Effectively Wild Episode 1901: Living in Interesting Times

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about how the White Sox have played in Tony La Russa’s absence, then discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the rules changes coming to MLB in 2023: a pitch clock, restrictions on pickoff attempts and the shift, and bigger bases (with asides on a new WAR, Zack Greinke ’s front-office acumen, and Ben’s hiccup cure). Then (52:40) they’re joined by historian Richard Hershberger for an in-person Past Blast from 1901, plus a long-term perspective on responses to times of rapid change in baseball, the sport’s cyclical nature, and more. Audio intro : Phoenix, “ 1901 ” Audio outro : Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses, “ Change Is ” Link to La Russa report Link to MLB story on rules changes Link to ESPN story on rules changes Link to info on infield dimensions Link to Evan on player objections Link to MLBPA statement Link to episode on pitch clock history Link to MLB BABIP by year Link to Rob Mains on August offense Link to Rob Arthur on spin Link to Ben on banning the shift in 2015 Link to Jeff on banning the shift in 2018 Link to shift loophole idea Link to Russell on banning the shift Link to Justin Choi on banning the shift Link to BA on the shift Link to BA on the rules changes Link to Justin Choi on banning the shift Link to info on hiccups Link to info on “intractable” hiccups Link to article on Greinke in Milwaukee Link to article on Greinke in L.A. Link to article on Greinke in Arizona Link to article on the new WAR Link to other article on the new WAR Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four Link to Richard’s SABR archive Link to 1901 story source Link to episode on 1889 relief experiment Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter Link to Evan on voluntary recognition Link to Michael Baumann on unionization Link to Stengel HoF bio 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