recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Bat boning

**Bat boning** is the practice of using a large bone (typically a cow femur) to compress the wood on a bat, in the belief that it makes the wood more harder and dense and would consequently produce higher velocity hits.

Bat boning came to the attention of the podcast in the spring of 2017 in Episode 1059, where it was met with enormous confusion from Jeff Sullivan:

"We need to get a very specific bone from a very specific mammal, and we need to just rub it, and we need to rub it aggressively and assertively until we can hit a baseball, and we can hit it far, and we can hit it consistently. Why...? Where in the...? Who were they talking to where they decided, we need to rub this wooden bat, it looks like a bat, you can hold it right now, but hold on, we need to rub this bat with a cow femur..." (53:11)
In Episode 1060, Ben plays a clip of Bob Uecker discussing bat boning on a broadcast, and listeners sent pictures of players boning their bats.

In Episode 1069, the podcast learned that their discussion of bat boning was referenced in a *Washington Post* article.

In Episode 1096, the podcast learned about an article in which Joe Sewell discussed boning his bat with a chicken bone and that he used the same bat for 14 years.

In Episode 1230, the podcast learned that Hank Aaron said that he boned his bats with soda bottles.

In Episode 1233, the podcast learned that MLB.com posted a video of Vinny Castilla boning a bat.

The topic of bat boning faded after the summer of 2018.
Episode 1030: Season Preview Series: Blue Jays and Athletics

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan preview the Blue Jays’ 2017 season with Joshua Howsam of BP Toronto and the Athletics’ 2017 season with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.*

## Topics

* Toronto Blue Jays preview with Joshua Howsam
* Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion
* Kendrys Morales
* Starting rotation
* How will fans look back on this run?
* Russell Martin
* Young prospects
* Pitching depth
* Troy Tulowitzki
* Oakland Athletics preview with Susan Slusser
* Did Billy Beane plan this lull?
* Starting rotation
* Revenue sharing as a low payroll team
* Struggling defense
* Rotation competition
* Sonny Gray
* Matt Joyce
* Sean Doolittle's political action

## Interstitials

First Aid Kit, "Blue"

Destroyer, "From Oakland to Warsaw"

## Banter

* Since recording the preview with Susan Slusser, Sonny Gray was shut down by the Athletics.
* Bill Hands, who was cold-called in Episode 964, passed away.

## Notes

* Jose Bautista signed a one-year, $18 million contract during the offseason.
* Joshua thinks that if the Blue Jays had just made the ALCS once that fans would look back on the 2015 season more fondly. Since they made it again in 2016 and lost, he thinks they will see the last few seasons as missed opportunities.
* Joshua predicts the Blue Jays will win 87 games.
* This will be Billy Beane's 20th season as the Oakland Athletics' GM.
* Susan predicts that the A's will win 82 games.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1030: Season Preview Series: Blue Jays and Athletics
Episode 1042: Several Premature Pronouncements

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Keon Broxton and batting helmets, statistical soothsaying, and the two-way-player attempts of Michael Lorenzen and Christian Bethancourt, then discuss the early results of several preseason players and teams of interest.*

## Topics

* Evaluating early season results
* Season projections for the Chicago Cubs
* Bryce Harper
* Yasiel Puig's bat speed
* Byron Buxton
* Dylan Bundy
* James Paxton
* Charlie Morton
* Matt Harvey
* Garrett Richards
* AL West teams

## Banter

* Keon Broxton suffered a broken nose after getting hit by a pitch, but he is not expected to go on the disabled list.
* Ben and Jeff discuss the Peltzman effect (and its relation to batting helmets) which proposes that increased safety regulations or better equipment will result in increased risky behaviors.
* Episode 1041 follow-up: Several listeners followed up with other ways to demonstrate that you could predict the exact stat lines for a player.
* Attempts by Michael Lorenzen and Christian Bethancourt to be two-way players.

## Notes

* In Dylan Bundy's first start of the season the Blue Jays swung and missed at 14 of his sliders.
* Jeff thinks it is unlikely that Matt Harvey will return to his 2013 peak but has higher expectations for him this season than most.
* Matt Albers was re-signed by the Washington Nationals.
* MLB Network is airing a documentary on Mike Trout that Ben will be featured in.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1042: Several Premature Pronouncements
Episode 1015: You Need to Know Nakashima

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan fixate on their new baseball obsession, NPB shortstop (and offensive outlier) Takuya Nakashima. Then they discuss prospect terminology and the nebulous significance of the “ceiling.”*

## Topics

* Takuya Nakashima
* Is he more valuable because there's no shifts
* Is there a place for Nakashima in MLB
* Significance of prospect tag
* Makeup

## Notes

* “He's the most effectively wild player in like 10 ways” - Ben
* He has fouled off 250 morre pitches than anyone in the NPL.
* Takuya has never hit a home run.
* 75% of Takuya’s 2 strike swings end up in a foul ball.

## Links

* Episode 2015: You Need to Know Nakashima
* Link to Ben’s Nakashima article
Episode 1048: Such is This Game, and Such is Life

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ichiro’s home run in his return to Seattle, the feasibility of intentionally allowing dingers, a John Jaso quote, and manager bobbleheads, then discuss the present and future use, abuse, and presentation of Statcast data.*

## Topics

* Appreciation and usage of Statcast data
* Overuse of exit velocity
* Defensive data
* How Statcast enhances enjoyment of broadcasts
* Marketing Statcast data

## Banter

* Ichiro Suzuki hit a home run in what presumes to be his final game at Safeco Field. Ben and Jeff discuss the idea that Ichiro could hit more home runs if he wanted.
* How easy is it for pitchers to groove pitches so that they are hit for home runs?
* John Jaso, on the Pirates' streak of sweeping or being swept in a series, "It's bizarre. Such is this game, and such is life."
* The Athletics have made a Bob Melvin bobblehead to giveaway. Ben and Jeff examine other manager bobbleheads and the positions they are posed in for their bobbleheads.

