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On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays)is joined by Nationals center fielder Jacob Young (@jacob_young27) to talk about his run of defensive excellence in 2024.
Young talked about what goes into playing the position, specifically how he’s one of the best in MLB at getting good jumps on fly balls. He walked us through 2 catches he made this season, one against Kiké Hernández (link to watch) and another against Ozzie Albies (link).
Mark was also joined by his colleague at SIS, Joey Mahon, to talk pitcher injuries, the trade deadline, and bat speed stats.
Thank you for listening. Please check out Archive.FieldingBible.com for your defensive stats needs, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].
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On this episode of The Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Rays outfield prospect Chandler Simpson, a baseball fan who cleverly used analytics for good, Jenn Rubenstein (@queerfancystats), and SIS baseball operations analyst Stephen Marciello (LinkedIn) .
Chandler introduced himself by telling us about some videos online showing him as a kid dancing like Michael Jackson … and how those skills related to baseball. He walked us through the idea of ball, wall, ball and walked us through the best play he’s made in the minors. Note: After the interview, Chandler was the star of the minor league game at Rickwood Field on Tuesday (though he also left the game with a calf injury).
He also told us all the different checkpoints he considers when thinking (or not thinking) about stealing a base. And he explained why he’s studying the hitting of Luis Arraez so closely.
Jenn told us about how they used analytics as a way to calculate donations to LGBTQ-related causes, how the idea originated, MLB’s relationship with LGBTQ fans, and what a misidentified pair of socks can teach us about changing your thoughts when data presents itself to show that you’re wrong.
Stephen explained his role at SIS and talked about some of the game’s breakout players in 2024.
Thank you for listening. Please check out Archive.FieldingBible.com for your defensive stats needs, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Rangers utility man Josh Smith (@joshhsmith4), baseball writer Matthew Trueblood (@MATrueblood) and SIS operations associate Mark Bricker (@brick26house).
Mark S. and Josh talk about Josh’s move to different positions, his approach to playing defense, and the tip he’d give to any kids that want to play defense like he does (a different answer than we usually get) (3:28).
Matt and Mark talk about Matt’s defense-oriented articles, including one on the aggressive defense of Willy Adames, the slight decline in William Conteras’ pitch framing, the disappearance of the double play, and the experience of watching Eduoard Julien field 400 batted balls (13:15).
The two Marks then talk about Bryce Harper’s defensive approach, how Shota Imanaga has changed as a pitcher, and how the Yankees and Phillies are dominating with one pitching plan and the Brewers are winning with another (27:53).
Thank you for listening. Please check out Archive.FieldingBible.com for your defensive stats needs, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. -
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, Mariners bench coach Manny Acta (@mannyacta14), and SIS operations analyst Nick Rabasco (@nrabasco1).
Ryan talks to us about playing first baseman, where he's been a league leader in our "Good Fielding Plays" stat, what it's been like to switch positions at various points in his baseball life, and how he puts technology to use (3:48).
Manny talks to us about the details behind a recent article we wrote about the Mariners excellence in defensive positioning. He gives an intense breakdown of how the Mariners position their infielders, an approach that differs from many other teams. And he talks about how he collaborates with the team's analytics department (14:44).Nick explains what he does at SIS, then gets into a discussion with Mark about SIS' version of scorekeeping, what's so impressive about Mookie Betts, and how the Red Sox have changed their pitching approach under new coach Andrew Bailey (27:53).
Thank you for listening. Please check out Archive.FieldingBible.com for your defensive stats needs, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. -
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Will Carroll (@injuryexpert), CEO of NTangible Sports and the Under The Knife baseball injury newsletter and SIS injury associate Brett Barnes.
The conversation is all things injury-related, not just pitcher injuries. The 3 discuss the abundance of muscular injuries, future prognosis for Mike Trout and Byron Buxton, and novel ideas like catcher innings limits and whether injuries may necessitate tandem starters.
Thank you for listening. Please check out Archive.FieldingBible.com for your defensive stats needs, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. -
On this episode Mark Simon is joined by Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel, baseball writer Daniel Epstein, and SIS baseball operations analyst Brandon Tew.
Mark and Kyle talk about Kyle's defensive approach, which has helped him to rank 3rd in Defensive Runs Saved the last 2 seasons. Kyle explains how a childhood game got him on an early path to being a top defensive player and what it was like to rob a home run from Bryce Harper and make an incredible play against Marcus Semien. And he shares what kind of tattoo he would want to create to commemorate the kind of defense he plays (2:50).Mark and Daniel discuss Daniel's comprehensive video analysis articles, including ones on Mookie Betts, tagging effectiveness, and how first basemen catch throws, as well as a piece on pitchers introducing the splitter to their repertoire (14:41).
Mark and Brandon chat about how Kansas has taken one of its players and turned him into a roving defender, which players could go 1-1 in this year's MLB Draft, and a difference in pitch usage between MLB and NPB pitchers (30:29).
Thank you for listening. Please check out Archive.FieldingBible.com for your defensive stats needs, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].
