On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by ZiPS projection system creator and FanGraphs writer Dan Szymborski to talk shop about creating a projection tool.Dan talked about the principles of ZiPS, how he created it, and how the system works. He cited specific current examples, including whether the A's will lose 120 games, how the projection on Matt Chapman changes over time, the challenge of projecting defense from minor league data, and why the system projects what it does for George Kirby.Mark was then joined by SIS VP of Baseball, Bobby Scales. Bobby talked about how projection systems are used by teams. He then talked about a game that he and Mark watched recently in which Bobby correctly predicted what was going to happen in the 1st inning. He explained the factors that went into that prediction.Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com (check out our recent piece on pitchers getting hit by batted balls). You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by North Carolina sophomore center fielder Vance Honeycutt and FanGraphs.com baseball writer Ben Clemens.Vance was the 2022 ACC Tournament MVP and league Preseason Player of the Year, but he joins us to talk about his defense and his penchant for home run-robberies and other great catches. He also explains how he's evolved as a hitter, one who could be a high-end pick in next year's MLB Draft (0:42).Ben writes a weekly column about "5 Things He Likes About Baseball", and we modify that slightly to have Ben and Mark talk about 3 things they each liked about MLB defense from the first month of the season. Among the subjects, an outfielder with a cannon arm in Cleveland, how Wilmer Flores made a play with a 5% out rate, and why Ke'Bryan Hayes should be viewed as great by Cardinals fans (11:25).Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) is joined by Diamondbacks third baseman Josh Rojas (@joshrojass) and Guardians center fielder Myles Straw (@Myles_Straw) to discuss what’s made them into good defensive players and baserunners. Josh talks about the adjustments he’s made at third base and how he can feel the difference it has made for him. He also describes in detail three memorable plays he’s made this season and how he successfully executed a difficult move to steal home on a double steal (0:45). Myles explains the work he put in that made him a Fielding Bible Award winner in center field last season and how pre-game prep can have a big payoff. He also goes into what’s made him such a successful base-stealer (14:13). Then Mark is joined by SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (@Bobby_Scales), who reacts to some of the things Josh said in his interview and speaks to how collaborative player development, from both coaches and strength and conditioning staff can help make a player better (23:54). Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com

On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by … * ESPN broadcaster Eduardo Pérez, who celebrates the global nature of the game, and talks about his appreciation of Shohei Ohtani, Luis Arraez, and (among others) Rays outfielder Harold Ramírez. Eduardo also talks about the new rules, the pace of the game, and why this Sunday’s broadcast of Astros-Rangers is going to stand out beyond the starting pitching matchup (1:07). * ESPN’s Paul Hembekides, co-author of the new book Got Your Number, The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own. Paul gives a baseball history lesson as relates to the defense of Ozzie Smith, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Mays (17:19). * And SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales, who explains how pitchers throwing off baserunner and batter timing is going to be key in trying to limit stolen bases, discusses why singles have always mattered, and picks the pitcher who’s impressed him in the first two weeks of the season (31:49). Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com

This episode has all the bases covered.  We start in college with Mark Simon talking to No. 1 LSU’s starting first baseman, Tre' Morgan. He’s considered one of college baseball’s defensive standouts, so we pick his brain on picks, adventures in the outfield, and much more (0:28). We move on to some MLB Prospect talk as Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser gives us the rundown on how some of the game’s top future stars rate defensively. We run the gamut from Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson to Pete Crow-Armstrong (13:24). Then SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales joins us to talk about both interviews, preview a couple of MLB breakout pitchers for 2023, and gives his thoughts, as someone who formerly worked in player development, on why Anthony Volpe and Jordan Walker will start the season in MLB (28:20). Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com

