Show notes
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s spectator experience at the All-Star Game, whether it’s good or bad that the MVP was a player as obscure as Elias Díaz, the increase in the number of All-Stars per season, other All-Star highlights and lowlights, complaints about All-Star uniforms, perennial requests for a skills competition, Rob Manfred’s and Tony Clark’s comments about more lenient pitch clocks in the postseason and the ball-strike challenge system, more details about the Alabama baseball betting scandal, and more, plus a Future Blast from 2032. Then (59:10) they talk to Byron Motley, producer of the new Negro Leagues documentary The League, about the long road to making the movie, the recent increase in appreciation of the Negro Leagues, his father’s life and career as a Negro Leagues umpire, the challenge of finding archival footage of Negro Leagues games, meeting and interviewing former Negro Leagues stars, the Negro Leagues as a microcosm of 20th-century American history, the influence of Rube Foster, the film’s portrayal of Branch Rickey’s role in integration, and the legacy of the Negro Leagues. Audio intro: Tom Rhoads, “Effectively Wild theme”Audio outro: Ted O., “Effectively Wild theme”Link to Ringer ASG recapLink to Díaz dingerLink to Jordan on DíazLink to number of All-Stars per gameLink to Gurriel foulLink to Clark commentsLink to Manfred commentsLink to info on declining violationsLink to Manfred re-election articleLink to article on international gamesLink to Rick Wilber’s websiteLink to gambling scandal articleLink to The League websiteLink to Byron’s websiteLink to the Motleys’ bookLink to NPR on Bob MotleyLink to NPR on The LeagueLink to The Athletic on The LeagueLink to EW episode on EffaLink to Craig Wright on SB differencesLink to Wright on Paige’s drawing powerLink to Bananas catchLink to EW Episode 1426Link to Berkman’s career splitsLink to Stathead on switch-hitter splitsLink to Berkman’s switch-hitting originsLink to 2003 article about BerkmanLink to Albies on switch-hitting Sponsor Us on Patreon Facebook Group Twitter Account EW Subreddit Effectively Wild Wiki iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Get Our Merch! Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.comvar SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {});Source