The SIS Baseball Podcast

On this episode Mark Simon announces the winners of The 2026 Fielding Bible Awards. This is the 21st annual edition of the Awards which salute the best defensive players in baseball.

He's joined by two Fielding Bible Award winners: Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler and Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu. Mark is also joined by Ben Clemens of FanGraphs to discuss their processes for voting for the Awards. 

Ben's explanation of how he voted

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/how-i-voted-for-the-2026-fielding-bible-awards-infield

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/how-i-voted-for-the-2026-fielding-bible-awards-outfield-pitchers-and-more/

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. 

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by sportswriters Chelsea Janes (SNY) and Tyler Kepner to review the biggest surprises of the season among hitters, pitchers, fielders, teams, and things.

Among the players and teams brought up both for good and for bad: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Paul Skenes, Miguel Vargas, Andy Pages, Louis Varland, the Rays, Brewers, White Sox, and much more.

Our next episode will be just before the World Series with the announcement of The Fielding Bible Awards.

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode Mark Simon is joined by Braves utility man Mauricio Dubon, as well as baseball researchers Chris and Lindsay Dial. Chris was an early pioneer in the field of defensive metrics. Lindsay is a writer at Baseball Prospectus who has looked into topics that include competitive balance, and language in baseball journalism.

Mark and Mauricio talked about the challenges of playing so many different positions, why transitioning from infield to outfield is tough beyond just making plays, and why Mauricio tracks the catch probabilities on the plays he makes.

Mark, Chris, and Lindsay talked about Chris's early invention of a defensive stat, originally known as Defensive Runs Saved, but now known as Runs Effectively Defended (RED for short). They also discussed Lindsay's recent piece comparing competitive balance across MLB, the NBA, and the NFL, as well as her look at vocabulary used to describe players by baseball writers that was a presentation at the SABR convention.

Lindsay's article on competitive balance

https://www.seatoseabaseball.com/the-myth-of-competitive-balance/

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by two MLB prospects who are excelling defensively.

The one you might know by name is shortstop Eli Willits, last year's No. 1 pick by the Washington Nationals, who currently is playing in High-A and leading minor league shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved.

The other is Dylan O'Rae, a second baseman in the Brewers organization who is playing very well defensively and dominating in basestealing too for the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers.

Mark talked to Eli and Dylan about memorable plays they've made and how they go about playing their respective positions. They're both big on creating. In Eli's case, that's creating your own hop to field balls cleanly. In Dylan's case, that's creating (and preventing) chaos.

We were also joined by Jack Cecil, an SIS alum and R&D analyst for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who talked with Mark about recent posts on LinkedIn about innovation in baseball and how player projection and player development can work best together.

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Eric Young Sr., manager of the Los Angeles Queens in the Women's Professional Baseball League.

After a longtime playing and coaching career in the major leagues Eric is enjoying the opportunity to manage. He shared some behind-the-scenes of a memorable Opening Day win in the league's inaugural game. He gave some insight on who some of the top players will be. He also shared his coaching influences and a sign that this opportunity was meant to be. He also explained how he's approaching managing without access to some of the analytics he had in the major leagues.

Listen to our interview from February with San Francisco Firebells infielder Joely Leguizamon

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by standout Marlins rookie catcher Joe Mack, one of our Defensive Player of the Month selections for June.

Mack talked about the adjustments to the major leagues and what the MLB experience has been like. He also explained the logistics of the Marlins' pitch-calling system and pitch challenge strategy, and shared which basestealer he's taken the most pride in throwing out.

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by two major leaguers: Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe and Guardians catcher Austin Hedges.

Brandon talked to us about how he's been one of the most improved defensive players in baseball this season and the one small change that made that possible. He also shared some behind-the-scenes of what went into making some great defensive plays.

Austin rejoined us after chatting with us about all things catching defense in 2019. We focused our attention on pitch challenges, both how he's handling them and the strategy that goes into whether or not to challenge a pitch. 

This is very much an episode for learning about how players do what they do defensively.

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode Mark Simon was joined by Nate Burke, creator of the website TapToChallenge.com, an encyclopedia tracking pitch challenges across MLB.

Nate explained all the different things his site tracks - pitchers, hitters, catchers, even umpires, with lots of visuals and additional stats assessing the value and worthiness of challenges. Mark and Nate then discussed some of their favorite stats, including Bryce Eldridge's perfection and how the Yankees and Nationals appear to have shut down the challenges by two of their notable players. 

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

We're a few days late with this week's episode but we have two great guests.

Mark Simon was joined by former MLB manager Dusty Baker, whose new book, Crossroads, A Memoir in Baseball and Life came out this week.

Mark and Dusty talked about how Hank Aaron was great at positioning the Braves outfielders, what stats Dusty kept handy in the dugout, how he used to make lineup decisions based on whether players were good low-ball hitters, why music and dancing are important in baseball, and more.

Then Mark was joined by Ed Wheatley, author of the new book, The Finest in the Field, a coffee table book from Rawlings about baseball gloves and their use throughout MLB history. Ed shared stories about famous players from the past and the gloves they used, and what he thinks of the modern baseball glove.

Both are wonderful books for baseball fans of any time period.

Link to Alex Vigderman's article about Defensive Runs Saved and Fielding Run Value.

https://www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/06/04/study-defensive-runs-saved-fielding-run-value-are-inching-closer-to-each-other/

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode of The SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by FanGraphs baseball writer Ben Clemens. Both Ben and Mark are big fans of the game show, Jeopardy, so they decided to have a little fun with the show concept.

Ben and Mark took 4 categories apiece from the Tuesday May 20, 2026 episode of the show, and came up with one baseball stats-related question and answer that fit the category. 

The categories were:

- What's Your Angle?

- Catch You Later, Homes

- A Game of Numbers

- There's A Word for That

- Science

- On Your Merry Way

- Country Facts

- One Historical Figure, Two Plays

It got a little silly, but we promise you'll learn something new from this.

Afterwards, Mark was joined by his colleague, SIS senior product manager Noah Gatsik, to talk about the Rays hot start and what Noah likes about the ABS system.

Ben on Cristopher Sanchez

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/cristopher-sanchez-continuously-improving

Ben on the 2026 MLB Walk Rate

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/where-are-2026s-extra-walks-coming-from

Mark on the Rays defense

https://www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/05/14/stat-of-the-week-catching-some-rays/

Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].