Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon.

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether JR Ritchie should want to keep the ball that was hit for a homer on his first major league pitch, José Soriano’s season-starting hot streak, and the Yankees’ new alternate uniforms, plus follow-ups on accidental challenges, player pecks on the cheek, jersey numbers, and Nolan McLean’s apology, and a mini-Blast about the Rockies’ historically hot start (compared to last year). Then (50:36) they take a break from interviewing octagenarian former players to interview a youthful, quadragenarian former player: former All-Star Brad Lidge. An infamous manager once proclaimed, “The closer is the closer because he’s the closer.” But what if the closer becomes an archaeologist? Ben and Meg talk to Lidge at length about his post-playing pivot to archaeology: what drew him to the field, how he’s pursued a second profession (and how it differs from his first one), ancient Etruscans, misconceptions about archaeology, what he could learn from excavating a ballpark, discovering dice (note: not a gambling ad), discussing his career reinvention at cocktail parties, the pleasures and procedures of communing with the past, archaeology’s moneyball, and much more, followed by his thoughts on fellow fastball-slider artist Mason Miller.

Audio intro: PJ Harding, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Philip Bergman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to The Only Rule closer line

Link to line’s EW wiki entry

Link to Lidge’s SABR bio

Link to postseason saves leaders

Link to best post-’88 RP seasons

Link to Pujols homer

Link to 2008 WS victory

Link to Episode 2323

Link to Wood’s HR

Link to Ritchie game story

Link to Yankees jerseys report 1

Link to Yankees jerseys report 2

Link to Yankees jerseys report 3

Link to jersey number history

Link to Gilbert “catch”

Link to Gilbert “catch” rules

Link to Vargas “accidental” challenge

Link to Gonzales “accidental” challenge

Link to Martin-Davis smooch

Link to Soriano’s six-start stretches

Link to Soriano’s 2025 stretch

Link to Soriano’s 2026 stretch

Link to exit velo responsibility

Link to Soriano article 1

Link to Betteridge’s law 1

Link to Soriano article 2

Link to follow-up McLean report

Link to fastest team improvements data

Link to 2018 archaeoLidgey article

Link to 2026 archaeoLidgey article

Link to Lidge Explorers Club

Link to Poggio Civitate wiki

Link to Etruscan civilization wiki

Link to Roman Empire meme

Link to Lidge’s publications

Link to Lidge’s dice paper

Link to North American dice article 1

Link to North American dice article 2

Link to Ben on Detectorists

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about vagueposting screenshots of Baseball Savant percentiles, a Ron Darling comment during the Mets’ 12th consecutive loss about why pitchers shouldn’t apologize to batters for throwing inside, team-level changes in pitch usage and results this season, why MLB partly escaped the NBA’s tanking epidemic, why relievers are struggling so far, baseball parallels to track’s quest to produce lighter shoes, and an EW listener meetup tool (password: EW2026), then Stat Blast (1:25:12) about player home run totals that outstripped team win totals, winning streaks built from other teams’ losing streaks, and batting orders with jersey numbers that matched lineup slots, plus (1:39:40) a postscript.

Audio intro: Benny and a Million Shetland Ponies, “Effectively Wild Theme (Horny)”

Audio outro: Alex Ferrin, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to vagueposting wiki

Link to Buxton/McLean matchup

Link to pitch before homer

Link to home run pitch

Link to Clemens on McLean

Link to Clemens on hard in, soft away

Link to Ben on the Pirates

Link to Sawchik on the Pirates

Link to THT on the Pirates

Link to Dan S. on the Mets

Link to SNY ritual clip

Link to MLB.com on SNY ritual

Link to Baumann on Lumineers curse

Link to Mr. Met/Lumineers post

Link to NYT on Mamdani curse

Link to Rosenberg Mr. Met story

Link to team pitching changes

Link to 2025 team FA%

Link to 2026 team FA%

Link to Senzatela pitch usage

Link to pitch-type usage by year

Link to 2025 team Stuff+

Link to 2026 team Stuff+

Link to 2025 team contact%

Link to 2026 team contact%

Link to 2025 team pitching WAR

Link to 2026 team pitching WAR

Link to Sportico on NBA tanking

Link to Gold Plan wiki

Link to Gilbert “catch”

