Summary[]
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about secret baseball-playing robots and non-secret baseball-rooting robots, how coverage of NFL scoring changes compares to coverage of MLB scoring changes, and Meg’s research about changes in access to minor league games, follow up on the Mets signing James McCann, the Phillies hiring Dave Dombrowski, and the significance of those moves for the Mets, the Phillies, and the free-agent market, and discuss the Cleveland baseball team’s intention to change its name (eventually). Then (1:00:26) they welcome oldest living former big leaguer Eddie Robinson back to the show to discuss his 100th birthday, his new podcast, weathering the pandemic, serving in World War II, his memories of Larry Doby, Whitey Ford, Joe Morgan, Dick Allen, Ned Garver, and Charley Pride, and—with an assist from his wife Bette—the secret to 65 years of marriage.
Topics[]
- Interview with Eddie and Bette Robinson
- Celebrating Eddie's 100th birthday and life during COVID
- Thoughts on MLB today and contraction of the minors
- Eddie's podcast The Golden Age of Baseball
- Larry Doby
- How Bette's life was impacted by Eddie's career
- Celebrating Bette & Eddie's 65th anniversary
- Service during WWII and returning to MLB
- Charlie Frye
- Joe Morgan
- Dick Allen
- Bill Lucas
- Whitey Ford
- Ned Garver
Interstitial[]
Florence + The Machine, "100 Years"
Banter[]
- Following up to a discussion from Episode 1625, Meg and Ben comment on the sale of SoftBank's stake in Boston Dynamics. Meg is bothered by the "sexy dog dance gyrating" robots at a Hawks game.
- Scoring increases in the NFL and how those changes have been covered by the media in comparison to baseball's changes
- The Mets signed James McCann to a contract for $40 million over 4 years.
- Steve Cohen's Twitter presence and recognizability as a baseball owner
- Episode 1628 follow-up: Dave Dombrowski signed a 4 year, $20 million deal with the Phillies
- Episode 1628 follow-up: FanGraphs' assessment of the minor league contraction showed that approximately 5 million people in the USA will lose access to professional/affiliated baseball. Teams have to sign a NDA before reviewing the terms of the professional development license.
- The Cleveland baseball team announced they will change the team name, but not for the 2021 season. (In Episode 1519, Sam predicted that this would occur within ten years.) Meg and Ben are puzzled by the announcement, noting that if the team has concluded it is offensive then they should immediately cease use of the name.
Notes[]
- Eddie turned 100 the day after speaking with Ben and Meg. He is the oldest living former major league player.
- Eddie and his wife of 65 years, Bette, met on a train to New York.
- Eddie was on a scouting trip in Cuba when Fidel Castro took power.
Links[]
- Effectively Wild Episode 1629: One Hundred Years of Gratitude
- Rooting robots video
- NFL scoring info
- Craig Edwards on McCann
- LeMahieu rumor
- Rob Arthur on the slow offseason
- Matt Gelb on Dombrowski
- Evan Drellich on minor league owners
- Meg and Ben Clemens on the minor leagues
- New York Times report about Cleveland
- Paul Dolan interview
- Jeff Passan on Cleveland’s name change
- Joe Posnanski on the old name’s origins
- Eddie’s podcast
- First EW interview episode with Eddie
- EW sign-stealing episode with Eddie
- EW interview episode with Garver
- SI on Charley Pride and baseball
- Eddie and Bette at the 1955 World Series
- Video of Eddie and Bobby Brown
- MLB.com on Eddie’s 100th birthday
- BP on Eddie’s 100th birthday
- Craig Wright on Eddie’s 100th birthday
- Pages from Baseball’s Past
- Eddie’s autobiography