Effectively Wild Episode 2420: The Stories We Missed in 2025 (NL Edition)
Hosts: Meg Rowley & Ben Lindbergh
Date: December 30, 2025
Podcast: Effectively Wild (FanGraphs Baseball Podcast)
Episode Overview
This episode continues Effectively Wild’s year-end tradition of covering the most interesting, funny, obscure, and poignant baseball stories from 2025 that the hosts didn’t discuss on the podcast. Focusing on the National League (with the American League covered in a forthcoming episode), Meg and Ben source listener submissions for overlooked moments, statistical oddities, player anecdotes, and offbeat tales from every NL club.
The tone is light, playful, and deeply nerdy, in classic Effectively Wild style—mixing heartfelt baseball appreciation and meta-pedantry with sidebar riffs about fish tanks, culinary quirks, and, of course, mascot affairs.
Key Discussion Points and Insights (by Team)
General and Introduction
- Ben and Meg welcome each other back from holiday breaks, share snowy stories, and tee up the episode’s focus: “stories we missed in 2025, as we do at the end of every year.” [01:00]
- Quick banter about the podcast’s free agent contracts over-under draft and Meg’s lead, then right into overlooked stories. [01:03–02:24]
Oakland A’s: Soderstrom’s Extension and Clubhouse Cohesion
- Tyler Soderstrom's Extension: Seven years, $86 million, announced on Christmas Day—leading to jokes about “good presence” and the oddity of deals leaking on holidays.
“It's a good presence to give yourself...you could kick the can down the road a week, just be like, let's wrap it.” – Ben [03:34]
- Soderstrom’s ascendant sophomore season: 125 WRC+, 3+ WAR at age 24.
- A’s position player core looking promising—Soderstrom, Rooker, Butler, Jacob Wilson—contrasted by questions about pitching and relocation uncertainty.
- Team culture: Despite franchise-wide tumult, the young A’s seem close-knit and unusually committed to staying, with recent extensions reflecting a desire to stick together.
“Players who are already on the A’s seem to want to stay there...they’ve done enough for those guys to want to stick around despite all the uncertainty.” – Ben [08:32]
Recent NL Transactions
- Pete Fairbanks: Moved from Rays to Marlins, treats himself to a small raise after his option is declined. Illustrative of the Rays’ willingness to let arms go and find cheap replacements. [10:50]
- Rob Refsnyder: At age 35, lands a career-high $6.5 million deal with Mariners—the oldest “record contract” for a player of this utility type. [15:00–16:51]
- Ryan O’Hearn to the Pirates: Two years, $29 million, a Pirates position player free agent record (albeit a modest one). O’Hearn is solid but unlikely to move the needle much. [16:52–19:34]
“For most teams, Ryan O’Hearn might be a complimentary signing, as opposed to like the marquee guy that they get.” – Meg [18:18]
Braves: Albies, Aquariums, Roster Turnover & More
Main Focus: Listener Submissions on Braves Oddities
- Ozzy Albies’ Down Year and Offbeat Hobby: A rough season at the plate, but the true overlooked story is his expanding obsession with enormous aquariums (including a new 6,000-gallon tank in his garage).
“[Albies] has huge aquariums. Aquaria. I don’t know, but he has huge fish tanks in his house. He loves fish.” – Ben [21:48, ~24:00]
- Detailed banter about the logistics and aesthetics of the aquarium (with Instagram links for the curious). [26:14–30:46]
- Other Braves oddities:
- Ex-hockey player connections (Glavine, Baldwin).
- Reckless release of Jacob Gomez for shoplifting sports cards. [32:31]
- The “Freeze” mascot steps down—auditions for a new speedster underway. [34:04]
- Braves tie MLB record for pitchers used in a season (36; later equaled by the Mets), and use a modern-era record 71 players in total—reflecting “strength in numbers” gone awry. [34:56]
Notable Quote:
“He has all this aquarium equipment and then also like, I guess he, he has an ev and so there’s all this charging equipment for the car and it’s all kind of crammed into this garage, which makes me think it would be hard to appreciate the scenery...” – Ben [~28:00]
Brewers: Statistical Oddities & Nicknames
- Brewers now have more NL games played than AL—a historical footnote. [37:47]
- Andrew Vaughn: Second-highest win probability added in his first five Brewers games, trailing only the obscure “Boob Fowler” of 1923, leading to an extended (and hilarious) riff on the origins of the “Boob” nickname. [38:53–41:30]
- Brewers scored 101 unearned runs (far above league average; next-best was 83) and had a striking number of runs scored without credited RBIs—testament to “hustle,” speed, and error-generating offense. [41:30–43:01]
Cardinals: The Quiet Years
- Parallels between the 2025 and 2007 Cardinals: both 78–84, leadership transition, and pending franchise overhaul.
