Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast
Sports Info Solutions
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The R&D team at Sports Info Solutions is joined by special guests to discuss notable topics related to baseball analytics and defensive excellence. Hosted by Mark Simon.
Available episodes
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6 days ago
Let's Talk Projecting & Predicting With Dan Szymborski & Bobby Scales
On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by ZiPS projection system creator and FanGraphs writer Dan Szymborski to talk shop about creating a projection tool.
Dan talked about the principles of ZiPS, how he created it, and how the system works. He cited specific current examples, including whether the A's will lose 120 games, how the projection on Matt Chapman changes over time, the challenge of projecting defense from minor league data, and why the system projects what it does for George Kirby.
Mark was then joined by SIS VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales. Bobby talked about how projection systems are used by teams. He then talked about a game that he and Mark watched recently in which Bobby correctly predicted what was going to happen in the 1st inning. He explained the factors that went into that prediction.
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com (check out our recent piece on pitchers getting hit by batted balls). You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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May 11, 2023
Vance Honeycutt on HR Robberies, Ben Clemens on All Things We Love About Defense
On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by North Carolina sophomore center fielder Vance Honeycutt and FanGraphs.com baseball writer Ben Clemens.
Vance was the 2022 ACC Tournament MVP and league Preseason Player of the Year, but he joins us to talk about his defense and his penchant for home run-robberies and other great catches. He also explains how he's evolved as a hitter, one who could be a high-end pick in next year's MLB Draft (0:42).
Ben writes a weekly column about "5 Things He Likes About Baseball", and we modify that slightly to have Ben and Mark talk about 3 things they each liked about MLB defense from the first month of the season. Among the subjects, an outfielder with a cannon arm in Cleveland, how Wilmer Flores made a play with a 5% out rate, and why Ke'Bryan Hayes should be viewed as great by Cardinals fans (11:25).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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Apr 26, 2023
Developing Your Defense & Baserunning with Josh Rojas, Myles Straw, Bobby Scales
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Diamondbacks third baseman Josh Rojas (@joshrojass) and Guardians center fielder Myles Straw (@Myles_Straw) to discuss what’s made them into good defensive players and baserunners.
Josh talks about the adjustments he’s made at third base and how he can feel the difference it has made for him. He also describes in detail three memorable plays he’s made this season and how he successfully executed a difficult move to steal home on a double steal (0:45).
Myles explains the work he put in that made him a Fielding Bible Award winner in center field last season and how pre-game prep can have a big payoff. He also goes into what’s made him such a successful base-stealer (14:13).
Then Mark is joined by SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (@Bobby_Scales), who reacts to some of the things Josh said in his interview and speaks to how collaborative player development, from both coaches and strength and conditioning staff can help make a player better (23:54).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com
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Apr 13, 2023
Going Global with Eduardo Pérez, Plus “Hembo” & Bobby Scales
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by …
* ESPN broadcaster *Eduardo Pérez**, *who celebrates the global nature of the game, and talks about his appreciation of Shohei Ohtani, Luis Arraez, and (among others) Rays outfielder Harold Ramírez. Eduardo also talks about the new rules, the pace of the game, and why this Sunday’s broadcast of Astros-Rangers is going to stand out beyond the starting pitching matchup (1:07).
* ESPN’s Paul Hembekides, co-author of the new book Got Your Number, The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own. Paul gives a baseball history lesson as relates to the defense of Ozzie Smith, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Mays (17:19).
* And SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales, who explains how pitchers throwing off baserunner and batter timing is going to be key in trying to limit stolen bases, discusses why singles have always mattered, and picks the pitcher who’s impressed him in the first two weeks of the season (31:49).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com
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Mar 29, 2023
LSU 1B Tre' Morgan, MLB Prospects Talk w/ Baseball America's Kyle Glaser
This episode has all the bases covered.
We start in college with Mark Simon talking to No. 1 LSU’s starting first baseman, Tre' Morgan. He’s considered one of college baseball’s defensive standouts, so we pick his brain on picks, adventures in the outfield, and much more (0:28).
We move on to some MLB Prospect talk as Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser gives us the rundown on how some of the game’s top future stars rate defensively. We run the gamut from Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson to Pete Crow-Armstrong (13:24).
Then SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales joins us to talk about both interviews, preview a couple of MLB breakout pitchers for 2023, and gives his thoughts, as someone who formerly worked in player development, on why Anthony Volpe and Jordan Walker will start the season in MLB (28:20).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com
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Mar 16, 2023
Honoring Women's History Month: Chelsea Janes, Andrea Arcidipane, Sarah Thompson
On this episode, we honor Women’s History Month with conversations with three women who are moving the industry forward with their work in baseball analysis.
Mark Simon is joined first by Chelsea Janes, national baseball writer for the Washington Post to discuss player reaction to rule changes, what to make of the Padres and Orioles heading into 2023, and other season preview-related topics. Chelsea also discusses how baseball’s receptiveness to women writers has changed in her 10 years on the job (1:02).
Andrea Arcidipane, also known as “Scoutgirl” on social media, talks about her time working in baseball operations for the Yankees in 2022. Andrea also speaks on information communication and making her videos and charts accessible to any audience, and she shares a few players she finds interesting heading into 2023 (Vinnie Pasquantino, Caleb Thielbar, Adam Duvall, and Brandon Walter for different reasons). Find her work on Twitter and at https://scoutgirlreport.com/ (22:41)
And SIS research analyst Sarah Thompson talks about the presentation she did at the SABR Analytics Conference on evaluating minor league outfield defense. She shares her findings on specific players and the differences between minor league and major league out rates on fly balls (36:50).
Make sure to check out The Effect of Outfield Position Changes on DRS by Andrew Kyne as mentioned in the Andrea Arcidipane interview. Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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Feb 28, 2023
Honoring Black History Month: Marquis Grissom, Tyrone Brooks, Matt Tavares
On this episode, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) and Bobby Scales (@Bobby_Scales) are joined by …
4-time Gold Glove winner Marquis Grissom (@MGBA_Baseball). Marquis talks about the work he does with aspiring Black baseball players and youth baseball organizations and the value of going to an HBCU both for school and for baseball. (0:55)
Major League Baseball's senior director of front office and field staff diversity pipeline program Tyrone Brooks (@tbrooksBIN). Tyrone talks about the work he does with MLB and the Baseball Industry Network, his time in baseball, and opportunities around the upcoming SABR Analytics Conference. (16:28)
And children’s book author Matt Tavares. Matt is the author of the children’s book, Henry Aaron’s Dream that was recently pulled from school bookshelves in Florida for review - the good news is that it was eventually returned. Matt gives us a good history lesson on Hank Aaron. (36:39)
And stay tuned at the end – Bobby answers Mark’s question – can you change a player’s defensive aggressiveness during spring training? (49:57)
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Jan 19, 2023
A Chat With Phillies GM Sam Fuld
On today's episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon and Bobby Scales are joined by the general manager of the Phillies, Sam Fuld. Sam and Bobby were teammates with the Cubs in 2009 and 2010. Sam's entering his 3rd season as GM.
Sam talks about what the GM job is like on a minute-to-minute basis, the adjustment in going from field to front office, the kinds of questions he asks his staff, how he values defensive metrics, and much more.
You can find the FanGraphs article referenced by Sam here.
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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Dec 15, 2022
2022 In Review: A Baseball Bonanza of Guests
For our final show of the year, we thought we’d do a best-of to spotlight the many great guests we talked to in 2022.
Among the people you’ll hear from:
- Astros World Series MVP Jeremy Peña (0:46)
- Yankees SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa (3:01)
- Orioles prospect Gunnar Henderson (4:44)
- Nationals prospect Jake Alu (5:52)
- Diamondbacks outfielder/catcher Daulton Varsho (6:30)
- Cubs outfielder Ian Happ (7:39)
- Guardians Fielding Bible Award winner Steven Kwan (9:14)
- Platinum Glove winning Yankees catcher Jose Trevino (11:56)
- Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (13:32)
- Diamondbacks 1B Christian Walker (14:25)
- Team USA Women’s Baseball Coach Veronica Alvarez (16:20)
- Women’s baseball advocate Dr. Justine Siegal (17:03)
- White Sox director of minor league operations Jasmine Dunston (18:43)
- SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (20:02)
- Dodgers broadcaster José Mota (22:50)
- College-bound catcher Adonys Guzman (24:00)
- Brewers prospect Eric Brown (25:00)
- Orioles outfielder Brett Phillips. (26:01)
If you like any of the clips heard here, check out the full episodes available on our podcast page. We'll have plenty more to come in 2023. Thanks as always for listening. Please follow
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Nov 25, 2022
2022 NPB and KBO Fielding Bible Awards
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by John Gibson, Ted Baarda, and Bobby Scales to review the 2022 NPB and KBO Fielding Bible Awards.
John goes through the NPB winners, explaining what made certain players so good defensively (0:34). Bobby talks about what it’s like to play in Japan and how defense is taught (14:08). Ted discusses the KBO winners and also talks about a few of the prominent free agents from NPB (22:43).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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Nov 17, 2022
Jose Trevino and Ian Happ on winning Gold Gloves
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, we’re joined by two of MLB’s top defensive players, Platinum Glove (and Fielding Bible Award winning) Yankees catcher Jose Trevino and Gold Glove-winning (and Fielding Bible runner-up) Cubs left fielder Ian Happ.
Jose talks about the art and skill required to frame pitches, how he gets acquainted with a pitching staff, and why he’s passionate about keeping human umpires behind the plate (0:29).
Ian discusses the challenges of playing at Wrigley Field, why he was so aggressive at sliding, diving, and jumping this season, and how the Cubs used collaboration between the computers and the humans to refine their outfield positioning data (14:55).
Then, Mark is joined by SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales who talks about catching as an art, his own experiences at Wrigley Field, and what he’s most looking forward to for baseball in 2023 (32:31).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball…
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Oct 27, 2022
The 2022 Fielding Bible Awards
On this episode, Mark Simon and Bobby Scales review the winners of The 2022 Fielding Bible Awards. You’ll also hear from some of the winners that we spoke to during the season, including Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers, and Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan.
Plus new interviews with Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman and Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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Oct 6, 2022
The 9 Biggest Surprises of the 2022 Season
On this episode, Mark Simon, New York Times national baseball writer Tyler Kepner and SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales discuss the biggest surprises of the 2022 season.
They include the accomplishments of Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols (yes, Judge was to some extent a surprise), Andrés Giménez and the Guardians, and many more (0:53).
Tyler also talks about his new book, The Grandest Stage, a history of the World Series (35:37).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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Sep 22, 2022
How The Dodgers Do What They Do w/ José Mota; Standout Defender Jake Alu
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) talks to ...
Dodgers broadcaster José Mota (@josemota05) about how the Dodgers have made the most out of players like Trayce Thompson, Tony Gonsolin and Evan Phillips, and how they've excelled on defense. He also shared stories of his father's relationship with Roberto Clemente and talked about the game's young Hispanic stars (1:12).
Washington Nationals infield prospect Jake Alu (@jakealu1 on Tiktok), who leads all minor league third basemen in Defensive Runs Saved, and who has made major strides in his offensive game. You might see him in MLB in 2023. (18:58)
And SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (@bobby_scales) on the greatness of Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols (33:16).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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Sep 8, 2022
Diamondbacks 1B Christian Walker on Stellar Defense By And Against Him (Plus Much More)
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker.
