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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please <a href="https://www.patreon.com/effectivelywild/membership" target="_blank">visit our Patreon</a>.
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest apparent change in the baseball&#8217;s behavior (this time it seems to be deader) and, in a tribute to <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/tommy-john/1006515/stats/pitching" target="_blank">Tommy John</a> (11:35), retrace the timeline of his trailblazing surgery and his return to a major league mound 50 years ago through contemporaneous accounts and quotes. Then (55:58) they bring on top-tier Patreon supporter Jamie Verbrugge to discuss his podcast and baseball backgrounds before answering listener emails (1:05:02) about the upper bounds of a cup of coffee, a really entertaining but trophy-less season vs. a really boring championship season, an undercover baseball robot, whether <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jefry-yan/27902/stats/pitching" target="_blank">Jefry Yan</a> would celebrate a strikeout on an overturned ball call, whether fans are suggestible enough to be fooled by fake home run distances, an ultimate frisbee-style integrity rule for baseball, the value of Ron Washington, and the advisability of bringing the infield in, followed by Stat Blasts (2:01:49) about <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/pete-crow-armstrong/27769/stats/batting" target="_blank">Pete Crow-Armstrong</a> leading his league in offense and defense, every team in a divison having the same recent record, team games with high matching run, hit, and walk totals, pitchers who got a win, a loss, and a save in a single three-game series, team games with streaks of the same start to each offensive inning, bullpens where one pitcher out-WARed all the others combined, and strikeout-free shutouts.
Audio&nbsp;intro: Beatwriter, &#8220;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VtGnSCg2jHV4rEAyhuDuD1WHJrnluwXp/view?usp=drive_link" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Effectively Wild Theme</a>&#8221;
Audio&nbsp;interstitial: Sean .P, &#8220;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/17BLnrn53h0YsHUvT6MqOaWGeKp0bJeQW/view?usp=drive_link" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Effectively Wild Theme</a>&#8221;
Audio&nbsp;outro: Liz Panella, &#8220;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wNnie0fLF2HVQsb4d-w5OqxMzyqfvImV/view?usp=drive_link" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Effectively Wild Theme</a>&#8221;

<a href="https://www.joesheehan.com/2026/08/newsletter-excerpt-august-13-2026-fun.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Sheehan on the ball</a>
<a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/drag-dashboard" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Savant drag dashboard</a>
<a href="https://x.com/BallparkPal/status/2082841365847683539" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to earlier ball analysis 1</a>
<a href="https://x.com/GOATedAnalytics/status/2085756892974916020" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to earlier ball analysis 2</a>
<a href="https://x.com/Yankees/status/2086116517595209831" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to John&#8217;s statement</a>
<a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/tommy-john-misses-old-timers-day-for-health-reasons" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to MLB.com on John&#8217;s statement</a>
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/former-p-tommy-john-hospice-care-pens-farewell-letter--flm-2026-08-08/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Reuters on John&#8217;s illness</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_John" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Tommy John wiki</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Jobe#Tommy_John_surgery" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Frank Jobe wiki</a>
<a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/tommy-johns-career-was-more-than-just-a-surgical-procedure/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Jaffe on John</a>
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/IP_career.shtml" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to career IP leaders</a>
<a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2016/3/11/11202432/buster-posey-rule-home-plate-collisions-goose-gossage-argle-bargle" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Grant on Posey/Avila</a>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7274811/2026/05/13/tigers-tarik-skubal-elbow-surgery-explained/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to NanoNeedle article</a>
<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/sports/professional/mlb/cardinals/maness-a-trailblazer-new-surgery-for-elbow-repair-cut-recovery/article_165ee721-5a36-58f9-8d8e-fb515ba037da.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Maness repair article</a>
<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S_YoTJK9o88zoXm1hlGowVpQaW8SdkuTpleftECZAFo/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to TJ timeline links</a>
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gQujXQQGOVNaiuwSN680Hq-FDVsCwvN-3AazykOBON0/edit?gid=0#gid=0" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to TJS database</a>
<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-houston-chronicle/203580466/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Strom surgery article</a>
<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-modesto-bee/203580498/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Bordley surgery article 1</a>