## Notes

* This season there have been 2,090 fastballs thrown down the middle of the plate. 45 of those pitches were hit for home runs.
* John Jaso was interviewed in Episode 1225.
* Ben and Jeff feel that sometimes Statcast data is unnecessarily overused, such as exit velocity. They feel that broadcasts and other writers are still establishing the best way to present the data and when it is useful.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1048: Such is This Game, and Such is Life
Episode 1021: Season Preview Series: Indians and White Sox

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Adam Lind, Matt Albers, bunting to beat the shift, Mike Fiers, and Brandon Guyer, then preview the Cleveland Indians’ 2017 season with writer/editor Pete Beatty and the Chicago White Sox’ 2017 season with Cat Garcia of Baseball Prospectus.*

## Topics

* Cleveland Indians preview with Pete Beatty
* Recovery from Game 7 loss
* Is Chief Wahoo on the way out?
* Terry Francona
* Are the Indians favorites this year?
* Michael Brantley & Jose Ramirez expectations
* Indians' catcher expectations
* Covering Trevor Bauer
* What is the proper regular season usage for Andrew Miller?
* Were you surprised Edwin Encarnacion signed with Indians?
* How lovable is Francisco Lindor?
* Does Tyler Naquin continue this trajectory?
* How many times will Brandon Guyer get hit by pitches this year?
* How will Indians attendance look this year?
* Chicago White Sox preview with Cat Garcia
* What is the thing most exciting about the White Sox?
* White Sox rebuild
* Charlie Tilson
* Does Tim Anderson need to change his approach?
* Can Omar Navaraz become a better defensive catcher?
* Can Carlos Rodon take a jump?
* Hope for Lucas Giolito?
* What happened to Jose Abreu in the first half of last season, and what does he have left?
* What does Don Cooper do?
* Of the two Giovanni Sotos (one pitcher, one catcher) who has a higher WAR this season?
* Who is next to get traded from White Sox and what holes should they try and fill?
* Who do you expect more from, Lucas Giolito or Reynaldo Lopez?
* When does the White Sox window open?

## Interstitials

Destroyer, "Goddess of Drought"

A Tribe Called Quest, "Youthful Expression"

## Banter

* Adam Lind fart follow up
* PECODA predicts Matt Albers will get a save this year (would be 1st of career).
* Red Sox will try and bunt to beat the shift.
* Mike Fiers lead all of baseball in wild pitches.
* Brandon Guyer has been hit by a lot of pitches.

## Notes

* Indians had the worst offensive output from catchers last year.
* Pete predicted the Indians will win 94 games.
* Cat predicted the White Sox will win 70 games.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1021: Season Preview Series: Indians and White Sox
* Players Prefer Presentation: Breaking Lind by Meg Rowley
Episode 1040: Opening Day and the Post-Trampoline Prospect

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the difficulty of keeping perspective on Opening Day events, the lone disagreement between their preseason predictions, and a common reader misconception about prediction “groupthink.” Then they talk to Astros Double-A catching prospect and trampoline survivor Garrett Stubbs about his childhood trampoline injury and still-crooked finger, his dramatically different rankings on stats-based and scouting-based prospect lists, how size affects his future as a catcher, how he learned to hit for power, how he and the Astros focus on pitch framing, and more.*

## Topics

* Interview with Garrett Stubbs
* Garrett's trampoline injury
* How Garrett's thumb impacted his throw
* Scout vs. Stat-based ranking differences
* Swing adjustments
* Undersized catching prospects
* Catcher framing
* Improved baserunning
* Wearable technology

## Banter

* Ben and Jeff agree that the true Opening Day is when there is a full (or mostly full) slate of games, not the single game played the day before.
* Ben and Jeff compare their pre-season predictions for division winners and major awards. The only difference is that Jeff picks the Texas Rangers to win the AL Wild Card but Ben predicts the Toronto Blue Jays will win it.
* Jeff highlights Dave Cameron's article about Lance McCullers as an alternate, less safe, way to make predictions.

## Notes

* Garrett was first mentioned (not by name) in Episode 1035.
* Garrett says that after his injury he had to throw the ball with three fingers for a while. He thinks this has helped him going forward since he can throw the ball even if he doesn't get a good grip on the ball.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1040: Opening Day and the Post-Trampoline Prospect
* Presenting Your 2017 AL Cy Young Winner: Lance McCullers by Dave Cameron
Episode 114: The One Where We Talk About the Hall of Fame

## Summary

*Ben and Sam discuss the Hall of Fame voting and what their own ballots would look like.*

## Topics

* Hall of Fame - Do writers, fans, or players deserve the vote?
* Hall of Fame - Ben & Sam's hypothetical ballots
* Hall of Fame - Will the PED users get in when the electorate changes?

## Banter

Sam & Ben discuss the recent episode of Downton Abbey.

## Notes

* Overall, Ben & Sam are not as interested in the Hall of Fame discussion as others, but feel an obligation to discuss it as baseball writers.
* Ben & Sam's Hall of Fame Ballots (Hypothetical): Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Edgar Martinez, Mike Piazza, Tim Raines, Curt Schilling, Alan Trammell, Larry Walker. Sam also voted for Mark McGwire. Ben also voted for Craig Biggio.
* Sam predicts that nobody will get elected to the Hall of Fame this year (that is what happened).

