The SIS Baseball Podcast

NOTE: This episode was taped last week prior to the player protests and games being postponed.

On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Dodgers second baseman Kiké Hernández (@kikehndez), who is off to a great defensive start to 2020. 

Kiké explains about how his work was impacted by the pandemic (0:51) and then 'talks shop' on how he covers ground laterally, how playing deep impacts his play, taking pride in his sprinting, which coaches impacted him the most, and the importance of keeping a soft base (2:43). 

Kiké also shares which play he's most proud of (which can be viewed HERE) (10:18) and what it's like to play with Mookie Betts playing behind him (11:57). He lists the top defensive players he's gotten to watch (14:09), shares how many gloves he's had (15:21), answers whether we'd ever see him catch (15:53), and explains (or didn't) how he hits Madison Bumgarner so well (16:29). 

To close the show, Mark shares the history of great defensive players from Hernández’s native Puerto Rico (17:42).

Thanks for listening as always. Please rate and review if you can. Stay safe and stay well.

Two weeks ago, we did an episode on women working in baseball analytics - Emily Curtis and Kiri Oler. This week, we turn our attention to people of color working in this field. Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talked to 3 of them - Javier Duren (@JD_Fresh20) of the Cardinals, Spencer Weisberg of the Mariners, and Karim Kassam (@professormullet) of the Twins.

Javier, in his third year with the Cardinals, explained how he went from graduating Yale to playing basketball professionally, to his current role as the Cardinals coordinator of technology and innovation. He shared stories from his basketball career, including what he takes from that to both watching baseball and to his current job. He explained what his role entails and what a typical day is like. He also gave advice to members of the African-American community who aspire to work in analytics and/or become athletes. (0:43)

Spencer, in his second year with the Mariners after graduating from Cal State-San Luis Obispo, explained his path to becoming a baseball analyst. He discussed his role with the team, his interactions with the front office and coaching staff, and the work he's specialized in. He also talked about what intrigued him about defensive metrics. Lastly he offered advice to others seeking to break into the baseball world as he did. (15:52)

Karim, the Twins director of baseball research, shared the story of his career path, which includes stops as a college professor, at a movie studio, and with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He talked about what's surprised him in his first year on the job, how other sports influenced him, what he finds most interesting to watch in baseball, which pro athlete he's most enjoyed working with, and what advice he has for others who want to work in his position. (34:04)

Thank you for listening to our podcast. If you liked the show, please rate and review us. Stay safe and stay well.

On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by ESPN and Sirius XM’s Eduardo Perez (@PerezEd) to talk about the meaningful names and numbers from the season’s first few weeks. Eduardo gives his take on low batting averages and pitcher injuries and with the latter explains why a change of scenery was good for Dylan Bundy (0:49). He also talks about the game’s top Latino stars, like Fernando Tatis (4:30), and the rise of Colombia as an MLB talent producer (7:11). They then look at a couple of players putting up video-game numbers in Charlie Blackmon and Shane Bieber (8:05), mull the staying power of the Rockies and the struggles of the Mets (10:28), and pick out something to watch in the next couple of weeks (16:40). Eduardo also shares his thoughts on what impressed him most in broadcasting KBO games (17:53).

Mark closes the show by challenging Eduardo to tell baseball stories on 3 random subjects – the color blue (18:47), large quantities of food (21:00), and pets (with a nod to his father, Tony Perez) (23:01), and gives a brief tribute to a Dodgers infielder who’s off to a strong defensive start (25:17).

A tip of the cap to New York sportscaster Len Berman, as our show title is a tribute to his fun work. Thanks for tuning in. Please rate and review the podcast wherever you can. Stay safe and stay well.

When we planned out Season 2 of our podcast, our goal was to make the show more thoughtful and more diverse. We continue to work towards that with this episode, which spotlights two women working in baseball analytics who recently spoke at a Women in Baseball event – Emily Curtis (@emweecurt) with the Mariners and Kiri Oler (@glitter_corpse) with the Phillies.

