Effectively Wild Episode 2380: Clinching Chaos

Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley

Sports, Baseball

4.7 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2025

⏱️ 110 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

EWFI
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners clinching the AL West, the benefits and drawbacks of MVP debates, the power of great players to enhance a season for spectators, the Cardinals’ and Giants’ reciprocal eliminations, the near-extinction of the 200-inning pitcher, the Nationals’ new head of baseball ops, and how predictive a track record of adept drafting is. Then (53:15) they answer listener emails about whether a player could/should ever challenge a ball/strike call that went their way, whether increased pitcher injuries have contributed to the lack of great teams, sticky-stuff inspections on broadcasts, how many pitches it takes to evaluate a pitcher, whether/why baseball managers incur fans’ wrath more than other sports’ coaches, whether teams are turning fewer double plays than they used to, and Trey Yesavage’s many 2025 teammates, plus (1:40:47) a postscript.

Audio intro: El Warren, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Beatwriter, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to 2015 MLB promo
Link to Ben on Judge vs. Ohtani
Link to Giants elimination story
Link to Cardinals elimination story
Link to pitcher IP leaderboard
Link to preseason pitcher IP projections
Link to Passan on Toboni
Link to MLBTR on Toboni
Link to WaPo on the Nats
Link to Ben on pitcher injury rates
Link to Ben on pitcher workloads
Link to Rodón quote
Link to MLB GIDP%
Link to Jays tweet
Link to quote-tweet
Link to Kenny Jackelen
Link to 2025 teammate leaders
Link to single-season teammate leaders
Link to listener emails database
Link to BP on Blalock
Link to Blalock leaderboard
Link to highest ML ERA (min. 55 IP)
Link to highest ML ERA (min. 100 IP)
Link to FG wOBA values
Link to BP location research
Link to FG playoff odds
Link to Darowski update

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Source

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's effectively wild.
0:05.3	It's effectively wild.
0:09.4	When land and back in back rally.
0:18.7	Hello and welcome to episode 2380 of Effectively Wild, a Fangraphs baseball podcast brought you by our Patreon supporters.
0:26.3	I'm Meg Rowley, Fangraphs, and I'm joined by Ben Limburger the Ringer.
0:29.1	We are up with energy today, Ben.
0:31.8	Yeah.
0:33.0	Congrats to you and Cow Raleigh and all the many Mariners fans who listen to Effectively Wild.
0:39.6	Yeah.
0:40.2	You've clinched the AL West.
0:42.0	Yeah.
0:43.0	It, um, look, I didn't have anything to do with it, you know.
0:46.4	I didn't really clinch anything.
0:48.2	I've been clenching, but not clinching.
0:51.8	Didn't, that wasn't me.
0:53.0	Although it was fun as I was watching the post game celebration, and they cut to everyone filing into the locker room slash murder room that they have prepared.
1:05.1	It's just always what I think of when we get to postseason time.
1:08.7	It is very dexteresque.
1:09.7	Yeah.
1:10.2	I'm like, it's so nice that we're filling this space with positive energy because the decorations make you think that somebody's going to die.
1:19.1	And I'm sitting there and I'm watching everybody filing and they're being handed their goggles.
1:24.9	And I was like, hey, there's Dave Cameron.
	...

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