The Baseball Rabbi Podcast

Everyone knows that Kevin Cash made a terrible mistake by removing Blake Snell in the sixth inning of World Series Game Six... everyone, that is, except for the Baseball Rabbi. Pesach analyzes the decision from two directions: Snell's history of early fatigue, as well as what was happening during the game itself (yes, you'll have to rethink the narrative that he was unhittable through five innings). Meanwhile, stat guru Moshe Schorr joins the podcast to offer a completely different angle which NOBODY else considered, and which raises the question of how much a pitcher's dominance through five innings is predictive of his success during the rest of the game.

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The World Series is taking place at this very moment, and the Baseball Rabbi is back to enlighten you regarding narratives, the broadcast team of Joe Buck and John Smoltz, and everything else you need to be an educated baseball consumer. But the World Series happens (almost) every year; the posting of a new metric on Baseball Reference, cWPA, is a unique occurrence, and it's knocking Scott and Pesach's socks off. Join them as they obsess over what this stat proves, who ends up on the leaderboards, and what tweaks might be necessary in the future. Plus: quantifying where Game Four of the World Series ranks in terms of all-time exciting games. (Is there anything more Baseball Rabbi-ish than quantifying excitement?)

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For years Pesach has been expressing his intense dislike of the Miami Marlins; on today's podcast, we find out why. He gives a history of the team, indicating scandal, shell games, and corruption, and shows that the prime losers, of course, are the fans of Miami. But wait, there's more! The Baseball Rabbi offers a preview of Rays-Dodgers (and guesses - no predictions here - that it might be a short series), and shows that the Rays built their team primarily through trades rather than through the draft. And finally: what should the educated baseball fan look for when seeing a batter hit a foul ball?

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When Pesach criticized Aaron Boone for his use of Aroldis Chapman in the playoffs against the Rays, he was really using the same theory he developed last year when he criticized A.J. Hinch for his use of relievers like Will Harris in the World Series. Listen to this ten minute flashback and let us know if you agree.

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The late Whitey Ford, who won more games than any other pitcher in Yankee history, is seldom ranked among the very greatest pitchers of all time. Is this fair, or does he deserve more credit? And that famous narrative about manager Stengel's saving Ford for the big games - does that hold water, or is it simply false? Pesach and Scott look at the numbers to uncover the real story. Plus: how Aaron Boone contributed to the Yankees' playoff loss, storylines for the upcoming League Championship Series, and new details in comparing Gibson's best season with those of Pedro and Maddux.

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With Bob Gibson's passing last Friday, the world lost one of the greatest - and most interesting - players of all time. In this episode, Scott looks at his amazing career, while Pesach argues that his famous 1968 season with its 1.12 ERA might actually be underrated. They also get into a discussion of Yadier Molina's Hall worthiness, with advanced statistics simultaneously bolstering and harming his chances. Plus: Pesach previews Yankees-Rays, and warns people jumping on the Marlins bandwagon that no matter what happens in the playoffs, the team remains awful.

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In this classic offseason wrap-up episode, Pesach Wolicki suggests that World Series winning teams have something in common that belies the common assumption that winning in the playoffs is a roll of the dice. He also gets passionately annoyed about Jacob deGrom's 5th place showing in the MVP race (but not because Christian Yelich was a bad choice), and asks the voters to get their act together. Also, Scott Kahn discusses the Drew Brees of baseball, and an appreciation of Adrian Beltre.

Pesach and Scott continue their entertaining and enlightening conversation with former All Star pitcher Lary Sorensen, which began in episode 87. In this Baseball Rabbi bonus episode, Lary talks about spin rate vs. spin efficiency, rifle spin, and his work as Chief Baseball Officer at F5 sports, the creators of the PitchLogic Ball. (And don't miss his explanation of his title, "Chief Baseball Officer.") Lary also talks about teammates like Rickey Henderson, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Sal Bando, Bert Blyleven, Dave Kingman, and more.

Last week Pesach talked about the demise of the Yankees... which aged like month-old milk left in Death Valley. So let's try again: what's the deal with the Yankees? But while Scott and Pesach can laugh at the Yankees, they're extremely irritated at Rob Manfred's plan to maintain this 16-team playoff format into the future. Why will something that is effective in other sports be extraordinarily damaging to baseball? Plus: actual fun in the National League pennant race, and a serious discussion about the relationship between a team's racial attitudes and the city it represents.

The Yankees looked like a team with no weaknesses, a team that might be one of the greatest ever to play. But that was in March; today they look... OK. What went wrong? (No, it's not just injuries.) And what happened to the promise exhibited by Gary Sanchez a few years ago, and what can he do to regain that form? Pesach has a suggestion, so please pass it on when you see Gary. Plus: Scott does a deep dive into the greatest position player season in history, and more on attendance for franchises located in cities without a "baseball tradition."

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