The SIS Baseball Podcast

On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon ( @MarkASimonSays ) is joined by Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker. Christian talks about what’s gone into his dominant defensive season and an unusual offensive season in which he was repeatedly hitting the ball hard both into shifts and into great defensive plays. He’s back on track for good numbers now (1:07). W...

On this episode, Mark Simon hosts a baseball baserunning forum with former major leaguers Doug Glanville and Bobby Scales . They talk about which players and teams are best at it (including some names you don’t expect), where the issues exist today, and what they would like to see in the coaching of baserunning. You can watch a talk Bobby did for the ABCA Convention on basestealing here . Thanks a...

On this episode, Mark Simon interviews Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan , women’s baseball pioneer Dr. Justine Siegal , and talks to SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales . Steven (0:53) talked about some of the top plays he’s made in left field on his way to leading the Guardians in Defensive Runs Saved. And he explained the prep that goes into playing in the outfields in Colorado, Cleveland, Boston, a...

On this episode, we're joined by Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who ranks among the MLB leaders in Defensive Runs Saved due to standout pitch framing. Cal talks about the different elements that go into catching this Mariners staff and the different looks and challenges their pitchers present. He also explains why he might not do as well as Julio Rodríguez in a Home Run Derby (0:42). Our VP of...

On a special bonus episode, Mark Simon is joined by Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña to review his impressive first half of the season, particularly in the field. Jeremy tells us about his favorite defensive plays, why he's so good at fielding on the backhand, the value of being bilingual in a locker room, and much more (0:31) We then run through the Defensive Runs Saved leaders by positio...

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by top minor league prospect Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles, as well as SIS VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales (a former MLB player and executive). Gunnar, recently rated the No. 5 prospect in Minor League Baseball by MLB Pipeline, talked about playing both shortstop and third base and what’s gone into his success at each position (0:34). Bobby talked a bout anothe...

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by two of the premier defensive players in the upcoming MLB Draft: Coastal Carolina shortstop Eric Brown and Adonys Guzman . Both have been projected among the Top 100 draft prospects at different times this season. Eric talks about the work that has gone into having what some say is the best range among college infielders and his unusual batting stance (0:23)...

On this episode, Mark Simon ( @MarkASimonSays ) is joined by a trio of guests. Yankees SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa joins us to talk about all things related to defensive excellence, from favorite plays he’s made to drills he’s done, to lesson’s he’s learned. We were psyched to hear that Isiah follows his Defensive Runs Saved total closely (0:56). SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales ( @Bobby_Scales ), a form...

On this episode, Mark Simon was joined by Diamondbacks catcher-centerfielder Daulton Varsho , ESPN’s Paul “Hembo” Hembekides , and Sports Info Solutions VP of Baseball Bobby Scales . Daulton Varsho talked about the origin of his unusual position combination, what a day in the life is like for a catcher, and what his experience has been like with the new Pitchcom communication system. Bobby Scales...

On this episode, we're joined by Padres broadcaster and Big Time Baseball podcast co-host Tony Gwynn Jr. and SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales . We talk with Tony about the role the Padres defense has played in their success this season, how Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado have figured out how to hit in the 2022 baseball environs, why Harrison Bader is his favorite defensive player to watch, and...

This episode has a little bit of everything! We talk to our April Defensive Player of the Month Brett Phillips ( @Brett_Phillips8 ) of the Rays about everything that makes playing defense fun - and what makes him so good at it. He walked us through plays (both good and bad), talked about his glove, and gave the answer to what he'd tell a kid who wanted to play defense (and dance) like he does...

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by new SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales. If the name sounds familiar, it should. Bobby played 2 seasons with the Cubs and worked in the front offices of the Pirates and the Angels. Bobby reminisces about his long pro career, which included 10 years in Triple-A and 2 years in Japan, telling stories of memorable moments and people (he thought he was being pranked...

On our 2022 MLB season debut we welcome Ken Rosenthal from FOX Sports and The Athletic and Braves 1B coach Eric Young Sr. Mark poses 10 questions to Ken, ranging from which team has the greatest potential variance in performance, sleeper Cy Young and MVP picks (people who never got a vote for that award) to the best defensive teams, to how rule changes are going to impact the game, and much more (...

