Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to assorted frustrations and delights of Opening Day, then (42:07) conduct the fifth annual Team Fun Draft, in which they draft all 30 teams in order of how fun they expect them to be to follow in 2025.

Audio outro: El Warren, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to story on mlb.tv outage

Link to Guardians offer

Link to FG staff predictions post

Link to FG staff bold predictions

Link to Meg’s PPR summary

Link to Ringer entrance survey

Link to Contreras post

Link to Bibee on Chipotle

Link to Torkelson article

Link to Shohei HR reactions

Link to Rosen on ballparks

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Ben Lindbergh and FanGraphs writer Dan Szymborski banter about how much spring training stats matter, which players improved their projections the most this spring, whether prospects really have a harder time making the transition to MLB from Triple-A today, their spring training award winners, the five-ish biggest questions/storylines for each of them this MLB season, and a smattering of “bold predictions” from EW listeners. Then (1:23:29) Ben brings back the “Baseball Jobs” series by interviewing Josh Kantor, longtime Fenway Park organist, to talk about how he got his gig, his side projects, the ins and outs of his in-game responsibilities, the upcoming season, and much more, followed by a brief keyboard performance.

Audio interstitial: Josh Kantor and Nancy Faust, “Sweet Caroline”

Audio outro: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to 2015 spring study

Link to Hoyer quote

Link to Ben’s new prospects article

Link to Ben’s old prospects article

Link to spring champions

Link to ST team wins

Link to FG ST leaderboards

Link to five Clemens questions

Link to listener bold predictions

Link to EW predictions ballot

Link to previous Baseball Jobs pod

Link to Josh Kantor wiki

Link to Baseball Project pod

Link to Baseball Project song

Link to Kaminski pod

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mookie Betts’s unwanted weight loss, new Statcast data on batter positioning, and whether hitters should generally move back in the box, then recap Cal Raleigh’s extension and a smattering of other buzzer-beating transactions before discussing (35:46) some of their favorite moves of the offseason. Then (1:10:31) they talk to FanGraphs writer Davy Andrews about his origin story as a writer, his greatest hits so far, and the “We Tried Tracker,” his effort to compile all the times a team reportedly tried (but failed) to acquire a player.

Audio interstitial: Davy Andrews, “Edouard Julien, Are You Gonna Rule Again?”

Audio outro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Ohtani article

Link to Dodgers article 1

Link to Mookie article 2

Link to Mookie article 3

Link to Petriello article 1

Link to Petriello article 2

Link to Adler article

Link to Ben on moving the mound

Link to MLBTR on Raleigh

Link to Raleigh dumper thread

Link to notable transactions

Link to Ben’s Grantland article

Link to TFPIOT Tumblr

Link to Tracker wiki

Link to Too Far From Town posts

Link to Target Field post

Link to cleat cleaners post 1

Link to cleat cleaners post 2

Link to Davy’s FG archive

Link to Seinfeld clip

Link to We Tried Tracker

Link to WTT posts

Link to predictions vote

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s positional power rankings progress and discuss why MLB is “evaluating” its Diversity Pipeline Program, then for the first time in a while answer listener emails (15:35) about how baseball would be different if swinging hard caused more serious injuries, a high-elevation league/division, inter-game penalties for frivolous end-of-game challenges, whether the challenge system will make umpires tone down their punchout calls, whether player-initiated challenges should be included in WAR calculations, split-squad games in the regular season, and limits on the number of NPB players per MLB roster, plus a real-time reaction (1:14:03) to the Chesapeake Oyster Catchers logo.

Audio outro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Meg’s PPR intro

Link to Athletic report

Link to Calcaterra report

Link to travel ban news

Link to 2019 Cuba deal news

Link to Russell on power hitting

Link to Ben on Mexico City

Link to Oyster Catchers logo

Link to logo response story

Link to Pickles mascot story

Link to GJ Chubs episode

Link to EW emails database

Link to predictions vote

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Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs authors Michael Baumann and Ben Clemens play “College Baseball Player or Musician Who’s Performing at Sea.Hear.Now 2025” (4:53), and then explain the third annual preseason predictions game (11:53) and make 10 bold predictions apiece (18:57) about baseball in 2025, to be voted on by listeners.

Audio outro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to vote

Link to music festival

Link to Ben on festival posters

Link to previous scores

Link to 2024 predictions

Link to 2023 predictions

Link to FG playoff odds

Link to Ohtani max velo

Link to .500 teams data

Link to Waldron article

Link to Lewis article

Link to knuckleball qualifiers

Link to Ben on knuckleballs

Link to Other Ben on sliders

Link to slider rates

Link to highest bullpen WPAs

Link to Rob on stolen bases

Link to Corbin signing article

Link to Dan S. booms/busts

Link to 3B sends data

Link to Savant 3B sends

Link to Patrick on 3B sends

Link to Russell on 3B sends

Link to Oyster Analytics on 3B sends

Link to 2024 attendance

Link to Ben on risk aversion

Link to vote

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the opening series of the regular season in Japan, then (10:55) discuss the removal (and eventual restoration) of a page about Jackie Robinson on the Department of Defense website, before (39:53) bantering further about breakouts, how player heights dropped (or didn’t!) after players were measured more accurately this spring, Joey Gallo’s attempted conversion to pitching, and an abandoned Marlins player-development idea. Then (1:27:38) they talk to Pirates pitching phenom Paul Skenes about being a cover model for MLB The Show 25, his stoic exterior, starters as stars, an auction for his debut baseball card, his hobbies, his expanding pitch mix, and max-effort pitching.