Link to MLB.com on Legumina

Link to MLBTR on Legumina

Link to MLB SP stats

Link to MLB RP stats

Link to WSJ running shoes article

Link to Ben on MLB player improvements

Link to Cooper on fastball speed

Link to fastball speed joke graphic

Link to listener meetup tool (PW: EW2026)

Link to meetup tool Reddit post

Link to HR>wins spreadsheet

Link to losing streaks spreadsheet

Link to jersey=lineup slot data

Link to Kenny Jackelen

Link to listener emails database

Link to streak-snapping Mets gamer

Link to 1914 Federal League game

Link to 1991 Pirates-Cubs game

Link to 2011 Dodgers-Diamondbacks game

Link to 1952 Dodgers-Braves game

Link to 2017 Yankees-Rays game

Link to 1928 Cleveland-Detroit game

Link to 1923 Dodgers-Cardinals game

Link to 1934 Cardinals-Reds game

Link to 2004 Rangers-Tigers game

Link to 2019 Diamondbacks-Brewers game

Link to EW Episode 2405

Link to Nimmo/Semien comparison

Link to Murakami homers fun fact

Link to Clemens on Murakami

Link to Kruk in a suit

Link to Farley’s Matt Foley skit

Link to Farley’s Kruk skit

Link to Weaver post

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Scott Boras talking turkey, a heartwarming player-fan interaction, two more unintentional challenges, the depths of the Mets’ predicament after their 11-game losing streak, whether Munetaka Murakami can keep up his hot, extreme start, whether hitters should stop swinging against Mason Miller, whether government regulation can improve sports streaming, and the nature of on-base streaks, then Stat Blast (1:32:34) about NL and AL Central standings oddities, the longest periods out of first place, and scoring coming all in one inning, plus (1:44:34) several follow-ups and bonus blasts.

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

Audio outro: Austin Klewan, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Boras quote

Link to Geese controversy

Link to brother-sister embrace

Link to Mangum comments

Link to Lorenzen clip

Link to Lorenzen quote

Link to accidental challenge story

Link to Mets streak story

Link to MLB.com on the Mets

Link to Perry on the Mets

Link to Sheehan on the Mets

Link to Szymborski on slow starters

Link to Ben on high-turnover teams

Link to team run differentials

Link to preseason playoff odds

Link to updated playoff odds

Link to “Kokomo” curse story

Link to “Kokomo” wiki

Link to “Kokomo” video

Link to Spanish-language “Kokomo”

Link to Mets borough mascots

Link to Peraza pitch image

Link to Peraza pitch clip

Link to swing/zone rate data

Link to Miller’s stats as a Padre

Link to Miller’s Stuff+ stats

Link to Murakami’s grand slam

Link to Murakami’s Savant page

Link to Longenhagen on Murakami

Link to Baumann on Murakami

Link to Murakami projections story

Link to PECOTA hitter projections

Link to NPB analyst on Murakami

Link to Kruk in a suit

Link to Farley skit

Link to Bloomberg on NFL streaming

Link to Bloomberg on MLB streaming

Link to story on Baldwin’s bill

Link to Live Nation verdict story

Link to story on Ohtani’s on-base streak

Link to times on base wiki

Link to info on DiMaggio streak scoring

Link to upside-down NL Central

Link to previous upside-down standings

Link to 4/11 AL Central

Link to 2006 NL West

Link to 2011 AL West

Link to 2022 AL East

Link to Orioles-Guardians game

Link to 2003 Phillies-Reds game

Link to 1972 Braves-Astros game

Link to 1933 Yankees-A’s game

Link to 1928 Pirates-Giants game

Link to new Rockies celebration story

Link to Rushing’s “fishy” comments

Link to Rockies celebration images

Link to Rockies celebration clips

Link to Cronenworth HBP story

Link to listener emails database

Link to new switch-hitters data

Link to name matches spreadsheet

Link to Takatsu on Murakami

Link to “Does Bat Day Make Cents?”