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 114: The One Where We Talk About the Hall of Fame
* Where Would the Pit Go If There Was a Pit by Sam Miller
Episode 1072: Over the Hill

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Diamondbacks’ baserunning, Rich Hill’s struggles, regrets about writing, reading the comments, and the prospect of an automated strike zone.*

## Topics

* Automated strike zones
* Technology issues related to automation
* Comparing umpires to automated zones
* Impact of automation on pitch framing

## Banter

* Continued strength of the Arizona Diamondbacks' baserunning
* Paul Goldschmidt's baserunning and being perpetually underrated
* Recent struggles for Rich Hill
* Ben and Jeff's frequent regrets when writing
* Reading the comments on your writing

## Notes

* This season the Diamondbacks are on pace to generate 45 baserunning runs above average.
* In his last eight starts Rich Hill has averaged just 4.5 innings pitched per start. His average fastball velocity has dropped close to 1 MPH.
* Rich Hill has had the least valuable curveball this season in MLB based on pitch type run values.
* Ben and Jeff both mention that they are completionists and often find themselves constantly wishing they had been able to include an extra quote, statistic, anecdote, etc. in their writing.
* Both Ben and Jeff like that getting a strike call depends on effective execution by both the pitcher and catcher.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1072: Over the Hill
* The Best Base Runners in Baseball by Ben Lindbergh
* Rich Hill is Out of Whack by Jeff Sullivan
* Baseball keeps getting slower, but change will come by 2018 by Buster Olney
Doing Some Swears

While Effectively Wild is generally a podcast with content for all audiences, the hosts and their guests will sometimes use profanity. After a complaint on the Facebook group about the lack of warning when profanity happens (and requesting that the entire podcast feed be labeled as Explicit), the hosts have made a show of attempting to give a heads-up before using profanity, referring to such instances as "do a swear" or "doing some swears".
Bad baseball references

As excited as the podcast and its fans get about baseball things, there is often a countervailing disappointment and frustration when the baseball thing is *wrong*.

In frustration, Ben and Meg often half-jokingly offer their services to sanity-check baseball references in movies and television.

## List of bad baseball references

(This list is incomplete.)

* Episode 1663: Ben and Meg criticize the baseball scene in the *Tom and Jerry* movie.
* Episode 1831: Ben, Meg, and guest Stefan try to make sense of a baseball reference in the television show *Billions*.
Episode 1181: Season Preview Series: Red Sox and Reds

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Logan Morrison signing and the Twins’ potent lineup, the Rays’ potentially lucrative new TV deal, and two tidbits from a game played in 1870, then preview the 2018 Red Sox (19:49) with The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, and the 2018 Reds (55:47) with The Athletic Cincinnati’s C. Trent Rosecrans.*

## Topics

* Logan Morrison contract and effect on Twins
* The Red Sox preview
* Red Sox becoming ahead of the curve on philosophy
* What happened to Red Sox offense last season
* What should we make of the Red Sox being biggest spender?
* The Red Sox farm system
* Star Potential in Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi?
* Red Sox Injury concerns?
* J.D. Martinez and his contract
* What are the Red Sox going to do with Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland

Catching position

* Managerial Change
* Christian Vasquez
* Is the starting rotation too left handed and the bullpen too right handed?
* Does Joey Vatto say anything off the record and would he be the face of baseball if he was in a larger market?
* Is Joey Votto still happy with Reds
* The Reds pitching staff
* What is Luis Castillo
* How much trust is still in the return for Johnny Cueto
* Is Billy Hamilton ever going to be a higher OBP guy
* Jose Peraza
* How will Reds work outfield glut
* Can Scooter Ginnett and Eugenio Suarez be peices
* David Hernandez control issues
* Is Bryan Price on hot seat again?

## Interstitials

* The Kinks, "Do it Again"
* The Frames, "Red Chord"

## Banter

* Ben's back in the free agent contract contest
* Baseball's stored in humidors?
* Rays negotiating new TV deal
* Braves TV deal
* “deathdefying” Bob Ferguson was first switch hitter

## Notes

* Alex Was the only guest from last year to nail the prediction
* Dustin Pedroia had only 7 “barrels” last year in about 400 PA
* Alex predicted the Red Sox win 105 games
* Last season the Red Sox had the most games in MLB by guys 25 or younger
* C.Trent predicted the Reds win 74 games

## Links

* https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/effectively-wild-episode-1181-season-preview-series-red-sox-and-reds/
* https://www.baseballspast.com/
* http://www.banishedtothepen.com/2018-season-preview-series-index/
Episode 1198: The Regular-Season Routine

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about returning to the regular-season routine, between-innings highlights on MLB.TV, Shohei Ohtani’s Angels debut, Gerrit Cole’s Astros debut, Ichiro’s home-run robbery, Kevin Pillar’s base-stealing exploits, Mike Trout’s rapid resurgence, the first (and possibly the silliest) unwritten-rules controversy of the season, the early evidence that swings (and batted balls) are changing, two potential fun facts, the week-one criticism of rookie managers Gabe Kapler and Aaron Boone, and the Rays’ first bullpen day.*

## Topics

* Shohei Ohtani's pitching debut
* Ichiro Suzuki's home run robbery & Dee Gordon's home run
* Kevin Pillar's stolen bases
* Unwritten rules - bunting against the shift
* Early launch angle & fly ball data
* Gabe Kapler's bullpen management
* Aaron Boone's managerial decisions
* Tampa Bay Rays bullpen game

## Banter

* Ben is surprised at how quickly he settles into 'regular season mode'.
* MLB.TV commercials ("During this break in the action...")

