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

Link to EW gift subscriptions

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