Baseball Beyond Batting Average

Mark and Andy are back to where it all started, introducing advanced stats one episode at a time. This time though, there's a little twist in that the "stats" are really just measurements, and instead of one, they talk about four or five different ones. The topic this time around is Statcast stats, and to start their investigation, your hosts are looking at offensive measurements: exit velocity, launch angle, lead distance, and sprint speed. Mark and Andy break down these divisive metrics in an effort to better understand how they're measured and what they mean. Leaderboards and loserboards are utilized to help sort out what kinds of numbers are typical, and which major leaguers have extreme values in all categories. The episode is wrapped up with a round of Roll The Stat, in which the hosts guess players' sprint speeds. Please listen and play along and see if you can also become a Statcast expert.

The careers of Don Mattingly and Kirby Puckett, although divergent in many ways--big-market vs. small-market, first baseman vs. center fielder, Hall of Famer vs. Just Really Good--also overlap considerably. The single-franchise heroes essentially played during the same seasons and have remarkably similar statistical profiles. Each one was regarded as a superstar during a career that was cut short by injury/illness. How does each player fare under the advanced stats microscope? Is Puckett's HoF induction warranted? Is Mattingly's exclusion? Mark and Andy take turns dissecting the careers to allow you to draw your own conclusions. The hosts finish it off with a round of Roll The Stat in which they guess the career WHIPs of AL All-Star pitchers from 1986-1989. If that's something you do regularly anyway, this episode is definitely made for you.

The 2019 calendar year and season can finally be properly wrapped up, as Mark and Andy are back for their third installment of the BBBA Awards. Along with giving their takes on the existing inferior awards (MVP, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young), your hosts give their own recognition to players for accomplishments both good and bad. Among awards that return this year are The Bergen Award, The Tiny Glove, and The Balboni Award, while new additions include the LaMarr Hoyt Award and the Jeff Burroughs Award. The hosts wrap it up with a scintillating version of Roll The Stat by guessing 2019 hitters' career Runs Created. Listen and celebrate the 2019 season in all its holiday glory.

Mark and Andy are back to revamp the stats on the backs of baseball cards. Although they didn't completely do away with traditional stats, there are plenty of more advanced stats that deserve a place among the 14 or so columns shown on the cardboard for both hitters and pitchers. They didn't quite reach consensus yet, but started the conversation and made some definitive choices (sorry, wins and saves) about certain stats. The leaderboards from 2019 were used to give some context to the stats being discussed, and the episode wraps up--as always--with a scintillating round of Roll The Stat. Can you guess pitchers' career K/9? The hosts discover a simple trick for always guessing correctly. Listen to find out!

Mark and Andy are back with your favorite advanced baseball stats podcast after a brief hiatus. The topic this time is Phillies catchers. Your hosts investigate the men who have played the position over the years through the lens of advanced stats. The names range from Darren Daulton to Andy Seminick to more recent luminaries like J. T. Realmuto and Jorge Alfaro. The episode wraps up with a BBBA staple, Roll The Stat. Play along with your hosts and try out your newfound Phillies catchers expertise.

In the final installment of their summer programming, Mark and Andy break down the Mount Rushmores for all five teams in the current National League East. Controversy ensues as the hosts debate, along with listeners and Twitter followers, the legitimacy of candidates and even of the existence of certain teams. Both podcasters have emotional ties to teams from the division, which made the task all the more difficult. Listen and play along in another round of Roll The Stat, in which Mark and Andy guess--*gasp*--batting averages of NL East hitters. It's a fitting cap to a fun series.

Mark and Andy bring you the fifth out of six episodes in their Mount Rushmores series, in which they determine the faces for the teams of the National League West. This may have been the most difficult division to date, as each team presented decisions that could have gone any of several different ways. Ultimately though, there can be only four. As always, we hear from listeners and Twitter followers who help shape the mountainsides with their opinions and wacky takes. Finally, the hosts play a little Roll The Stat, in which they guess career WHIPs for pitchers who played for at least two National League West teams.

Mark and Andy continue their "summer programming" with the next in their series of MLB divisions' Mount Rushmores. This time it's the NL Central, as the 5 current occupants of the division take their turns under the microscope. Twitter followers and podcast listeners chime in with their opinions, comical or serious as they may be, and your hosts sort through it all to illuminate all the faces that could grace the hypothetical mountainside. At the end, play along as Mark and Andy square off in a round of Roll The Stat and guess RBI totals of hitters who played for at least two NL Central franchises.

Mark and Andy wrap up the Mount Rushmores of the American League by naming a top 4 for each team in the American League Central. This episode, just as the previous two, is spiced up with listener submissions and voting. While the listeners' lists are often comical or based on factors other than greatness, the hosts mostly base their lists on the bread-and-butter of the podcast--statistics. Despite the preference for numbers, they do allow a Steve Balboni or two to sneak in here or there. The show wraps up with a rousing rendition of Roll The Stat. Play along and see if Mark continues his recent dominance by using his superior knowledge of AL Central pitchers.

Mark and Andy are joined by the voice of Wax Ecstatic, Matt Sammon, to tackle the daunting task of coming up with a Mount Rushmore for every current American League East team. Matt lends his expertise as a former Rays employee and Blue Jays fan and general baseball guy and Mark and Andy lend their usual takes incorporating stats and stories. The hosts also attempt to stump their guest with a round of Which Was Bigger?, but he dominates like no other. After the lengthy discussions regarding the faces worthy of being carved into a mountainside, Mark and Andy wrap it up with a round of Roll The Stat in which they guess players' career WPAs. Stick around to the end; you won't be disappointed.