On this episode, we honor Women’s History Month with conversations with three women who are moving the industry forward with their work in baseball analysis.Mark Simon is joined first by Chelsea Janes, national baseball writer for the Washington Post to discuss player reaction to rule changes, what to make of the Padres and Orioles heading into 2023, and other season preview-related topics. Chelsea also discusses how baseball’s receptiveness to women writers has changed in her 10 years on the job (1:02).Andrea Arcidipane, also known as “Scoutgirl” on social media, talks about her time working in baseball operations for the Yankees in 2022. Andrea also speaks on information communication and making her videos and charts accessible to any audience, and she shares a few players she finds interesting heading into 2023 (Vinnie Pasquantino, Caleb Thielbar, Adam Duvall, and Brandon Walter for different reasons). Find her work on Twitter and at https://scoutgirlreport.com/ (22:41)And SIS research analyst Sarah Thompson talks about the presentation she did at the SABR Analytics Conference on evaluating minor league outfield defense. She shares her findings on specific players and the differences between minor league and major league out rates on fly balls (36:50).Make sure to check out The Effect of Outfield Position Changes on DRS by Andrew Kyne as mentioned in the Andrea Arcidipane interview. Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) and Bobby Scales (@Bobby_Scales) are joined by …4-time Gold Glove winner Marquis Grissom (@MGBA_Baseball). Marquis talks about the work he does with aspiring Black baseball players and youth baseball organizations and the value of going to an HBCU both for school and for baseball. (0:55)Major League Baseball's senior director of front office and field staff diversity pipeline program Tyrone Brooks (@tbrooksBIN). Tyrone talks about the work he does with MLB and the Baseball Industry Network, his time in baseball, and opportunities around the upcoming SABR Analytics Conference. (16:28)And children’s book author Matt Tavares. Matt is the author of the children’s book, Henry Aaron’s Dream that was recently pulled from school bookshelves in Florida for review - the good news is that it was eventually returned. Matt gives us a good history lesson on Hank Aaron. (36:39)And stay tuned at the end – Bobby answers Mark’s question – can you change a player’s defensive aggressiveness during spring training? (49:57)

On today's episode of the SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon and Bobby Scales are joined by the general manager of the Phillies, Sam Fuld. Sam and Bobby were teammates with the Cubs in 2009 and 2010. Sam's entering his 3rd season as GM.Sam talks about what the GM job is like on a minute-to-minute basis, the adjustment in going from field to front office, the kinds of questions he asks his staff, how he values defensive metrics, and much more.You can find the FanGraphs article referenced by Sam here.Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

For our final show of the year, we thought we’d do a best-of to spotlight the many great guests we talked to in 2022. Among the people you’ll hear from:- Astros World Series MVP Jeremy Peña (0:46)- Yankees SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa (3:01)- Orioles prospect Gunnar Henderson (4:44)- Nationals prospect Jake Alu (5:52)- Diamondbacks outfielder/catcher Daulton Varsho (6:30)- Cubs outfielder Ian Happ (7:39)- Guardians Fielding Bible Award winner Steven Kwan (9:14)- Platinum Glove winning Yankees catcher Jose Trevino (11:56)- Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (13:32)- Diamondbacks 1B Christian Walker (14:25)- Team USA Women’s Baseball Coach Veronica Alvarez (16:20)- Women’s baseball advocate Dr. Justine Siegal (17:03)- White Sox director of minor league operations Jasmine Dunston (18:43)- SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (20:02)- Dodgers broadcaster José Mota (22:50)- College-bound catcher Adonys Guzman (24:00)- Brewers prospect Eric Brown (25:00)- Orioles outfielder Brett Phillips. (26:01)If you like any of the clips heard here, check out the full episodes available on our podcast page. We'll have plenty more to come in 2023. Thanks as always for listening. Please follow