Link to other promotions/giveaways info

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon.

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about another accidental challenge and listener-suggested alternatives to the head/helmet tap, the implications of the Padres’ reported sale for a record price, Mike Trout’s resurgence and Jordan Walker’s surge, a Stat Blast about one-man lineups, stoic responses to getting drilled by line drives, loud stadium noise, listener emails about extensions and the next CBA, tuning in to no-hitter attempts in progress, and “anti-framing,” and more.

Audio intro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to latest challenge

Link to other review signals

Link to soccer review signal

Link to cricket review signal

Link to skeuomorph wiki

Link to HPB/CI challenge sequence

Link to WSJ Padres sale story

Link to ESPN Padres sale story

Link to S&P info 1

Link to S&P info 2

Link to S&P info 3

Link to Chelsea protest story

Link to Chelsea money loss story

Link to Trout series fun facts

Link to Trout six-game streaks

Link to Trout four-game streaks

Link to Trout’s Savant page

Link to Trout hypotheticals

Link to Trout’s five homers

Link to Walker analysis

Link to FG WAR leaders

Link to Mets-Dodgers game

Link to Jay on the Mets

Link to Stat Blast spreadsheet

Link to 1969 Williams game

Link to 1991 Boston game

Link to 1950 Vollmer game

Link to 1978 Expos game

Link to Freeland vs. Myers hit

Link to Ben on sick players

Link to sick Sale start

Link to Greene game

Link to Greene game article

Link to 2025 stadium noise article

Link to 2026 stadium noise article

Link to Collins HoF induction article

Link to Messick article

Link to “anti-framing” article

Link to “anti-framing” clip

Link to listener emails database

Sponsor Us on Patreon

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Kevin McGonigle’s new contract and whether pre-arbitration extensions are still team-friendly, Tatsuya Imai’s adjustment period, MLB’s average four-seam fastball velo nearing 95 mph, a new frontier in catcher’s interference calls, and whether a new challenge signal should replace the head/helmet tap, then (1:21:02) Stat Blast about a historic scoring day, games in which the score most often matched the inning, homering against all other teams while playing for one team (and the most homers without going deep twice against the same team), opposing pitchers catching pop-ups in the same game, driving in oneself and no one else, and season-starting streaks of games with a lead.

Audio intro: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Luke Lillard, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to MLBTR on McGonigle

Link to Paine on extensions 1

Link to Paine on extensions 2

Link to Ball on extensions

Link to Nightengale on extensions

Link to Rome on Imai

Link to Imai synopsis

Link to Rome on interpreters

Link to story on Duran incident

Link to Statcast velo by year

Link to Pitch Info velo by year

Link to Pitch Info info

Link to righty Statcast velo by year

Link to all-pitches velo by year

Link to Woodrum on velo

Link to Sam on flames

Link to EW on flames 1

Link to EW on flames 2

Link to Trueblood on fastball counts

Link to EW on CI

Link to 2024 CI totals

Link to 2025 CI totals

Link to Sam on the Meidroth CI

Link to Sam on the Cubs CI attempt

Link to Sam on swings and the CI

Link to Ohtani accidental challenge

Link to Chandler accidental challenge

Link to Rice accidental challenge

Link to 2025 Lee incident

Link to challenge rules

Link to volleyball challenge rules

Link to NHL officials wiki

Link to Crawford rehab update

Link to April 13 scores

Link to April 13 offense

Link to MLB batting stats pre-4/13

Link to MLB batting stats post-4/13

Link to Trout-Judge gamer

Link to score matching inning info

Link to homers vs. teams spreadsheet

Link to homers vs. distinct teams data

Link to pitcher pop-ups spreadsheet

Link to O’Neill’s OD HR streak

Link to team leads spreadsheet

Link to Sam on win expectancy

Link to listener emails database

Sponsor Us on Patreon

Give a Gift Subscription

Email Us: [email protected]

Effectively Wild Subreddit

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Apple Podcasts Feed

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YouTube Playlist

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Twitter Account

Get Our Merch!

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