Baseball Beyond Batting Average

The debates about who are the ultimate representatives for the Major League Baseball franchises is sure to be lively and bring up differences in opinions and criteria. Mark and Andy give their takes on who should be carved on the mountainside, taking into account many factors, including of course advanced metrics. This first episode in the series limits the scope to just the current American League West teams. That doesn't stop the episode from clocking in at well over an hour though, as both hosts present their case for their top 4, and time is also given for the opinions of Twitter followers. It's all wrapped up with round of Roll The Stat, in which Mark and Andy guess the number of career shutouts for pitchers who pitched for at least two AL West teams. Enjoy the show and feel free to disagree.

The great Grant McAuley joins Mark and Andy to discuss the spotty history of Braves second basemen. Stories abound for this collection of names, but choosing the best players to man the position in history proved challenging. Most players--from Lemke to Giles to Hornsby--only played the position for a few seasons at most. Did Glenn Hubbard's 1984 Fleer "snake" card make an appearance on the show? If you've listened to any episode, you know the answer to that. McAuley's expertise shines for over an hour of this episode, while your regular hosts do their best to keep up and then show off what they know in an historic round of Roll The Stat.

Todd Helton dominates the Rockies first basemen leaderboards like no other, and although there are only 75 players to have ever manned the position, there are plenty of interesting names, stats, and stories to go around. Mark and Andy go down the path of exploring all the ins and outs of Rockies first sackers, but get sidetracked along the way for conversations about 1990 Topps, the 1983 Seattle Mariners, and that thin Rocky Mount air. Names such as Jay Gainer, Kit Pellow, and Butch Huskey figure prominently. It all wraps up with a riveting round of Roll The Stat, the fastest-growing baseball stat guessing game in the 18-34 male demographic. Play along, beat the hosts, and bring home that hardware for the mantle.

Your hosts thought it would be hard to make an episode about only one position for one team. Then they did it. Now, they attempt to fill an entire episode about only two players--Andre Dawson and Steve Garvey. Not only did Mark and Andy do it, but they made their longest episode to date. Be prepared to know more about these two players than you ever wanted to know and decide for yourself on their level of greatness. The hosts wrap it up as always with a round of Roll The Stat, in which they guess career slugging averages of hitters who were on the 1981 NL All-Star team with Garvey and Dawson. Enjoy!

If you're going to commit to doing an episode about every position for every team, that means you're going to have to do a Marlins leftfielders episode. You might be surprised by how many stars have played the position in the franchise's short history, however. While there are plenty of Chris Coghlans and Bryan Petersons, there's also Miggy, Ichiro, Sheff, Rock, and The Hawk. Despite a limited database, there are plenty of delicious statistical nuggets. As usual, Mark and Andy pick their top 5 and finish the episode with a round of Roll The Stat, your favorite baseball stat guessing game. You'll gain a newfound appreciation for the Fish franchise.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been around forever, and their long history affords Mark and Andy the opportunity to dig in deep to the history of their catchers. While a large chunk of time is devoted to more recent names like Jason Kendall, Manny Sanguillen, and Tony Pena, the Doggie Millers and Bill Salkelds get their due as well. Your hosts look at the analytical side of the conversation, as well as a lighter take in investigating best names, future Hall of Famers, and best baseball cards. Of course, you'll have to play along in a round of Roll The Stat, everyone's favorite baseball stat guessing game. By the end, you too will be a Pirates catchers expert.

Mark and Andy attempt to rethink the Cy Young Award winners in the 1990s, but find that, because of a handful of dominant starters, most choices were easy. Even looking at the candidates through the lens of advance stats instead of just wins and ERA, there's a lot of Maddux, Clemens, Johnson, and Martinez. That doesn't stop the hosts from making a couple of controversial decisions with the benefit of hindsight. Bob Welch, we're looking at you. They wrap it up with a round of Roll The Stat, a mind-blowing stat guessing game, in which you can play along guessing the career ERA+ of 1990s Cy Young candidates (and Rob Dibble). Have fun and learn a little along the way.

Mark and Andy are back with another installment in the every-team-every-position-series, this time with their first Blue Jays episode and their first episode focusing on relief pitchers. You may think they'd be hard pressed to do a whole episode solely on Blue Jays relievers, but you probably had forgotten the contributions of Mark Eichhorn, Roy Lee Jackson, Mark Lemongello, and Dale Murray. The hosts take you on a tour of all the memorable and not-so-memorable names, and rank the greatest relievers in Toronto history by consulting the statistical leaderboards. The episode wraps up with a round of Roll The Stat, the baseball stat guessing game that all the kids are talking about. By the end, you'll know more about Duane Ward than you ever wanted to know.

Mark and Andy return with another episode of your favorite baseball stats podcast, this time centering around the players who have manned the "position" of designated hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers. Only having a full-time designated hitter for 25 seasons allows the hosts to really zero in on a large majority of the significant names, so you'll hear about Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons, and Hank Aaron, but also Dick Davis, Randy Ready, and Joey Meyer. The shows shifts from statistical leaderboards to (sometimes inaccurate) vignettes, with a little Hall of Fame talk mixed in. Of course, you will want to play along in America's Favorite Baseball Stat Guessing Game, Roll The Stat. You'll be a winner for just having played.

Mark and Andy are back with what may be their best episode yet--a sprawling, genre-defying, magnum opus of an ode to St. Louis Cardinals starting pitchers. While obvious names like Bob Gibson and Adam Wainwright get their due, the hosts make sure to include more obscure names like John Fulgham, Silver King, and Memo Luna. Through a close inspection of leaderboards, the true greats rise to the top, allowing each host to stake their claim to a Top 5 list. Of course, the episode wraps up with Roll The Stat, the most popular baseball stat guessing game since the 1950s staple "Guess My RBIs!". See if you can top Andy's historic performance and become a true BBBA champion.