## Notes

* Shohei Ohtani's fastball averaged 98 MPH in his debut.
* After singling in the 8th inning, Kevin Pillar had consecutive straight steals of second, third, and home.
* The Twins were upset that Chance Sisco bunted against the shift when Jose Berrios was throwing a 1-hit shutout.
* There have already been more pitchers used in 2018 than all of 1968, however in 1968 there were only 20 teams.
* Gabe Kapler brought Hoby Milner into the game before he had warmed up.
* The Dodgers scored two runs in their first four games of the season.
* The Reds pitching staff is worth -0.6 WAR so far.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1198: The Regular-Season Routine
* Effectively Wild: The Video Game by Ken Maeda
Episode 1121: Is This Really a Revolution?

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the inaccessibility of playoff stats and the average length of this year’s playoff games, then discuss whether we’re really witnessing a revolution in postseason pitcher usage before breaking down each of the division series, analyzing the latest controversial managerial decisions, and bidding farewell to two more eliminated teams.*

## Topics

* Pitching usage in this playoffs
* Playoff trends
* Managerial issues
* Cubs vs Nationals
* Revising series that are over

## Banter

* Difficulty in finding team stats for postseason

## Notes

* Derek Jeter batted .310 in regular season and .308 in playoffs and people say he isn't clutch, Jeff theorized that makes him more clutch.
* Ten starters have gone 3 or fewer innings this postseason, 12 is the record.
* Average park factor for runs was 1.016.
* Each team is up 0.1 of a run per 9, the time of game in regular season 185 minutes per 9, the playoffs is 225 per 9 innings.
* Ben thinks neither regular or post season pitching usage is broken, its it's just evolving and will meet in the middle.
* Jeff thinks teams have more control over the outcome in the playoffs.
* The nationals have gotten 12 no hit innings out of Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer and lost both games.
* Jake Arrieta has a lower strikeout rate and lower fastball velocity than Tanner Roark.

## Links

* https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/effectively-wild-episode-1121-is-this-really-a-revolution/
Episode 1172: Season Preview Series: Astros and White Sox

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about February rituals and the start and format of the sixth annual EW season preview series, as well as transaction inactivity and another player trampoline sighting. Then they preview the 2018 Astros (9:43) with The Ringer's Michael Baumann, and the 2018 White Sox (40:45) with White Sox and ESPN broadcaster Jason Benetti.*

## Topics

* Houston Astros preview with Michael Baumann
* Astros' pitching depth
* Astros' rebuild retrospective
* Astros' attendance and park factors
* Chicago White Sox preview with Jason Benetti
* New broadcasting & travel schedule
* Fan perspective on the rebuild
* Educating fans on prospects
* Avisail Garcia & José Abreu
* Hawk Harrelson

## Banter

* Nothing seems to be happening with transactions, but early season baseball rituals have begun.
* Bartolo Colon signed with the Rangers.
* Jeff is writing less.
* Javier Báez was caught on a trampoline.

## Notes

* Michael Baumann thinks the Astros have stranglehold on AL West until 2020
* The Astros may be the best projected team ever
* Nobody on Astros pitched more than 162 innings in 2017 - Mike Fiers led with 153
* Astros had 121 wRC+, highest since last 20s Yankees
* Astros win total projection - 98
* Jason believes that the Sox window opens in 2019 or 2020
* White Sox players mentioned are Tim Anderson, Nate Jones, Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Yoán Moncada.
* Jason believes that some of Tim Anderson's 2017 struggles came from the murder of his childhood best friend.
* White Sox win total projection - 75
* Jason and Ben set up a Super Smash Brothers game
* Todd Frazier signed with Mets in post production

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1172: Season Preview Series: Astros and White Sox
* Banished to the Pen 2018 Season Preview Series Index
* Yolmer's card trick video
Episode 1052: The State of the Save

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Boog Powell’s debut, Ryan Webb’s and Matt Albers’ ongoing pursuit of history, and the ethics of baseball injuries, then discuss some early-season evidence that the save stat’s grasp on manager’s minds is starting to slip.*

## Topics

* Changes in bullpen use
* Save distribution
* Pitcher usage in high leverage situations
* Managerial decisions

## Banter

* Episode 755 follow-up: Boog Powell made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter and then was pinch hit for before he could bat.
* Ryan Webb and Matt Albers: With three games finished without a save, Albers has 102 games finished without a save. Ryan Webb is still at 105.
* How fans should feel about non-serious injuries to rival team players
* New York Mets pitcher injuries

## Notes

* Ben describes his initial banter as "more meaningless than usual".
* There is no significant change yet this season (as compared to this point in the last five seasons) in average length of relief outings.
* There is a small drop in the percentage of saves that are being earned by team's top relievers

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1052: The State of the Save
* Is the Save Finally Slipping? by Ben Lindbergh
Episode 1180: Season Preview Series: Yankees and Orioles

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Brent Honeywell injury and Corey Dickerson trade, the Yankees’ and Orioles’ potentially record-breaking projected home-run totals, two addenda about team-inspired baby names, surviving spring training, and an ill-advised trampoline recommendation, then preview the 2018 Yankees (19:07) with The Athletic NYC’s Marc Carig, and the 2018 Orioles (52:48) with MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli.*

## Topics

* New York Yankees preview with Marc Carig
* Adjusting what team you write for
* Brian Cashman job security
* 'Evil Empire' Yankees coming back?
* Luxury tax threshold
* Aaron Boone hiring
* Will Chad Green become a starter?
* Dellin Betances
* Baltimore Orioles preview with Brittany Ghiroli
* Is this the year for Greg Bird?
* Manny Machado's future
* Orioles' rotation
* Mark Trumbo, Austin Hayes
* Orioles quiet offseason, including international market
* Peter Angelos' involvement
* Buck Showalter managerial style
* Tim Beckham, Zack Britton, Chris Tillman?
* Is the Orioles' window closing?

