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 Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

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 Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Seattle Mariners infield coach Perry Hill for a discussion on how he's taught defensive excellence to pro baseball players for 40 years.

Perry explained how he wants his players to own all the batted balls hit within their defined box, what makes Cole Young a good second baseman and what he's working on. Perry also had a fun answer when we asked him how defense comes into play in his everyday life, such as going to the supermarket.

Then Mark was joined by his colleague, Brandon Tew to dissect the starts of Munetaka Murikami and Kazuma Okamoto, as well as which college pitchers Brandon thinks are the best of the lot this year.

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 Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by single-game home run robbery king Jo Adell of the Los Angeles Angels.

Jo talked about his amazing night of 3 home run robberies a few weeks ago but also expanded the discussion to talk about which outfields are the most challenging to play, why it's important for an aspiring ballplayer to be fearless, and why Vladimir Guerrero Jr. impresses him so much defensively.

Mark also talked to his SIS colleague, Greg Halperin, about what goes into advance scouting for fielders, hitters, and pitchers, as well as Greg's thoughts on ABS.

Video: Jo Adell's 3 HR robberies

Video: Jo's 4th-favorite catch

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 Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

We kick off the baseball season, with Mark Simon talking about all things robo-ump.

First, Jayson Stark joins us to explain the "buffer zone" and the imperfections of the new system. He wrote an article about this last month and we're now seeing what he wrote about play out in front of us.

Then we're joined by Maxfield Lane and Owen Riley of Oyster Analytics. They're former college baseball players with a statistical expertise who have mapped out when it's best to challenge and when it's best to hold back, and they have an interactive tool that you can use to play along with batters, pitchers, catchers, and umpires.

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 Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode of The SIS Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon is joined by SNY baseball insider Chelsea Janes (former national baseball writer for The Washington Post) to preview the season.

Also, in celebration of Women's History Month, he talks to Joely Leguizamon who will be one of the pioneers playing in the Women's Professional Baseball League this summer.

Mark and Chelsea swapped predictions, sharing surprise teams and players, tight division races, and defensive assessments, as well as the thing in baseball that will make them throw up their hands saying "I just don't know" and what the coolest thing of the 2026 baseball season will be.

Joely joined Mark to talk about our favorite topic, defense, including her earliest defense memories, how she learned to play, and why self-reliance is an important part of being an athlete..

Over the years we've talked to major leaguers, minor leaguers, college baseball and softball players, high school players, and Korean and Japanese league players and we're glad to add a WPBL player to our list.

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 Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

On this episode we deviate a little bit from our usual format. This is our 6th straight year doing an episode with Black History Month connections. We feel it's important to be socially conscious and inclusive, especially with everything happening in the world.

This year we did that by speaking with two people whose job is sharing the legacy of baseball legends.

Samantha Gibson, director of education at The Jackie Robinson Museum talked to Mark Simon about the museum's mission and the many elements to Jackie Robinson the person, not just the baseball player (plus, some book recommendations for people of all ages).

Then, Sean Gibson, executive director of The Josh Gibson Foundation explained how video games have helped tell the story of Sean's great-grandfather, Josh, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He also shared what the Foundation is doing to further youth participation in sports in Pittsburgh.

The episode also featured our alumni corner spot, this one with Chris Goudoras, director of baseball analytics at Ole Miss University. He explained what he does in his job and gave tips for aspiring baseball job seekers.

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 Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.

It's a guest-packed episode of The SIS Baseball Podcast as Mark Simon welcomed in Pirates coach and player development director Michael Chernow as well as three finalists for the SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards, Zach Crizer (The Bandwagon), Maddie Landis (Talk Sox), and Michael Rosen (FanGraphs).

Michael Chernow explained how his job compares to that of a farm director, and shared how the Pirates organization works to build good habits in players and good habits in its coaches, such that both can get promoted to the major league staff or (in the case of coaches) pursue other areas within their baseball interest.

Zach Crizer talked about his article for Opta Analyst, "Evolution in the Outfield: Is Center Fielder Morphing Into A Defensive Specialist Position" and cited the decline of center field OPS as players like Brenton Doyle, Kyle Isbel, and Tyrone Taylor become priorities for their teams. We also looked at his story from last season about right-handed batters and their lowered success vs left-handed pitching.

Maddie Landis shared her article on "Baseball's Gatekept Pitching Metric: Inside Vertical Approach Angle" and explained what can be learned from knowing the angle at which a pitch crosses home plate. She also discussed what she wrote about baseball player success by shoe type and which hitters are primed for breakout seasons in 2026 based on a stat she created.

Michael Rosen detailed what he learned from "How Much Do Trail Runners Matter? An Investigation" including which teams gained the most run expectancy from their successes. We also explored his articles on relief pitcher signings and also Wyatt Langford's defense.

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 Mark@sportsinfosolutions.com.