Episode 1005

This episode, we welcome back another old friend who is casting their first Hall of Fame ballot, then talk about the most surprising free agent move in recent memory.

• We begin with Jay Jaffe and David Laurila continuing their new annual tradition of discussing their Hall of Fame ballots on the podcast, and this time they are joined by Travis Sawchik, baseball author and writer at theScore. Travis is voting for the first time, and he consults with Jay and David about how to navigate issues like PEDs and players whose late-career struggles might tarnish their overall body of work. The trio also ponder the philosophy of a large Hall vs. a small Hall while discussing players like Bobby Abreu, Jeff Kent, Andy Pettitte, and more. [3:00]
• After that, Dan Szymborski and Michael Baumann get together to talk about the whole Carlos Correa signing with the Mets thing. The news was obviously a huge shock, and Dan and Michael ponder where the San Francisco Giants go from here after a dismal offseason. We also hear about the Mets going in the opposite direction thanks to an owner who is making the other billionaires look bad, how thrilling Correa should be at the hot corner, and what bears really do when they hibernate. [43:33]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 67 minute play time.)

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Episode 1004

This week, we talk to the man in charge of an on-the-rise franchise before discussing the international market and a puzzling trade.

• At the top of the show, David Laurila welcomes Jerry Dipoto, president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners. We hear his thoughts on the wild spending going on around the league this offseason, as well some acquisitions Seattle has made recently, including Teoscar Hernández and old friend Dave Cameron. Dipoto also shares insights on Mariners players like Andrés Muñoz, Penn Murfee, Emerson Hancock, and Marco Gonzales, as well as his own pitching career (and his son’s). [4:14]
• In the second half, Ben Clemens catches up with Eric Longenhagen after missing each other at the Winter Meetings in San Diego. The duo talk a little bit about the World Cup and the World Baseball Classic before discussing the signings of Kodai Senga and Masataka Yoshida, and how they and other international prospects may adapt to the major leagues. Ben and Eric also chat about the puzzling Sean Murphy trade, how much higher the A’s must be on Esteury Ruiz than everyone else does, and what direction Oakland seems to be heading in (if any). [45:26]

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Episode 1003

After a big week in baseball, we bring you two face-to-face conversations from the San Diego Winter Meetings before a chat about outfield defense.

• First up, David Laurila sits down with Fernando Perez, former major league outfielder and analyst and current coach for the San Francisco Giants. We hear what Fernando was doing at the Winter Meetings and what he and Farhan Zaidi talk about in the suite (it mostly isn’t baseball), as well as what Fernando’s coaching role entails. David and Fernando also talk about soccer and the World Cup, if he would be a good scout, and his relationship with former managers Joe Maddon and Matt Quatraro. [4:35]
• After that, Jay Jaffe sits down with old friend Eno Sarris of The Athletic, who is excited to be casting his first Hall of Fame ballot this year. The pair go through the list of noteworthy candidates, from Rolen to Wagner to Kent to Sheffield to Beltrán to Jones to Abreu to Helton and more, as Eno looks for some guidance from someone who has done his share of research on the subject. Jay and Eno also discuss the elephant in the room that is PEDs, wishing they’d had the same advanced data back then that they do now, aiming for logical consistency, and who Eno was most looking forward to voting for with his first ballot. [29:39]
• Finally, Davy Andrews welcomes fellow contributor Alex Eisert for his FanGraphs Audio debut. Both Davy and Alex have been writing about outfield defense at the site recently, so they get together to dig into OAA and their theories about the effects of player handedness. We also get the story on how Alex came to write at FanGraphs, the need for more psychology in baseball, how good Daulton Varsho is at learning skills, and the process of intentionally (or unintentionally) adding jokes to their articles. [1:08:44]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 104 minute play time.)

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Episode 1002

This week on the show, we welcome a long-time major leaguer to chat about the World Cup before going over some recent moves and looking ahead to the Winter Meetings.

• At the top of the show, David Laurila welcomes Brad Miller, a 10-year major league veteran and a big soccer fan. The pair talk about the World Cup games that have gotten them the most excited so far, the players and countries they find themselves rooting for, and which teammate is the best to kick the ball around with. We also hear about being drafted by and debuting with the Mariners, being mentored by players such as Raul Ibanez, Willie Bloomquist, and Robinson Canó, and cheering for the Seattle club that broke its long playoff drought this season. Finally, we get some insight on playing with Logan Morrison and Chris Young (now the boss in Texas), and an anecdote about how Canó believed in Miller’s power potential before Miller himself did. [4:00]
• After that, Ben Clemens and Jason Martinez get together to chat about this week’s transactions. The defending World Champions signed José Abreu, which seems to make plenty of sense, but Ben is even more excited about the rebuilding Washington Nationals rolling the dice on Jeimer Candelario. Ben and Jason also consider how the Dodgers’ signing of Shelby Miller looks like another of the team’s remarkable reclamation projects, even if they are still a little skeptical. Finally, the duo revisit their fun Cardinals predictions from episode 976 and get excited to hang out with each other and the rest of the FanGraphs staff at the Winter Meetings in San Diego next week. [28:20]

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Episode 1001

Hot Stove season is upon us and we are ready to start picking apart transactions, but not before we talk about the Kansas City Royals.