Christian talks about what’s gone into his dominant defensive season and an unusual offensive season in which he was repeatedly hitting the ball hard both into shifts and into great defensive plays. He’s back on track for good numbers now (1:07).
We’ll also hear from our Video Scout, Alex Eisert (@Mind_OverBatter), about 2 statistical studies he did with SIS data – one on checked swings and another on meatball pitches (16:38).
And then we’re joined by SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales and Operations Assistant Brandon Tew (@BrandonTeweets). The theme of their talk is “Grade 80 Watchability” as they did in-depth scouting on Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, along with Shohei Ohtani, Edwin Diaz, and Spencer Strider (22:54).
You can read Brandon’s article on Murakami here.
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us…
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Aug 25, 2022
Baseball Baserunning Forum with Doug Glanville and Bobby Scales
On this episode, Mark Simon hosts a baseball baserunning forum with former major leaguers Doug Glanville and Bobby Scales. They talk about which players and teams are best at it (including some names you don’t expect), where the issues exist today, and what they would like to see in the coaching of baserunning.
You can watch a talk Bobby did for the ABCA Convention on basestealing here.
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com
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Aug 11, 2022
Steven Kwan on Ballpark Challenges; Dr. Justine Siegal on A League Of Their Own
On this episode, Mark Simon interviews Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, women’s baseball pioneer Dr. Justine Siegal, and talks to SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales.
Steven (0:53) talked about some of the top plays he’s made in left field on his way to leading the Guardians in Defensive Runs Saved. And he explained the prep that goes into playing in the outfields in Colorado, Cleveland, Boston, and Baltimore.
Justine (12:20) is the founder of Baseball For All, a women’s baseball advocacy group, and was the consultant on Amazon Prime’s A League of Their Own show debuting on Friday. She talked about the work her organization is doing as well as everything that goes into teaching actresses to play baseball.
Bobby (22:10) reacted to both interviews, giving his perspective on Steven Kwan’s play so far. He also shared a story about an outfield adventure at Wrigley Field and gave us opinion on what happened at the end of A League Of Their Own, the movie.
Thanks as always for liste…
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Jul 28, 2022
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh; VP of Baseball Bobby Scales on the White Sox
On this episode, we're joined by Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who ranks among the MLB leaders in Defensive Runs Saved due to standout pitch framing.
Cal talks about the different elements that go into catching this Mariners staff and the different looks and challenges their pitchers present. He also explains why he might not do as well as Julio Rodríguez in a Home Run Derby (0:42).
Our VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales, follows that interview by chatting with us about some of the best defensive catchers he's played with and against. Bobby also addresses the Chicago White Sox and how aggressively they should go for the AL Central title (15:04).
Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com
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Jul 21, 2022
Bonus Interview: Astros SS Jeremy Peña and SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales
On a special bonus episode, Mark Simon is joined by Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña to review his impressive first half of the season, particularly in the field.
Jeremy tells us about his favorite defensive plays, why he's so good at fielding on the backhand, the value of being bilingual in a locker room, and much more (0:31)
We then run through the Defensive Runs Saved leaders by position for the first half of the season (11:33).
We also talk with SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales about the significance of the first 5 picks in the MLB Draft, the decline in high school players selected in the late rounds, and the fun in Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game. (14:09)
Thanks as always for listening. Looking forward to the rest of the 2022 season. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com
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Jul 14, 2022
Going Prospecting with Gunnar Henderson; SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales
On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by top minor league prospect Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles, as well as SIS VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales (a former MLB player and executive).
Gunnar, recently rated the No. 5 prospect in Minor League Baseball by MLB Pipeline, talked about playing both shortstop and third base and what’s gone into his success at each position (0:34).
Bobby talked a bout another standout rookie, Michael Harris II and his teammate, Matt Olson, and what’s impressed him with the recent strong play of the Orioles (13:13).
Please rate and review the show if you can. You can follow us on Twitter at SIS_Baseball
_Links_
Michael Harris’ impressive catch vs Josh Bell
SIS Baseball Podcast interview with Michael Harris
SIS Baseball Podcast interview with Matt Olson
Mark’s article on the Orioles’ defense
MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects
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Jun 30, 2022
MLB Draft Defensive Standouts Eric Brown & Adonys Guzman
On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by two of the premier defensive players in the upcoming MLB Draft: Coastal Carolina shortstop Eric Brown and Adonys Guzman. Both have been projected among the Top 100 draft prospects at different times this season.
Eric talks about the work that has gone into having what some say is the best range among college infielders and his unusual batting stance (0:23). Adonys, who plays high school baseball in Connecticut, talks about how he frames, blocks, and guides a pitching staff and discusses his throwing arm, which some scouts have given a 70 grade on the 20-80 scale (8:55).
Mark is then joined by SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales, who provides further explanation on Eric’s unusual stance and gives perspective on the challenges a high school catcher faces in hoping to go pro (16:35).
Thanks as always for listening. Please rate and review us if you can. You can follow us on Twitter at @SIS_Baseball. And send any feedback on the podcast to Mark@spor…
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Jun 16, 2022
Yankees SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Howard Bryant, Bobby Scales
On this episode, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by a trio of guests.
Yankees SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa joins us to talk about all things related to defensive excellence, from favorite plays he’s made to drills he’s done, to lesson’s he’s learned. We were psyched to hear that Isiah follows his Defensive Runs Saved total closely (0:56).
SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (@Bobby_Scales), a former executive in player development with the Pirates and Angels comes on for his regular spot to talk about Alex Cora and the work the Red Sox have done in improving defensively. He also shares thoughts on Hunter Greene, and the best baseball lesson he ever learned (20:34).
And writer Howard Bryant (@hbryant42) – author of a new book about Rickey Henderson, talks about Rickey’s legendary baseball playing career (33:26).
Thank you for listening. Feel free to tweet us at @SIS_Baseball or e-mail mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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Jun 2, 2022
Versatile Daulton Varsho + A Memorable Coach + The Most Interesting ...
On this episode, Mark Simon was joined by Diamondbacks catcher-centerfielder Daulton Varsho, ESPN’s Paul “Hembo” Hembekides, and Sports Info Solutions VP of Baseball Bobby Scales.
Daulton Varsho talked about the origin of his unusual position combination, what a day in the life is like for a catcher, and what his experience has been like with the new Pitchcom communication system.
Bobby Scales shared his relationship with Daulton’s father, Gary, explained what impressed him most about how Varsho plays the outfield, and provided a Hawaiian baseball history lesson on former player/coach Mike Lum.
Mark and Paul Hembekides then ran through the most interesting hitter, pitcher, fielder, and team through the first two months of the season, and discussed the Mets’ new approach to scoring runs.
Thank you for listening as always. Please follow us on Twitter at @SIS_Baseball. If you have any feedback on the show or suggestions for guests, e-mail Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.
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May 19, 2022
Padres Success, Custom Bats, Standout Shortstops with Tony Gwynn Jr. and Bobby Scales
On this episode, we're joined by Padres broadcaster and Big Time Baseball podcast co-host Tony Gwynn Jr. and SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales.
We talk with Tony about the role the Padres defense has played in their success this season, how Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado have figured out how to hit in the 2022 baseball environs, why Harrison Bader is his favorite defensive player to watch, and why Tony had considerable success vs Max Scherzer. (0:45)
Bobby discusses Hunter Greene's electric stuff, early struggles, and no-hit bid, why custom-fitted bats are so important for a hitter, and his relationship with the MLB leader in Defensive Runs Saved. (16:00)
You'll also learn about some shortstops whose names you may not know- but you should.
Thanks for tuning in. You can send feedback to Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com. Please rate and review us if you can.
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May 5, 2022
Defense is Fun with Brett Phillips; Plus Ryan Spilborghs & Bobby Scales Dig Deep on 2022 MLB
This episode has a little bit of everything!
We talk to our April Defensive Player of the Month Brett Phillips (@Brett_Phillips8) of the Rays about everything that makes playing defense fun - and what makes him so good at it. He walked us through plays (both good and bad), talked about his glove, and gave the answer to what he'd tell a kid who wanted to play defense (and dance) like he does. (0:36)
We then went around the majors with Ryan Spilborghs (@spillygoat19) of Root Sports Colorado and MLB Network radio. Ryan talked about the challenge of trying to hit in 2022, players and teams that intrigued him the most through a month and picked a "smartest player in baseball." (25:54).
And then we dug a little deeper with SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (@bobby_scales), discussing how infield shifts change how you coach baserunning, what we might see in a post-shifting world, and why Jason Krizan and Chris Coste are some of his favorite baseball stories. (41:52)
Thank you for listening…
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Apr 21, 2022
Explaining Different Front Office Jobs with SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales
On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by new SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales. If the name sounds familiar, it should. Bobby played 2 seasons with the Cubs and worked in the front offices of the Pirates and the Angels.
Bobby reminisces about his long pro career, which included 10 years in Triple-A and 2 years in Japan, telling stories of memorable moments and people (he thought he was being pranked after hitting his first home run … but a surprise awaited) (2:37). He also breaks down the duties and skills needed in the different front office jobs in which he worked – which include Director of Player Development, Special Assistant to the General Manager, and Field Coordinator (15:15). And he talks about something he’s passionate about – getting more Black men and women working in baseball front offices (30:45).
Thank you for listening. Please send any feedback on the podcast to Mark@SportsInfoSolutions.com
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Apr 7, 2022
Previewing The Season with Ken Rosenthal and Braves Coach Eric Young Sr.
On our 2022 MLB season debut we welcome Ken Rosenthal from FOX Sports and The Athletic and Braves 1B coach Eric Young Sr.
Mark poses 10 questions to Ken, ranging from which team has the greatest potential variance in performance, sleeper Cy Young and MVP picks (people who never got a vote for that award) to the best defensive teams, to how rule changes are going to impact the game, and much more (0:48).
Eric Young explains what goes into coaching the Braves outfield and baserunners, how he uses data in his job, and the most important thing to know about being a first base coach is (14:34).
Thank you for listening. Please rate and review and send any feedback to Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com
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Mar 24, 2022
Spotlight on Women & Baseball: Veronica Alvarez, Tess Taruskin, Sarah Thompson
In our second annual Women & Baseball episode, Mark Simon is joined by A’s minor league catching coach Veronica Alvarez (@veronicaoalvarez), FanGraphs prospects writer Tess Taruskin (@tesstass), and SIS research analyst Sarah Thompson (@sarah_stats).
Veronica talks about her work with the A’s and as head coach for Team USA in women’s baseball. She explains how she works with prospects and what she values when it comes to different areas of catching. She also speaks to the rise of women coaches in MLB and the minor leagues (0:35).
Tess talks prospects – from Bobby Witt and Julio Rodriguez to the many catchers whom FanGraphs rates highly. She also talks about the challenges of projecting a player’s defensive performance and offers advice on breaking into prospect writing (16:10).
Sarah discusses her recent presentation at the SABR Analytics conference, a study of third base coach aggressiveness and effectiveness. She cites specific examples of teams and players who stood out…
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Feb 17, 2022
Working in Baseball: Josh Ruffin & Jasmine Dunston
It’s Black History Month and for this episode, we talked to two people positively shaping the future in baseball front offices: Twins manager of player development research Josh Ruffin and White Sox director of minor league operations, Jasmine Dunston.
Josh is an SIS alum now working in baseball analytics. He talks about his career path, what he did for the Twins as an advance scouting analyst, and his new role analyzing the skills of the Twins minor league players (0:28).