- Noted for unusual roster construction: regularly carrying three (or even five!) catchers, creating a “catcher logjam.” [45:47–47:41]
- Nick Raquet’s feel-good “out of baseball to MLB debut” journey after a stint in accounting. [47:52–49:16]
Cubs: Mozzarella Stick Prophecy
- Jim Deshaies jokingly predicts a William Contreras ground ball double play, live on the air, and promises mozzarella sticks for everyone in a local bar if it happens—then, it happens. The bar gets free mozzarella sticks, as do Jim and Boog in the Wrigley booth. [49:16–53:12]
“Mozzarella sticks for everybody!” – Boog Shambi, as the grounder unfolds [throughout 52:00–53:12]
Diamondbacks: Bullpen By Chaos
- Single-season record for players with a save: 17 pitchers; previous record was 14 (Rays/Dodgers). The D-backs’ bullpen was decimated by injuries—reflected in the record and their nearly league-worst bullpen WAR. [53:41–56:07]
- Churro Dog: Noted as a viral, absurd stadium concession—essentially a donut-with-churro-with-frozen-yogurt monstrosity. Meg bemoans the state of Chase Field food options. [56:22–60:33]
Dodgers: Rubik’s Cube Culture
- Unsung reliever Jack Dreyer is also a Rubik’s Cube whiz who introduced cube solving to the clubhouse, even crafting a mosaic portrait of Shohei Ohtani from cubes! [60:53–64:13]
“The more you look around the clubhouse...the more you’ll notice the odd Rubik’s Cube partially completed, sitting in a locker or on the arm of a chair. At the center...is Dreyer...” – Ben [62:40]
Giants: Mascot Drama, Verlander Mentorship, & Minor Notes
- Logan Webb credits Justin Verlander for aiding his career-best strikeout rate, highlighting the importance of even experienced players learning from legends. [65:10–67:29]
- Mascot Hall of Fame/Scandal: Lou Seal inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame, only to have his mother caught on the Kiss Cam “canoodling” with Crazy Crab. Extended mock-serious riffing follows.
“That’s like the most f****d up thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life... Why are we giving mascots tragic backstories and interspecies infidelity?” – Meg [73:52]
- Rafael Devers: Played 163 games, a quirky records note. [76:25]
- Matt Chapman reveals life with Tourette Syndrome—an inspiring story about overcoming adversity. [77:52–80:10]
Marlins: Brief Glory vs. the Yankees
- Marlins’ sweep of the Yankees post-deadline, “one of the best attended series in Marlins ballpark history,” a rare bright moment in Miami’s season—Yankees’ newly acquired bullpen melts down spectacularly. [82:04–82:57]
Mets: Record Pitcher Usage & Adevino Fallout
- 46 pitchers used in a season (then matched by the Braves).
- Notably, Adam Ottavino rips manager Carlos Mendoza’s bullpen management and player communication post-season.
“He has no idea what he’s doing when it comes to bullpen guys…” – Adam Ottavino (quoted by Ben) [84:33]
- Mets’ string of pitcher injuries and speculation about rehab mishandling. [84:45–85:24]
- Bonus: Prospect Jonah Tong’s “weird Canadian grilled cheese recipe” (dipped in maple syrup—must be Canadian, not Vermont syrup). [87:21–90:47]
Nationals: Dalen Lile’s Surprise Success
- 2021 second-rounder Dalen Lile emerges as one of Washington's few bright spots: .299/.347/.498, 845 OPS at age 22.
“Heck of a season. Hit well in the minors too, even before he was in the majors.” – Ben [92:50]
- Fielding still a major issue, but his breakout was largely unheralded. [93:02–93:23]
Padres: Sac Bunt Renaissance
- Padres led MLB by a wide margin with 48 sacrifice bunts—a stylistic outlier in the modern game. Linked to their surprising lack of home run power for a star-laden club. [93:49–95:56]
Phillies: Tanner Banks/Shoutout Stories
- Tanner Banks: Quietly one of the Phillies’ most effective relievers, but rarely mentioned.
