The SIS Baseball Podcast

This week’s episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast highlights defensive excellence in the Bay Area.

Senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) points out how well Chad Pinder has played recently, with help from Oakland Athletics coach Ryan Christenson (1:04). 

Then, Mark talks to San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4). They discuss the challenges of making sliding, diving, and jumping catches including dealing with injuries (3:00), how Pillar learned to play that way (5:13), what being the leader in those kinds of catches says about a player (10:00), learning a ballpark (11:02), how much he uses scouting information (13:24), and what advice he would give to kids who want to play defense like him (15:19).

Mark is then joined by research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) and intern Jon Becker (@jonbecker_). They review Pillar’s comments (18:29), discuss a pitcher who changed approach upon joining a new team (20:56), answer a listener question about the Mount Rushmore of stats (22:45), preview Andrew’s presentation at Saberseminar (24:07) and challenge listeners to figure out the Ridiculous Stats of the Day (25:21).

In this episode of the Sports Info Solutions podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) recounts the Indians recent success (1:22), then talks to Tigers broadcaster & special assistant Kirk Gibson (@23KGibby) about what stats he’d like to see related to mentally getting through a season (3:30), teaching hitters proper swing techniques (8:34), what interests him about analytics (19:19), and the work he’s doing to raise awareness for Parkinson’s Disease (20:15).

Mark is also joined by Dan Brooks (@brooksbaseball), who co-runs the annual Saberseminar (Sabermetrics Scouting and the Science of Baseball) at Boston University. Dan recounts the history and past highlights (22:28), discusses the impact the conference has (especially on students) (25:48), and what to expect at this year’s event which raises money for the Angioma Alliance (28:40).

Mark and SIS research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) review research on how often balls hit up the middle result in a baserunner (34:15) and which hitters are best at getting in and succeeding in hitters counts (35:56). They also answer listener questions on how Hall of Fame analysis has changed (38:07), which past trade-deadline acquisition was of greatest analytic value (39:47), which analytics would be best used when a batter comes to the plate from former major-leaguer Doug Glanville (@dougglanville) (41:39) and which metrics teams are looking for that they don’t already have (43:46). Mark and Andrew close by picking a player to watch (46:12) and share their Ridiculous Numbers of the Day (47:23).

If you have feedback on the program, please send it to [email protected].

On the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays), senior research analyst for Sports Info Solutions, shows us how baseball analytics are cool, interesting, and fun. SIS develops analytics and provides them to MLB teams, media, and fantasy baseball outlets. On the podcast, we’ll give you a peek into our world, talk to important people around the industry about analytic storylines, and share what we find to be cool, interesting and fun.

In this episode, Mark begins with an interview of the founder of Sports Info Solutions, John Dewan (@FieldingBible), where they discuss everything from the history of baseball analytics to advice on how to create new stats today. Then, Mark is joined by writer/podcaster Ben Lindbergh (@BenLindbergh), whose new book The MVP Machine explores the forward-thinking use of analytics in player development. Finally, Mark sits down with Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) to go around the horn on the midseason advanced stat leaderboards.

John Dewan is the founder of both STATS and Sports Info Solutions. Along with Bill James, he has played a major role in the baseball analytics revolution. John is the inventor of Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), and he is the author of The Fielding Bible. For the most in-depth defensive analytics, including leaderboards and player pages, check out the recently relaunched FieldingBible.com.

Ben Lindbergh is the author (along with Travis Sawchik) of The MVP Machine: How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players. He currently writes for The Ringer (@ringer) after previous stints with Baseball Prospectus, Five Thirty Eight, and Grantland. He is also the cohost of the FanGraphs baseball podcast “Effectively Wild” (@EWPod).

This episode is brought to you by SISbets.com, the website that can help you beat the Prop Betting odds. Click here to create a free SISbets.com trial account.

In this episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) begins by marveling at Zack Greinke’s defense (1:05). Mark then talks to MLB Radio and Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Mike Ferrin (@Mike_Ferrin). Mike makes his case for the best team in baseball (3:25) and discusses how much organizations value defense in this era (4:51). He also makes his pick on which defensive player he’d most like to be (11:15) and who’s the best defensive shortstop in the NL (15:35). Mike then comes up with a stat he’d like the BIS crew to work on (19:43). 