In our second annual Women & Baseball episode, Mark Simon is joined by A’s minor league catching coach Veronica Alvarez ( @veronicaoalvarez ), FanGraphs prospects writer Tess Taruskin ( @tesstass ), and SIS research analyst Sarah Thompson ( @sarah_stats ). Veronica talks about her work with the A’s and as head coach for Team USA in women’s baseball. She explains how she works with prospects an...

It’s Black History Month and for this episode, we talked to two people positively shaping the future in baseball front offices: Twins manager of player development research Josh Ruffin and White Sox director of minor league operations, Jasmine Dunston. Josh is an SIS alum now working in baseball analytics. He talks about his career path, what he did for the Twins as an advance scouting analyst, an...

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Jake Stone of Penn State University and the Simply Sabermetrics YouTube channel and NHL writer/tv analyst Alison Lukan to talk about baseball and hockey analytics education, respectively. Mark and Jake talk about Jake’s work with baseball analytics at Penn State and what he’s trying to do with his YouTube channel and a program created by SABR to give people...

This is an encore edition of an interview we did last January. On Monday, the Yankees named Rachel Balkovec as the manager of the Class-A Tampa Tarpons minor league baseball team. She is the first woman to manage a minor league baseball team.  On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast from January 2021, Mark Simon ( @MarkASimonSays ) was joined by Rachel ( @_rachelbalkovec ), w...

On this episode, you’ll hear the “best-of” our interviews from the 2021 baseball year. Those you’ll hear from are Tony Kemp (0:46), Joey Wendle (3:10), Rachel Balkovec (5:03), Melanie Newman (6:57), Michael A. Taylor (9:03), Cedric Mullins (9:55), Tommy Edman (12:30), Ryan McMahon (13:41), Matt Chapman (14:30), Luis Guillorme (17:08), Antoan Richardson (18:12), Max Stassi (19:33), Larry Walker (22...

On this episode, baseball writer Joe Sheehan joins Mark Simon to recap the 2021 MLB season and look ahead to 2022. After announcing the 2021 Fielding Bible Award winners (0:19), Mark and Joe talk about: - The most impressive thing about defense in MLB (4:56) - Byron Buxton’s future (7:50) - 2021 MLB Awards (10:08) - Reward Robbie Ray? (15:00) - The promise of Eduardo Rodriguez (21:56) - Teams to w...

On this episode, Mark Simon ( @markasimonsays ) is joined by 38-time Jeopardy champion and baseball aficionado Matt Amodio ( @AmodioMatt ) for a lengthy, fun interview. First they talk about Matt’s baseball origins, covering everything from his best defensive play to his favorite players and ballparks (0:50). The discussion then moves to Jeopardy! where Matt explains every aspect of his in-game st...

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by NY Times national baseball writer Tyler Kepner for their second annual discussion of the biggest surprises of the MLB season. Among the things they touch on are the Giants and Rays (0:50), the pitching of Nestor Cortes and Ranger Suarez (8:44), the craterings of the Mets, Padres, and Cody Bellinger (15:52), the up-and-coming Tigers (21:13), an unlikely MVP...

On this episode, Mark Simon ( @MarkASimonSays ) is joined by a Defensive Runs Saved leader of the present and a Defensive Runs Saved leader of the future, Braves outfielder Adam Duvall and Braves prospect Michael Harris ( @MoneyyyMikeee ). Duvall talks about the intricacies of playing the outfield and one of his specialties, getting to balls quickly so that he can make a throw to nail or hold a ba...

On this episode, Mark Simon ( @MarkASimonSays ) is joined by Angels catcher Max Stassi ( @MaxStassi10 ) to talk about what goes into his defensive work. Max talks about his defense origin story (he was born into catching) and what he focuses on when he frames pitches (1:21). Max also discusses what it's like to catch Shohei Ohtani and offers a strong take on the potential of robot umpires and...

On this week's episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, , we focus on the No. 1 team in Defensive Runs Saved – the Astros – and outfielder Chas McCormick. Mark Simon ( @MarkASimonSays ) talks to Chas about his path to the big leagues (which was not an easy one) (0:55), which coaches have most influenced how he plays (3:02), what it takes to play all three outfield positions and...

On this episode of The SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon ( @markasimonsays ) is joined by Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman ( @mattchap6 ) and Giants first base/outfield/baserunning coach Antoan Richardson ( @arichardson242 ). Matt talks about his favorite childhood defensive play (0:59), reacclimating to third base after last year’s hip injury (4:33), and the challenge of catching pop ups in Oa...