## Interstitals

Julian Lennon, "Other Side of Town"

The Jayhawks, "The Baltimore Sun"

## Banter

* Brent Honeywell injury
* Why did the Rays DFA Corey Dickerson?
* Revisit baseball baby names from Episode 1182
* Spring training letdowns and optimism
* Bill Gates endorsed trampolines and Jeff decides Bill must hate his kids

## Notes

* Both the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles are projected to break home run records
* Marc predicted the Yankees win 98 games
* Orioles had the highest park adjusted ERA in baseball last year
* The Orioles 40 man roster is 80.5% American born players
* Brittany predicted the Orioles win 75 games

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1180: Season Preview Series: Yankees and Orioles
* The Home-Run Record Could Be Broken Twice Over by Jeff Sullivan
* 2018 Season Preview Series Index by Banished to the Pen
Episode 1149: The Winter Meetings That Were

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s Winter Meetings experience and then discuss everything that did and didn’t go down while the baseball world was in Orlando, including the Reds’ published pitch to Shohei Ohtani, Ohtani’s injury status, the Marcell Ozuna, Stephen Piscotty, and Ian Kinsler trades (and the leveled-up Angels), Manny Machado trade rumors, and more.*

## Topics

* Details of the Reds Shohei Ohtani presentation
* Shohei Ohtani's minor injury
* Who throws more innings this year: Justin Verlander or Garrett Richards and Shohei Ohtani?
* PRP injections
* The Angels acquired Ian Kinsler and are look to get Zack Cozart
* Marcell Ozuna trade
* Stephen Piscotty trade
* Manny Machado trade rumors
* Why do the Padres want to give Eric Hosmer so much money?

## Notes

* Part of the Reds pitch to Ohtani was that he would be the first Japanese player in franchise history.
* Ben thinks Justin Verlander will throw more innings this year.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1149: The Winter Meetings That Were
Episode 1024: Season Preview Series: Nationals and Twins

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an Andrew Miller image and the top-heavy projected standings, then preview the Nationals’ 2017 season with Chelsea Janes of the The Washington Post and the Twins’ 2017 season with Aaron Gleeman of Baseball Prospectus.*

## Topics

* Washington Nationals preview with Chelsea Janes
* Trade for Adam Eaton
* Is Bryce Harper healthy?
* Losing out on free agents
* Starting rotation depth
* Matt Wieters contract
* Trea Turner
* Daniel Murphy
* Dusty Baker and clubhouse stability
* Bullpen and playoff struggles
* Minnesota Twins preview with Aaron Gleeman
* Front office changes
* Trevor May & starting rotation
* Jason Castro's pitch framing
* Byung-ho Park
* Is Paul Molitor on the wobbly chair?
* State of the AL Central

## Interstitials

The Apples in Stereo, "Stephen, Stephen"

Bon Iver, "Minnesota, WI"

## Banter

* Jeff discusses the setup for Andrew Miller's live BP session in which Miller was not behind a net but the pitching coach was standing on the back of the mound behind a screen.
* Hitters did not swing during the live BP session, making it even more curious why a screen was needed.
* Top heavy nature of team projections and MLB parity

## Notes

* The Nationals reportedly offered Kenley Jansen a higher contract value than what he signed with the Dodgers. Chelsea thinks that the team's propensity to offered deferred money contracts can be a deterrent to some players.
* Chelsea was surprised how much Dusty Baker was willing to delegate during the season, such as when making pitching changes.
* Chelsea predicts that the Nationals will win 89 games.
* Aaron refers to Terry Ryan press conferences as like listening to your "wise old grandpa".
* Aaron predicts that the Twins will win 75 games.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1024: Season Preview Series: Nationals and Twins
* Andrew Miller live BP photo
Episode 1063: Should Fans Pay Attention to Projections?

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Pokémon as a baseball show, Mike Montgomery’s workload, whether the Yankees are preparing to turn heel again, and the AL’s early interleague dominance, then discuss whether baseball fans are better off with or without an awareness of projections and playoff odds.*

## Topics

* Preseason projections
* Playoff odds
* Fan incentive for believing in projections
* How 'perfect' are projection methods?

## Banter

* Ben is still in Jamaica. He says he "went swimming a lot in various bodies of water."
* Ben describes a few episode clips from *Pokemon* featuring baseball.
* Jeff wonders when the email questions from listeners began getting stranger. Ben mentions a question from Episode 165 about baseball without fences.
* Mike Montgomery's high usage rate
* Jeff Passan's speculation that the Yankees would try to sign both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado during their 2018-19 free agency. Jeff thinks this would be a return to the "evil empire" days of the Yankees.
* American League dominance in interleague play

## Notes

* Jeff, on strange listener emails: "Do you ever stop and wonder in fifteen years what the emails are that are going to be pouring in?"
* The American League has won 51 of 87 interleague games played this season.
* Jeff has found that preseason projections continue to be more predictive of a team's success than early team performance as the season goes on.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1063: Should Fans Pay Attention to Projections?
* *Pokemon*Play Baseball And It Was Insane by Brian Ashcraft
Episode 1084: Leaving the Break Behind

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Jose Quintana trade, an Aaron Judge anecdote, Dan Uggla’s disastrous 2008 All-Star Game appearance, and the significance of Ken Rosenthal being barred from writing by Fox, then discuss ways to spice up the All-Star Game with a skills competition that could actually work before closing with a question about Judge and Mike Trout.*

## Topics

* Ways to improve the All-Star Game
* All-Stars skills competition
* Injury risk in the All-Star Game
* Eliminating the All-Star Game
* Positives of the All-Star Game
* Can Mike Trout catch Aaron Judge (by WAR) this season?

