The Ringer MLB Show

The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann answer listener questions about playoff chases, statistical milestones, award races, baseball terminology, and more, and try to repair their relationship after having their most vehement disagreement ever.

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The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto's latest trade (03:30), the MLB pitching debut of Astros rookie (and two-way college star) J.D. Davis (08:00), and Indians owner Paul Dolan's latest comments on Cleveland's logo (11:00). Then, they discuss 15 over/unders for the rest of the 2017 season and offer several pennant-race predictions (15:00).

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The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about the hot home run streaks of Rhys Hoskins and Giancarlo Stanton (03:15), then talk to Pirates catcher Chris Stewart about 'Game of Thrones' and 'A Song of Ice and Fire,' his opinion on incest in Westeros (14:00), being baseball's biggest bookworm (20:00), whether any other series has the same cachet in the clubhouse (32:30), how he helps instill the Pirates' pitching philosophy in new acquisitions (35:00), his struggles to stay healthy as a big catcher in his mid-30s (42:30), his top book recommendations (44:45), and more. Lastly, Michael conducts a quick chat with another big 'Game of Thrones' fan, Nationals pitcher Shawn Kelley (48:00).

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The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about Rich Hill’s brilliant, heartbreaking, nine-no-hit-inning loss (0:35), Giancarlo Stanton’s comments about the single-season home run record (6:10), and why every record comes with caveats (8:10). Then, they talk to Baseball Prospectus writer Russell Carleton about how teams are abandoning traditional defensive alignments (12:40), why it’s becoming more common for players to play multiple positions (23:40), and whether techniques such as the four-man outfield, the Waxahachie Swap, and swapping corner defenders based on batter handedness make strategic sense (33:25).

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The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about the history of MLB players who've worn no. 69 (03:00), an incredible catch in the Junior League World Series (05:30), the Giants' official elimination from the NL West race (06:30), Aroldis Chapman's removal from the Yankees' closer role (08:00), and a short-lived umpire protest (11:00), then talk to R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports about the growing information gap between teams and agents and the future of labor relations in MLB (16:30).

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The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about the four-man outfield that the Cubs deployed against Joey Votto (01:00), then discuss the reportedly proceeding sale of the Miami Marlins (05:30), the possible impending demise of the Marlins Park home run sculpture (07:30), Giancarlo Stanton's hot streak (11:00), and whether it makes sense for the Marlins to trade the face of their franchise (16:30). Then they bring on FiveThirtyEight writer Rob Arthur to talk about his recent research into the "hot hand" effect for pitchers and why his method succeeds in detecting and predicting hot streaks where so many previous statistical attempts have failed (24:00).

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On their centenary episode, The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about Bryce Harper's bone bruise and the AL wild-card logjam (03:30), then talk to former big leaguer and current White Sox player development director Chris Getz about how he and the rest of the White Sox front office plan to turn baseball's best farm system into a winning major league team (11:30), how the organization decides when to promote players to the bigs (21:00), and what highly touted rookie Yoan Moncada still has to work on (38:30). Then they bring on Liz Roscher of Yahoo Sports to talk about the latest Baseball For All tournament (42:30), why more and more girls are resisting being forced to switch from baseball to softball (46:00), the continuing relevance of 'A League of Their Own' (48:45), and what the future holds for girls and women in baseball (54:00).

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The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about an Angels team photo (1:15), the Mets-Indians Jay Bruce trade (2:00), and an Astros blooper (4:05). Then, they bring on ESPN’s Mark Simon to discuss how teams are attacking the slumping Aaron Judge (6:30) and Mike Trout’s continued dominance (15:50). After that, they welcome Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of MLB.com and Cespedes Family BBQ to talk about the best and the worst player-chosen nicknames for the upcoming Players Weekend (27:45), and whether the event signals a thaw in baseball’s aversion to self-expression (44:55). Lastly, Ben and Michael discuss what Jerry Dipoto did (53:35).

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The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann discuss the leveling out of the infield shift (03:00); the significance of the Dodgers' pursuit of the all-time regular-season wins record (14:30), and the team's playoff outlook (22:00). Then they talk about the latest phase of the Alex Rodriguez redemption saga (32:00), a report about Dave Dombrowski being barred from trading Boston's top prospects (40:30), the Orioles' refusal to spend on the international market (49:00), and, with an assist from FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan and Baseball Prospectus's Meg Rowley, a late-breaking update on what Jerry Dipoto did (55:00).

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The Ringer's Michael Baumann is joined by Jake Kaplan from the Houston Chronicle to discuss Hall of Fame Induction Weekend in Cooperstown (03:00), a disappointing trade deadline for the Astros (05:00), Carlos Correa's return (11:15), and the truth behind the funeral for Carlos Beltrán's glove. Then, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs joins the show to talk about Mets shortstop Amed Rosario (23:00) and other late-season call-ups to keep an eye on (29:30).

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