Mark is then joined by Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) and the two discuss Matt Carpenter, Jeff McNeil and the shift (24:24), how much outfielders benefit from changing positions (26:58), which players should have made the All-Defense All-Star team (29:58), and which defensive player they would most like to be (33:17). They then answer a listener question about which players have made the most different kinds of Good Plays (35:01) and try to stump each other with the Ridiculous Stats of the Day (36:42).

Tune in, and please rate and review if you listen.

In this episode, Sports Info Solutions senior analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by three baseball writers – Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) of the San Francisco Chronicle, Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) of the Tampa Bay Times and Dan Hayes (@DanHayesMLB) of The Athletic. Slusser talks about how the Athletics are struggling to match the success of last season, particularly in relief pitching. Topkin discusses how the Rays operate in lock-step, from ownership down. Hayes explains how the Twins found untapped power both from their bats and their arms. Each also shares how the teams they cover find talent on the margins and how much they value defense.

Mark is also joined by research associate Andrew Kyne, who explains the methodology and shares the results from his study on which teams position their infield best. Mark and Andrew answer listener mail, share who’s getting the best and worst results when they hit the ball hard and close the show with some Ridiculous Stat of the Day trivia. Tune in and play along!

On the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon, senior research analyst for Sports Info Solutions, shows us how baseball analytics are cool, interesting, and fun. SIS develops analytics and provides them to MLB teams, media, and fantasy baseball outlets. On the podcast, we’ll give you a peek into our world, talk to important people around the industry about analytic storylines, and share what we find to be cool, interesting and fun.

In this episode, Mark breaks down the defensive performance of Phillies catcher JT Realmuto, interviews baseball writer extraordinaire Joe Sheehan, and sits down with Andrew Kyne to construct the perfect five-tool player.

Joe Sheehan was one of the founders of Baseball Prospectus in the mid-1990s and an editor of the Baseball Prospectus Annual. Now he writes regularly for many entities, including Sports Illustrated. He also writes his own baseball newsletter, which you can preview and purchase at JoeSheehan.com.

On this podcast, SIS senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) talks about Cody Bellinger’s great defensive season (1:07). David Cone (@dcone36) joins the show to discuss his new book Full Count, The Education of a Pitcher (2:30). He also shares how he got into analytics (5:30), comfortability with stats like FIP and the defensive metrics (6:33), what pitchers should learn (10:50), his favorite defensive teammates (13:49), what stat he’d like to invent (16:08) and more.

Mark and SIS research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) review Cone’s comments (20:11), go through the leaderboards on the stat Cone wants invented (21:53), share the latest SIS articles and research (25:34), and unveil the latest ridiculous stats on how Vlad Guerrero Jr. is being pitched (30:00) and the best arm in the SIS era (30:57). 

All that and much more in the latest SIS Baseball podcast!

Sports Info Solutions Senior Research Analyst Mark Simon  (@MarkASimonSays) compares the defense of Nick Ahmed and Andrelton Simmons in his Batter Up! segment (1:07), welcomes MLB's Director of Engineering and Data Quality and former SIS president Ben Jedlovec (@BenJedlovec) to discuss his career in baseball and how new stats develop (2:56) , sits down with Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) of SIS to asses the best and worst defensive teams in baseball (20:38) and look at the hard-hit rate leader board (26:29), takes questions from listeners (32:23), and closes with the Ridiculous Stat of the Day (36:21).

Sports Info Solutions Senior Research Analyst Mark Simon  (@MarkASimonSays) is back for round two of the SIS Baseball Podcast.  This week, Mark looks at the San Diego Padres (@Padres) upgrading the  left side of their infield (0:52), welcomes New York Times national  baseball writer Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) to the show to talk pitching  and his new book (2:50), sits down with Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) of  SIS to examine early defensive trends (17:26) and answer questions from  the listeners (23:59), and finishes with a couple "Ridiculous Numbers of  the Day" (28:04). 

Welcome to the pilot episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast with Sports  Info Solutions Senior Research Analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays).  Mark discusses his spotlight player for 2019 (0:48), welcomes The  Athletic's Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) to the show to talk about shifting  and defense (4:04) and introduces new stat developments at SIS with  research associate Andrew Kyne (@Andrew_Kyne) (12:45).