## Banter

* Jose Quintana trade and rest of season projections
* Eloy Jimenez's raw power
* Aaron Judge hit a ball to the roof of Marlins park during the Home Run Derby
* Dan Uggla was 0-4 with three strikeouts and made three errors in the 2008 All-Star Game.
* Ken Rosenthal is no longer able to write anywhere except for his Facebook page.
* FoxSports.com transition to video

## Notes

* Engineers constructing Marlins Park believed that the apex of the roof (210 feet) was so high that it could not be hit by a batted ball. Ground rules for if it was were created as a formality that MLB required.
* Dan Uggla had a -0.637 WPA in the 2008 All-Star Game.
* Jeff wonders if there is even need for an actual All-Star game as opposed to having various skills competitions.
* Some of Jeff's competitions include pitching accuracy, longest home run, and sprinting speed.
* Jeff thinks that Dallas Keuchel would win a pitching accuracy competition.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1084: Leaving the Break Behind
* Play ball (again)! Home run chases, pennant races, trading aces, new World Series faces by Tom Verducci
Episode 1111: The World-Series-Winner Draft

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter (one last time) about Cleveland’s winning streak, Lenny Harris and an Ichiro record, Jeff’s successful search for the fly-ball revolution, and the increasing difficulty of scouting position players, then draft the World Series contenders that would be the best (and worst) stories.*

## Topics

* Drafting the stories of World Series contenders
* Wild Card races

## Banter

* The Cleveland Indians won their 22nd game in a row in dramatic fashion. Only the 1916 Giants have a longer streak of games without a loss, but there was a tie game during that streak.
* A listener (Logan) wrote in to say that Ichiro Suzuki has passed Lenny Harris' record for most pinch-hit appearances in a single season. He also has a chance to break the single-season record for most pinch-hits.
* Jeff's research into the fly-ball revolution
* Increased difficulty with scouting position players due to swing changes at the MLB level

## Notes

* This could be the first season of Ichiro Suzuki's career in which he has no triples or no stolen bases.
* Ben drafts the Indians, Astros, and Nationals
* Jeff drafts the Yankees, Angels, and Brewers
* Ben picks the Yankees as the team he would least like to win the World Series. Jeff picks the Twins.
* A listener wrote in that up/down should not be used in baseball terminology but instead more terms that convey horizontal movement (along, behind, etc.).

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1111: The World-Series-Winners Draft
* Here Is Your Fly-Ball Revolution by Jeff Sullivan
Episode 1156: The Winners and Losers of MLB’s Next Five Years

## Summary

*In the last episode of 2017, Ben Lindbergh and guests Joe Sheehan and Rany Jazayerli analyze the Rockies’ Wade Davis signing and offseason attempt to build a super-bullpen, then reprise an old exercise by picking (and dissecting) the teams they think will win the World Series in the next five years and the teams they think won’t make the playoffs in the next four years, discussing the future of rebuilding, the vast divide between baseball’s best and worst teams, and much more along the way.*

## Topics

* Who will win a World Series in the next five years
* Who will not make the playoffs in the next four years
* Value of the total teardown strategy
* Cincinnati Reds window
* Luxury tax

## Banter

Wade Davis signed with the Rockies. Should the Rockies have signed a position player instead?

## Notes

* Joe's winners are the Dodgers, Cubs, Indians, Astros, and Yankees.
* Joe's losers are the Orioles, Tigers, Blue Jays, Royals, and Mets.
* Ben’s winners are the Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Astros, and Yankees.
* Ben’s losers are the Orioles, Royals, Tigers, Reds, and Marlins.
* Rany’s winners are the Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, White Sox, and Braves.
* Rany’s losers are the Royals, Tigers, Reds, Marlins, and Mariners.

* The idea for the topic came from an email that was sent in Episode 57.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1156: The Winners and Losers of MLB’s Next Five Years
Episode 1126: Homers, Homers, Everywhere

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the home run’s postseason supremacy, Clayton Kershaw’s performance in NLCS Game 5 and the Dodgers’ World Series outlook, the Cubs’ upcoming offseason and long-term future, and the significance of the Tigers’ Ron Gardenhire hiring.*

## Topics

* Yankees ability to hit home runs at home.
* Guys try and figure out why home runs are up this year.
* Clayton Kershaw using a 3/4ths arm slot again.
* Will the Dodgers starters rest give them an advantage in world series.
* Where do the Cubs go from here.
* Astros comeback chances
* Tigers hiring Ron Gardenhire

## Banter

* Michael Young tweeted “this is the season of the trampoline baseball”

## Notes

* Research shows contact hitters are better against power pitchers.
* In this postseason 246 runs scored, half of them have been off home runs.
* Current forecast for game one of world series is 101 degrees.
* Clayton Kershaw was inspired to try the ¾’s arm slot by Rich Hill.
* Cubs OBP was .193, worst since 1905 in NLCS.
* Brandon Morrow has given up less runs in larger sample size in MLB than AAA.
* Ben thinks the Cubs need pitching to get back to being as good as they were last year.
* Jeff thinks the Cubs are a great option for Shohei Ohtani.
* Charlie Cluberson had more doubles and triples than the Cubs as a team.
* Ben thinks its 25 - 30% chance for the Dodgers and Cubs to meet again in NLCS again next year.
* Jeff says the Astros have a 35% chance of winning this series.
* Marshawn Lynch got kicked out of the game, then watched from the stands.

