Episode 37 - From Branch Rickey to Driveline & Beyond: The Ongoing Evolution of Player Dev with Ben Lindbergh

Welcome in to Episode 37! The #37 makes this the Travis Wood episode!

The Cubs opened the weekend by designating Eric Hosmer for assignment, a move we’ve all been talking about for a few weeks. Nico Hoerner made his return in Philadelphia and the Cubs were a mixed bag over the weekend – winning a blowout Friday, getting blown out Saturday and wasting another fantastic outing from Justin Steele today and – in the process – continuing to struggle with men on base and getting big outs from the bullpen. On the plus side, Christopher Morel is all the vibes and can’t be human at this point.

I’ll get back into those issues next week, but today, I’m thrilled to be joined by Ben Lindbergh, longtime host of the Effectively Wild podcast from FanGraphs and co-author of two books, “The MVP Machine” and “The Only Rule is it has to Work”. Ben and I talk about player development and how things have changed since he and Travis Sawchik published The MVP Machine 4 years ago – changes in technology and process, what things were once advantages and are now table stakes and how players are empowered more than ever before thanks to all the data and measurables at their fingertips.

Ben is always a great listen, so sit back and enjoy his unique perspective.

Are you ready? I’m ready. Here. We. Go!

Where to find Ben:

Twitter: @BenLindbergh and @EWPod

Effectively Wild Podcast (co-hosted with Meg Rowley of Fangraphs)

Ben’s work at The Ringer

The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists are Using Data to Build Better Players (co-authored with Travis Sawchik)

The Only Rule is it has to Work (co-authored with Sam Miller)