Ben Lindbergh and The Ringer’s Van Lathan banter about Van’s love of baseball, his origin story as a fan, how he got back into the sport, MLB’s resurgence in popularity, advanced stats questions, why the percentage of Black players in MLB fell, how average sports fans perceive MLB’s labor battle, and much more (warning: language). Then (1:25:38) Ben talks to Thomas Gilbert, author of Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America’s First Baseball Hero, about how Jim Creighton revolutionized pitching and reshaped the game, and how Gilbert investigated the many unknowns and misperceptions surrounding the right-hander’s life and death.
Audio intro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”Audio outro: Guy Russo, “Effectively Wild Theme”Link to Van’s Ringer archiveLink to Van’s baseball outfitLink to Van’s dad storyLink to Chico Escuela clipLink to Ben on Dunn and PierreLink to B-Ref career WAR leadersLink to wOBA glossary entryLink to Field of Dreams sceneLink to Jeter’s dating historyLink to The Simpsons sceneLink to Death in the Strike ZoneLink to How Baseball HappenedLink to Creighton wikiLink to Thorn on Creighton 1Link to Thorn on Creighton 2Link to EW on pesäpalloLink to The Universal Baseball AssociationLink to Defector on Coover’s bookLink to Ella Black series
Sponsor Us on Patreon Give a Gift Subscription Email Us: [email protected] Effectively Wild Subreddit Effectively Wild Wiki Apple Podcasts Feed Spotify Feed YouTube Playlist Facebook Group Bluesky Account Twitter Account Get Our Merch!