Emily details her path to baseball from growing up in Norman, Oklahoma and becoming a Cardinals fan, then landing a job with the Mariners as a baseball analyst (1:04). She talks about learning the different groups in baseball operations and how she communicates with each of them (5:30), then describes working on pitcher injury analysis (6:30), how the Mariners analytics team works hand-in-hand with a very busy and analytically-inclined GM and explains how data travels through the organization (8:15), and the challenge of developing models (12:30). Then she shares her thoughts on making the field of baseball analytics more inclusive (16:54). And we got in one question on the amazing start of Kyle Lewis! (22:13)

Kiri similarly explains her path from majoring in Math AND English to teaching to working in baseball, first with the Twins and now with the Phillies as a quantitative analyst (25:10). She explains her role working with the coaching staff (27:10), the different projects she’s taken on (29:40), the difference in working with people who like charts vs those who like visuals (32:25), and the usefulness of the “poop” emoji (33:22). Kiri also provides tips to women interested in working in baseball analytics, emphasizing that you never know what happens when you apply (36:43). We end by talking about her interest in the role Roman Quinn will play with the extra innings rule this season (39:29).

Mark finishes the show by sharing one way for women interested in learning about baseball analytics could find a mentor and discusses inroads made by women in baseball broadcasting (41:00).

For more information about Measurables Office Hours, check out www.measurablespod.com/officehours. The second session of the #HANIC Women in Baseball panel will be this Sunday night at 7 ET. You can learn more at #HANIC or sign up for the Zoom session at https://www.hanic-analytics.com/

On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by two beat writers to discuss the 2020 season outlooks for their respective teams.

Mark first talks to Derrick Goold (@dgoold), Cardinals beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the host of “The Best Podcast in Baseball.” Derrick explains how odd it has been to cover the team (1:04), then talks about what to make of a Cardinals team that isn’t necessarily abiding by the traditional Cardinals Way (3:56). He shares a stat that he is interested in following all season (7:12), explains why they are so good defensively (10:28), gives a “State of the Yadi” on the Cardinals catcher (15:02), and provides scenarios by which the Cardinals win the division and miss the playoffs - while also posing a question about why the Cubs “tickle the sims.” (17:38)

Mark is then joined by Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) of The Athletic who explains the unusual nature of covering the Dodgers in Los Angeles this season (24:11). He then offers his take on the weirdness of the first 4-game series with the Giants (26:04) and explains why performance in high-leverage situations will be his stat to watch (28:08). He shares what impresses him most about Mookie Betts (29:47), why Justin Turner is still so good at his age (31:14), and what Max Muncy does better than anyone on the team (32:27). He also looks at the Dodgers defense and pitching, offering predictions on ERA for Clayton Kershaw and saves for Kenley Jansen (33:10). He also picks an unheralded pitcher to watch (36:35). They close the interview by trying to figure out the 4% scenario by which the Dodgers don’t make the playoffs (37:40).

After both interviews, Mark offers his 2020 predictions for baseball’s MVD (Most Valuable Defenders). (39:18)

Thanks for tuning in. Don’t forget to rate and review. Stay safe and stay well.

On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by his former ESPN colleagues, the Sunday Night Baseball radio broadcast team of Jon Sciambi (@BoogSciambi) and Chris Singleton (@Singytweets) to preview the 2020 season. Jon and Chris seek to make their broadcasts smart, interesting, and fun and their listeners better baseball people, which fits well with what we try to do on this podcast.

The two dive right in with picks for ‘sneak-attack’ teams for 2020 and offer thoughts on which team has the widest possible win variance (1:10). They offer their takes on the new rules (12:14), which are the best defensive teams in baseball (16:43) and pick a player who could be a surprise MVP candidate (18:40). They close by explaining the philosophy of their game broadcasts (20:46).

Thanks for tuning in. Don’t forget to rate and review us. Stay safe and stay well.

On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by longtime Angels broadcaster José Mota (@JoseMota05) to preview the upcoming season.

