Effectively Wild Episode 2003: Return of the Mack

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about more examples of players whose names describe what they do (like Colin Holderman ), the return of Justin Verlander , Juan Soto’ s overdue hot streak, Keynan Middleton calling out Carlos Correa , the difference between Craig Kimbrel’ s leverage and results, and how success lowers the boo threshold, then (16:22) react to excerpts from Ben’s conversation with an MLB exec about rules changes and strikeouts. After that (37:38), they bring on top-tier Patreon supporter Mack Mashburn to discuss his background as a podcaster listener and baseball fan and answer listener emails about the pitch clock and suspense, the next step for home run celebrations, narrowing fair territory at high elevations, the competitive advantage of cloud seeding, whether relievers all long to be starters, whether Baseball Zen isn’t zen enough, MLB Gameday’s recent redesign, why lefties tend to throw slower than righties, the causes of increasing injury rates, the effects of improved pitching machines, a wizard who makes players shorter every time they get hits or strikeouts, and Aristides Aquino ’s DRS, plus a Past Blast from 2003 (1:58:40) and follow-ups (2:01:56). Audio intro : Xavier LeBlanc, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio interstitial : Beatwriter, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : Justin Peters, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to Holderman immaculate inning Link to Wynn headline 1 Link to Wynn headline 2 Link to Wynn headline 3 Link to Webb comments Link to Verlander gamer Link to Middleton comments Link to low-WPA relievers Link to high-leverage relievers Link to Muncy walk-off Link to Cardinals booing Link to Ben on rules and strikeouts Link to baseball drag measurements Link to Sam on the pitch clock Link to Sheehan on the pitch clock Link to Emma on HR celebrations Link to info on NPB HR celebrations Link to Grant on “beast mode” Link to Franco’s ball toss Link to Sam on unwritten rules Link to foul lines article Link to more foul lines info Link to foul lines column Link to foul lines verdict Link to Tal’s Hill story Link to cloud seeding wiki Link to McClellan EW interview Link to “failed starters” Stat Blast Link to Baumann on Fulmer Link to Baseball Zen videos Link to Baseball Zen article Link to Gameday redesign info Link to Ben on lefty velo Link to FG on lefty velo Link to average LHP velo Link to average RHP velo Link to Ben on pitching machines Link to leg-lengthening story Link to more on leg lengthening Link to listener emails database Link to It’s Christmastown Link to 2022 RF DRS leaders Link to Aquino catch 1 Link to Aquino catch 2 Link to Aquino catch 3 Link to Aquino catch 4 Link to 2003 Past Blast source Link to David Lewis’s Twitter Link to David Lewis’s Substack Link to Peacock broadcast info Link to announced attendance article Link to pitch counts Stat Blast Link to Turner’s quote Link to Speier tweet Link to Zimmer’s velo column Link to Rickey’s ’51 Williams report Link to 1886 “velo” use Link to ESPN on Alabama betting Link to The Athletic on Alabama betting Link to Baumann on Alabama betting Sponsor Us on Patreon 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