meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Effectively Wild Episode 1859: Three Strikes and Burnout

Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley

Sports, Baseball

4.72.7K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2022

⏱️ 90 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

EWFI
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mike Yastrzemski trying the “KK play,” the distinctive smell of rat urine, Buck Showalter making a mid-PA pitching change, Dave Roberts running afoul of a position-player-pitcher rule, the wording of the zombie-runner rule, Nick Pivetta’s near-miraculous mechanical adjustment, and Mike Trout’s slump, plus a baseball-history fact from 1859. Then (38:54) they talk to former Phillies front-office executive Lewie Pollis about how working for an MLB team became his dream job and why, several years after fulfilling that dream, he decided to walk away from it by changing careers—a choice with wide-ranging lessons to offer about work-life balance in baseball and beyond (plus a postscript).

Audio intro: The Walkmen, “This Job is Killing Me
Audio interstitial: Ramones, “The Job That Ate My Brain
Audio outro: Dan Bern, “Burned Out Case

Link to Yaz play video
Link to play in full game highlights
Link to story about the “KK play”
Link to video of the “KK play”
Link to posts about unwritten rules of deking
Link to “rat urine” report
Link to Ben on mid-PA pitching changes
Link to Showalter pitching-change video
Link to article about the pitching change
Link to Mookie quote
Link to article on Girardi’s “Strategy”
Link to 2020 zombie-runner rule
Link to article about Roberts’ confusion
Link to 4/17 story on Pivetta’s mechanics
Link to 4/20 story on Pivetta’s mechanics
Link to other 4/20 story on Pivetta
Link to story on Pivetta’s turnaround
Link to EW episode about Trout going hitless
Link to story about the Angels’ losing streak
Link to Richard Hershberger’s Strike Four
Link to 1859 story source
Link to Lewie’s 2014 story on front-office pay
Link to Lewie’s Baseball Prospectus archive
Link to Lewie’s newsletter
Link to Lewie on leaving his dream job
Link to Lewie on the response to his essay
Link to “Great Resignation” wiki
Link to R.J. Anderson on MLB brain drain

 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

Source

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

He lost his voice, but he was saved.

0:10.0

He says he's here for now.

0:14.0

Come on in and pursue us.

0:18.0

Oh, God, I'm so glad you're here.

0:36.0

Hello and welcome to episode 1859 of Effectively Wild and Space Self-Potcasts from Bandgrass

0:42.0

presented by Alex K. Tiong supporters.

0:44.0

I am Ben Benberg, a member of the Joint Bank Negraly of Bandgrass.

0:48.0

Hello, Meg.

0:48.0

Hello.

0:48.0

Well, last time we discussed someone leaving Philly's involuntarily.

0:54.0

On this episode, we will be discussing someone leaving the Philly's of their own

0:59.0

in Philly's.

1:00.0

Louis Pallis, a former front office executive for the Philly's who left after seven years or so with the club.

1:06.0

He wrote a piece on his sub-stack earlier this year about his decision to leave baseball,

1:12.0

resonated with us and with I think a lot of readers and we've been looking for a time to have him on.

1:18.0

And this seems like a good time.

1:19.0

This has been a point in history where a lot of people are leaving jobs, feeling some level of burnout.

1:24.0

Louis felt that in baseball, even though baseball was his dream job.

1:28.0

And he wrote, I think, in a really perceptive way about his thinking and how it evolved

1:34.0

and how it might be applicable to anyone else who might want to work in baseball or just in whatever jobs they do.

1:40.0

Because I think this is sort of universal or something close to that.

1:43.0

So Louis will be joining us in a little bit to talk us through that decision and evolution

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.