Jasmine talks about her new position with the White Sox, explains what a director of minor league operations does, and her career and educational background. She also talks about the influence of both her mom and her dad (former MLB shortstop and coach Shawon Dunston) on her career (23:29).
Both Josh and Jasmine also speak about the lack of Black men and women in their fields and offered guidance to anyone looking to pursue a baseball operations career.
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MLB is seeking qualified candidates from underrepresen…
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Jan 27, 2022
Communicating Analytics with Jake Stone; Explaining Hockey Analytics with Alison Lukan
On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Jake Stone of Penn State University and the Simply Sabermetrics YouTube channel and NHL writer/tv analyst Alison Lukan to talk about baseball and hockey analytics education, respectively.
Mark and Jake talk about Jake’s work with baseball analytics at Penn State and what he’s trying to do with his YouTube channel and a program created by SABR to give people access to an educational certification in the field. They walk through one video Jake did on Adam Wainwright and the process by which he goes about analyzing players (1:08).
Mark and Alison talk about her work integrating analytics into writing and tv coverage of the Columbus Blue Jackets and now the Seattle Kraken for NHL.com and Root Sports Northwest (here’s a recent example of her work). She explains what advanced statistics are available publicly, what’s on everyone’s wish list, how expected goal models work, and what makes quantifying defensive performance so challenging (15:…
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Jan 10, 2022
ENCORE- Conversations about Coaching with Yankees minor league manager Rachel Balkovec
This is an encore edition of an interview we did last January.
On Monday, the Yankees named Rachel Balkovec as the manager of the Class-A Tampa Tarpons minor league baseball team. She is the first woman to manage a minor league baseball team.
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast from January 2021, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) was joined by Rachel (@_rachelbalkovec), who was in Australia working as a coach with the Sydney Blue Sox.
Rachel talks about how she came to be coaching in Australia (1:46). She then addresses the progress that women have made in baseball and other sports and the challenges women face in light of the Mets firing of their GM (5:24).
Rachel also talks about the way she connects with players (11:21), the hardest thing to coach athletes on (13:36), and what she studied when she worked with Driveline (14:51). She also speaks about her favorite mentoring story (20:43) and provides perspective on how she viewed 2020 (25:12).
Thank you for l…
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Dec 16, 2021
The Best of 2021
On this episode, you’ll hear the “best-of” our interviews from the 2021 baseball year. Those you’ll hear from are Tony Kemp (0:46), Joey Wendle (3:10), Rachel Balkovec (5:03), Melanie Newman (6:57), Michael A. Taylor (9:03), Cedric Mullins (9:55), Tommy Edman (12:30), Ryan McMahon (13:41), Matt Chapman (14:30), Luis Guillorme (17:08), Antoan Richardson (18:12), Max Stassi (19:33), Larry Walker (22:12), Hunter Renfroe (23:19), Chas McCormick (24:17), Adam Duvall (25:18), and Michael Harris (27:14).
Thank you for listening this season. Please rate and review us if you get the chance. Happy holidays and we look forward to talking to you in 2022.
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Nov 11, 2021
Joe Sheehan Reviews and Previews: 2021, Awards Season, The HOF Ballot, Free Agency
On this episode, baseball writer Joe Sheehan joins Mark Simon to recap the 2021 MLB season and look ahead to 2022.
After announcing the 2021 Fielding Bible Award winners (0:19), Mark and Joe talk about:
- The most impressive thing about defense in MLB (4:56)
- Byron Buxton’s future (7:50)
- 2021 MLB Awards (10:08)
- Reward Robbie Ray? (15:00)
- The promise of Eduardo Rodriguez (21:56)
- Teams to watch this offseason (Giants, Tigers & more) (24:30)
- Buster Posey/Paul Goldschmidt and the Hall of Fame (28:36)
- Veterans Committee candidates (35:09)
- Bring on the pitch clock! (36:52)
- The Baseball Revolution (38:46)
Thank you as always for listening. Stay safe and stay well.
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Oct 21, 2021
Matt Amodio Talking Baseball, His 38 Jeopardy! Wins
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by 38-time Jeopardy champion and baseball aficionado Matt Amodio (@AmodioMatt) for a lengthy, fun interview.
First they talk about Matt’s baseball origins, covering everything from his best defensive play to his favorite players and ballparks (0:50).
The discussion then moves to Jeopardy! where Matt explains every aspect of his in-game strategy, including the mechanism he developed for timing when to buzz in. They also delve into specific moments in games and how they played out. Lots of baseball comparisons here too! (7:17)
Then comes talk about statistics, with Jeopardy in-game win probability serving as a springboard into talk about pitch tunneling and defensive metrics (26:59).
Matt then explains his field of study as he pursues his doctorate at Yale (35:01).
The show closes with some fun – an explanation of how he kept his wins (and loss) a secret, and a Uni-Watch style investigation into Matt’s “uniform” choic…
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Sep 30, 2021
Biggest Surprises of the MLB Season with Tyler Kepner
On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by NY Times national baseball writer Tyler Kepner for their second annual discussion of the biggest surprises of the MLB season.
Among the things they touch on are the Giants and Rays (0:50), the pitching of Nestor Cortes and Ranger Suarez (8:44), the craterings of the Mets, Padres, and Cody Bellinger (15:52), the up-and-coming Tigers (21:13), an unlikely MVP candidate (23:30), and the amazing defense of the Rockies third basemen (27:07).
Thank you as always for listening. Please rate and review if you can. Stay safe and stay well.
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Sep 16, 2021
Defensive Standouts of the Present & Future: Adam Duvall and Michael Harris
On this episode, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by a Defensive Runs Saved leader of the present and a Defensive Runs Saved leader of the future, Braves outfielder Adam Duvall and Braves prospect Michael Harris (@MoneyyyMikeee).
Duvall talks about the intricacies of playing the outfield and one of his specialties, getting to balls quickly so that he can make a throw to nail or hold a baserunner. He also talks about the challenges of playing each of the three outfield spots and the adventures he’s had with side walls and outfield fences. (0:37)
Harris, our minor league outfield Runs Saved leader, discusses his time with the Rome Braves (Class-A) and some of the outstanding catches he’s made this season. He also shares the message he writes on his glove to remind himself not to feel bad about taking away base hits (10:28).
Thank you for listening. Stay safe and stay well.
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Sep 2, 2021
Max Stassi, Baseball Music, and Larry Walker on his D
On this episode, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Angels catcher Max Stassi (@MaxStassi10) to talk about what goes into his defensive work.
Max talks about his defense origin story (he was born into catching) and what he focuses on when he frames pitches (1:21).
Max also discusses what it's like to catch Shohei Ohtani and offers a strong take on the potential of robot umpires and how that would change catching forever (imagine catchers working entirely from their knees) (11:18).
Plus, Hall-of-Fame inductee and 7-time Gold Glover Larry Walker on his favorite type of defensive play (19:53).
Mark is then joined by former Baseball Info Solutions Video Scout, and singer-songwriter Matt Halvorson (@HalvyHalvorson), whose songs are often about prominent (and lesser-known) baseball players (you'll hear a brief excerpt from his latest album, which you can find here) (21:48).
Thank you for listening. Stay safe and stay well.
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Aug 19, 2021
The MLB Learning Experience With Astros OF Chas McCormick
On this week's episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, , we focus on the No. 1 team in Defensive Runs Saved – the Astros – and outfielder Chas McCormick.
Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talks to Chas about his path to the big leagues (which was not an easy one) (0:55), which coaches have most influenced how he plays (3:02), what it takes to play all three outfield positions and play them well (4:09), his welcome to the big leagues moment as a CF and what he's learned about playing outfield at the major-league level (4:55), the teammate he most enjoys watching play defense (9:21), and where he’s looking to improve his game (he has a good amount of self-awareness) (11:57).
Thanks for listening as always. Stay safe and stay well.
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Aug 5, 2021
Bay Area Baseball Excellence w/ Matt Chapman & Antoan Richardson
On this episode of The SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman (@mattchap6) and Giants first base/outfield/baserunning coach Antoan Richardson (@arichardson242).
Matt talks about his favorite childhood defensive play (0:59), reacclimating to third base after last year’s hip injury (4:33), and the challenge of catching pop ups in Oakland and line drives from up close (6:16).
Antoan talks about how the Giants position their outfielders (19:16), breaks down a play in which the Giants’ smart baserunning approach gained them an advantage (24:37), and discusses the concept of dissecting the field (28:47).
Thank you for listening as always. Please rate and review us if you can. Stay safe and stay well.
Links
Matt Chapman's foul territory catches - LINK LINK LINK
Matt Chapman catches Salvador Perez's line drive LINK
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Jul 22, 2021
ESPN's Marly Rivera on Baseball's Imperfect Teams & Most Interesting Stories
On this episode, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by ESPN baseball reporter Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) to talk about the imperfect teams of the AL East, the trade deadline, and stories that go beyond analytics to explain player performance.
Marly discussed the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Kris Bryant, Trevor Story, Vladimir Guerrero, and Cedric Mullins. She also gave her thoughts on the state of women in baseball broadcasting.
Thank you always for listening. Stay safe and stay well.
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Jul 8, 2021
Hunter Renfroe, Luis Guillorme and an MLB Draft Preview
On a supersized episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by Red Sox outfielder Hunter Renfroe and Mets infielder Luis Guillorme to talk shop – how they do what they do on D. That is followed by an MLB Draft Preview with our Video Scouts, Brandon Tew and Dominick Ricotta.
Renfroe talks about his powerful throwing arm, with tips for aspiring players on what they can do to develop theirs (0:35). He also talks about the challenges of playing the right field triangle and right field corner at Fenway Park. (3:58)
Guillorme walks us through how he learned to be a smart defensive player while growing up in Venezuela and how he learned to slow the game down (12:04). He takes us through several plays he’s made this season, including a game-saving relay throw and a well-timed base block (15:30). He also discusses how he catches flying bats, how he battles in his at-bats, and how he became adept at juggling. (19:31)
Brandon and Dominick give us a preview o…
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Jun 24, 2021
Cedric Mullins on His Amazing Catches; Adam Darowski on Sports-Reference.com’s Negro Leagues Project
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins (@cedmull30), who is having a breakthrough season. Mullins talks about his favorite play from childhood (an unassisted triple play!) (1:00) and what goes into making some of the great catches he’s made (he walked us through several) (1:44). Mullins also talks about self-awareness and the understanding that giving up switch-hitting could help make him a better hitter (6:58).
Cedric Mullins Highlights
- Catch vs Kiké Hernández
- Catch vs Nelson Cruz
- Catch vs Amed Rosario
- Catch vs Jonathan Villar
Mark is also joined by Adam Darowski (@baseballtwit) of Sports-Reference.com to discuss the Baseball-Reference project – The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues – in which the company added a considerable amount of statistical information to its databases and incorporated it as stats equivalent to the National League and American League (11:19).…
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Jun 10, 2021
Ryan McMahon Was Born to Play Defense (Literally)
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon (@Ry_McMahon), who won Sports Info Solutions Defensive Player of the Month honors for May.
McMahon is quick and to the point in discussing how he learned to play defense (1:07), his approach to playing defense (2:09), what he learns from watching other players (6:39), and why he was given a glove at birth (9:50).
Mark and show producer Justin Stine (@j_stine31) then review the early-season Defensive Runs Saved leaderboard and point out improvements, surprises, and key players (15:47).
