Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Patreon supporter Samuel Giddins banter about Samuel’s baseball background and history with Effectively Wild, before (9:52) discussing a Juan Soto quote and the type of disappointing team that’s most frustrating. Then (21:35) they answer listener emails about randomizing on-field decisions, the legibility of player autographs, whether teams should employ designated huggers, whether veterans are more clutch, whether we’re misusing the phrase “heating up,” what would happen if Shohei Ohtani asked the Angels to release him, whether teams in a robo-umps world should alternate tall and short hitters in the lineup, offering Ohtani an ownership stake, why we use miles per hour for pitch speeds instead of feet per second, using a matching process in the amateur draft, whether anyone could make a trade if they found a GM’s unlocked phone, mascots as zombie runners, and playoff teams without .300 hitters, plus a Future Blast (1:41:34) from 2045 and a follow-up postscript on a White Sox (un)fun fact.

Audio outro: Beatwriter, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Samuel’s website

Link to Soto quote

Link to Soto quote source

Link to Neil Paine on the unlucky Padres

Link to The Athletic on autographs

Link to Russell on postseason experience

Link to Russell on pennant-race experience

Link to tweet about Judge/Altuve zones

Link to tweet about Judge’s zone

Link to article about Judge/Altuve zones

Link to old FG post on Judge’s zone

Link to older FG post on Judge’s zone

Link to old FG post on Altuve’s zone

Link to older FG post on Altuve’s zone

Link to EW Stanky Draft

Link to KG on player owners

Link to Goold on player owners

Link to details about Beckham’s contract

Link to list of MLB mascots

Link to data on teams without .300 hitters

Link to graph of teams without .300 hitters

Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter

Link to EW listener emails database

Link to Rick Wilber’s website

Link to Future Blast wiki

Link to Ben Clemens on Littell

Link to tweet about the Sox

Link to Sox high-K games

Link to worst WP w/13+ K

Link to worst WP w/12+ K

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