<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-breeze/203580510/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Bordley surgery article 2</a>
<a href="https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/course-catalog/a1oHp00000GvwE3IAJ/hist281101?id=00336000014RdQSAA0" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Ben&#8217;s baseball/America course</a>
<a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/lets-put-tarik-skubal-back-on-the-tigers/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Ben C. on Skubal and Detroit</a>
<a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/dictionary-term.php?term=cup%20of%20coffee" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Dickson on &#8220;cup of coffee&#8221;</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_series" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Asimov&#8217;s Robot series</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Baseball_2020" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Super Baseball 2020</a>
<a href="https://www.eagle-gryphon.com/products/baseball-highlights-2045-bases-loaded?srsltid=AfmBOop11eQXQZxjLEP7TbLWoUMfsVSDsXMYXNkZE0PjvC66XsECxN4V" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Baseball Highlights 2045</a>
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/startrek/comments/iulj0n/i_wonder_if_data_had_a_metallic_smell_to_him/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Data smell Reddit thread</a>
<a href="https://www.justjared.com/2026/08/12/pirates-paul-skenes-goes-shirtless-for-miami-beach-day-with-baywatch-star-girlfriend-livvy-dunne/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Skenes photos</a>
<a href="https://www.milb.com/live-stream-games/g816333" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Yan game video</a>
<a href="https://www.milb.com/bootstrap?state=/gameday/816333/final/box" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Yan box score</a>
<a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast-search-minors?hfPR=called%5C.%5C.strike%7C&hfC=2strikes%7C&hfSea=2026%7C&player_type=pitcher&hfABSFlag=is%5C.%5C.challenge+abs%5C.%5C.review%7ChfFlag%3Dis%5C.%5C.tracked%7C&hfFlag=is%5C.%5C.challengeabs%5C.%5C.lost%7C&pitchers_lookup%5B%5D=642376&group_by=name-event&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&min_pas=0&player_event_sort=api_p_release_speed&sort_order=desc&chk_is..tracked=on#results" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Yan Savant search</a>
<a href="https://watchufa.com/empire/news/2019-6400-integrity" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to ultimate&#8217;s integrity rule</a>
<a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-arraez-improving-defense-with-giants" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Arraez/Washington article</a>
<a href="https://sfstandard.com/2026/08/11/ron-washington-sf-giants-2027-coaching-staff/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to article on Wash in 2027</a>
<a href="https://www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2019/05/03/the-effectiveness-of-infield-in-defense/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to SIS infield-in study</a>
<a href="https://www.theringer.com/2020/10/21/mlb/defensive-shift-world-series-los-angeles-dodgers-will-smith-tampa-bay-rays" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Ben on shifting vs. RHB</a>
<a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/snuffy-stirnweiss/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Stirnweiss SABR bio</a>
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aluzT6E5paAt2_BdQEWEtKY-oUOXHaPPgr7YMGkXsr8/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to PCA/Snuffy Blast spreadsheet</a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/yeHJrB9" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to AL Central streaks image</a>
<a href="https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/sharing/bfPRD" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to 13-13-13 Stathead query</a>
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZphzB-hHM-j0PWGywy5IvTHmCbOJ-bPye3V7BMlZYGk/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to win/loss/save spreadsheet</a>
<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XjJvxqTGjyuMyZ5fdYqz4ENxKbX8Az_jV0p38xkk0KE/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to leadoff streaks info</a>
<a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&lg=all&type=8&season=2026&season1=2026&ind=0&team=5&qual=0&month=0&stats=rel&pagenum=1&pageitems=50" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to 2026 Guardians relievers</a>
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ozNubcg9s13gNOBfKUeAjNGFOVFM2jsOjon0Lr2j5_A/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to bullpen WAR gaps spreadsheet</a>
<a href="https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-shut-out-guardians-without-strikeout" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to Tigers-Guardians gamer</a>
<a href="https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/sharing/A319O" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to zero-K, zero-run games</a>
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-8lpspHQuR5GK7S_nNtGunLGrx60QnSa8XLG_wvRb4Q/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to listener emails database</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_All-Century_Team" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to MLB All-Century Team</a>
<a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/podcasts/at-the-letters/weird-ways-to-win/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Link to BNS Jays play podcast</a>

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