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On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) does an "everything but defense" show, talking to Cubs minor league hitting coach and co-hitting coordinator Rachel Folden (@rachelfolden25) and pitching analyst Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz), who writes his own newsletter and does analysis for Marquee Sports.
Rachel, a former softball All-American, talks about her path to her current job and what goes into teaching hitting from the perspective of understanding biomechanics, the lingo, the stats, and the player. She offers advice to those who want to work in a similar role and shares some of her success stories (3:16).
Lance talks about the trend of significant pitcher injuries to start the season, gives some examples of pitcher analysis he's done, and provides perspective on how fans could best utilize his info (20:25).
And then SIS VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales (@bobby_scales) joins us to further explain some of the things we learned in Rachel's interview. He also talks baserunning, specifically the challenges of being a major league third base coach and whether runners are sent home enough in situations that they should be (39:32).Lance's newsletter: LanceBroz.Substack.com
YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@LanceBroz
Thank you for listening. Please check out Archive.FieldingBible.com for your defensive stats needs, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. -
On this episode, we honor Women’s History Month with 2 interviews featuring women working in baseball in different ways.
First, Mark Simon talks to Saint Elizabeth University catcher Alexia Jorge, who became the 2nd woman to start at catcher in a college baseball game. Alexia has been playing baseball (not softball) her entire life and she speaks to us about her techniques for pitch framing and thwarting basestealing attempts, as well as how she prepares for upcoming opponents with limited data and information available (3:34).
Then we speak with baseball researcher Emily-Anne Patt, who talks about a project she’s worked on - with research partner James Stockton - for the last several years. Emily-Anne’s work deals with analyzing strike zone sizes and shapes for umpires, catchers, pitchers, and hitters. She’s presented at the last 2 SABR Analytics Conferences and shared some of her findings on specific players (her project is very much in line with work SIS does) (19:39).
Mark also recapps Alexia’s interview with SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales and talks about the things Bobby is most looking forward to watching in 2024 (32:33).
Other SIS interviews with women in baseball:
Rachel Balkovec
Bianca Smith
Alex Oglesby
Veronica Alvarez, Tess Taruskin, Sarah Thompson
Justine Siegal PhD
Kiri Oler and Emily Curtis
Jasmine Dunston
A.J. Andrews
Chelsea Janes, Andrea Arcidipane, Sarah Thompson
Thank you for listening. Please check out the new FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. -
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez (@andresgimenez). Andrés talks about how he does what he does on defense, which led to him winning a 2023 Fielding Bible Award. Andrés even explains one thing he does with his wife in the offseason to help him stay athletic (0:36).
Then, SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (@bobby_scales) joins us to talk about what Andrés had to say (14:32).
Links to the 3 plays mentioned in the episode:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Julio Rodríguez
Anthony SantanderThank you for listening. Please check out the new FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].
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On this special Black History Month episode, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Pirates' Vice President of Player Personnel Steve Williams and former MLB pitcher LaTroy Hawkins (@LaTroyHawkins32).
Steve talks about his career working in baseball and the role he plays as the president of the Buck O'Neil Professional Baseball Scouts & Coaches Association (0:38).
LaTroy talks about his lengthy career, creating opportunities in baseball for underserved communities, and how he has adjusted to changes in the game now that he is working as a Special Assistant for the Twins (21:28).
Mark and Bobby also take a few minutes to talk about the Jackie Robinson Museum and the Negro League Baseball Museum (41:03)
Check out the podcasts mentioned in the show using the links below:
Black Diamonds Podcast
Thick Skin Podcast
Thank you for listening. Please check out the new FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. -
On this episode, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Orioles pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek, SIS’ Asian Baseball scout and operations associate Brandon Tew, (@BrandonTeweets) and our VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales (@Bobby_Scales).
Ryan walks us through his career path and explains what goes into being a pitching strategy coach in the major leagues (0:48).
Brandon shares his scouting reports on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shōta Imanaga, Naoyuki Uwasawa, Jung-hoo Lee, Yuki Matsui, and Woo-suk Go. (Click the link to read the report.) (18:29)
And then Mark and Bobby talk about the recent Hall of Fame elections of Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer, and look ahead to the next Hall of Fame ballot, which features Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia. (31:58)
Thank you for listening. Please check out the new FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].
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On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, we remember the many baseball players - major leaguers, minor leaguers, NPB players, and college players - that we spoke to in 2023.
You'll hear the best we got from Phillies GM Sam Fuld, Washington Post reporter Chelsea Janes, Tre' Morgan, Vance Honeycutt, Noah Miller, Nasim Nuñez, Brenton Doyle, Bobby Witt Jr., Bobby Scales, Marcus Semien, Josh Rojas, David MacKinnon, Myles Straw, Jake Meyers, Adley Rutschman, Marquis Grissom, Kevin Kiermaier, and Ke'Bryan Hayes
Apply to work as a SIS Baseball Video Scout here
Thank you for listening. Please check out the new FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]..
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The podcast goes global this week as Mark Simon is joined by Seibu Lions first baseman David MacKinnon and Japan Baseball Weekly podcast co-host John Gibson.