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May 28, 2021
Mike Krukow on the Giants’ As a Model for Fixing Pitchers, Standout Defense
Former longtime MLB pitcher and current Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow gives our host, Mark Simon, a lesson on what to watch for in defensive play and pitching using the surprising Giants team as a model.
Mike talked about the Giants overall strengths and put an emphasis on the catcher’s ability to manage the rhythm of a game. He also went pitcher-by-pitcher through the Giants’ surprises this season, explaining how tweaks can lead to success, with Kevin Gausman, Alex Wood, and Anthony DeSclafani as the examples, and the process that leads to such adjustments.
To close, he talked about the many arm angles of the Padres pitching staff, and what a fan should watch the rest of the season regarding pitching in MLB (it wasn’t velocity).
Thanks for listening as always. Stay safe and stay well.
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May 13, 2021
Tommy Edman Walks Us Through Great Plays; Pete Abraham on Red Sox Success
On this week’s episode Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) talks to Cardinals second baseman and outfielder Tommy Edman and Red Sox beat writer Peter Abraham (@peteabe).
Tommy talks about his family’s interest in baseball analytics (his father teaches math, his brother works for the Twins, his sister works for the Cardinals) and how data plays a role in how he plays (2:05). He also walks us through multiple good defensive plays he’s made this season, from diving stops against Trevor Story and Eugenio Suarez to crashing into the fence to take away an extra-base hit from Alec Bohm (9:59). He also talks about what he’s learned from watching his other Cardinals teammates, including new third baseman Nolan Arenado (15:51).
Peter explains the stats behind the Red Sox success, ranging from J.D. Martinez’s offensive performance, to the improved pitching of Nick Pivetta and Matt Barnes, and quantifiable examples of how Alex Cora’s return benefited the team (21:05). He also gives his thou…
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Apr 29, 2021
Talking Defense With Royals Outfielder Michael A. Taylor
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by Royals center fielder Michael A. Taylor. They talk about his defensive approach, the value of having a catcher who can catch throws like Salvador Perez, some of Michael’s favorite defensive plays, and what he’s learned from past mistakes in the field (0:57).
Mark also chats with Dr. Jason Themanson of Illinois Wesleyan University to learn the neuroscience behind the great catch that Mookie Betts made against the Padres (12:24).
Thank you as always for listening. Go to FieldingBible.com for all the latest defensive stats. Stay safe and stay well.
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Apr 15, 2021
Let's Talk Fun & Smart Baseball With Len Kasper (White Sox radio) & Paul Hembekides (ESPN)
On this episode, Mark Simon was joined by Chicago White Sox radio broadcaster Len Kasper and ESPN content producer Paul Hembekides.
Len talked about his transition from Cubs TV to White Sox radio, what interested him most from an analytic perspective so far this season, both in the sport as a whole and for the White Sox. He also discussed Tony La Russa’s impact, Chicago’s potentially unique relief situation, what to make of Tim Anderson and José Abreu’s defensive numbers. Len closed by giving tips to get kids interested in analytic thinking and did an impersonation of Howard Cosell commenting on the analytic revolution.
Hembo and Mark went back and forth trying to find meaning in some of the early-season stats and why right-handed pitching has been so dominant in 2021. Among the players to come up: Freddie Freeman, Frankie Montas, Evan Longoria, and Mark Melancon. They closed the show with a couple of trivia stumpers of an analytic nature.
Thank you for listening. Please rate…
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Mar 31, 2021
MLB Experts Cliff Floyd, Karl Ravech, James Wagner Have Predictions For 2021
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball podcast, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by MLB Network analyst Cliff Floyd, ESPN Baseball Tonight host Karl Ravech, and New York Times national baseball writer James Wagner to answer some questions from Mark's baseball predictions game.
Cliff Floyd breaks down 5 hitters - Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Pete Alonso, Lorenzo Cain, and Shohei Ohtani and assesses the most important thing to watch and what the future holds for each guy (1:09).
Karl Ravech breaks down the 2 toughest divisions, shares what 2021 holds for superstars Juan Soto and Trevor Bauer, and gives a sleeper pick for the Cy Young who has not previously even gotten a Cy Young vote (13:23).
James Wagner picks the 2 teams poised to overachieve the most, gives win total estimates for the 2 most polarizing teams, compares the Yankees postseason chances to those of the Brooklyn Nets and lets us know if baseball games will get any shorter in 2021 (spoil…
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Mar 23, 2021
Bonus Episode: Joey Wendle on How He Does What He Does
Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) heard from Rays infielder Joey Wendle (@JoeyWendle) right after we posted our last episode, so we figured we’d bring you a bonus interview with him before we ramp up to our Opening Day Preview here at the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast.
Joey talks about his 2020 postseason experience and the large number of hard-hit balls he had to field as well as the preparation that goes into playing defense, including pre-game work and how he’s positioned. He also shares tips for aspiring third basemen on making the long throw across the diamond to first base and gives his early impressions of Wander Franco.
Thanks for listening as always. Don’t forget to rate and review us if you can. Stay safe and stay well.
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Mar 18, 2021
A Different Kind of Prediction Season (with Eno Sarris, Phil Klotzbach, Alex Vigderman)
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined first by Eno Sarris (@enosarris) of The Athletic to talk about the trends to watch in MLB this season.
Eno discusses what people should know about seam shifted wake and the pitchers for which it might be the most pertinent (0:48). He also talks about the rule changes at the minor league level and which are most important to note (7:49). Other items discussed include the deadening of the baseball (10:35), the concern over Fernando Tatis' 14-year contract (11:33), and who's winning the World Series if the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers or Padres don't (14:06).
Eno is followed by Dr. Phil Klotzbach (@philklotzbach), a baseball fan and meteorologist at Colorado State University. He explains the research he does on hurricanes and draws parallels between hurricane predicting and baseball predicting (16:20).
Then, Alex Vigderman (@vigmanoncampus) joins Mark to talk about their takeaways from last…
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Feb 25, 2021
A's Tony Kemp Talks Offense and Defense, Orioles Broadcaster Melanie Newman on Women in Baseball
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) welcomes spring training with 3 guests!
First, Mark is joined by Oakland Athletics second baseman and outfielder, Tony Kemp (@TonyKemp).
Tony talks about how his hitting approach generated higher walk rates (1:09), how a player knows and understands what he can do (2:23), the challenges of hitting at Wrigley Field, Minute Maid Park, and Oakland Coliseum (7:00), and his favorite defensive plays, both from college and pro. (8:39)
He also discusses what happened last year when he put out a call on social media to talk to people during the protests related to George Floyd’s death (12:14), and the work Tony is doing for his movement, The +1 Effect. (14:31)
Also joining the podcast is Baltimore Orioles radio broadcaster Melanie Newman (@MelanieLynneN), who is entering her second season calling games for the team. Melanie talks about her rapport with broadcast partner Geoff Arnold (20:20), her c…
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Jan 21, 2021
Conversing about Coaching with Rachel Balkovec, Minor League Hitting Coach with the Yankees
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Yankees minor league hitting coach Rachel Balkovec (@_rachelbalkovec), who is currently in Australia working as a coach with the Sydney Blue Sox.
Rachel talks about how she came to be coaching in Australia (1:46). She then addresses the progress that women have made in baseball and other sports and the challenges women face in light of the Mets firing of their GM (5:24).
Rachel also talks about the way she connects with players (11:21), the hardest thing to coach athletes on (13:36), and what she studied when she worked with Driveline (14:51). She also speaks about her favorite mentoring story (20:43) and provides perspective on how she viewed 2020 (25:12).
Thank you for listening. Please rate and review the podcast if you can. You can also find Rachel at RachelBalkovec.com or on Instagram at @Rachel.Balkovec
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Dec 17, 2020
Byron Buxton On His Well-Rounded Game Plus KBO and NPB Fielding Bible Award Discussion
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Minnesota Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton (@OfficialBuck103) to talk about everything from his defensive approach to how he changed his swing by watching video, to why he smiles so much and much more (0:45).
Mark also welcomes a group of guests to break down the Fielding Bible award winners from both the KBO and NPB. Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) of the Yonhap News and Ted Baarda of SIS join first to discuss the winners from the KBO (24:19), and John Gibson (@JBWPodcast) of JapaneseBaseball.com and the Japan Baseball Weekly Podcast finishes the show with a look at the winners from the NPB (48:24).
You can read more about the Fielding Bible award winners at Stat of the Week. Don't forget to rate and review, and stay safe.
Important Links
Byron Buxton defensive highlights (10 minutes worth!)
Game-winning infield hit vs Tigers
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Nov 19, 2020
Josh Rawitch on Kim Ng’s Historic Hiring; Trevor Plouffe on MLB Free Agents
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, we begin by discussing the historic hiring of Kim Ng as the Marlins GM with Josh Rawitch (@joshrawitch), the Diamondbacks senior VP of content and communications. Josh and Kim worked together when both were with the Dodgers, and Kim gave Josh a shout-out at her press conference. Josh shares stories about working with her and describes the traits that he thinks will make her a great general manager, including her knowledge base and demeanor (1:47). We’ll be talking more about Kim and women in baseball in greater depth later this offseason.
We are also joined by Jomboy Media baseball analyst, Trevor Plouffe (@trevorplouffe), who played third base for nine MLB seasons (2010 to 2018) (9:59). Trevor helps us preview the free agent market. He gives insights on what it’s like to hit against Trevor Bauer and offers a thought on why Bauer’s success could have staying power (14:31). He also evaluates George Springer, J.T. Real…
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Oct 29, 2020
Bill James on the 2021 Bill James Handbook and Fielding Bible Award Winners
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by the godfather of baseball sabermetrics, Bill James (@billjamesonline) to discuss The 2021 Bill James Handbook.
Bill talks about the articles he wrote and the studies he did, including: Game Score for Batters, a companion stat to Bill’s popular Game Score for pitchers that is available on ESPN.com and Baseball-Reference (4:39); A look at Hall-of-Famers by team – which teams are most overrepresented in the Hall of Fame and which are most underrepresented (7:40); the Hall of Fame Monitor, which evaluates the likelihood of a player getting in the Hall of Fame (11:31), and Career Targets (also known as The Favorite Toy) which establishes the percentage chance a player has of reaching a milestone (13:44).
Bill also talks about an article he wrote for Bill James Online on the quality of MVP classes (15:53), shares a stat that he wished caught on more (19:36), and speaks about the all…
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Oct 20, 2020
Doug Glanville and Eno Sarris on intricacies of the Outfield & World Series Numbers
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talks to Doug Glanville (@dougglanville) of ESPN and his baseball-writing colleague at The Athletic, Eno Sarris (@enosarris).
Doug breaks down what goes into making the catches that were made during the postseason, whether it was the home run robberies by Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger, or the tumbling catch by Manuel Margot (3:39). He explains how Mookie Betts is getting better (6:51) and discusses differences in outfield play from when he played to now (13:19). And for fun, we close the segment by talking analytics with Doug – the analytics of great French toast (16:51).
Eno gives us the state of the Rays and Dodgers heading into the World Series (22:23), talks strikeout percentages and high fastballs (24:24), and picks which player most impressed him (29:27). He also predicts who will win the World Series and how long it will take – both in games and in hours (31:05).
