Baseball Beyond Batting Average

Mark and Andy get back into the team/position episodes for an exploration of all things Rangers leftfielders. Although Harold Baines was a leftfielder and played for the Rangers, he never played leftfield for the Rangers. That didn't stop the hosts from spending a good bit of time debating his Hall of Fame election. Most of the time was spent analyzing players who actually did play the position for the Washington/Texas franchise, though. Headliners like Josh Hamilton, Frank Howard, and Juan Gonzalez populate the leaderboards, but lesser luminaries like Billy Sample, Tony Scruggs, and Gary Gray really add character to the conversation. By the end, when you think you know everything from Allen (Hank) to Zisk (Richie), you can play along in Roll The Stat, P. K. Steinberg's favorite stat guessing game ever. You will almost undoubtedly beat the hosts this time.

The 2018 season can finally be properly wrapped up, as Mark and Andy are back for their second installment of the BBBA Awards. Along with giving their takes on the existing awards (MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Gloves), 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 Jeter Award, while new additions include the Fury Gene "Steamboat" Tenace Excellence in Plate Discipline Award and the Khris Davis Consistency in Batting Award. The hosts wrap it up with a thrilling version of Roll The Stat, the 2018 winner of "Best Baseball Podcast Stat Guessing Game." Listen and celebrate the 2018 season in all its glory.

Your favorite baseball podcast hosts return with another installment in their team/position series, this time exploring every nook and cranny of Pirates first basemen. Find out who the statistical leaders are, who Mark and Andy rank as their top 5 all-time, and some fun and interesting side nuggets along the way. While Stargell and Bream figure prominently in the conversation, detours are taken into Wham!-style Dylan covers, "pre-humidor Billings" rookie ball in 1978, and what to call Jose Rijo's 2001-02 comeback tour with the Reds. An episode wouldn't be complete without an intense match of Roll The Stat, and this one is no different, as Mark and Andy engage in a particularly close round based on WPA. Play along and be the winner you always knew you could be.

George Davis, Art Fletcher, Dick Bartell...the names of legendary Giants shortstops just roll off the tongue. Although the tops of the leaderboards of players to man the oxymoronically-named position don't necessarily include household names, there are plenty of other interesting names--Willie Mays, Darrell Evans, and Yale Murphy to name a few--to keep the delve interesting. Mark and Andy cover it all and then some, reaching conclusions about the best and worst to play the position and dropping a few jokes along the way. They wrap it up, as always, with a round of Roll The Stat, the highest-protein baseball stat guessing game among all sandwich meats. Please listen and tell them how much you like it.

The dice have spoken and the first random selection of a team and position is...Rays leftfielders! Mark and Andy dive into the brief history of players who have manned the position for Tampa Bay, from the Devil Ray days to the more successful and god-fearing Rays era. Through the lens of advanced stats, the hosts attempt to sort out who besides Carl Crawford belongs among the elite Rays leftfielders and who was not-so-elite, as well as digging up some interesting nuggets about players who you may not think of as Rays at all. Although they've only been around for 20 years, the Rays franchise has provided a lot of interesting moments and unforgettable players. The hosts wrap it up with a round of Roll The Stat, guessing career wOBAs of various former Rays. There's no better way to spend your weekday commute...or your cocktail party.

Mark and Andy are joined by baseball savant Chris Kamka in the next installment in their series of "every team, every position" episodes. Their guest shines light on the history of White Sox catchers in ways previously thought impossible. Every nook and cranny of the South Siders' backstops backstories is explored, both through the lens of advanced statistics and through tidbits and stories that would make the most ardent baseball historian proud. Kamka polishes off his star turn by destroying a round of Which Was Bigger? and obliterating the guests in a round of Roll The Stat, the fastest growing baseball stat guessing game in most demographics. Come for the Carlton Fisk information, but stay for the Steve Christmas and Bill Nahorodny nuggets.

As they did with MVP voting, Mark and Andy revisit the Cy Young voting of the 1980s through the lens of advanced stats to see if the right guys won. In an era in which voting was dominated by wins and saves, the hosts find plenty of room for improvement in the process and shed some light on some stars whose careers have been relatively overlooked but probably deserve some more love. They wrap it all up with an exhilarating round of Roll The Stat, the most popular advanced baseball stat guessing game created in the last 18 months. You'll never look at Dave Stieb the same way again.

Mark and Andy are joined by special guest Mark Simon of Baseball Info Solutions to talk about the complete history of Mets third basemen. The trio delve into not only the greatest, but also the obscure and forgotten, players to man the hot corner in eventful 56-year history of the other New York baseball franchise. While you may know Wright, HoJo, Ventura, and Alfonzo, do you know which Mets third basemen are in the Hall of Fame? Who was the worst all-time? Who has the best baseball card? Your hosts cover it all, with the added bonus of Simon's encyclopedic knowledge of all things baseball and statistics. Of course you are invited to play along in a round of Roll The Stat, the most important baseball stat guessing game created in the last 2 years. Never be embarrassed at a party by not knowing answers to Hubie Brooks trivia questions again.

Braves reporter Grant McAuley joins Mark and Andy for this deep dive into the storied history of Braves catchers. The result is the most informative episode of BBBA to date, a perfect balance of stories about people and statistical analysis. The familiar segments are here--Top Fives, Best Names, Best Baseball Cards, Leaderboards--all enhanced with McAuley's vast knowledge of all things Braves earned by working in the big leagues for over a decade. The hosts attempt to stump their guest with a strenuous game of Which Was Bigger? and fall victim to his latent aptitude for guessing advanced baseball statistics in getting trounced in Roll The Stat, the most popular sabermetric podcast game of 2018. It all makes for the most entertaining 80 minutes you'll spend this year. Come for the stats, stay for the stories.

The inclusion in and exclusion from the Baseball Hall of Fame is a continuous source of debate for certain players. Like all things baseball, experts have tried to quantify players' worthiness (and likeliness) of being in the Hall with different statistics. Your hosts Mark and Andy--joined for the first time by a guest, one P. K. Steinberg--break down these numbers and show where they come from and what they tell us. Although none is a be-all end-all, the numbers help contextualize the accomplishments of players over the long history of baseball. After becoming familiar with the metrics, Mark, Andy, and P. K. play a rousing round of Roll The Stat. Will the rookie win in his debut? Play along and show off your newfound expertise to friends and family alike, and let the Hall of Fame debates begin.