## Links

* Episode 1126: Homers, Homers, Everywhere
* Michael Young tweet
Episode 112: The Kyle Lohse Quandary

## Summary

*Ben and Sam reflect on one of the slowest days of the offseason and then discuss the lack of movement in the market for Kyle Lohse.*

## Topics

* Offseason signings
* Kyle Lohse

## Banter

Ben & Sam agree that it was one of the slowest days of the offseason, and what did happen did not seem of significant consequence. They briefly discuss the news that Sergio Romo was detained at the airport.

## Notes

* Sam introduces the episode as number "one-one-one" rather than 112. This went unnoticed until Episode 2079, over ten years later.
* Scott Boras' nickname is 'Mr. January'.
* Is Lohse not being signed a result of his surface stats from last year? Are teams overvaluing the loss of a draft pick for signing him?
* Sam names the Angels, Yankees, Giants, or Royals as potential teams for Lohse.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 112: The Kyle Lohse Quandary
* Scott Boras' title of 'Mr. January' faces stiff challenge from MLB's new rules on free agency by Jeff Passan
* What's a first-round pick worth? by David Schoenfield
Episode 1173: Actual Stats vs. Actual Scouts

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about two reports citing anonymous sources, Scott Boras’ boat metaphor, “Memento Mori” as a motivational tool, a John Jaso update, and a Patreon plug, then bring on the FanGraphs prospect team (Kiley McDaniel, Eric Longenhagen, and Chris Mitchell) to talk prospect-ranking philosophies, scouting-the-stat-line successes, how record home run rates affect scouting, the Ronald Acuna consensus and the Brendan McKay controversy, and the 10 biggest disagreements between FanGraphs’ stats-based and scouting-based prospect lists.*

## Topics

* Prospect rankings
* KATOH scouting system
* Balancing hitters and pitchers in prospect rankings
* Being comfortable with being wrong in prospect rankings
* Ronald Acuña
* Brendan McKay
* Players highly ranked by one system that are unranked by another (details in Notes)

## Interstitial

The Tragically Hip, "Inevitability of Death"

## Banter

* Use of anonymous sourcing in Bob Nightengale article about unsigned players.
* How do you find a player's friends?
* Scott Boras comparing free agency to the America's Cup and other metaphors
* Terror Management Theory and basketball study
* John Jaso text to Fernando Perez
* Plug for Effectively Wild Patreon page

## Notes

* Jeff: "What in the fuck is Scott Boras talking about!?"
* Ben: "I want to remind you that you and I are both going to die someday and I tell you that not to put you in a bad mood but possibly to improve your podcasting."
* Brief discussion about being OK with being wrong about prospect rankings, and handling criticism.
* KATOH makes use of Clay Davenport's data for defensive inputs.
* KATOH and scouting rankings both like Ronald Acuña. Brendan McKay rated #22 by scouts, not ranked by KATOH.
* Top 5 KATOH players that are unranked by scouts: Zack Granite (#6), Trent Grisham (#8), Daz Cameron (#16), Jake Rogers (#17), Anthony Banda (#50)
* Top 5 scout list players that are unranked by KATOH: Miguel Andujar (#14), Brendan Rogers (#18), Carter Kieboom (#40), Willie Calhoun (#46), Jesus Sanchez (#49)
* Ben Lindbergh and Mitchel Lichtman's article The Juiced Ball Is Back was nominated for a SABR analytics conference research award.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1173: Actual Stats vs. Actual Scouts
* MLB free agency: Where the eight elite unsigned players will land by Bob Nightengale
* He Dies, He Scores: Evidence That Reminders of Death Motivate Improved Performance in Basketball
* 2018 Top 100 Prospects
* 2018 Top 100 KATOH Prospects
* John Jaso's text to Fernando Perez
* The Juiced Ball Is Back by Ben Lindbergh & Mitchel Lichtman
Episode 1137: How Much is That Slugger in the Window?

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about pitcher Luis Perdomo’s unusual triples total, Carlos Beltran’s retirement, and Giancarlo Stanton’s trade value, then answer listener emails about Aaron Judge’s similarities to Ryan Howard, an automatic nine-inning, five-run pitcher, the difficulty of evaluating pitch-calling, and bathroom breaks in baseball.*

## Topics

* Hitters with extreme differences in wRC+ to pull and opposite fields
* Comparing Ryan Howard and Aaron Judge
* Automatic nine-inning, five-run pitcher
* Evaluating and optimizing pitch-calling
* In-game bathroom breaks for players

## Banter

* Jeff wrote about how Luis Perdomo hit four seasons this season, most of which were made possible by defensive mistakes.
* Carlos Beltran's retirement and Hall of Fame case
* Giancarlo Stanton trade rumors and potential value

## Email Questions

* Adam: "Is Ryan Howard a relevant data point for what to expect from Aaron Judge? Or do the similarities end at the power, strikeouts, and Rookie of the Year?"
* Bob: "Would a pitcher who went nine innings every single start but also gave up five runs in each of those starts be a valuable player to have on your team?"
* Alex: "Has there been much focus on identifying what the optimal pitch for any situation is and getting the pitcher to throw it? Are we just taking it on faith that pitchers and catchers have figured this one out?"
* Andy: "Can coaches ask for and can umpires grant bathroom breaks?"

## Stat Segment

* Last season Eric Hosmer had a 55 wRC+ to the pull side and a 283 wRC+ to the opposite field. Jeff used historical data to see the biggest differences for other players.
* Chris Young has a 212 wRC+ to the pull side and a-19 wRC+ to the opposite field.

