Effectively Wild Episode 2382: The October Bandwagon

Date: October 2, 2025
Host: Ben Lindbergh (The Ringer)
Guests: Hannah Keyser & Zach Kram (Bandwagon Substack)
Main Theme: Navigating the Wild Card chaos, playoff coverage strategies, mid-October baseball quirks, memorable managerial moments, and a look at the most intriguing October storylines.

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Ben Lindbergh convenes with Hannah Keyser and Zach Kram of Bandwagon Substack (standing in for the ailing Meg Rowley) for a wide-ranging, morning-time discussion on the MLB Wild Card round and broader October baseball themes. The trio explores the frenetic pace of playoff games, the unique strategic decisions emerging from this year’s bracket, nuanced debates over recent managerial moves, and baseball’s evolving postseason landscape. The conversation is peppered with reflections on friendship and collaborative baseball writing, the career afterlives of beloved stars, and the drama of manager/front office musical chairs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bandwagon Substack, Collaboration, and Baseball Friendship

Timestamps: 01:00–04:00

• Hannah & Zach share their experience launching Bandwagon, describing it as “an extension of our friendship about baseball” and detailing how their mutual excitement for the game drives their writing.
• Fun anecdote: Hannah attended Zach’s wedding, meeting numerous Bandwagon-reading friends and family ([02:44]–[02:59]).
• Ben says: “It takes two of us to make up for Meg...” ([01:12]) as the hosts joke about their podcasting dynamic.

2. How Writers/Editors Consume the Wild Card Frenzy

Timestamps: 04:25–08:30

• Hannah: “It feels like [a 3-game Wild Card series] is over before it started, but also it can change direction so quickly.” ([05:01])
• The challenge: covering fast series, balancing day games and family duties, and catching the chaotic late-night drama.
• Zach: Focuses on late games (Red Sox–Yankees, Dodgers–Reds), staying up for pivotal moments like Roki Sasaki’s big inning ([06:14]).
• The feeling of whiplash as major storylines abruptly end (i.e. the Reds’ quick elimination after weeks of hype).

3. Playoff Structure, Division Races, & The Value of Making the Playoffs

Timestamps: 08:32–10:59

• Discussion of the Guardians and Tigers: After dramatic late-season surges and collapses, does it actually matter who wins the division vs. the Wild Card?
  • “That bothers me. Does that bother either of you?” (Hannah, [08:36])
• The group grapples with the meaning and impact of these rapid outcomes, and the perennial debate over whether playoff structures penalize or reward regular season excellence.

4. Dodgers’ Bullpen, Roki Sasaki, and the Mid-Plate-Appearance Pitching Change (“Strategy”)

Timestamps: 10:17–15:34

• Roki Sasaki’s emergence as a Dodgers October bullpen weapon: “He could come back and immediately look that good in that role.” (Ben, [10:39])
• The “Strategy” move revisited:
  • Dave Roberts once again deploys a pitching change in mid-plate appearance (Alex Vesia for Emmett Sheehan at 1–2 count), a rare and nerd-beloved tactic first popularized by Joe Girardi (“strategy!”) ([11:18]–[14:02]).
  • Zach: “Alex Vessia struck out Will Benson, even though that was not a matchup that ever occurred on the field...” ([13:31])
  • The team dissects its statistical, psychological, and meta-legacy significance.

5. The Playoff “Bye” and Teams Keeping Sharp During Off Days

Timestamps: 15:40–19:44

• Hannah’s reporting: Observations on different approaches to the playoff “bye”, including Phillies’ and Mariners’ creative scrimmages—and the iconic Ichiro Suzuki cameo in Seattle’s split-squad game ([16:32]).
  • Hannah: “If I could have traveled to any game, I think that’s the one I would have most wanted to see...” ([16:38])
• Debates over the efficacy and risk of these simulated efforts vs. resting banged-up players.

6. Ichiro’s Baseball Afterlife & Baseball Elders Hanging Around

Timestamps: 19:44–24:18

• The unique charm and grace with which Ichiro remains embedded in the Mariners, contrasted with tricky retirements for players like Albert Pujols and Buster Posey ([21:37]).
• Discussion of the personal dynamics and impact on families as ex-players just can’t leave the game behind: “...they end up...and even if you’re a coach...you're traveling just as much as you were...” (Ben, [23:27]).

7. The Manager Blender: Boone, Playoff Moves, and the Eternal Hot Seat

Timestamps: 26:16–37:18

• A Medley of Hot Topics:
  • Aaron Boone’s polarizing choice to bench lefties vs. Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet and the resulting fan/media blowback ([27:08]–[32:01]).
  • Is the manager to blame, or the front office for roster construction? Zach dissects the reasoning and fans’ reactions ([28:09]–[30:10]).
  • Hannah: “You can always sort of blame the manager because he did make the decision, but…it’s just impossible for people to separate in their head the process from the results.” ([33:59])
  • The pressure of postgame press conferences and whether managers like Boone are affected by knowing they’ll be second-guessed (“Is he practicing the answers in his head when [the game] is blowing up?” [36:11])

8. Managers as Scapegoats, Managerial Job Security & Reputation

Timestamps: 38:02–43:24

• Ben: “Even if they win the World Series, it feels like most Yankees fans would think it was in spite of Boone, not because of him.” ([37:49])
• Increasingly short fuses for managers, and the difficulty of maintaining grace with fans even after years of success.
• “...you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain. I think that applies to managers.” (Zach, [39:57])

9. Pitch Velocity Spikes and the “Best Pitch Ever Thrown”

Timestamps: 43:43–51:39

• Mason Miller’s 104.5 mph postseason fastball: the hardest pitch ever tracked in October.
  • “This is arguably the best pitch ever thrown by a human being.” (Brett Anderson via Ben, [45:11])
• Discussion: Could a machine or model simulate “best pitch” criteria? (Hannah: “Could you get the Trajekt [machine]…to throw that exact pitch and see how hitters fare?” [45:47])
• Surge of extreme pitcher velocities in October—has adrenaline raised the baseline?
  • Search for postseason fastest-pitch records past and present ([49:33]).