For more on defe…
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Oct 15, 2020
ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian on What He’s Watched This Postseason
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian (@Kurkjian_ESPN) to talk about what he’s seen this postseason in pitching (1:13), hitting (5:46), baserunning (11:31), and fielding (16:56) – both for good and for bad. Tim also picks the player who he’s watched this postseason for whom he now has a greater appreciation (22:09).
Then, Mark talks with his SIS colleagues, Brian Reiff (@BrianSReiff) and Alex Vigderman (@VigManOnCampus), about their favorite sections in the new 2021 Bill James Handbook, which is available November 1 at ActaSports.com (24:32).
Thanks for listening. Please rate and review us if you can. Stay safe and stay well.
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Oct 8, 2020
Author Ethan Bryan on the Power of a Game of Catch
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by Ethan Bryan (@Ethan_Bryan), the author of A Year of Playing Catch – What A Simple Daily Experiment Taught Me About Life. Ethan, a lifelong Royals fan from Springfield, Missouri, talks about where the idea of playing catch every day originated and what the experience was like (1:08) and shares the stories of the prominent people with whom he played catch, including a longtime major leaguer who was in his 80s at the time (11:22). They also discuss notable games of catch in MLB history (23:05) and what a game of catch does for the body and the mind (26:04).
Ethan’s book is published by Zondervan Books and is available at EthanBryan.com and wherever books are sold.
Thank you for listening. Don’t forget to rate and review us. Stay safe and stay well.
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Sep 29, 2020
Talking Top Seeds with Brian Anderson (Rays), Joe Davis (Dodgers)
On a special playoff-preview edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, we dig deep on the top-seeded Rays and Dodgers as we welcome former MLB pitcher Brian Anderson and current Dodgers/FOX broadcaster Joe Davis (@Joe_Davis) to the podcast.
Brian, in his 10th season as a TV broadcaster with the Rays, gives us an in-depth look at the team’s pitching staff, with what makes the group so good collectively and what makes Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Charlie Morton a dangerous playoff pitching rotation (2:36). He also explains the unusual success of pitchers like Nick Anderson (9:29) and how the catchers, defense and coaching staff have been integral to the team’s success (11:13). He also tells us how the Rays can win in the postseason without having big stars on the roster (15:59).
Joe tells us the story of the Dodgers season, using statistics to back up his key points. He picks a surprise player’s rise as the player whose stats were his favorite in 2020 (24:26). He a…
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Sep 24, 2020
Joe Sheehan on How Rays and A’s might win; Wayne Randazzo on DeGrom, NL East
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by baseball writer Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) and Mets broadcaster Wayne Randazzo (@WayneRandazzo).
Joe explains what we’ll be talking about if the Rays and Athletics win the World Series (1:00), then talks about what impresses him about the Cubs, White Sox, and Padres (5:27). We also flip the script and chat about what would cause the Yankees or Dodgers to get knocked out early (10:37) and look at the chances for the Braves and Twins (12:26). Joe and Mark then give their thoughts on rule changes (16:43) and Joe shares some highlights from his baseball newsletter, as he and Mark each discuss their favorite defensive play (19:27) and marvel at how the heck the Giants are still in the race in the final week (23:52).
Wayne, one of MLB's more stat-savvy radio broadcasters, gives his thoughts on the NL Cy Young through the lens of Jacob deGrom’s candidacy (29:51), and explains potenti…
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Sep 17, 2020
2020 MLB Surprises with Tyler Kepner
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by New York Times senior baseball writer Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) to discuss the biggest surprises of the 2020 season. Among the topics they cover: Jose Abreu’s defense (0:59), the unlikely rise of the Giants offense (4:36), Shane Bieber’s electric stuff (16:24), the defense of Clint Frazier and Mike Trout (26:08), and much more. Thanks for listening. Stay safe and stay well!
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Sep 10, 2020
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Negro Leagues
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues with baseball researcher Gary Ashwill and Negro League Museum co-founder Larry Lester (@LarryLester42).
Gary talks to us about the Seamheads Baseball Database project, which aims to document Negro League statistics (among many things) (2:00), explains the work that has gone into the project (3:16), shares the highlights of what he found (6:02), and comes up with a Negro Leagues All-Defense team (9:45).
Larry Lester also picks an All-Star team of Negro League defenders and tells stories about Hall-of-Famers like pitch-framer extraordinaire Biz Mackey and third baseman Ray Dandridge, and some of the greatest defensive plays in league history (19:46). He also provides a list of resources that people could utilize to learn more about the Negro Leagues (26:23).
Mark closes the show by talking briefly about baseball legend Roberto Clemente, who…
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Sep 3, 2020
Trevor Story Goes “Full Superman” In Talking Great Defense
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (@Tstory2) to ‘talk shop’ about his defensive success. Trevor currently leads in our “Good Fielding Plays” stat for shortstops by a WIDE margin. Trevor talks about the origin of his developing into a good defensive player and how Troy Tulowitzki influenced him (1:24), why he’s an advocate for playing multiple sports growing up and the similarity between defense in baseball and basketball (3:06). He also walks us through some of his favorite defensive plays, including a recent tag of Cody Bellinger (4:26), and offers advice to aspiring shortstops (7:52).
Trevor also talks about how shifting impacts how he plays shortstop (8:52), why he likes his glove (10:02), and the challenge of playing defense in a high-altitude ballpark (12:06). Lastly, he shares what goes into playing next to all-world defender, Nolan Arenado (14:36). Thanks for listenin…
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Aug 31, 2020
Kiké Hernández on Working to be a Good Defender
NOTE: This episode was taped last week prior to the player protests and games being postponed.
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Dodgers second baseman Kiké Hernández (@kikehndez), who is off to a great defensive start to 2020.
Kiké explains about how his work was impacted by the pandemic (0:51) and then 'talks shop' on how he covers ground laterally, how playing deep impacts his play, taking pride in his sprinting, which coaches impacted him the most, and the importance of keeping a soft base (2:43).
Kiké also shares which play he's most proud of (which can be viewed HERE) (10:18) and what it's like to play with Mookie Betts playing behind him (11:57). He lists the top defensive players he's gotten to watch (14:09), shares how many gloves he's had (15:21), answers whether we'd ever see him catch (15:53), and explains (or didn't) how he hits Madison Bumgarner so well (16:29).
To close the show, Mark shares t…
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Aug 20, 2020
Spotlight on People of Color in Baseball Analytics & Development
Two weeks ago, we did an episode on women working in baseball analytics - Emily Curtis and Kiri Oler. This week, we turn our attention to people of color working in this field. Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talked to 3 of them - Javier Duren (@JD_Fresh20) of the Cardinals, Spencer Weisberg of the Mariners, and Karim Kassam (@professormullet) of the Twins.
Javier, in his third year with the Cardinals, explained how he went from graduating Yale to playing basketball professionally, to his current role as the Cardinals coordinator of technology and innovation. He shared stories from his basketball career, including what he takes from that to both watching baseball and to his current job. He explained what his role entails and what a typical day is like. He also gave advice to members of the African-American community who aspire to work in analytics and/or become athletes. (0:43)
Spencer, in his second year with the Mariners after graduating from Cal State-San Luis Obispo, explained his p…
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Aug 13, 2020
Spanning the Baseball Globe with Eduardo Perez
On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by ESPN and Sirius XM’s Eduardo Perez (@PerezEd) to talk about the meaningful names and numbers from the season’s first few weeks. Eduardo gives his take on low batting averages and pitcher injuries and with the latter explains why a change of scenery was good for Dylan Bundy (0:49). He also talks about the game’s top Latino stars, like Fernando Tatis (4:30), and the rise of Colombia as an MLB talent producer (7:11). They then look at a couple of players putting up video-game numbers in Charlie Blackmon and Shane Bieber (8:05), mull the staying power of the Rockies and the struggles of the Mets (10:28), and pick out something to watch in the next couple of weeks (16:40). Eduardo also shares his thoughts on what impressed him most in broadcasting KBO games (17:53).
Mark closes the show by challenging Eduardo to tell baseball stories on 3 random subjects – the color blue (18:47)…
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Aug 6, 2020
Women in Baseball Analytics Spotlight: Emily Curtis and Kiri Oler
When we planned out Season 2 of our podcast, our goal was to make the show more thoughtful and more diverse. We continue to work towards that with this episode, which spotlights two women working in baseball analytics who recently spoke at a Women in Baseball event – Emily Curtis (@emweecurt) with the Mariners and Kiri Oler (@glitter_corpse) with the Phillies.
Emily details her path to baseball from growing up in Norman, Oklahoma and becoming a Cardinals fan, then landing a job with the Mariners as a baseball analyst (1:04). She talks about learning the different groups in baseball operations and how she communicates with each of them (5:30), then describes working on pitcher injury analysis (6:30), how the Mariners analytics team works hand-in-hand with a very busy and analytically-inclined GM and explains how data travels through the organization (8:15), and the challenge of developing models (12:30). Then she shares her thoughts on making the field of baseball analytics more incl…
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Jul 30, 2020
Beat-Writer Braintrust: Cardinals, Dodgers Outlooks
On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by two beat writers to discuss the 2020 season outlooks for their respective teams.
Mark first talks to Derrick Goold (@dgoold), Cardinals beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the host of “The Best Podcast in Baseball.” Derrick explains how odd it has been to cover the team (1:04), then talks about what to make of a Cardinals team that isn’t necessarily abiding by the traditional Cardinals Way (3:56). He shares a stat that he is interested in following all season (7:12), explains why they are so good defensively (10:28), gives a “State of the Yadi” on the Cardinals catcher (15:02), and provides scenarios by which the Cardinals win the division and miss the playoffs - while also posing a question about why the Cubs “tickle the sims.” (17:38)
Mark is then joined by Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) of The Athletic who explains the unusual nature of covering the Dodgers…
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Jul 23, 2020
Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton preview the 2020 MLB season
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by his former ESPN colleagues, the Sunday Night Baseball radio broadcast team of Jon Sciambi (@BoogSciambi) and Chris Singleton (@Singytweets) to preview the 2020 season. Jon and Chris seek to make their broadcasts smart, interesting, and fun and their listeners better baseball people, which fits well with what we try to do on this podcast.
The two dive right in with picks for ‘sneak-attack’ teams for 2020 and offer thoughts on which team has the widest possible win variance (1:10). They offer their takes on the new rules (12:14), which are the best defensive teams in baseball (16:43) and pick a player who could be a surprise MVP candidate (18:40). They close by explaining the philosophy of their game broadcasts (20:46).
Thanks for tuning in. Don’t forget to rate and review us. Stay safe and stay well.
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Jul 20, 2020
Angels' Broadcaster Jose Mota Previews the Upcoming Season
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by longtime Angels broadcaster José Mota (@JoseMota05) to preview the upcoming season.
Mota provides perspective on what to watch for from several Angels key players, giving insight on how Mike Trout works at-bats (1:30), explaining what Anthony Rendon will bring (4:36), sharing what Andrelton Simmons does that makes him a special defender (5:55), and providing insight on why David Fletcher is a hidden gem (8:51).
José also talks about what it’s been like to watch (and learn Japanese from) Shohei Ohtani and Saya Nomura – check out Jose’s Instagram for more of that - (10:20) and explains how Albert Pujols could still be valuable (13:05).He also discusses how Joe Maddon will handle the pitching staff (15:02), how he delivers analytics to a Spanish-speaking audience (16:44), how he feels about the inevitable decline of pinch-hitter usage (his father Manny was an all-time great p…
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Jul 16, 2020
Bengie Molina on Measuring the Pitcher-Catcher Relationship
On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) asks the question – how can we measure catchers beyond pitch blocking, pitch framing, and caught stealing? Longtime former MLB catcher Bengie Molina (@BengieMolina1), now a Spanish-language radio broadcaster for the Cardinals, tries to help us out.
