My favorite baseball podcast, well to be honest, my favorite podcast period, is one called Effectively Wild. The name is based on an expression for a kind of pitcher that is wild around the strike zone in such a way that opposition batters are so uncomfortable in the batter’s box that they have difficultly hitting. Hence an effectively wild pitcher is one who is able to be relatively successful exactly because of their wildness.

The idea of someone being “effectively wild” is just one of many great metaphors that come from the game of baseball. It is wonderful metaphor that applies to pitchers, to writers, and to artists of all kind. It is also the perfect metaphor for the podcast featuring Meg Rowley of Fangraphs and Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer.

Meg, Ben, and their guests cover the waterfront (to choose another metaphor from yet another source) as they talk about the game I love so much.

An average show may include discussions of recent games, under-the-radar news, analyzing hat or cold streaks, looking statistical anomalies, emerging trends, or simply answering listener’s “What-if” questions that are sometimes serious and oftentimes anything but.

If you love baseball and have not yet checked it the Effectively Wild Podcast. I certainly recommend that you do.