Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast - Podcast Rankings and reviews

It took me a few episodes to get used to Ben and Meg’s delivery, but now I’ve come to very much appreciate the clarity with which they explain things. This combined with their pedantry (meant with love) has helped me improve my understanding of baseball. Ben and Meg have quickly become two of my favorite voices to have in my ears. Came for the baseball knowledge and staying for the hosts.

I love Ben and Meg's insights, two great baseball brains. However I find my self turning off the episodes once they begin to talk themselves in long repetitive circles about one topic without making much progress. I'm all for a free flowing natural conversation but sometimes they make a point and continue to make the same point four or five times before moving on. These circling conversations and sometimes oddly defensive tip-toeing language just turn me off from the show. Not sure if its the pacing, editing, or just my personal preference. They aren't as funny as they think they are.

Intelligent and insight abound here and it will make you roll your eyes a lot at other podcasts’ vapid “hot takes.” The problem for me is that the focus on contracts, collective bargaining, draft rights, etc. gets pretty dry and never lets you forget baseball’s all about business, business, business. But listen enough and you’ll eventually hear some old-school baseball love.

Almost ten years of listening and I still look forward to listening to Ben’s and Meg’s insightful musings about my favorite pastime.

I didn’t mind Meg at first but dear lord, she just drowns on and on about nonsense. Talks herself in circles and makes sure to defend anything she says when it doesn’t need defending. And the constant squeals and noises, come on now.

She knows baseball very well but it’s become almost unlistenable lately with all of her other stuff added in.

Edit:

I apparently reviewed this when it first started. While it did get a lot better technically, recently it has become two hours of variable listenability. Some good baseball content, interrupted by interminable stretches of discussion of players crapping. This show badly needs an editor who will overrule the hosts saying “leave it in.”

Good information, smart hosts, but the quality is very low. It's hard to pull off two guys chatting off the cuff, and too often they come off as simply unprepared. Not too long ago, they mentioned that they don't prepare for the show, which is by no means a good thing. A rule of thumb I learned in broadcasting is that a good hour on-air results from 3 hours of preparation, and this show would really benefit from the hosts taking an hour a day preparing, getting their facts and relevant points in order, before talking into the mic. The technical problems, including today not actually speaking into a microphone, add to the amateurish feel.