10. Open Playoff Field: No Consensus Favorites

Timestamps: 53:33–55:17

• Ben: “According to five different sources, there were five different favorites.” ([53:40])
  • Fangraphs: Mariners; Baseball Prospectus: Blue Jays; Neil Payne: Brewers; Polymarket: Dodgers; FanDuel: Phillies.
  • Consensus: This year feels particularly wide open—there’s a plausible path for many teams.

11. Managerial Turnover, GM Changes & “Dream Jobs”

Timestamps: 55:17–75:42

• Roundup of the off-season’s huge managerial carousel:
  • Braves (parting with Snitker), Giants (Melvin out), Angels, Rangers (Bochy out), Rockies (GM fired; first ever potential outside search).
  • Analysis of Buster Posey’s decision not to renew Melvin and what it says about ex-players as execs ([57:44]–[60:02]).
  • Rockies search—some executives see this as a dream job: “...Smart executives are tantalized by it. They want to prove they can do it.” ([68:53])

12. Red Sox’s Unlikely Postseason Run, Devers Trade, and Clubhouse Culture

Timestamps: 76:26–90:04

• Revisiting the controversy over trading Rafael Devers midseason and subsequent “nobody believed in us” rhetoric.
• Hannah: “I think this is a case where the end justifies the means…he was clearly making this decision based on some rationale that was only available to people within the organization...” ([84:28])
• The challenge of judging front-office moves: “We just, we never know anything... we’re constantly analyzing decisions based on what happened after the fact or trying to analyze them based on...what you knew going into the decision, but then never really knowing if we have all the factors.” (Ben, [86:09])

13. Bandwagon Substack—Sales Pitch & October’s Best Bandwagon Candidates

Timestamps: 90:41–93:46

• Zach and Hannah plug Bandwagon as the “three times a week baseball newsletter from the perspective of trying to help you be a smart fan” ([90:49]).
• Best bandwagon team this October?
  • Hannah & Zach: Mariners.
  • Also praise for Phillies, Blue Jays for “cool environment,” and Shohei Ohtani’s upcoming postseason start.
  • “There are a lot of easy-to-root-for teams and narratives here.” (Ben, [92:41])

14. Closing Notes: Prospect Debuts, Stat Oddities, and Sacramento’s A’s

Timestamps: 94:00–110:16

• Ben highlights top Guardians prospect Chase DeLauter making his MLB debut—in the playoffs, after months off ([94:00]).
• Listener data: 2025 among streakiest MLB seasons; “the most democratically distributed season” for stolen bases ([97:17]–[102:42]).
• The odd saga of the A’s in Sacramento and local fan perspectives (extended listener letter, [104:38])—reflections on civic pride, fan experience, and the complicated feelings about their adopted home.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It takes two of us to make up for Meg though, so you know.”
  —Zach Kreiser ([01:12])

• “If you’re Dave Roberts and you don’t know what to do with your bullpen, then you might as well do strategy.”
  —Ben Lindbergh ([13:25])

• “Ichiro playing in the Mariners split-squad game—if I could go to any game, that’s the one I most wanted to see.”
  —Hannah Keyser ([16:38])

• “Aaron Boone did not invent platooning. Like, we’re angry at Aaron Boone for platooning? That’s something previous Yankee managers are famous for.”
  —Ben ([27:54])

• “You can always sort of blame the manager because he did make the decision, but it’s so hard... you’re always going off results and not process.”
  —Hannah Keyser ([33:59])

• “It’s like you either die a hero, or you live long enough to become the villain. I think that applies to managers.”
  —Ben Lindbergh ([39:57])

• “This is arguably the best pitch ever thrown by a human being.”
  —Brett Anderson, quoted by Ben ([45:11])

• “According to five different sources, there were five different favorites.”
  —Ben ([53:40])

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamps | |--------------------------------------------|---------------| | Bandwagon Substack/Collaboration | 01:00–04:00 | | Wild Card Consumption/Writing Struggles | 04:25–08:30 | | Playoff Structure/Division Races | 08:32–10:59 | | Dodgers’ Bullpen/Strategy/“Mid-PA” Moves | 10:17–15:34 | | Playoff “Bye” Scrimmages/Ichiro | 15:40–19:44 | | Ichiro & Players Who Can't Leave Baseball | 19:44–24:18 | | Boone, Benching, Postgame Pressures | 26:16–37:18 | | Managers, Reputation, Escaping Villainy | 38:02–43:24 | | Mason Miller’s “Best Pitch” | 43:43–51:39 | | No Consensus Favorites for October | 53:33–55:17 | | Managerial/Front Office Turnover | 55:17–75:42 | | Red Sox, Devers Trade, Clubhouse Culture | 76:26–90:04 | | Bandwagon Substack & Best Team to Root For | 90:41–93:46 | | Closing Stats, Sacramento, Listener Notes | 94:00–110:16 |

Final Thoughts

This episode captures the exhilarating confusion of early October baseball and the perpetual search for meaning and edge in the postseason. With warmth, humor, and analytical rigor, Ben Lindbergh, Hannah Keyser, and Zach Kram unpack everything from strategic outliers to fan experiences, while maintaining a sense of how the game’s culture and personalities shape its biggest moments. For those looking to understand why October baseball feels so different—and why the human element matters even amidst the numbers—this is essential listening.