Effectively Wild Episode 2357: Pinstriped Panic

Date: August 7, 2025
Hosts: Ben Lindbergh (The Ringer), Meg Rowley (FanGraphs)

Main Theme & Episode Overview

This episode begins with breaking news about a major baseball milestone: Jen Powell’s upcoming debut as the first woman to umpire a Major League Baseball (MLB) game. The hosts reflect on this long-overdue development and baseball’s slow progress on gender equity in officiating.
The conversation then covers a rapid-fire news roundup: MLB’s Speedway Classic event at Bristol Motor Speedway, Nathan Eovaldi’s near-Gibsonian performance, the global decline of pitcher hitting, and the semantics of “breakout” seasons.
The centerpiece is a lively, detailed discussion of the New York Yankees’ catastrophic mid-season collapse, why fundamentals are under scrutiny, and how much blame falls on the manager. The wider American and National League playoff races are examined with a focus on why, despite mediocrity and parity, this year’s playoff outlook remains surprisingly static.
The episode wraps up with a quick exploration of baseball on HBO’s “The Gilded Age” (with a cameo nitpick from 19th-century baseball historian Richard Hershberger), and final news and listener callouts.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking News: Jen Powell to Debut as First Woman MLB Umpire

[00:46 – 09:32]

• Jen Powell will debut this weekend, first on the bases, then behind home plate, making her the first woman to umpire a regular-season MLB game.
  • "I'm glad that we expanded the pool of potential umpires beyond just men before we welcomed in the cameras and computers." – Ben [01:40]
• The hosts reflect on the overdue nature of this breakthrough and MLB’s slow movement compared to the NBA and NFL.
  • "There wasn't anything about being an umpire that seemed like it needed to have a particularly gendered valence. And yet it did for a very long time." – Meg [02:02]
  • "MLB not last of those big four. Congrats, I guess." – Ben [08:21]
• Discussion of why baseball lagged other sports, despite a large minor league system and a significant pool of women with relevant softball experience.
• Both hope Powell becomes accepted to the point of “unremarkability,” signaling normality rather than novelty.
  • "It's funny to root for umps, you know, because really, you don't want to know about umps at all..." – Meg [03:01]

2. News Roundup (Speedway Classic & More)

[09:33 – 38:49]

The Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway

• The specialty ballgame drew headlines for rain delays, supply shortages, obstructed and distant views—some compared it exaggeratedly to “MLB’s Fyre Fest.”
  • "When I saw that headline I was like, okay, now relax." – Meg [10:14]
• Hosts debate the value of these one-off “gimmick” events, contrasting them with more meaningful venues like Rickwood Field.
  • "Part of my reaction is definitely just a letdown from last year, which I thought was a really special thing." – Meg [21:53]
• Nitpicks: branding (lack of comma in “Bristol baby,” stadium’s awkward sightlines).

Nathan Eovaldi’s "Gibsonian" Run

• Eovaldi’s historic scoreless streak is on pace with Bob Gibson’s 1968, but with modern caveats (fewer innings).
  • "He's been really excellent, and I don't know if he's unsung, but not sung enough..." – Ben [24:54]
• Cy Young discussion: Do low-ERA seasons still sway voters as they used to? Is FIP too dominant?
  • "I do think ERA still matters to people, right? I don't think that people are that FIP-pilled." – Meg [26:41]

Designated Hitter: End of Pitcher Batting

• Japan’s Central League will adopt the DH in 2027, erasing one of the last bastions of pitcher batting:
  • "The last bastion of pitcher hitting has fallen now and will be sacked by the designated hitter barbarians..." – Ben [30:48]
• Brief lamentation about the “loss” of tradition, but both acknowledge the lack of practical defensive for maintaining pitcher batting.

The “Breakout” Debate: Joe Adell

• MLB labels Joe Adell’s season “a breakout” for his 22nd home run, but hosts dissent: .300 OBP, under 1.0 WAR is “barely above average.”
  • "Breakout feels a little strong to me." – Ben [36:26]
  • "I would probably stop short of calling it a breakout at this juncture. Maybe earlier it would have felt like a more natural descriptor." – Meg [37:07]

3. Yankees “DEFCON 1” Meltdown & AL East Vibe Check

[38:49 – 67:36]

Vibe Differential in the AL East

• The Blue Jays and Red Sox are surging (Red Sox just extended top prospect Roman Anthony), while the Yankees are floundering, almost out of a playoff spot.
  • "They've been bad at various times... It’s disastrous. It’s catastrophic. It’s...rancid, they've been bad at various times." – Ben [46:58]

Yankees’ Trade Deadline Backfires

• All acquired relievers (Bednar, Doval, Bird)—"the cavalry"—immediately struggled or landed on the IL; one (Bird) was demoted after just two poor outings.
  • "It was a rude greeting, certainly. It was a terrible first impression for all of those guys." – Ben [48:13]
• Critique of modern Yankees front office: “bargain aisle” approach, less aggressive since the days they “outspent everyone.”