Mark and David talk about David's first season in Japan both from a baseball and cultural perspective and how being a college soccer goalie made him a better defensive player (1:23).
Mark and John then review the 2023 NPB Fielding Bible Award winners, explaining what made each of those players so good (12:13).
And SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales comes on for his regular segment breaking down what MacKinnon said and the things that separated the Texas Rangers from other teams in the postseason (25:35).
Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. -
Thursday, Sports Info Solutions announced the winners of The 2023 Fielding Bible Awards. Each year since 2006 our voters have picked the best defensive player at each position. This year, we’ve added a Defensive Player of the Year award to the mix. Podcast host Mark Simon and SIS VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales run through the winners and discuss what makes them great. We are joined by Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier to talk to them about their seasons.
Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. -
On this episode of The Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by national baseball writers, Tyler Kepner of The Athletic (@tylerkepner) and Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post (@chelsea_janes).
This is our 3rd annual “The Year in Surprises” episode. Tyler, Chelsea, and Mark each offer their pick for most surprising team, position player, and pitcher. Among the teams and players that come up in the conversation are the Mets, Padres, Diamondbacks, Orioles, Kyle Bradish, Isaac Paredes, Zach Eflin, and even Freddie Freeman and Blake Snell (for specific reasons) (0:28).
Mark is then joined by SIS VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales (@bobby_scales), who offers his thoughts on the Rangers resurgence, the Braves’ potential playoff issue, the potentially scary nature of the Brewers, and the goodbyes for Miguel Cabrera and Adam Wainwright (27:21).
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 [email protected]. -
On this episode of The Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by a pair of minor league defensive standouts, Noah Miller from the Twins organization (0:58) and Nasim Nuñez (16:19) from the Marlins organization.
We enjoyed talking about how they do what they do on D. Noah Miller leads all shortstops in the minor league version of Defensive Runs Saved this season with Nuñez consistently ranking around the top 5.
They talk about their specific defensive approaches, how they've come to be students of the game, and walked us through some of the best plays they've made.
SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales joined us to dissect what both players talked about (30:10).
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 [email protected].
Plays referenced in the interviews
Nasim's QB1 play
Nasim's diving play
Noah's great play -
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who has been one of the best players in baseball both offensively and defensively since the All-Star Break.
Bobby talks about how he's no longer trying to field balls and make throws at the same time and how he mentally resets before each pitch. He also breaks down some of the best plays he's made in 2023 (0:29).Afterwards, Mark discusses the interview with Sports Info Solutions VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (@bobby_scales), who provides additional depth to some of the things Bobby Witt Jr. talked about, including a sliding play on Mike Tauchman (VIDEO). With the MLB home run robbery record being broken last week, Bobby also explains what it's like to watch a home run robbery on the field (13:34).
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 [email protected]. -
On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by The Athletic senior writer Eno Sarris (@enosarris), as well as Noah Gatsik (@iamthatnoah) and Brandon Tew (@brandonteweets), who help run SIS Baseball Scout School.
Mark and Eno talk pitching, with a focus on the Giants, Astros, and Orioles. Among the names that come up are Grayson Rodriguez, Framber Valdez, and Jakob Junis, along with organizational pitching philosophies (0:33).
Mark, Noah, and Brandon talk about SIS Scout School, a program that helps SIS employees learn how to scout baseball players. They discuss their favorite things to teach related to scouting hitting, pitching, and defense (16:49).
You can find Stuff+ leaderboards at FanGraphs.
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 [email protected].
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On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman and MLB.com writer Jonathan Mayo, author of the new book Smart, Wrong, and Lucky, The Origin Stories of Baseball’s Unexpected Stars.
Adley talks about the challenges of catching the different pitchers on the Orioles staff, how the team’s pitching strategist helps him with game preparation, and what he could do defensively that would top switch-hitting home runs in the Home Run Derby (0:39).
Jonathan discusses his new book and shares the scouting story behind the drafting of Mookie Betts. He explains the different types of work that goes into scouting a player. And he offers a college player and a minor league prospect that could be high-impact players defensively (12:38).
We are also joined by SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales, who joins Mark in analyzing some of the big moves made at the trade deadline (27:18).
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 [email protected]. -
On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by baseball writers Jay Jaffe (FanGraphs, The Cooperstown Casebook) and Russell Carleton (Baseball Prospectus, The New Ballgame).
With this being Hall of Fame week, Jay comes on to talk about a series of pieces he's written about the Hall of Fame candidacies of current players. We discuss Jose Ramirez, Freddie Freeman, Kenley Jansen, and Marcus Semien from a variety of angles (0:51).
Russell comes on to talk about his new book, which takes a macro (and micro) look at the hidden forces shaping contemporary baseball (17:40).
To wrap the show, Mark is joined by SIS VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales. They discuss CC Sabathia's Hall of Fame candidacy, the rise of the Orioles, and what the days leading up to the MLB trade deadline are like behind the scenes (30:09).
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 [email protected].Links
The Cooperstown Casebook
The New Ballgame
Jay Jaffe's FanGraphs articles
Russell Carleton's BP articles - Visa fler