Effectively Wild Episode 2204: Is a Leadoff Walk Worse Than a Hit?

August 15, 2024

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about how Jorge López has done since his release from the Mets, Juan Soto‘s underrated dominance, George Springer’s post-replay rage, whether the Rangers are a candidate for Angels-esque August waiver shenanigans, whether Dodgers pitchers are particularly prone to Tommy John surgeries, and the divisive value of Salvador Perez. Then (41:58) they welcome high-school student Bailey Hall, who won an award for the best poster presentation at SABR 52, for a guest Stat Blast about scoring after leadoff walks vs. leadoff singles, followed by (1:10:23) a postscript on recent team TJ totals.

Audio intro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Beatwriter, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Lopez EW episode
Link to Lopez ERA leaderboard
Link to team RP WAR
Link to Judge on Soto
Link to best post-Bonds seasons
Link to WAR through age 25
Link to Springer clip
Link to MLB.com on Springer
Link to BP piece on HBP replays
Link to Becker on the Rangers
Link to Rosenthal on the Rangers
Link to MLBTR on Ryan
Link to Dodgers thread
Link to TJ data
Link to Baumann on Perez
Link to Jaffe on Perez
Link to Perez Reddit post
Link to Ben on HoF framing
Link to Stat Blast song cover
Link to SABR 52 info
Link to SABR post on Bailey
Link to Bailey’s poster
Link to tweet about Bailey
Link to Tango on Bailey
Link to past research 1
Link to past research 2
Link to past research 3
Link to past research 4
Link to past research 5
Link to ballpark meetup forms
Link to meetup organizer form