Effectively Wild Episode 2497: Follow the Bouncing Ball

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon. Ben Lindbergh and Ben Clemens banter about some suspicious variability in the ball’s behavior and whether the low-drag, high-home-run-rate times of the late 2010s have returned, Carlos Mendoza’s “departure” from the Mets, the Blue Jays’ dominance of “Phase 1” of All-Star voting, the hitters and pitchers who have most overperformed and underperformed their projections through the halfway point of the regular season, forsaking single-team fandom, platoon god Paul Goldschmidt, Dalton Rushing’s clash with Shohei Ohtani, the Pope’s audience with A.J. Pierzynski, MLB’s economic proposals, and more, plus Stat Blasts about an unusual homestand and the Nationals’ latest, not-so-greatest bullpen blowup(s). Audio intro: Kite Person, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio outro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme” Link to MLFAD scoreboard Link to bouncing ball wiki Link to Savant drag dashboard Link to ball carry analysis Link to Nathan post 1 Link to Nathan post 2 Link to Nathan post 3 Link to Nathan post 4 Link to March/April scoring Link to May scoring Link to story about May offense Link to June scoring Link to MLB/Rawlings story Link to scoring/attendance research 1 Link to scoring/attendance research 2 Link to scoring/attendance research 3 Link to scoring/attendance research 4 Link to Mets announcement tweet Link to Mets announcement post Link to MLBTR on Mendoza Link to MLBTR on Green Link to Rosenthal on Mendoza/Stearns Link to Ben L. on team turnover Link to FG playoff odds Link to Phase 1 ASG voting results Link to Sogard contest post Link to FG combined WAR leaderboard Link to 2025 trade value series Link to Dan S. on batter ZiPS movers Link to Dan S. on pitcher ZiPS movers Link to batter preseason projections Link to batter pace leaders Link to batter paces vs. projections Link to pitcher preseason projections Link to pitcher pace leaders Link to pitcher paces vs. projections Link to MLBTR on Ragans Link to Cashman on running back the roster Link to Goldschmidt tOPS+ query Link to Goldschmidt sOPS+ query Link to 1B JAWS leaders Link to Petriello on Goldschmidt Link to Other Ben’s VEB archive Link to Jensen HR off of Kimbrel Link to Rushing/Ohtani video Link to Rushing quotes Link to Rushing postgame video Link to Ohtani postgame video Link to Roberts postgame video Link to contested challenge clip Link to dugout conferences clip Link to mound conference clip Link to costly missed catch Link to Rushing bench reaction Link to Ohtani’s Smith/Rushing splits Link to Rosenthal on Pope/Pierzynski Link to Papal infallibility wiki Link to MLB proposals article Link to MLB proposals tweet Link to MLBPA response Link to article on player aging Link to aging curve research 1 Link to aging curve research 2 Link to late homestands spreadsheet Link to BP on the Phillies comebacks Link to Langs on the Phillies comebacks Link to 2026 team RP WAR Link to worst-ever team RP WAR Link to Phillies comeback gamer Link to last-strike-comebacks data Link to non-Einstein quote investigation Link to The Athletic on the Nats’ pen Link to The Athletic on the Nats’ pen again Link to Rockies comeback gamer Link to Other Ben on inherited runners Link to Stat Blast on inherited runners Link to listener emails database Link to SCG Con Link to MLBTR on Minasian/Mozeliak Link to Miz 105.5 mph story Link to fastest tracked pitches Link to Miz postgame comment Link to Miz postgame clip Sponsor Us on Patreon Give a Gift Subscription Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Effectively Wild Subreddit Effectively Wild Wiki Apple Podcasts Feed Spotify Feed YouTube Playlist Facebook Group Bluesky Account Twitter Account Get Our Merch! Source