Effectively Wild Episode 2362: "Poob Has Baseball for You"
FanGraphs 20th Anniversary, Playoff Picture, Dodgers Musings, and a Visit from David Appelman
Hosts: Ben Lindbergh (The Ringer), Meg Rowley (FanGraphs)
Date: August 16, 2025
Episode Overview
In this special episode, Ben and Meg celebrate the 20th anniversary of FanGraphs with founder David Appelman, reflecting on the site's journey and impact. They react to current playoff contenders post-trade deadline, dissect the enduring discourse around the Dodgers' roster-building strategy, and discuss changes in baseball broadcasting. The episode also features classic banter, email questions from listeners, and plenty of baseball nerdery.
1. Fangraphs Turns 20!
[00:16 – 02:14, 63:47 – 94:41]
Key Discussion Points
- Fangraphs’ Milestone: Meg and Ben open with birthday wishes for Fangraphs, marveling over two decades of baseball analytics.
- Celebratory Site Features: Virtual balloons on the site link readers to classic articles (01:20).
- David Appelman Joins: Founder and CEO discusses the site's origins, evolution, and continued mission.
Notable Quotes
- “Fangraphs is 20, Ben. What an accomplishment.” – Meg Rowley (00:39)
- “FanGraphs was my first child… but the kids are definitely one and one, and then Fangraphs is two.” – David Appelman (63:58)
- “You just kind of keep doing it and then you find out you're there.” – David Appelman on persistence (69:09)
- “I wake up every morning excited…I make sure the stats load.” – David Appelman on still loving his work (69:55)
Highlights with Appelman
- Site Origin Story: Started as a solution to fantasy baseball needs, leveraging his AOL experience (65:16).
- Writing and Stats Relationship: Initially self-written, the site’s popularity soared with additional writers and the launch of WAR (67:19, 69:09).
- Team/Media Buyout Offers: Never a team attempt to “buy” Fangraphs, though some “mildly insulting” offers to acquire the site (72:06, 73:39).
- Growth and Challenges: Discusses subscription versus ad-based funding, the threat of bots, and the difficulty of SEO and discoverability in today's media landscape (79:37, 91:30).
2. Who Is This Year's Tigers? Surprise Post-Deadline Contenders
[02:14 – 12:52]
Key Discussion Points
- Comparing 2025 Teams to the 2024 Tigers: Discuss which “sellers” (Guardians, Diamondbacks) could make a surprise run like the 2024 Tigers.
- Unpredictability: Despite trades, Guardians and Diamondbacks are surging in the standings (03:50).
- Playoff Projections Skepticism: Meg expresses low confidence in current AL wild card leaders, especially the Yankees (08:06).
Notable Quotes
- “It just goes to show you how unpredictable everything about baseball is.” – Ben Lindbergh (04:41)
- “My confidence in the current cluster of AL wild card teams… it’s low.” – Meg Rowley (08:57)
- “You can't say that it's disrespecting [the Guardians] because... it's math.” – Meg Rowley on playoff odds (11:10)
3. Are the Dodgers "Breaking Baseball" or Just Good?
[12:52 – 28:31]
Key Discussion Points
- Dodgers Superteam Narrative: Revisiting preseason fears of Dodgers dominance; in reality, they've been successful despite major injuries yet aren’t running away with the division (15:12).
- Depth vs. Spending: Dodgers’ payroll allows them to withstand myriad injuries; some depth homegrown, not just bought (19:13, 19:39).
- Competitive Balance: Meg argues owner frugality, not Dodgers spending, is the bigger threat to MLB parity (25:07).
Notable Quotes
- “Even if a lot has gone wrong for you … you’re still going to be sitting pretty.” – Ben Lindbergh on Dodgers’ luxury (16:19)
- “The reason that I found the whole thing so weird was… it seemed like it was being used as justification for smuggling in all of this stuff that ultimately was going to be to owners' benefit…” – Meg Rowley (27:08)
- “More teams should make it easy on themselves.” – Meg Rowley on small-market team building (25:46)
4. Baseball Broadcasting: The Streaming Puzzle
[29:28 – 41:36]
Key Discussion Points
- MLB’s Changing Broadcast Partners: With ESPN out, MLB is cobbling together packages with Apple TV+, NBC/Peacock, and others (30:26).
- Fan Access Concerns: Worries about older fans and house “tech support” needing to navigate fragmented streaming platforms (36:42).
- Long-term Risks: Segmented platforms may shrink audience, hinder casual/new fan discovery, and reduce wider cultural engagement (34:12, 39:14).
Notable Quotes
- “This is just like an accelerating trend… you just won’t necessarily know where to find the baseball.” – Ben Lindbergh (35:07)
- “You're introducing work to an experience that I think was pretty easy for people before.” – Meg Rowley (37:34)
- “Poob has it for you. Poob has baseball for you.” – Ben Lindbergh, referencing a viral streaming meme (41:00)
5. Listener Emails: The Pedantry Parade
[41:39 – 63:47]
Highlights
- Roman Anthony’s OBP Odds ([41:39 – 48:08])
- Can Boston’s Roman Anthony maintain a .400+ OBP through his contract? Ben and Meg hedge: possible, but the low offensive environment lowers odds.