Bengie talks about the different factors that come into play for a catcher (0:57) and the different personality types he dealt with from Ramon Ortiz and Jarrod Washburn (5:32). He explains how you deal with stubborn pitchers and how he worked with the pitchers he got along with best (7:50). He also relays how things can change for a catcher in the walk back to home plate after a conference at the mound, using Yadier Molina in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Mets as an example (11:45).He offers his take on the difficulties of being a rookie catcher (14:32) and bridging the language gap by encouraging all catchers to be bilingual (16:12). He talks abo…
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Jul 13, 2020
Ex-Major Leaguer Brandon Guyer Moves Into Mentoring
On this episode, Mark Simon talks to Brandon Guyer (@BrandonGuyer), who just retired after an 8-year, 500+-game MLB career in which he was known for his ability to hit left-handed pitching and his penchant for being hit by a pitch. Guyer (with the help of his wife) has just written an 80-page book, The Fully Equipped Athlete and started a new business to mentor aspiring athletes (fullyequippedathlete.com). We often talk on this podcast about the statistical and physical side of the game. Brandon talks about giving athletes the mental foundation to succeed.
Guyer discusses what went into his retirement decision, how he looks back on his career, getting hit by pitches, and hitting lefties so well (1:13). He then walks us through 2 plate appearances from Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and what allowed him to come through them successfully (7:39). From there, the conversation shifts to the book, what it was like to put everything he learned on paper, why humility was his top point of emp…
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Jul 6, 2020
Reporters Roundtable on Coronavirus and Social Justice Issues in MLB
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb), Rockies beat writer for MLB.com, Alex Speier (@alexspeier), who covers the Red Sox and MLB for the Boston Globe and Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey), who covers the Athletics for The Athletic.
Almost every other episode of this podcast deals with statistical subjects or looks at the “how-to” of defensive play. There will hopefully be a time and place for that in the future. This episode is a little different.
This episode focuses on 2 subjects:
1) How teams and players are dealing with Coronavirus-related issues.
2) How players, teams and MLB are responding to social justice concerns
Thank you as always for listening. Stay healthy and stay safe.
_More information:_
Read Thomas Harding’s coverage at MLB.com
Red Alex Speier’s coverage at BostonGlobe.com
Read Alex Coffey’s coverage at TheAthletic.com
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Jul 2, 2020
KBO Superstar Mel Rojas Jr on Hitting the Ball Hard
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by KT Wiz outfielder Mel Rojas Jr. (@melrojasjr), arguably the best hitter in the KBO and the league’s leader in hard-hit rate. If Mel’s name sounds familiar, it should – his father pitched 10 seasons in the majors including a strong run as the closer for the Expos. Mel talks about his family’s baseball history, which includes the Alou family, and explains why he’s a hitter and not a pitcher (1:11). He talks about what the season has been like and how improved plate coverage has led to more success (3:31). He also explains what it takes to hit or lay off a nasty forkball and how his family’s history may have come in handy regarding his knowledge of that pitch (7:03).
Mel also discusses his defense and playing/living in Korea (10:40) and what it has been like to play without fans and how KBO fans are highly positive, even when their players are in slumps (16:30). He also ex…
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Jun 29, 2020
SIS Enters The Basketball Business
On this special edition episode, Mark Simon is joined by Sports Info Solutions Director of Basketball, Jake Loos. SIS recently announced that it would be entering the basketball business. Jake, the former director of basketball analytics and technology for the Phoenix Suns will head up our operation. Jake talks about his background, which includes an MBA from MIT and what he loves about basketball and statistics (1:12). He then details the challenges of basketball analytics and trying to explain it to non-analytically inclined fans (7:26). He also explains what SIS will be doing with basketball data and the challenges of trying to do the kind of player evaluation he wants to do (11:18). He also talks about why Joe Ingles of the Jazz is one of his favorite players (20:24), why Stephen Curry and Dwyane Wade’s stats are his favorite (22:24), and gives advice both on how to watch the game smarter (25:48) and how to pursue a career in basketball analytics (26:48).
Back to our usual progr…
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Jun 25, 2020
Let’s Talk about Japanese Baseball
We know that MLB is back and we’ll talk about that plenty in the next few weeks. This week on the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Japanese baseball writer, statistician and historian Jim Allen (@JballAllen) of JballAllen.com to talk about Nippon Professional Baseball (the NPB). Jim explains his background and talks about how Japan was able to work to a 120-game season (1:47), and he also explains how the top storylines this season have been overshadowed by Coronavirus (5:49). He discusses how team pitching plans have changed and top starters are already going deep into games (7:34). Jim also explains the expectations for ex-MLB players Adam Jones and Justin Bour, the latter of whom has drawn comparisons to an all-time Japanese great (9:39). The two then talk about defense and the emphasis that Japanese players put into defense compared versus how much attention defense gets in highlights (14:36). Jim also gives insight into the game…
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Jun 15, 2020
Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo on Draft Defensive Standouts
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Baseball America writer Carlos Collazo (@CarlosACollazo) to talk about last week’s MLB Draft and how different players rate from a defensive perspective. First, they discuss the preparation heading into the draft and the challenges of trying to evaluate a player’s defense at the amateur level (1:17). Then, Carlos gives a scouting report on Mets draftee Pete Crow-Armstrong, ranging from his defense to his makeup (5:20).
They also discuss No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson and whether he was well equipped to make the move to third base (9:15). Next, Carlos shares his thoughts on Austin Martin to the Blue Jays and the idea of whether a player being versatile at the collegiate level was a good thing (11:16). Then, he talks about the top defensive prospect among infielders, Cubs draftee Ed Howard, and what makes him so promising as a fielder (14:11). One of Carlos’ favorite play…
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Jun 8, 2020
A Potential Gem in the MLB Draft and Top Prospects Preview
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Coastal Carolina (@CoastalBaseball) outfielder Parker Chavers (@pchavers14). Parker was a preseason All-American and a two-time All-Sun Belt conference selection who missed the start of 2020 due to a shoulder injury. Prior to the injury he was ranked among college baseball’s top outfielders and was particularly praised for his arm strength. He’s viewed as anywhere from a Top 50 to Top 100 selection in this week’s MLB Draft.
Parker talks about how he’s feeling with the draft upcoming (2:16), what went into developing his arm and what has gone into rehabbing his torn labrum (2:31). He provides a self-scouting report on his defense, his hitting approach, and his power (6:58). He also explains why he models his game after Andrew Benintendi and Adam Eaton (10:55) and praises the coaches who helped him get to this point (13:17).
Mark is also joined by SIS Video Scout Associates…
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Jun 1, 2020
Studying Arenado, Baez, Lindor and more with Dai Dai Otaka
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talks with college baseball infielder Dai Dai Otaka (@dai_squared) about studying defensive excellence using a combination of video and in-depth statistical analysis (what we like to do!). Dai Dai first fills us in on his interests and his successful time as a starter at second base and shortstop at Yale, where he won 2 Ivy League titles (2:39).
Dai Dai then explains the study he did reviewing more than 600 5-4-3 and 5-6-3 successful double plays to see where the pivot man most often receives the throw (5:58). He also details the video review he did on the fielding approaches of Nolan Arenado (9:25), Javier Baez (12:30), and Francisco Lindor (14:50), and explains how what he learned could be applied to studying any infielder (15:48).
He also shares his passion for coaching, describing drills that could be done just by watching video highlights on YouTube or throwing a ball against a tree (16:5…
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May 28, 2020
No-Hit Wonders: More Than Just the Pitcher
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Dirk Lammers (@ddlammers), author of Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders and an expert on the history of no-hitters for a conversation on all the different factors that go into throwing one. Dirk explains the origins of his research, how much research he’s done, and his favorite (2:18). They then discuss the most prominent defensive plays in no-hitters, what made Gregor Blanco’s perfect game-saving catch so special, what percentage of no-hitters feature a good or great defensive play, and why Kevin Kouzmanoff should be remembered for his defensive work (7:21). They also get into the role of umpires and catchers (14:36) and look at patterns in pitchers that throw no-hitters (18:47). Lastly they discuss the most likely current pitchers to throw a no-hitter (20:01). Thanks for listening and stay safe!
Dirk’s website – NoNoHitters.com (@nonohitters)
No-Hitters Referenced
Robin Yount catch in Juan Nieves no-hitter LINK
Gregor Bl…
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May 25, 2020
Jeeho Yoo on covering the KBO
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Yonhap News reporter Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1). Jeeho is based in Seoul, South Korea and covers the KBO on a daily basis. He explains fan reaction to the return of baseball (2:27) and what it’s like to cover baseball in the age of Coronavirus (4:46). He also gives his impressions of the season so far, why Preston Tucker is off to a good start, and which American and Korean pitchers have fared well (6:42). That leads to a discussion of how we should translate stats from KBO to MLB (9:02), how Korean teams use analytics (10:49), and how the hitting approach of a Korean batter differs from MLB counterparts (12:51). Jeeho also points out how much defensive tracking goes on in the KBO and who the top defensive players are (14:40), and how shifting hasn’t necessarily caught on quite as much (16:18). He also explains what he’s seen in terms of an early increase in injuries (20:20). Lastly…
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May 21, 2020
Softball Gold Glove winner A.J. Andrews on Defensive Excellence in Softball
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by softball star A.J. Andrews (@aj_andrews_) to talk about what goes into being an outstanding defensive outfielder. A.J. was the first softball player to be awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove, and she breaks down three catches: the first being one along the right field line in which she explained proper diving technique and how to evaluate the angles you take (2:58), the second being the first time she could remember making a great play as a kid (10:24), and the third in which she crashed into the outfield wall (13:11).
A.J. also discusses pre-pitch anticipation (15:38), how defensive positioning in softball is similar to defensive positioning in baseball (17:39), and the mentality needed to be a great defensive outfielder (22:24).
Thank you for listening. Stay healthy and stay safe!
Links
AlwaysAJ.com
TheAJAndrews.com
A.J.’s YouTube page
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May 18, 2020
NBA Assistant Coach Dean Oliver on Measuring Defense in basketball
On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Washington Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver (@DeanO_Lytics), a pioneer in basketball analytics, to discuss some of the challenges of measuring defense in his sport.
Dean talks about the differences in basketball analysis contrasting 25 years ago to now (2:18), the parallels between tracking defense in basketball and baseball (5:23), and trying to chart the effectiveness of double-teams, getting hands in the face of shooters, and deflections (8:07). He also explains the influence that coaches have on defensive performance (14:07).
Lastly, he discusses the different perspectives on fouling when up by 3 points in the final seconds (18:32) and offers advice to aspiring statistical analysts (22:32).
Thanks for listening and stay safe.
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May 14, 2020
Braves Coach Ron Washington is a Defensive Guru
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Braves third base coach Ron Washington who has an incredible amount of wisdom to share from his home in New Orleans. Wash explains what defensive excellence means to him (2:19), his first defensive mentor in baseball, Chico Fernandez (2:57), how hard it is to be a good defensive player (4:02), how defense has evolved (5:17), and the best lesson he learned from failing as a player (6:20).
