Effectively Wild Episode 2107: The Mascot Menu

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the cruelty of the gift Ben gave his Effectively Wild Secret Santa recipient, which MLB team has the most pressure on it to finish the offseason strong (15:23), Chris Sale’s extension, and the Mets signing Harrison Bader. Then (36:36) they answer listener emails about which mascots would be the tastiest to eat, the NPB spectator experience, whether Shohei Ohtani could get hurt in a way that would prevent him from hitting but not from pitching, eliminating guaranteed playoff berths for division winners, and removing fielders as a penalty for pulling starting pitchers.

Audio intro: Josh Busman, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: Justin Peters, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to gift Ben received
Link to gift Ben gave
Link to N616RH story
Link to Imanaga rumors
Link to Snell rumor
Link to Baumann on the Cubs
Link to Red Sox offseason story
Link to BaseRuns standings
Link to Eric André meme
Link to Sale extension details
Link to Bader signing details
Link to FanGraphs editor listing
Link to MLB mascots page
Link to mascots wiki
Link to Pop-Tarts Bowl meme
Link to Seinfeld clip
Link to NPB fan cheering
Link to Sam on Gsellman
Link to EW Episode 2093
Link to Sheehan on the AL Central
Link to Ben on pitcher roster limits
Link to listener emails database