Effectively Wild Episode 2081: Trophy Strife

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the difficulty of watching Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the Japan Series, the last time an MLB pitcher threw as many as 138 pitches in a game, their hopes for Joey Votto’s next act, and the Brewers trading Mark Canha to the Tigers, then (32:13) answer listener emails about Silver Slugging Gold Glovers, pitching a perfect game in a time loop, whether the Rockies will win a championship before one of the next expansion teams does, a playoff lottery system, and how players could convince owners to let them hold trophies first, plus Stat Blasts (1:22:25) about Jose Altuve and the best pound-for-pound (and inch-for-inch) players and Frank Howard-esque all-offense players.

Audio intro: Andy Ellison, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Yamamoto game story
Link to Yamamoto K montage
Link to info on Japan Series streaming
Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel
Link to EW on the Curse of the Colonel
Link to Jack Moore’s tweet
Link to 138-pitch regular-season starts
Link to 138-pitch postseason starts
Link to MLBTR on Votto
Link to 2016 Votto quote
Link to 2023 Votto profile
Link to MLBTR on Canha
Link to MLBTR on Rodriguez
Link to Silver Slugger/Gold Glove list
Link to Silver Slugger/Gold Glove sheet
Link to Chris Gilligan’s FG post
Link to Sam on expansion teams
Link to Manfred on expansion
Link to story on owners and trophies
Link to Commissioner’s Trophy wiki
Link to Topps Now
Link to Altuve/Bregman photo
Link to heights/weights sheet
Link to Frank Howard obit
Link to Howard +200/-200 club
Link to listener emails database