Effectively Wild Episode 1867: Defining Fun

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 at the same level for a long time, whether the Cardinals are a fun team, and what it means when we say that a player is “fun to watch,” then (55:45) take pedantic questions about “pedantic” vs. “semantic,” whether every batted ball that hits the ground is a ground ball, “former” first-round draft picks, “number one” draft picks, how best to describe a batter’s small-sample line, the (un)importance of head-to-head team records, clearing the bases and homers that drive in multiple runs, how to refer to ballparks that have since changed their names, and the on-deck circle vs. the “next batter’s box,” followed (1:32:07) by a Past Blast from 1867. Audio intro : Nick Lowe, “ Hope for Us All ” Audio outro : The Mynabirds, “ Semantics ” Link to Martinez ejection story Link to MLB Big Inning Link to B-Ref Stream Finder Link to Ben on baseball RedZone Link to the Mitchell catch Link to Sam on the Mitchell catch Link to Polo Grounds dimensions wiki Link to B-Ref on the Polo Grounds Link to THT on extreme ballparks Link to THT on ballpark homogenization Link to 85.4 mph home run Link to Ben on quality of competition Link to Dan Szymborski on Cardinals projections Link to Viva El Birdos on Cardinals projections Link to THT on political baseball jargon Link to The Atlantic on baseball stereotypes Link to research on baseball stereotypes Link to Craig Wright on the running game Link to Pages From Baseball’s Past Link to Defector on The Athletic Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1867 story source Link to 1873 dead ball ad Link to “next batter’s box” diagram Sponsor Us on Patreon Subscribe to Stathead (Code: WILD20) Facebook Group Twitter Account EW Subreddit Effectively Wild Wiki iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Get Our Merch! Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source