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On this episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien and Astros center fielder Jake Meyers for a pair of conversations about defensive excellence. Marcus talks about a couple of memorable plays from the season, the hardest things about playing second base, the level of peak focus a hitter and fie…

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…

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…

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 hi…

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 …

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…

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 20…

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 B…

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 of…

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…

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 i…

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 …

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 inf…

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…

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…

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. H…

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 th…

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 …

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 Ro…

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 throug…

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 a…

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…

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…

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 n…

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 …

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 want…

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 m…

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 cha…

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 …

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 di…

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 ch…

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 (@MarkASimonSay…

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 Richar…

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…

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! wher…

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), …

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…

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 t…

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 take…

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),…

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…

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 a…

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 walke…

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 (2:0…

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-…

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 h…

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…

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 R…

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 …

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…