Effectively Wild Episode 1418: Clutch, Clayton, Mickey, and More

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Bryce Harper’ s clutchness and how he’s perceived by fans, Clayton Kershaw’ s resurgence, and Mickey Callaway’s comments about analytics, then answer listener emails about the same player batting twice and playing two positions, whether Byron Buxton ’s defense has hidden value, career WAR vs. career counting stats, whether players could call balls and strikes better than umpires, and the umpire replacement level in the age of computer-called strike zones, plus Stat Blasts about pitchers whom Mike Trout has faced only once and the Cubs’ extreme home/road split, and a postscript about the Angels’ historic .500-ness and how hitter aging curves have changed. Audio intro : Courtney Barnett, " Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence " Audio outro : Dave Mason, " We Just Disagree " Link to Sam on Harper Link to Craig on Harper Link to Ben Clemens on Kershaw Link to Callaway’s comments Link to story on the Metrodome’s ventilation system Link to Chuck Klosterman basketball story Link to player eyesight story Link to Ben on young hitters Link to order The MVP Machine iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Facebook Group Effectively Wild Wiki Twitter Account Get Our Merch! Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source