- “He’s got about as good a shot as anyone, you know, aside from Soto.” – Ben Lindbergh (47:39)
- Terminology: “Drove in a Run” on a Walk ([49:01 – 53:13])
- Should “drive in” apply to walks with the bases loaded? Meg finds it linguistically odd; Ben’s fine with it.
- “So you drove him in by walking…that’s such a ridiculous sentence in any other context.” – Meg Rowley (49:29)
- Walk-off Grand Slam Scoring ([53:19 – 55:10])
- All four runs count, not just the game-winner, if the home run clears the fence (per listener Justin).
- Juan Soto WAR Trade Math ([55:12 – 60:43])
- Will Soto out-WAR all players traded for him, just with metrics from their new teams? The field could catch up, but it’s close; forecasts could go either way.
- “It’s much more certain that Soto’s not going to be adding anything defensively from here on out, probably.” – Ben Lindbergh (60:41)
6. Fangraphs’ Inside Story with David Appelman
[63:47 – 94:41]
Key Segments & Quotes
- Site Origins & Growth ([65:16 – 69:09])
- Started as a personal fantasy tool, then added writing/writers when Appelman realized the stats “wouldn’t just speak for themselves”.
- “With Dave and Jeff and Carson and Eno, I think a lot of the voices of the site became more mainstream.” – Appelman (69:09)
- Being Poached by Teams? ([72:06 – 73:39])
- No, though he came close with the Yankees in 2006; no serious acquisition offers he’d consider.
- Technical Evolution ([78:16 – 79:37])
- Accessibility was key to Fangraphs becoming the go-to for advanced stats. Site now fights bots with nearly all web traffic being fake (98% on big days!).
- Data Expansion ([80:48 – 82:48])
- Added NPB, KBO, and college stats; plans to cover the new Women's Professional Baseball League if possible.
- “With NPB, there’s just a lot of interest especially in Japan…our traffic from Japan is number two in terms of countries.” – Appelman (81:33)
- Business Model & Modern Challenges ([91:30 – 94:02])
- FanGraphs never leaned into SEO, sports betting, or “short-term cash grabs,” insulated from some digital media busts. Subscriptions now more vital.
- “Just when you think you’re kind of in good shape, the ground shifts beneath you.” – Appelman (91:30)
- Camaraderie with Fellow Baseball Sites ([86:07 – 88:50])
- Early rivalry gave way to mutual survival and respect as media realities changed.
- “We’ve all carved out our own little spaces…there’s a lot of camaraderie.” – Appelman (88:50)
Notable “Effectively Wild” Moments
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Dodgers Roster Churn: “There does come a point where…you guys don’t want to try to get guys who don’t get hurt so much?” – Meg Rowley (18:04)
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Streaming Service Satire: “You can poop it, it’s on Poob. Poob has it for you.” – Ben Lindbergh, referencing fake platforms in a meta-moment (41:00)
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Fangraphs Still Runs Lean: “People are often surprised when they send a support email and you answer it. The CEO of the company is answering…” – Meg Rowley (74:52)
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Meta-Podcast Recap: Ohtani headliner frequency plummets in 2025, Asutadillo’s historic 2018, and a factual walk-off scoring debate (94:41).
Timestamps for Important Segments
- Fangraphs 20th Anniversary Banter: 00:16 – 02:14
- Trade Deadline Surprise Teams: 02:14 – 12:52
- Dodgers “Super-Team” Debate: 12:52 – 28:31
- Baseball Broadcast Streaming Puzzle: 29:28 – 41:36
- Listener Email Segment: 41:39 – 63:47
- Roman Anthony OBP: 41:39 – 48:08
- “Drive in a run” linguistics: 49:01 – 53:13
- Scoring on walk-off slams: 53:19 – 55:10
- Soto WAR trade math: 55:12 – 60:43
- Main Interview with David Appelman: 63:47 – 94:41
Overall Tone and Style
Conversational, irreverent, and deeply nerdy while remaining accessible. Ben and Meg’s banter is sharp yet affectionate, with Appelman’s naturally low-key delivery delivering insight and dry wit. Dense with detail, heavy on the business, history, and inside baseball workings.
For the Listener Who Missed the Episode:
This episode is a celebration as much as a deep baseball dive, marked by rich stories on the evolution of both the sport and the data we use to understand it. The interview with Appelman offers a rare, grounded look behind the stats pages everyone uses. Meanwhile, classic Effectively Wild humor surfaces in every segment, whether riffing on fake streaming services or debating the philosophy of RBIs.
Perfect for longtime listeners wanting to feel part of the FanGraphs family, as well as new fans looking for a window into how modern baseball analysis became possible.