Mota provides perspective on what to watch for from several Angels key players, giving insight on how Mike Trout works at-bats (1:30), explaining what Anthony Rendon will bring (4:36), sharing what Andrelton Simmons does that makes him a special defender (5:55), and providing insight on why David Fletcher is a hidden gem (8:51).

José also talks about what it’s been like to watch (and learn Japanese from) Shohei Ohtani and Saya Nomura – check out Jose’s Instagram for more of that - (10:20) and explains how Albert Pujols could still be valuable (13:05).He also discusses how Joe Maddon will handle the pitching staff (15:02), how he delivers analytics to a Spanish-speaking audience (16:44), how he feels about the inevitable decline of pinch-hitter usage (his father Manny was an all-time great pinch-hitter) and how teams will strategize with the new rules in place for this season (19:25). Finally, he also tells of his family’s charity work, which can be found at Motasfaces.com. (21:55)

And yes, we know we didn’t even get to Jo Adell! Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to rate and review. Stay well and stay safe.

On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) asks the question – how can we measure catchers beyond pitch blocking, pitch framing, and caught stealing? Longtime former MLB catcher Bengie Molina (@BengieMolina1), now a Spanish-language radio broadcaster for the Cardinals, tries to help us out.

Bengie talks about the different factors that come into play for a catcher (0:57) and the different personality types he dealt with from Ramon Ortiz and Jarrod Washburn (5:32). He explains how you deal with stubborn pitchers and how he worked with the pitchers he got along with best (7:50). He also relays how things can change for a catcher in the walk back to home plate after a conference at the mound, using Yadier Molina in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Mets as an example (11:45).He offers his take on the difficulties of being a rookie catcher (14:32) and bridging the language gap by encouraging all catchers to be bilingual (16:12). He talks about why he likes watching Buster Posey, Salvador Perez, and his brother Yadier so much (19:24). He also discusses what he would say to someone who wants to catch like a Molina (22:12), how difficult it is to deal with foul tips off the mask (23:08), and how important it is to factor in umpires when calculating framing metrics (26:13).

Thank you for listening. Don’t forget to rate and review. Stay safe and stay well.

On this episode, Mark Simon talks to Brandon Guyer (@BrandonGuyer), who just retired after an 8-year, 500+-game MLB career in which he was known for his ability to hit left-handed pitching and his penchant for being hit by a pitch. Guyer (with the help of his wife) has just written an 80-page book, The Fully Equipped Athlete and started a new business to mentor aspiring athletes (fullyequippedathlete.com). We often talk on this podcast about the statistical and physical side of the game. Brandon talks about giving athletes the mental foundation to succeed.

Guyer discusses what went into his retirement decision, how he looks back on his career, getting hit by pitches, and hitting lefties so well (1:13). He then walks us through 2 plate appearances from Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and what allowed him to come through them successfully (7:39). From there, the conversation shifts to the book, what it was like to put everything he learned on paper, why humility was his top point of emphasis, his friendship with a diverse group of players such as Chris Archer and Yan Gomes, and whose words are most impactful to him (11:43). He also talks about learning proper breath control and meditation and how that allowed him to maximize his talents (22:08). Lastly he talks about his overall goals for the future as he makes the transition to dad/businessman (26:55).

Thanks for tuning in. Don’t forget to rate and review us. Stay safe and stay well.

On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb), Rockies beat writer for MLB.com, Alex Speier (@alexspeier), who covers the Red Sox and MLB for the Boston Globe and Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey), who covers the Athletics for The Athletic.

Almost every other episode of this podcast deals with statistical subjects or looks at the “how-to” of defensive play. There will hopefully be a time and place for that in the future. This episode is a little different.

This episode focuses on 2 subjects:

1) How teams and players are dealing with Coronavirus-related issues.

2) How players, teams and MLB are responding to social justice concerns

Thank you as always for listening. Stay healthy and stay safe.

More information:

Read Thomas Harding’s coverage at MLB.com

Red Alex Speier’s coverage at BostonGlobe.com

Read Alex Coffey’s coverage at TheAthletic.com