Effectively Wild Episode 1871: Empire State of Grind

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) from 1871, and discuss the Empire State Greys, a traveling Frontier League team that started the season 0-35 and now, at 2-42, is in danger of posting the lowest winning percentage in pro baseball history. Then (43:23) Ben brings on brothers Eddie Gonzalez and Jerry Gonzalez , the co-owners and co-hitting coaches of the Greys, to talk about their work with the Empire Professional Baseball League, the challenges of operating in indy ball, the Greys’ origins and roster composition, being a perpetual road team, the mood on the team during its historically long losing streak, how the streak was snapped, the close calls they had before their first win, facing Kumar Rocker, their hopes for the rest of the season, the Greys’ growing fan base, and more, followed (1:23:54) by a few postscripts. Audio intro : Bobby Bare, Jr., “ One of Us Has Got to Go ” Audio interstitial : Fleetwood Mac, “ Empire State ” Audio outro : Harry Belafonte, “ Zombie Jamboree (Back to Back) ” Link to video of Ward play Link to video of Twins triple play Link to La Russa ejection clip Link to Vieaux game B-Ref page Link to Vieaux’s postgame comments Link to Stat Blast pitch data Link to most pitches between outs Link to 2003 Pavano game Link to 1954 Dodgers-Redlegs game Link to Allan Roth SABR bio Link to 2010 Linebrink game Link to 1996 Orioles-Rangers game Link to Stathead Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter account Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to 1871 story source Link to list of worst team records Link to tweet about Muskogee Mets Link to article about Muskogee Mets Link to B-Ref page on Muskogee Mets Link to EW wiki on the Salina Stockade Link to Ben’s article on the Stockade Link to the Stockade’s B-Ref page Link to research on indy league quality Link to the Greys’ B-Ref page Link to Frontier League standings Link to Frontier League stats Link to story about the NCBL Link to story about Empire League’s origin Link to Empire League wiki Link to Empire League website Link to the Greys’ January announcement Link to story about the Greys Link to other story about the Greys Link to the Greys on Twitter Link to the Greys’ team shop Link to the Greys’ schedule Link to game story about the first win Link to photo from after the first win Link to story about Rocker’s season Link to Cardinals dingers video Link to Ben Clemens on single-game homers 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