- Justin Crawford: Led the minors in batting average, playing a potential future center field role for Philadelphia.
- Fun note: Team inherited “entrance ritual” graphics from Twins along with closer Jhoan Duran, highlighting the growing theatricality around closer roles. [96:32–98:51]
Pirates: Fightin' Necklaces, Bucko Bricks, and Bats
- Andrew McCutcheon brings back “fight necklaces” as a lighthearted fashion revival (zero belief in their pseudo-scientific claims).
- Henry Davis: Poised as worst-ever 1st overall pick (offensively) aside from players who never reached MLB.
- "Bucko Bricks Scandal": Old commemorative bricks at PNC Park were supposed to be saved during sidewalk renovation, but ended up at a recycling facility, leading to a public apology and replica offers. [103:08–104:41]
- Additional blunder: Pirates replaced the Roberto Clemente #21 wall logo with an ad, later apologizing to Clemente’s family. [105:07]
Reds: Green’s Injury “Controversy”
- Reporter claims Hunter Greene was “slow rolling” his groin injury return; fan backlash sides with Greene and decries media/organization tactics. He ends up having a great year. [107:22–108:56]
- Fan highlight: A Reds homer robbing catch, made possible by a home fan not interfering on a potential catch over the wall:
"That's home field advantage at work..." – Ben [110:03]
Rockies: Record-Adjacent Oddities
- Ezekiel Tovar: Four-double game.
- Michael Toglia: Sets club record for consecutive games started at first base, then DFA’d. [110:46]
Memorable Quotes & Moments
- On Ozzie Albies’ aquariums: “He has a shark in there, like a small shark... The tanks barely fit Ozzie Albies. And I know that because there was a picture of him lying in one of the tanks.” – Ben [26:32]
- On the Giants’ mascot scandal: “Seals eat crabs! Why are you having an affair with a crab? ... You don’t need to give mascots tragic backstories and interspecies infidelity.” – Meg [73:53]
- On persistence of silly food: “What’s the biggest, highest caloric content... The most decadent, conspicuous consumption kind of food stuff? ... The Churro Dog at Chase was the sequel to the 18-inch bacon and cheese stuffed corn dog.” – Ben [58:00]
- On bullpen arms: "If you use a lot of players, typically that’s bad because you had a lot of injuries or you had a lot of underperforming players whom you had to replace.” – Ben [36:52]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- [02:24] – Soderstrom extension/holiday contract oddities
- [08:32] – A’s clubhouse culture/extension trend
- [16:52] – Pirates’ “big” free agent signing
- [21:48] – Braves: Ozzie Albies’ aquariums!
- [34:56] – Braves/Mets player usage records
- [38:53] – Brewers: “Boob Fowler” nickname riff
- [49:16] – Cubs: Mozzarella stick prophecy
- [53:41] – Diamondbacks: most pitchers with a save
- [60:53] – Dodgers: Jack Dreyer’s Rubik’s cube exploits
- [65:10] – Giants: Logan Webb credits Verlander
- [71:03] – Giants: Lucille/Crazy Crab mascot scandal
- [82:04] – Marlins: Yankees bullpen meltdown series
- [84:33] – Mets: Ottavino on Mendoza’s bullpen management
- [87:21] – Mets: Jonah Tong’s maple syrup grilled cheese
- [92:50] – Nationals: Dalen Lile’s emergence
- [93:49] – Padres: League-leading sac bunts
- [103:08] – Pirates: Bucko Bricks scandal
- [107:22] – Reds: Hunter Greene injury coverage
Final Thoughts
In a loose, highly enjoyable meander through listener submissions (and some deep research), Meg and Ben turn up dozens of “you’d never know if you didn’t follow daily” stories that sketch the flavor of each NL club’s season. The episode is quintessential Effectively Wild: a tapestry of stats, human drama, running gags, and affectionate ribbing—the perfect blend of baseball wonkery and offbeat curiosity.
Links to referenced stats, stories, and applicable images are available on the episode’s FanGraphs show page.