Coach Washington also shares what it was like to play catcher and the difference between a pitch-framer and a pitch singer (7:19), and how he has evolved as a coach (8:55). He explains the role he’s had in working with excellent defenders like Eric Chavez and Ozzie Albies (10:22). Lastly, he says what he likes most about coaching defense and what advice he would give an aspiring coach (15:58).
Thanks for listening. Stay safe and stay healthy!
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May 11, 2020
Kevin Kiermaier Talks Defense, Defense, and More Defense
On this edition of the Sports Info Solution Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Tampa Bay Rays Platinum-Glove winning center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (@KKiermaier39) for a comprehensive explanation of what goes into playing defense.
Kiermaier explains what he is doing to keep busy with his wife and toddler son in Tampa and the commonalities between bow-fishing and trying to catch a fly ball – and there are parallels! (1:00) He also shares the memories of the first good defensive plays he made in Little League and in the majors (4:00), who his favorite defensive player was as a kid (6:06), and the details of the intense amount of preparation he does to play defense the way he does - he takes opponents’ batting practice seriously - and to avoid having any weaknesses (6:59).
Kevin also explains how he defenses Aaron Judge and Ichiro Suzuki and how he adjusts his positioning based on instinct and observations (11:30), what the difference is between making a cat…
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May 7, 2020
The Impact of Coronavirus on Baseball Training
On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Dr. Aaron Gray (@MizzouSportsDoc), a Youth & Adult Sports Medicine Physician at the University of Missouri, and SIS Injury Coordinator John Verros (@VerrosJohn).
Dr. Gray gives his advice on sifting through the overwhelming amount of information (and misinformation) related to Coronavirus (1:54), what is known about training to play sports in a pandemic (3:31), and he also evaluates ongoing discussions related to fear of contracting the virus from breathing it in (4:26).
John explains some of the things he’s looking at, like how successfully a pitcher like Justin Verlander can return from injury (5:24). He and Dr. Gray both provide examples of exercises that athletes can do to keep in shape (8:25), what injuries they are most concerned about (10:40), and what studies have piqued their interest (15:42). Lastly, Dr. Gray explains the scenario that MLB officials are likely most con…
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May 4, 2020
Multi-Position Masters: Don Kelly & Joe McEwing
On this episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talks with two current MLB coaches who have an expertise in playing multiple positions – Don Kelly (Pirates bench coach) and Joe McEwing (White Sox bench coach).
Don Kelly talked about what it took to become “Zobristian” – a player who could play any position on the field (2:23), how many gloves he had (4:27), what it was like to try to be good at multiple positions and which was hardest (5:15), what Jim Leyland taught him (13:25), his favorite defensive play (14:12), what it was like to be a one-time catcher (15:58), and how he integrates what he’s learned into coaching (19:49).
Joe McEwing also shared tales of “Zobristness” (24:16), the advice he would give a 28th-round pick - he was one in 1992 (27:04), what goes into playing second base (28:01), what it was like to play for Tony La Russa and Bobby Valentine, including the clever way that Bobby V had his first baseman ho…
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Apr 30, 2020
Comedienne Kasha Patel on Using Analytics to Evaluate Jokes
On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) takes the show in a different direction. Mark is joined by science writer and stand-up comedienne Kasha Patel (@KashaPatel). Kasha, whose day job is as a science writer and social media manager for NASA, has opened for notable names such as Jen Kirkman and Vir Das in her comedy work. Her stand-up focuses on science, but also traditional topics such as family and the cultural experience of growing up as an Indian in West Virginia.
What’s distinct about Kasha is that she uses data to inform her comedy in ways that parallel how we study baseball statistics. She shares her background (2:33), then transitions into explaining how she tracks her jokes in a spreadsheet (4:09). Mark and Kasha discuss the different ways she categorizes and times her jokes (5:58), the process of tracking jokes and her wish for an automated tracking system (11:27), how old-school comedians have re…
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Apr 27, 2020
Giants Bench Coach Kai Correa on Teaching Defense, #CoachesvsCOVID, and his path to MLB
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Giants bench coach Kai Correa (@ThatGuy_Kai). He talked about #CoachesvsCOVID, a series of coaching clinics aimed at raising money for The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, which is doing Covid-related research (1:56).
Kai also talked about the instructional videos available on the Giants YouTube page and how he taught the younger Giants first basemen proper posture and how to turn one-legged double plays (3:32). He then goes through what influenced him as he progressed in his career: the MLB and college coaches, film study, and trial-and-error (6:22). He also told the story of his coaching family tree, including his grandfather, who coached scholastic sports for more than 60 years (8:34).
Correa’s path to MLB is fascinating. He explained the process that led to his becoming a coach on Gabe Kapler’s staff and what his role will entail (10:04), what he wants to do…
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Apr 22, 2020
First Things First with A’s first baseman Matt Olson
On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, two-time Fielding Bible Award winner Matt Olson (@mattolson21) joins Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) from Atlanta to talk shop – defensive excellence at first base. Matt remembers the first time he made a great defensive play (2:40), the state of Georgia’s excellence when it comes to great defense (4:09), who he watched growing up (5:30), his conversion from third base to first base as a kid (6:18), the disadvantages of being a right-handed first baseman (9:23), and how wide he’s willing to play (10:34). Matt also explains what it’s like to play first base in Oakland with its wide foul territory (13:20), the preparation that goes into playing the position and how it pays off (16:07), the mental side of playing first base and the challenge of not taking a slump into the field (17:26), his favorite Matt Chapman play (19:25), and the things he most wants to improve upon (20:58).
Thanks for tuning in. Stay safe and stay w…
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Apr 20, 2020
Eric Longenhagen & Kiley McDaniel talk scouting and player development
On this episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talks with the authors of “Future Value: The Battle for Baseball’s Soul And How Teams Will Find The Next Superstars,” Eric Longenhagen (@longenhagen) and Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd). They discuss how much of the book is based on personal experience versus how much is from others in the business (4:26), scouting stories about Scott Olsen and J.T. Realmuto and the lessons applied to each (6:31), and the variance team-to-team when it comes to the sophistication of scouting and player evaluation (12:09). They also share the four different groupings in which MLB teams can be placed based on scouting/statistical sophistication and success (14:27) and explain the challenges in evaluating defense and what fans should look for when they watch new players (19:24). The show ends with both of them giving their tips to people who want to work in scouting and player development (languages to learn…
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Apr 13, 2020
Keith Law on Biases, Decision Making, and The Inside Game
On this edition of the SIS Baseball Podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Keith Law (@keithlaw), senior baseball writer at The Athletic and author of the new book “The Inside Game.”
Mark and Keith talk about the motivation for writing this book and what he would want someone to get out of it (1:11), bias as it relates to high school pitcher selection in the MLB Draft (4:41), the power of the first impression a player makes (9:08), biases that become apparent when trying to evaluate defense (11:15), the challenge of coming up with solutions to dealing with bias and where teams will improve at dealing with bias in the next 20 to 50 years (17:35).
They also discuss a favorite computer game, Earl Weaver Baseball, and what made it so good (20:27), and how simulations could help with decision-making under pressure (22:37). They end their discussion talking about another passion of Keith’s, board games, and what board game best simulates baseball t…
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Apr 7, 2020
Wall Street Journal writer Jared Diamond on Swing Kings and the Home Run Revolution
On this edition of The SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Wall Street Journal national baseball writer Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond), author of the new book, Swing Kings: The Inside Story of the Home Run Revolution. Jared and Mark discuss who these people are that have established themselves as hitting experts (2:08), the communications aspect of trying to teach hitting (5:37), which superstar players have benefited the most from swing coaches (7:04), how much of the home run increase is related to swings vs the changing baseball (12:48), and Jared’s experience as a hitting pupil (17:11).
Get your copy of Swing Kings: The Inside Story of the Home Run Revolution at HarperCollins.com or wherever books are sold.
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Mar 30, 2020
Who is the Best Defensive Player of the 21st century?
On this episode of the SIS Baseball podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon is joined by former major leaguer Eduardo Perez (@PerezEd) and NY Times national baseball writer Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) for an NCAA Tournament-style bracket selection show – to pick the best defensive player of the 21st century. Top seeds Adrian Beltre, Yadier Molina, Andrelton Simmons and Jason Heyward lead a 32-player group of the best gloves in the game. We’ve got the stats, the stories, and much more. Cast your vote on Twitter (@SportsInfo_SIS) throughout the week and follow along as we go all the way through to pick one champion.
SIS Tournament of Defensive Excellence Bracket
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Mar 20, 2020
The Baseball Brainpower Bonanza (Eno Sarris, Jay Jaffe, and Rob Arthur)
This special edition of the SIS Baseball Podcast features a conversation with 3 of the smartest minds in baseball writing today. Eno Sarris (@enosarris) of The Athletic explained how current players are learning how defensive metrics work (0:56). Rob Arthur (@No_Little_Plans) shared the details of an article he wrote for Baseball Prospectus on how teams are valuing defense (5:18). Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) of the Athletic and Eno then looked at which teams are valuing defense most and least (8:30). The panel weighed in on how defense is taken into consideration for Hall of Fame voting and discussed specific candidacies as relates to defense (Scott Rolen, Yadier Molina, Brian McCann, Chase Utley, even back to Bill Freehan) (16:09). The show ended with each member of the panel picking a player whose defensive skills they wish they had (25:09).
Give the podcast a try – it’s a chance to hear some well-informed baseball talk coming from a different angle.
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Feb 10, 2020
Wake Forest Coach Tom Walter on Performance Sciences and Analytics
On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) welcomes baseball back. Hooray! He’s then joined by Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter, who explains how the school’s state-of-the-art pitching lab came to be (2:18), how information gets translated from the language of a PhD to the language of baseball (5:44), the difference between performance science and analytics now versus when Coach Walter first began coaching (8:31), how the school applies the lab to studying hitters too (10:52), how his program uses shifting and how their shifts adjust based on count (12:06), future developments in performance science (15:03), expectations for this season (16:36), and what the team does in the local community (17:36).
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Jan 7, 2020
Royals GM Dayton Moore on Analytics, Looking to the Future, Getting Into Baseball
On this month’s edition of the SIS Baseball Podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) shares interesting things he's learned about Matt Chapman, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Didi Gregorius from the new Defensive Runs Saved (1:06).
Mark is then joined by Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore. They discuss the state of the Royals rebuild (3:05), what an MLB manager should be expected to know about analytics and performance science (6:53), how the Royals shift and how they evaluate whether their defensive shifts are working (9:52), the importance of chase rate in evaluating draft prospects (12:33), Dayton’s interest in learning about leadership (16:18), and his advice for those who want to work in baseball (listen before you speak!) (19:37).
Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) also joins Mark to talk about The Fielding Bible Volume V, which will be out March 1 (23:12). Andrew also answers a listener question about how different aspects of defensive performance factor…
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Nov 25, 2019
Nationals assistant GM on winning World Series, Tips for Jobs in Analytics
On this week’s edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) opens the show by talking about the defensive analytics concepts he hopes a manager would know (1:16). Mark then talks with Nationals assistant general manager for baseball research and development, Samuel Mondry-Cohen.
They discuss Sam’s path from batboy to front office executive (4:19), how the Nationals analytics department is structured (7:57), what it’s like to work with the coaching staff and with ace pitcher Max Scherzer (9:53), what his group was working on when the team was 19-31 (12:54), what role the analytics group played in the team’s acquisition of Daniel Hudson (14:12), and tips for pursuing a job in sports analytics (spoiler: Learn to code!) (15:59).
