Effectively Wild Episode 1395: Trade Dreams and Low Seams

In a bonus episode, Ben Lindbergh banters with FanGraphs writer Craig Edwards about Craig’s explanation for the struggles of José Ramírez, and then (11:15) Ben and Craig talk to John Bitzer, founder and editor of the new site Baseball Trade Values, about designing the trade-simulation site, the challenges of valuing players and constructing fair baseball trades, how he used real trades to refine his trade model, whether teams might scout for front-office talent via his site, how he accounts for changing team behavior, the outlook for the 2019 trade deadline, and more. Then (49:12) Ben brings on astrophysicist and contributor to The Athletic Dr. Meredith Wills to discuss her groundbreaking research into the construction of the baseball, the difficulty of disassembling the ball, why and how the 2019 ball is different from the 2018 ball, the multiple phases of home-run-happy balls, what MLB could do to suppress the home-run rate, solving home run mysteries with science, and more. Audio intro: Matthew Sweet, "Trade Places" Audio interstitial: The Inbreds, "Drag Us Down" Audio outro: Stevie Nicks (Feat. Don Henley), "Leather and Lace" Link to Craig on Ramírez Link to Baseball Trade Values Link to Ben on internet commenters trying to trade for Stanton Link to Ben on internet commenters trying to trade for Price Link to Meredith’s new research into the 2019 ball Link to Meredith on lace thickness Link to Ben on blisters Link to Ben and Rob on the 2015 home-run spike Link to Ben and Rob on the ball at midseason 2016 Link to write-up of Alan Nathan’s 2017 Saber Seminar presentation Link to 2018 MLB-commissioned report Link to Rob on decreased drag in early 2019 Link to Rob on decreased drag in Triple-A in 2019 Link to Manfred’s latest comments about the ball Link to article about Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud Link to order The MVP Machine  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Effectively Wild Wiki  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: [email protected] var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source