Best Podcast in Baseball

Advanced defensive metrics are in good hands as 'The Fielding Bible V' drops this week, and one of the authors, Mark Simon, joins The Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss the evolution of defensive stats, some of the best fielders at each position, and if there is way to put in simple terms (runs) how the Cardinals can compensate for a lack of offense with a robust, even elite defense.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold, making his way across the state of Florida after covering some spring training baseball, talks with Simon about how the data digs Paul DeJong's defense at shortstop, how The Fielding Bible saw Kolten Wong coming as an elite defensive player years before the Gold Glove voters did, and how defensive stats may start to shape Hall of Fame voting.

The two baseball writers all discuss if Yadier Molina is the breakthrough player, or maybe it's Omar Vizquel.

The Best Podcast in Baseball, brought to you by Closets by Design, is a production of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The eighth season of Best Podcast in Baseball begins with a brand new episode and a question, borrowed from a baseball podcast in Britain: What five players define your relationship with baseball? St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold talks with Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel and MLB.com Cardinals beat writer Anne Rogers about the players that made them baseball fans, the players that kept them baseball players, and the players that mark their transition from baseball fan to baseball writer. With three generations represented -- Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennial -- the list of players mentioned has wide range, but a few notable overlaps, too. The trio of baseball writers also discuss the five players who will define the 2020 Cardinals season and set the table for future episodes of BPIB -- coming weekly throughout the baseball season. The Best Podcast in Baseball is a production of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Bat Flips & Nerds,' a UK-based baseball broadcast hosted by a group of British seamheads, invited St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold onto their show to discuss the 2020 London Series, the Cardinals traveling abroad to face the Cubs, and much much more. But really they talked about pubs.

Russell Eassom hosted the podcast, and the crew at Bat Flips & Nerds, which you can find on Twitter and on its Web site, was kind enough to allow for a crossover episode, using the audio here at BPIB. We also both use the word "asymptotic" to describe something -- and do so correctly.

Coming soon: The Eighth Season of BPIB, debuting from Jupiter, Fla. The Best Podcast in Baseball is a production of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for the finale of the podcast's seventh season, right on the eve of Cardinals' pitchers and catchers reporting for 2020 spring training. The Cardinals have some cleaning up to do in camp -- specifically finding a cleanup hitter. BPIB host Derrick Goold talks with 'The Commish' about whether the offense is the be-all, end-all question for the Cardinals, and how long they can go into the season without an answer. In his 43rd spring training as a baseball writer for The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hummel also discusses past tales of Florida follies on the fields of spring. The Best Podcast in Baseball, which will return in the first week of spring with a brand new season, is a production of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.