Sloppiness, Fundamentals, and Managerial Blame

• Team play is “shocking” in its sloppiness: base running errors (e.g., Austin Wells forgetting the number of outs), throwing errors, defensive miscues.
  • "The sloppiness of this team right now is shocking, you know, to the point that you wonder if they're all kind of in their own heads about it a little bit." – Meg [50:57]
• Are these focus/fundamentals issues grounds for a managerial change?
  • "When teams play sloppy bonehead baseball like this, that tends to result in managers getting fired." – Meg [54:49]
• Boone was just extended; Cashman and Yankees brass blamed for complacency and failures of urgency/accountability.

Macro “Fundamentals” Question—League Wide (Are Players Worse?)

• Is there really a decline in “the fundamentals,” or are high-leverage mistakes just now more visible/socially amplified?
  • "In general, I'm suspicious of the idea that professional athletes are worse at anything than they used to be." – Ben [59:34]
• Both acknowledge legitimate questions about modern player priorities: more focus on swing mechanics, “load management”, less on basic drills.
• Fans’ perception heightened by the dramatic contrast with Yankees’ early-season run; “a perfect storm of issue, personnel and place in the standings.” – Meg [65:21]
• Still, Fangraphs playoff odds see Yankees at 79%—higher than preseason.

Vibes and Blame

• When poor base running/fielding is a persistent issue, it does reflect on the coaching/manager.
  • "When it goes on for this long, then you do have to lay that at the feet of the manager." – Ben [65:58]
• Is this historic, or just heightened by modern coverage/social media?

4. Playoff Picture & “Boring” Postseason Races

[83:49 – 92:19]

• Listener Greg raises the issue of a “boring” playoff race: The current expanded playoff format is not producing many on-the-bubble contenders; odds mostly see locks or longshots, little middle ground.
• Why? Despite no dominant (.600+) teams, tier stratification has occurred: Teams are either playoff locks or mostly out.
• The American League has slight intrigue (Yankees’ collapse, Rangers’ chase, Guardians one game out), but the NL has little mid-tier competition—everyone but the Reds is five games out or worse.
  • "I almost differ from the playoff odds. My gut of how interesting things are is different from what the numbers say..." – Ben [86:04]
• Division races themselves are more contested than the wild cards, which inflates “race” vibes.

5. Baseball in “The Gilded Age” and 19th Century Fact-Checking

[92:19 – 101:18]

• Listener Zane asks about the accuracy of an 1884 baseball scene in HBO’s The Gilded Age.
• Ben consults 19th-century baseball historian Richard Hershberger, who finds:
  • Home plate, chalk lines, uniforms, and equipment are all anachronistic or inaccurate.
  • Umpires use modern hand signals, not authentic for 1884.
  • Pitcher’s sidearm delivery nearly accurate, but possibly not intentional.
  • Production did not consult a 19th-century expert, but Hershberger is not bothered—“I have made peace with low expectations.”
• Meg notes even the show’s wardrobe draws ire from sticklers: “...for them it was maybe more important that it be recognizably and discernibly baseball for a modern audience than it be an accurate depiction of baseball at the time.” [99:14]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Not puzzling insofar as the umpires at the major league level tend to be quite long tenured, sometimes to the consternation of fans." – Meg [02:02]
• “I'm glad that we expanded the pool of potential umpires beyond just men before we welcomed in the cameras and computers...” – Ben [01:39]
• "The visual from home looked stupid." – Meg [12:07] (on Speedway Classic)
• "If he can just keep all of his opponents scoreless for the rest of the season, he could get down to a 0.98 ERA." – Ben [25:30] (on Eovaldi)
• "Breakout feels a little strong to me." – Ben [36:26] (on Joe Adell)
• "The sloppiness of this team right now is shocking, you know, to the point that you wonder if they're all kind of in their own heads about it a little bit." – Meg [50:57]
• "It's a problem. I do think that they as an organization are going to need to have a little bit of soul searching." – Meg [67:37]
• "In general, I'm suspicious of the idea that professional athletes are worse at anything than they used to be..." – Ben [59:34]
• "Having a patch like this coincide with rivals’ hot streaks can make even a short-term dip turn irrecoverable.” – Meg [80:19]

Important Segments & Timestamps

• [00:46] – [09:32]: Jen Powell, women umpires in MLB, gender equity in officiating
• [09:32] – [23:38]: MLB’s Speedway Classic, alternate site games, event reactions
• [23:38] – [30:48]: Nathan Eovaldi’s ERA, Cy Young debates, “should” vs. “will” in voting
• [30:48] – [34:16]: The DH’s global takeover, nostalgia for pitchers hitting
• [36:25] – [38:49]: The definition of “breakout” seasons, Joe Adell case study
• [38:49] – [67:36]: Yankees collapse—trade failures, sloppiness, fundamentals, managerial blame, and macro trends
• [83:49] – [92:19]: Playoff races 2025: why the odds say they’re boring, but divisions still tight
• [92:19] – [101:18]: Baseball on The Gilded Age, consulting experts on TV accuracy

Final Notes

• Listener Service: Raymond Chen has created an Effectively Wild “notable episode” guide for newcomers/nostalgic listens. [Link available on the show page]
• Patreon Shoutouts: Logan, Rohan Nair, Paul O’Donohue, Cody, Bob Schultz
• Outro: Musical tribute to baseball’s statistical obsession

The Tone

Collaborative, wryly humorous, informed, empathetic to both fans and the peculiarities of baseball tradition, with a willingness to nitpick, interrogate, and celebrate in equal measure.