Audio outro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Randy Johnson on EW

Link to Ohtani homer

Link to ratings info

Link to Davy gamer 1

Link to Davy gamer 2

Link to post about Jackie page

Link to article about Jackie page

Link to archived 404 page

Link to restored page

Link to NPR on Rogers page

Link to first statement to Passan

Link to second statement to Passan

Link to segregation ban story

Link to MLB D&I page

Link to old MLB D&I page

Link to post about change

Link to CBB breakouts tweet

Link to height changes sheet

Link to pitcher-measuring info

Link to Gallo tweet

Link to Ben on Gallo in 2014

Link to TTO% leaderboard

Link to Marlins ad

Link to Stock tweet

Link to Herald on Marlins

Link to Athletic on Marlins

Link to The Show gameplay trailer

Link to The Show launch trailer

Link to Livvy’s nonchalant quote

Link to Skenes composure quote

Link to Skenes Opening Day reveal

Link to Skenes dexterity quote

Link to new pitches story

Link to Skenes auction

Link to Skenes on workload

Link to deGrom story

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about completing the season preview series, then preview the 2025 New York Yankees (7:48) with Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News, and the 2025 Chicago White Sox (1:04:41) with Sox Machine’s James Fegan.

2025 EW Season Preview Series

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NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG

Audio interstitial: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Cory Brent, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to offseason spending

Link to FG payrolls page

Link to Yankees depth chart

Link to Yankees offseason tracker

Link to BaseRuns standings

Link to Gary’s author archive

Link to White Sox depth chart

Link to White Sox offseason tracker

Link to 2024 CWS WAR leaders

Link to Grifol eclipse story

Link to James’s author archive

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Jacob deGrom dialing down the velo, the Cardinals signing their first free agent of the offseason, David Robertson still being available, the underrated career of Yasmani Grandal, the latest New Era cap confusion, follow-ups on several recent topics, and the newly jacked Mr. Met. Then (57:22) they talk to R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports and Thomas Nestico of TJStats about their podcast-approved approaches to picking breakout candidates, their methodologies and success rates, their breakout picks for 2025, and more.

Audio interstitial: Philip Bergman, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Kite Person, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Passan on deGrom

Link to MLBTR on Maton

Link to MLBTR on Grandal

Link to latest caps

Link to more on the caps

Link to FG post on caps

Link to old EW on caps

Link to slambio article

Link to Rob on walk-off reversals

Link to Patrick on 3B coaches

Link to Keke Palmer meme

Link to jacked Mr. Met

Link to Grizz

Link to R.J.’s breakout picks

Link to Thomas’s breakout picks

Link to R.J.’s 2024 breakouts review

Link to xkcd comic

Link to sickos meme

Link to Devers article

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a surprising amount of Mo Vaughn content, a rash of spring injuries (including Gerrit Cole‘s Tommy John surgery and other Yankees ailments), the latest A’s and Rays woes, and more. Then they preview the 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers (26:11) with The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, and the 2025 Colorado Rockies (1:34:00) with The Rockies Insider’s Patrick Lyons.

2025 EW Season Preview Series

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NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG

Audio interstitial 1: El Warren, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio interstitial 2: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Audio outro: Jonathan Crymes 2, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Vaughn story 1

Link to Vaughn story 2

Link to Enhanced Games wiki

Link to Hang Up episode

Link to FG post on Cole

Link to Ben on spring injuries

Link to Rays report

Link to A’s report

Link to A’s report 2

Link to A’s feature

Link to Russell on rep. level

Link to offseason spending

Link to FG payrolls page

Link to Dodgers depth chart

Link to Dodgers offseason tracker

Link to Sasaki signing info

Link to “Lettuce” digital short

Link to EW TJ research

Link to “Are We the Baddies?”

Link to cherry blossoms info

Link to prank war article

Link to prank war video

Link to Fabian’s author archive

Link to Rockies depth chart

Link to Rockies offseason tracker

Link to Rock Talk 1

Link to Rock Talk 2

Link to Colorado pronunciation

Link to hangover effect info

Link to Freeland on EW

Link to Ben on Freeland in 2018

Link to Sheehan on Bud Black

Link to Monfort prediction

Link to Patrick’s work

Link to Patrick’s podcast

Link to trademark article 1

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Link to trademark renewal

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a baseball flub in medical procedural The Pitt, Lawrence Butler’s extension, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s lofty contract target, how the ball moves differently in the Cactus League, and the value of variety in pitch selection, followed by Stat Blasts (49:20) about the WAR values of letters in player names, the best one-and-done pitcher/batter seasons in each franchise’s history, and the longest-tenured groups of players on pennant winners. Then (1:08:20) they talk to Carson Lund, director and co-writer of newly debuted baseball movie Eephus, about his celebrated contribution to the beleaguered genre.

Audio outro: The Gagnes, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to slider explainer

Link to The Pitt episode

Link to Inglourious Basterds scene

Link to Bluesky post

Link to Passan tweet about Butler

Link to MLBTR on Butler

Link to Vlad contract info

Link to Ortiz comments

Link to Baumann on Vlad

Link to Dan S. on Vlad

Link to Trueblood on Vlad

Link to Rosen on movement

Link to Rosen on variety

Link to Down on the Farm study

Link to Oyster Analytics

Link to Stat Blast 1 spreadsheet

Link to Cocaína García wiki

Link to Stat Blast 2 request

Link to Stat Blast 2 spreadsheet

Link to Stat Blast 3 request

Link to Stat Blast 3 spreadsheet

Link to Carson’s IMDb

Link to Eephus website

Link to Eephus trailer

Link to Eephus Rotten Tomatoes

Link to Eephus AP review

Link to list of baseball movies

Link to Filmmaker Magazine

Link to Jacques Barzun quote

Link to Barzun essay

Link to Soldiers Field game

Link to Soldiers Field photos

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