Afterwards Mark is joined by SIS research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne). They review the White Sox signing of Yasmani Grandal and look at three other free agents of note (20:16). They a…
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Oct 31, 2019
Fielding Bible Awards, Bill James Handbook, New Defensive Runs Saved!
On the final episode of the 2019 season, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) explains why the Nationals defense was an important part of an epic championship story (1:00). Mark and research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) run through the winners of the 2019 Fielding Bible Awards, our honor for defensive excellence (2:58). Mark and Andrew also preview the 2020 Bill James Handbook (13:53) (available now!) and discuss some significant improvements to the company’s flagship stat, Defensive Runs Saved (17:45).
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Oct 7, 2019
The State of Stats with Rob Neyer
On this week’s episode, Sports Info Solutions senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talks with writer, SABRcast podcast host and baseball historian Rob Neyer (@robneyer). They discuss 2019’s home run explosion (1:14), where defensive shifting is heading (3:45) and how relief pitchers are being used (8:18). They also talk about Rob’s observations on the value of defense (13:30) and the challenge of filling out a Fielding Bible Awards ballot (15:09). With everyone hard at work on The Bill James Handbook, Mark closes the show by running through the season’s leaders in Defensive Runs Saved (17:10) which includes Roberto Perez, Matt Chapman and Kolten Wong, among others.
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Sep 18, 2019
Austin Hedges on Pitch-framing, Robot Umps
On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions baseball podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) begins the show by praising those who played extraordinary defense for sub-.500 teams this season. (0:57)
Mark is then joined by Padres catcher Austin Hedges, who rates as the No. 1 pitch-framer in baseball. Hedges talks about the value of pitch-framing and explains where he learned to frame so well (2:27). He then explains the drills he uses to improve (4:54), how he gets low pitches called strikes and what it’s like to catch Craig Stammen’s heavy sinker and Chris Paddack’s fastball (5:56). Hedges also talks about his relationship with umpires and why he strongly supports the human element of an umpire rather than the potential robot umpires of the future (8:00) and which catchers he watches most closely (12:17).
Mark is then joined by research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne). They discuss the Hedges interview (15:24), go through the leaderboards for Strike…
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Sep 4, 2019
Diving Into Defense with Nick Ahmed
On this episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) opens the show by praising the Cardinals infield’s defensive excellence (0:52) and is then joined by Arizona Diamondbacks Gold Glove-winning shortstop Nick Ahmed (@NickAhmed13).
Ahmed talks about the kinds of things he has improved upon from one year to the next (2:04), the challenge of turning double plays in shifts (3:15), what goes into making a diving play (6:20), changing positioning based on which pitcher is on the mound (7:25), the most underrated Diamondbacks defender (9:20), his impressions of defensive metrics (11:33) and advice he would give to those who want to play defense like him (13:12).
Mark is also joined by senior research analyst Alex Vigderman (@VigManOnCampus). They discuss some of Ahmed’s observations (15:07), salute Javier Baez as the top defender in August (17:25), run through a list of the Defensive Runs Saved leaders in the minor leagues (18:51) and talk ab…
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Aug 20, 2019
A Talk With One of The Best Defensive Players in the Minors
On this episode, Sports Info Solutions senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) details the story of the success of Yankees outfielder Mike Tauchman, who has had an unexpectedly impressive season in the field (0:59). Mark is also joined by minor league third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (@KeBryanHayes), who is ranked among the top infield prospects in the minor leagues. Ke’Bryan explains where he learned to play defense (3:15), the challenge of not taking a hitting slump into the field (8:03), how minor league teams provide scouting information on where players should position themselves (9:19) and the famous catches made by his father, former major league third baseman Charlie Hayes (12:24). Eric Longenhagen (@longenhagen) of FanGraphs.com adds a brief scouting report on Hayes (15:29).
Mark then welcomes senior research analyst Alex Vigderman (@VigManOnCampus) and Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne), who share what they learned from the Saberseminar Conference in Boston. They share…
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Aug 5, 2019
Kevin Pillar on Making Difficult Catches
This week’s episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast highlights defensive excellence in the Bay Area.
Senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) points out how well Chad Pinder has played recently, with help from Oakland Athletics coach Ryan Christenson (1:04).
Then, Mark talks to San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4). They discuss the challenges of making sliding, diving, and jumping catches including dealing with injuries (3:00), how Pillar learned to play that way (5:13), what being the leader in those kinds of catches says about a player (10:00), learning a ballpark (11:02), how much he uses scouting information (13:24), and what advice he would give to kids who want to play defense like him (15:19).
Mark is then joined by research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) and intern Jon Becker (@jonbecker_). They review Pillar’s comments (18:29), discuss a pitcher who changed approach upon joining a new team (20:56), answer a listener question about the M…
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Jul 23, 2019
MLB Legend Kirk Gibson and Brooks Baseball's Dan Brooks
In this episode of the Sports Info Solutions podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) recounts the Indians recent success (1:22), then talks to Tigers broadcaster & special assistant Kirk Gibson (@23KGibby) about what stats he’d like to see related to mentally getting through a season (3:30), teaching hitters proper swing techniques (8:34), what interests him about analytics (19:19), and the work he’s doing to raise awareness for Parkinson’s Disease (20:15).
Mark is also joined by Dan Brooks (@brooksbaseball), who co-runs the annual Saberseminar (Sabermetrics Scouting and the Science of Baseball) at Boston University. Dan recounts the history and past highlights (22:28), discusses the impact the conference has (especially on students) (25:48), and what to expect at this year’s event which raises money for the Angioma Alliance (28:40).
Mark and SIS research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) review research on how often balls hit up the middle result in…
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Jul 11, 2019
SIS Founder John Dewan & The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh
On the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays), senior research analyst for Sports Info Solutions, shows us how baseball analytics are cool, interesting, and fun. SIS develops analytics and provides them to MLB teams, media, and fantasy baseball outlets. On the podcast, we’ll give you a peek into our world, talk to important people around the industry about analytic storylines, and share what we find to be cool, interesting and fun.
In this episode, Mark begins with an interview of the founder of Sports Info Solutions, John Dewan (@FieldingBible), where they discuss everything from the history of baseball analytics to advice on how to create new stats today. Then, Mark is joined by writer/podcaster Ben Lindbergh (@BenLindbergh), whose new book _The MVP Machine_ explores the forward-thinking use of analytics in player development. Finally, Mark sits down with Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) to go around the horn on the midseason advanced stat leaderboards.
John Dewan is the fo…
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Jun 24, 2019
Mike Ferrin wants to be Byron Buxton
In this episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) begins by marveling at Zack Greinke’s defense (1:05). Mark then talks to MLB Radio and Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Mike Ferrin (@Mike_Ferrin). Mike makes his case for the best team in baseball (3:25) and discusses how much organizations value defense in this era (4:51). He also makes his pick on which defensive player he’d most like to be (11:15) and who’s the best defensive shortstop in the NL (15:35). Mike then comes up with a stat he’d like the BIS crew to work on (19:43).
Mark is then joined by Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) and the two discuss Matt Carpenter, Jeff McNeil and the shift (24:24), how much outfielders benefit from changing positions (26:58), which players should have made the All-Defense All-Star team (29:58), and which defensive player they would most like to be (33:17). They then answer a listener question about which players have made the most different kinds of Good Plays (35:01) a…
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Jun 11, 2019
What Does Moneyball Look Like in 2019?
In this episode, Sports Info Solutions senior analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by three baseball writers – Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) of the San Francisco Chronicle, Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) of the Tampa Bay Times and Dan Hayes (@DanHayesMLB) of The Athletic. Slusser talks about how the Athletics are struggling to match the success of last season, particularly in relief pitching. Topkin discusses how the Rays operate in lock-step, from ownership down. Hayes explains how the Twins found untapped power both from their bats and their arms. Each also shares how the teams they cover find talent on the margins and how much they value defense.
Mark is also joined by research associate Andrew Kyne, who explains the methodology and shares the results from his study on which teams position their infield best. Mark and Andrew answer listener mail, share who’s getting the best and worst results when they hit the ball hard and close the show with some Ridiculous Stat of the…
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May 29, 2019
JT Realmuto, Joe Sheehan, & Andrew Kyne
On the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon, senior research analyst for Sports Info Solutions, shows us how baseball analytics are cool, interesting, and fun. SIS develops analytics and provides them to MLB teams, media, and fantasy baseball outlets. On the podcast, we’ll give you a peek into our world, talk to important people around the industry about analytic storylines, and share what we find to be cool, interesting and fun.
In this episode, Mark breaks down the defensive performance of Phillies catcher JT Realmuto, interviews baseball writer extraordinaire Joe Sheehan, and sits down with Andrew Kyne to construct the perfect five-tool player.
Joe Sheehan was one of the founders of Baseball Prospectus in the mid-1990s and an editor of the Baseball Prospectus Annual. Now he writes regularly for many entities, including Sports Illustrated. He also writes his own baseball newsletter, which you can preview and purchase at JoeSheehan.com.
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May 15, 2019
David Cone Talks Analytics
On this podcast, SIS senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talks about Cody Bellinger’s great defensive season (1:07). David Cone (@dcone36) joins the show to discuss his new book Full Count, The Education of a Pitcher (2:30). He also shares how he got into analytics (5:30), comfortability with stats like FIP and the defensive metrics (6:33), what pitchers should learn (10:50), his favorite defensive teammates (13:49), what stat he’d like to invent (16:08) and more.
Mark and SIS research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) review Cone’s comments (20:11), go through the leaderboards on the stat Cone wants invented (21:53), share the latest SIS articles and research (25:34), and unveil the latest ridiculous stats on how Vlad Guerrero Jr. is being pitched (30:00) and the best arm in the SIS era (30:57).
All that and much more in the latest SIS Baseball podcast!
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Apr 30, 2019
Mark Simon Talks the Business of Baseball with Ben Jedlovec
Sports Info Solutions Senior Research Analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) compares the defense of Nick Ahmed and Andrelton Simmons in his Batter Up! segment (1:07), welcomes MLB's Director of Engineering and Data Quality and former SIS president Ben Jedlovec (@BenJedlovec) to discuss his career in baseball and how new stats develop (2:56) , sits down with Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) of SIS to asses the best and worst defensive teams in baseball (20:38) and look at the hard-hit rate leader board (26:29), takes questions from listeners (32:23), and closes with the Ridiculous Stat of the Day (36:21).
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Apr 28, 2019
Mark Simon Talks Pitching with Tyler Kepner
Sports Info Solutions Senior Research Analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is back for round two of the SIS Baseball Podcast. This week, Mark looks at the San Diego Padres (@Padres) upgrading the left side of their infield (0:52), welcomes New York Times national baseball writer Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) to the show to talk pitching and his new book (2:50), sits down with Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) of SIS to examine early defensive trends (17:26) and answer questions from the listeners (23:59), and finishes with a couple "Ridiculous Numbers of the Day" (28:04).
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Apr 28, 2019
Mark Simon's SIS Baseball Podcast featuring Jayson Stark
Welcome to the pilot episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast with Sports Info Solutions Senior Research Analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays). Mark discusses his spotlight player for 2019 (0:48), welcomes The Athletic's Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) to the show to talk about shifting and defense (4:04) and introduces new stat developments at SIS with research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) (12:45).
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