On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by John Gibson, Ted Baarda, and Bobby Scales to review the 2022 NPB and KBO Fielding Bible Awards.John goes through the NPB winners, explaining what made certain players so good defensively (0:34). Bobby talks about what it’s like to play in Japan and how defense is taught (14:08). Ted discusses the KBO winners and also talks about a few of the prominent free agents from NPB (22:43).Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, we’re joined by two of MLB’s top defensive players, Platinum Glove (and Fielding Bible Award winning) Yankees catcher Jose Trevino and Gold Glove-winning (and Fielding Bible runner-up) Cubs left fielder Ian Happ.Jose talks about the art and skill required to frame pitches, how he gets acquainted with a pitching staff, and why he’s passionate about keeping human umpires behind the plate (0:29).Ian discusses the challenges of playing at Wrigley Field, why he was so aggressive at sliding, diving, and jumping this season, and how the Cubs used collaboration between the computers and the humans to refine their outfield positioning data (14:55).Then, Mark is joined by SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales who talks about catching as an art, his own experiences at Wrigley Field, and what he’s most looking forward to for baseball in 2023 (32:31).Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode, Mark Simon and Bobby Scales review the winners of The 2022 Fielding Bible Awards. You’ll also hear from some of the winners that we spoke to during the season, including Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers, and Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan.Plus new interviews with Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman and Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo.Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode, Mark Simon, New York Times national baseball writer Tyler Kepner and SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales discuss the biggest surprises of the 2022 season.They include the accomplishments of Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols (yes, Judge was to some extent a surprise), Andrés Giménez and the Guardians, and many more (0:53).Tyler also talks about his new book, The Grandest Stage, a history of the World Series (35:37).Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode, Mark Simon (@markasimonsays) talks to ...Dodgers broadcaster José Mota (@josemota05) about how the Dodgers have made the most out of players like Trayce Thompson, Tony Gonsolin and Evan Phillips, and how they've excelled on defense. He also shared stories of his father's relationship with Roberto Clemente and talked about the game's young Hispanic stars (1:12).Washington Nationals infield prospect Jake Alu (@jakealu1 on Tiktok), who leads all minor league third basemen in Defensive Runs Saved, and who has made major strides in his offensive game. You might see him in MLB in 2023. (18:58)And SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales (@bobby_scales) on the greatness of Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols (33:16).Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

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).We’ll also hear from our Video Scout, Alex Eisert (@Mind_OverBatter), about 2 statistical studies he did with SIS data – one on checked swings and another on meatball pitches (16:38).And then we’re joined by SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales and Operations Assistant Brandon Tew (@BrandonTeweets). The theme of their talk is “Grade 80 Watchability” as they did in-depth scouting on Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, along with Shohei Ohtani, Edwin Diaz, and Spencer Strider (22:54).You can read Brandon’s article on Murakami here.Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com

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 as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com

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, and Baltimore.Justine (12:20) is the founder of Baseball For All, a women’s baseball advocacy group, and was the consultant on Amazon Prime’s A League of Their Own show debuting on Friday. She talked about the work her organization is doing as well as everything that goes into teaching actresses to play baseball.Bobby (22:10) reacted to both interviews, giving his perspective on Steven Kwan’s play so far. He also shared a story about an outfield adventure at Wrigley Field and gave us opinion on what happened at the end of A League Of Their Own, the movie.Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com

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 Baseball, Bobby Scales, follows that interview by chatting with us about some of the best defensive catchers he's played with and against. Bobby also addresses the Chicago White Sox and how aggressively they should go for the AL Central title (15:04).Thanks as always for listening. Please follow us on Twitter at @sis_baseball. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com

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 position for the first half of the season (11:33).We also talk with SIS VP of Baseball Bobby Scales about the significance of the first 5 picks in the MLB Draft, the decline in high school players selected in the late rounds, and the fun in Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game. (14:09)Thanks as always for listening. Looking forward to the rest of the 2022 season. You can e-mail us at Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com

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 another standout rookie, Michael Harris II and his teammate, Matt Olson, and what’s impressed him with the recent strong play of the Orioles (13:13).Please rate and review the show if you can. You can follow us on Twitter at SIS_BaseballLinksMichael Harris’ impressive catch vs Josh BellSIS Baseball Podcast interview with Michael HarrisSIS Baseball Podcast interview with Matt OlsonMark’s article on the Orioles’ defenseMLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects