

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Sam’s unusual plan to immerse himself in the beginning of the baseball season, watching games as a writer vs. watching games as a fan, two responses to previous listener-email answers, whether “ball” is synonymous with baseball, why baseball has hit a dry spell for single-season record chases, the most breakable unbreakable records, Ichiro Suzuki as an almost-record-setting pinch hitter, why no one has hit .400 for so long, why doubles are the most immutable hit type, the Royals’ strange spring training, string training effort level, Orlando Cabrera’s wildly improbable on-base streak, and more, then answer listener emails about whether analytics have been a net positive for players and the best stat to represent a player’s power output, plus a Stat Blast about the longest streaks of years in which one team topped a league or division rival.

Audio intro: Lily & Madeleine, "Cabin Fever"

Audio outro: The Hives, "Here We Go Again"

Link to Dario’s YouTube broadcast

Link to Sam on seeing something new in games

Link to Hang Up and Listen on “ball coach”

Link to Sam on the most breakable unbreakable records

Link to article on the increasing homogeneity of ballparks

Link to Ben on the changing distribution of saves

Link to Ben on spring training stats

Link to Sam on the 21-strikeout game

Link to Ben on Ichiro as a pinch hitter

Link to Sam on .400 hitters

Link to division-rival data

Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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