Scott?s new memoir The Umpire is Out: Calling the Game and Living My True Self, touching on the definition of ?nutcutter,? how Dale [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to MLB?s decision to suspend Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer for an unprecedented 324 games, then (22:25) discuss Justin Verlander and Ronald Acuña Jr. looking like their old selves and pitcher Tucker Davidson?s critiques of the minor league pitch clock before answering listener emails about the Cardinals and how to [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about MacKenzie Gore and how long a player?s career has to be for something he does to be described as a ?career high,? Nick Senzel?s proclivity toward catcher?s interference and the Reds? ice-cold start, the first-place Los Angeles Angels, the hot starts of Mike Trout, Carlos Rodón, Joe Ryan, [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the unsealing of the so-called ?Yankees Letter? and what, if anything, it revealed about the past prevalence of sign stealing, the end of NPB pitcher Roki Sasaki?s consecutive outs streak and Matt Shoemaker?s bid for perfection, the White Sox?s injury-plagued, disconcerting slump to start the season, Michael Conforto?s [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the reaction to and tactical underpinnings of the Yankees? controversial decision to walk Miguel Cabrera, the balance between win expectancy and entertainment, and whether analytically-driven changes have hurt baseball as a spectator experience more so than other sports, then (15:19) meet major leaguers Simón Muzziotti of the Phillies [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about exactly how many feral cats have infested the Oakland Coliseum and exactly how few fans have attended A?s games this season, Miguel Cabrera?s impending 3,000th hit and the potentially long time that may elapse before another player joins the 3,000-hit club, the recentism of MLB.TV highlights, the Guardians? [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Angels manager Joe Maddon?s befuddling bases-loaded intentional walk to Corey Seager, NPB phenom Roki Sasaki?s perfect followup to his perfect game, Hunter Greene and velo-induced fear for young starters, injury close calls for Byron Buxton and Mike Trout, the rise of non-fastballs leaguewide and what Andrew Heaney?s sweeper-iffic [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about an unlikely grand slam on a major meatball pitch and the hot start of Seiya Suzuki, then answer listener emails about how to make baseball sound most appealing, the effect of using different-colored balls to denote different pitch types, whether umpires would be better at calling balls and [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley break down a watershed week in overturning traditions, discussing the Dodgers pulling Clayton Kershaw after seven perfect innings and provoking a ?baseball is dying? debate, the Giants flouting the unwritten rules, Alyssa Nakken debuting as the Giants? first-base coach (under vexing circumstances), the new-look Alex Cobb, Andrew Heaney, and Jesús [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about NPB phenom Roki Sasaki?s 19-strikeout perfect game for the Chiba Lotte Marines, the historic crop of prospect debuts in the first week of this MLB season, the unprecedented career-starting hot streak of (and long-term outlook for) Cleveland?s Steven Kwan, A?s catcher Sean Murphy?s butt photogenically taking one for [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their impressions of Opening Day, the ?baseball zen? interludes on MLB.TV and Apple?s proposed broadcast innovations, Joey Votto?s in-game interview (and in-game interviews in general), a tasty new MLB sponsorship, PitchCom and pace of play, the fraught relationship between Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman, the Padres-Twins trade [?]

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Sports Illustrated writer Emma Baccellieri banter about the contrast between March Madness and early-season baseball, the Rays-Tigers trade involving Austin Meadows and Isaac Paredes, and the challenge of evaluating Rays transactions in general, then complete the 2022 division preview series by setting the stage for the season in the National [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about top prospects making Opening Day rosters, the Padres? Sean Manaea trade and Eric Hosmer almost-trade, the A?s firesale and accurate and inaccurate payroll figures, Joe Davis replacing Joe Buck in the World Series broadcast booth, new broadcaster Carlos Beltrán?s comments about the Astros? sign stealing, and Wilmer Font?s [?]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Jacob deGrom?s latest injury, the White Sox-Dodgers trade involving Craig Kimbrel and AJ Pollock, umpires explaining replay reviews, ?Home Run Derby X,? a lousy likeness of Derek Jeter, Yankees games on Amazon Prime and the continued splintering of baseball broadcasts, and an update about MLB?s official cerveza and [?]