Effectively Wild Episode 2484: Buckle Up, It’s CBA Season
5/29/20261 hr 45 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the initial CBA proposals by the MLBPA and MLB: some specific points of departure and alignment, whether we really learned anything about what each side wants or the likelihood of lost games, and what the rhetoric and rebuttals say about the PR battle to come. Then (50:08) they banter about whether baseball broadcasts could ever get good enough to endanger attendance, why ABS challenge rates haven’t closely correlated with batter quality, a difference between what fans and neutral spectators tend to enjoy about teams, whether ace-type starting-pitcher seasons are making a partial comeback, a threat to baserunners and bat-dog employment, and a mid-start stretching-related mishap.
Audio intro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Ian H., “Effectively Wild Theme”
Link to Drellich on franchise values
Link to MLBPA proposals
Link to Drellich on the MLBPA proposals
Link to Normandin on the MLBPA proposals
Link to Mains on the MLBPA proposals
Link to Drellich on the MLB proposals
Link to Meyer statement
Link to Caplin statement
Link to CBA math post 1
Link to CBA math post 2
Link to Episode 1542
Link to Passan’s CBA proposals breakdown
Link to Ben’s bargaining primer
Link to Hershberger’s 1876 post
Link to Sam on challenge rates
Link to challenge leaderboard
Link to Andrews on Wood’s challenges
Link to pitcher-pace leaderboard
Link to batter-pace leaderboard
Link to George injury article
Link to bat-dog suspension article 1
Link to bat-dog suspension article 2
Link to “Pups in the Park” page
Link to 2025 bat-dog call-up
Link to Pérez injury article
Link to Reddit comment about Ben
Link to MLBTR on Brebbia
Link to MLBTR on Jones
Sponsor Us on Patreon
Give a Gift Subscription
Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com
Effectively Wild Subreddit
Effectively Wild Wiki
Apple Podcasts Feed
Spotify Feed
YouTube Playlist
Facebook Group
Bluesky Account
Twitter Account
Get Our Merch!
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 0· Soundbite0:00
[upbeat music] How can you not be pedantic? A stat blast will keep you distracted. It's a long slog to death, but they're sure to make you smile. This is Effectively Wild. This is Effectively Wild. This is Effectively Wild.
Meg Rowley· Host0:29
Hello, and welcome to episode 2484 of Effectively Wild, a FanGraphs baseball podcast, brought to you by our Patreon supporters. I'm Meg Rowley of FanGraphs, and I am joined by Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer. Ben- [laughs] I wanna whack myself on the head with a rock.
Ben Lindbergh· Host0:45
[laughs] Don't do that. But I understand the impulse.
Meg Rowley· Host0:48
Oh.
Ben Lindbergh· Host0:49
Because we, we had a, a blissful few months there- Oh, yeah ... where we were focusing on the field mostly. We were- Lima beans. Yeah, lima beans, loose bodies, thrusting in the outfield, how Bryce Harper brushes his teeth. Uh- Mm-hmm ... frivolities.
Meg Rowley· Host1:06
Yeah.
Ben Lindbergh· Host1:06
And, and now we are once more forced to confront the CBA negotiations- Yes ... because they are, in fact, happening.
Meg Rowley· Host1:14
[laughs] Mm-hmm.
Ben Lindbergh· Host1:15
And yeah, you know, we were able to, to put it on the back burner at least, the quote, unquote, trademark looming lockout there. Not that it wasn't still looming, but it, it wasn't so much a front and center talking point as it has become