Effectively Wild Episode 1954: ’Los Got Physical

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley recap the conclusion of the Carlos Correa free company saga, breaking down his new, really finalized contract with the Twins, reviewing his offseason odyssey, and attempting to anticipate his future. Then (28:20) they banter about Trevor Story’s elbow surgical procedure, the Blue Jays’ and Marlins’ signings of Brandon Belt and Johnny Cueto, respectively (and Belt’s ideas on hen tenders), the Tigers shifting in and reducing the fences at Comerica Park, and ballplayers’ belts and their handedness (dis)benefits as traits that set baseball aside. After that (54:47), they discuss to 2 professors from the College of Illinois, Daniel Eck and Adrian Burgos, Jr., about their analysis into followers’ inflated value determinations of gamers from the distant previous, the altering caliber of play within the majors over time, and adjusting conventional and superior stats for the growth of the participant pool, adopted (1:35:19) by just a few updates and a Previous Blast from 1954.

Audio intro: The Decemberists, “Red Right Ankle”
Audio interstitial: Uncle Tupelo, “Factory Belt”
Audio outro: Frank Sinatra, “I Don’t Believe in Rumors”

Link to Ben Clemens on Correa again
Link to Heyman on Correa
Link to Rosenthal on Correa
Link to Correa’s comments
Link to Mets’ Correa statement
Link to over/under draft results
Link to story on Story
Link to internal brace info
Link to Story’s arm strength
Link to Justin Choi on Belt
Link to Belt on chicken tenders
Link to Leo Morgenstern on Cueto
Link to Comerica alterations
Link to Miggy reaction
Link to HR park factors
Link to info on Miggy at Comerica
Link to long outs at Comerica
Link to more long outs at Comerica
Link to ballpark homogenization study
Link to lefty advantage research
Link to more on lefty advantages
Link to NYT on lefties and sports
Link to FG on the lefty pitcher edge
Link to Eck’s professor page
Link to Burgos’s professor page
Link to previous Burgos appearance
Link to adjusted WAR leaderboard
Link to technical model details
Link to Eck on era adjustments
Link to results part I
Link to results part II
Link to results part III
Link to MLB-eligible population
Link to Ben on quality of play
Link to 1954 story source
Link to article on baseball-fan age
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to Nightengale on the Braves
Link to 2012 Anthopoulous article
Link to MLBTR on Vogt
Link to typesetting characters info