## Notes

* Luis Perdomo is the first pitcher since 1955 to hit at least four triples in a season.
* Ben thinks that a pitcher with a 5.00 ERA who always throws a complete game would absolutely have value to a team even if they lose most of his starts.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1137: How Much is That Slugger in the Window?
* Luis Perdomo Hit Four Triples by Jeff Sullivan
* Sports Defer to TV, but Not to Athletes in Need of Relief by Mike Tanier
Episode 1100: Exploring the Longest Play

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and a special guest conduct a nighttime, roundtable discussion (around a rectangular table) in Jeff’s living room about the Effectively Wild eclipse event and Sam Miller’s listener-inspired ESPN article about the longest play in baseball history.*

## Topics

* 'Skunk in the outfield': How the most epic trick play in history broke baseball

## Banter

Total Solar Eclipse - August 21, 2017

Reactions:

> Jeff: "Happy shiver."
>
>

> Ben: "More impressed than I was expecting."
>
>

> Sam: "It was rad."
>
>

The Best Place to Watch the Eclipse Was a Minor League Baseball Game in Oregon - Ben's article on the eclipse event that he attended with Jeff & Sam, mentioned in the show wrap-up

## Notes

***Skunk in the Outfield 'Memorabilia'***

* "It started with an Effectively Wild listener's email..."
* The response to the email, and a prophecy.
* 'Trick Play Guide' cover
* Radio Call of the play - 2:59 - *1540 WADK Newport*
* 'Unlikely Avenger rally forces a third game' - EG Pendulum, 6/22/06
* Video of the Play - "Skunk" (Pedrotty) visible from 0:24-0:25.5
* Postgame Interview w/ Portsmouth manager Dave Ulmschneider

***Other topics***

* Eddie Stanky, The "Stanky" Play (0:34:06)
* "Barking Dog" trick play (basketball) (0:36:55)

***Patreon Supporters***

* Daniel Watkins, Tony Allen, Erin Gardner, Craig, Melissa Scroggs

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1100: Exploring the Longest Play
Episode 1090: What a Bummer

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about humorless umpires and the on-deck circle, Michael Blazek and disaster starts, the MLB promotion of Aaron Bummer (and the nickname “Bummer” in baseball), the Brewers, Jaime Garcia and the Twins, the latest Mariners-Rays trade, Adrian Beltre’s book-worthy career, and David Price’s arm issues.*

## Topics

* Best player to write a book about
* Adrian Beltre
* Ichiro
* Bartolo Colon
* David Price latest elbow injury

## Banter

* Podcast listening speed
* Unfunny umpires
* The on deck circle placement
* Aaron Bummer promotion
* The Brewers rough while
* The Twins selling
* Mariners Rays trade

## Notes

* Adrian Beltre was thrown out of a game for moving the on deck circle.
* “I don't know if it will be called the Adrian Beltre story, but testicular torsion doesn't have a good ring to it” - Jeff.

## Links

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/effectively-wild-episode-1090-what-a-bummer/
Episode 1192: Season Preview Series: Twins and Rangers

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Eugenio Suarez and Jose Altuve extensions, whether this offseason’s slow free-agent market will make players more likely to sign extensions, the industry’s latest effort to avoid paying minor leaguers, and the debate about where Shohei Ohtani should start the season, then preview the 2018 Twins (18:52) with Baseball Prospectus’s Aaron Gleeman, and the 2018 Rangers (56:45) with The Athletic DFW’s Levi Weaver.*

## Topics

* Minnesota Twins preview with Aaron Gleeman
* Twins shortstop outlook
* Twins window to win, overperforming in 2017
* How long will Fernando Rodney be the closer?
* Twins offseason moves & farm syste
* Do you think Byron Buxton will be a better hitter?
* Miguel Sano outlook and backup plan
* Does Willians Astudillo have a shot at making the team?
* Will the Twins raise their strikeout rate?
* Why do the Twins have so many pitchers on their 40 man roster?
* What is Phil Hughes’ role?
* How good can Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler be?
* Can Trevor May actually be a starter?
* Has Joe Mauer become a good first baseman?
* Is there a future for Brian Dozier with the Twins?
* Paul Molitor impact on young players
* Texas Rangers preview with Levi Weaver
* Rangers starting rotation
* Are the Rangers expecting a Rougned Odor improvement?
* Does Bartolo Colon make the big league roster?
* Alex Claudio’s success and role
* Why is Willie Calhoun going to AAA?
* What development do you see for Nomar Mazara this year?
* What is the relationship between Jurickson Profar and the organization?
* How excited are the Rangers about Chris Martin?
* Joey Gallo ceiling
* Tim Lincecum
* What is Adrian Beltre’s future with team?
* What is the Rangers direction?

## Interstitials

Math and Physics Club, "Cold As Minnesota"

Levi Weaver, "Hear You Say My Name"

## Banter

* The Reds extended Eugenio Suarez.
* Jose Altuve signed a five year $151 million extension with the Astros.
* The congressional spending bill would allow minor league players to be paid as temporary employees and continue making below minimum wage
* Should Shohei Ohtani go to AAA?

## Notes

* The Twins have the highest payroll in team history.
* Jorge Polanco was suspended 80 games for PEDs.
* In on year the Twins' farm system went from being ranked 22nd to 10th.
* The Twins have 27 pitchers on their 40-man roster.
* Aaron thinks there is a better chance that Joe Mauer has a longer future with the Twins than Brian Dozier.
* Aaron predicted the Twins win 87 games.
* Levi predicted the Rangers win 79 games.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1192: Season Preview Series: Twins and Rangers
* Effectively Wild Events Page
* 2018 Season Preview Series Index by Banished to the Pen