• To kick things off, David Laurila welcomes Joel Goldberg, broadcaster and reporter for the Royals. David didn’t put Bobby Witt Jr. on his AL Rookie of the Year ballot this year, but he and Joel discuss how the best is certainly yet to come for the young phenom. The pair also talk about the underrated Scott Barlow, top prospect Maikel Garcia, the promise of a new ballpark, and how Kansas City was Salvador Perez’s town before it belonged to Patrick Mahomes. We also get insight into Dayton Moore’s legacy now that he has left the organization and J.J. Picollo has become the new president of baseball ops. [3:53]
• In the second half, Ben Clemens is joined by Eric Longenhagen to talk about the early roster moving and shaking. The duo discuss glove-first center fielders who can’t hit enough for the majors, the Marlins struggling to develop players with a good approach at the plate, and Ben’s recent article about what would happen if pitching were a carnival game. Eric and Ben also banter about backstops, wonder how catchers who are good at framing will be valued going forward, framing vs. blocking, and if pop time is more important than accuracy when throwing to second base. [37:56]

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Episode 1000

That’s right, we have reached our four-digit milestone. Look back through the years with us before we look to the future (or at least this upcoming offseason).

• It would be impossible to fully encapsulate all 1,000 episodes of FanGraphs Audio, but this producer put together 22 minutes of great memories. Going all the way back to the very first episode (published February 8, 2010), we hear plenty of former long-time host Carson Cistulli as well as appearances from podcast friends such as Dave Cameron, Rob Neyer, Eno Sarris, David Appelman, David Laurila, Dayn Perry, Grant Brisbee, Kiley McDaniel, Jeff Sullivan, Eric Longenhagen, Nate Freiman, Dan Szymborski, Jay Jaffe, Meg Rowley, Sam Miller, Ben Clemens, and even Carson’s 91-year-old grandfather. [2:36]
• After that bit of history, Ben and Dan look to the offseason and discuss our Top 50 Free Agents list. They talk about Edwin Díaz‘s surprisingly big contract with the Mets, how wild Aaron Judge‘s upcoming deal this winter could be, what the Red Sox might or maybe should do, and how they feel they have underrated Brandon Nimmo. Ben and Dan also look at Craig Kimbrel’s spot at No. 50 on the list and who else might have fit there. [25:59]

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Episode 999

This week on the pod, the most Philadelphia pairing we have on staff comes together to break down the World Series so far.

Michael Baumann is fresh off covering Games 3 and 4 of the World Series in person, and he welcomes lead prospect analyst and old Crashburn Alley pal Eric Longenhagen to discuss what it was like to see the Phillies get no-hit on the largest stage. The pair have mostly grown out of their fandom as they have matured into sports professionals, but they share how the fan feeling has crept back in a little bit this October. We also hear about rooting for Corinne Landrey to be the first FanGraphs alum to win a championship ring, rooting for your own prospect evaluations to come true, the difference in attitude between the Houston and Philadelphia clubhouses, and a digression about high school drum major camp.

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Episode 998

Just in time for the World Series, we welcome back an author who recently wrote a book on the subject before talking to a prospect in the Arizona Fall League.

• To start the show, Jay Jaffe welcomes Tyler Kepner, baseball writer at The New York Times and author of The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series, back to the show. The pair discuss what inspired the book, the hundreds of interviews that went into it, and how Tyler has been preparing to write it his whole life. We hear about picking MVPs for the Fall Classic before they started officially doing so in 1955, and Jay’s fond memories of the 1988 championship. The duo also talk about how un-fun it is to cover Yankees eliminations, how players handle pressure on the game’s biggest stage, and what they are looking forward to in the Astros/Phillies World Series. [3:26]
• After that, David Laurila welcomes Justyn-Henry Malloy, a prospect in the Braves system whose excellent 2022 campaign has culminated in playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the AFL. We hear what a day in the life of a Fall League player is like, and how much fun it has been to play with players like Cade Bunnell, Cal Conley, Heston Kjerstad, and Vaughn Grissom. Malloy also tells us about how he strives for consistency as a hitter while aiming to command the zone, as well as his adventures in battling the Arizona sun while playing the outfield. [33:21]

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Episode 997

With four teams remaining in the postseason, this week we put our fan hats on before meeting a talented new FanGraphs contributor.

• In the first segment, resident Phillies fan Michael Baumann is joined by site Padres fan Jason Martinez to discuss the NLCS. Jason was at the first two games in San Diego, while Michael will be at each of the next three in Philly; neither expected their team to get this far. We hear about Jason working as a field timing coordinator, Michael being more scared of Manny Machado than Juan Soto, the experience of facing (and watching) Blake Snell, their shared adoration for Jorge Alfaro and Jake Cronenworth, and Jason almost having to help Ralph Sampson to break up a stadium fight. [2:56]
• After that, Dan Szymborski welcomes Davy Andrews for his podcast debut. Davy recently joined the site as a contributor. We hear how he found himself at FanGraphs before learning more about his musical projects. The duo also discuss Jose Altuve’s recent struggles and future Hall of Fame chances, the playoffs being a bit of a crapshoot, what the Dodgers should do in the offseason, being fun uncles, and their strong opinions about baking and cookies. [45:07]

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Episode 996

We bring you a trio of AL East-flavored interviews this week as we find ourselves in the middle of the divisional playoff round.

• At the top of the show, David Laurila welcomes Eve Rosenbaum, assistant general manager for the Baltimore Orioles. The former director of baseball development, Rosenbaum shares how her responsibilities have changed in her new role as she puts much more focus on the major league club. We also hear about the Orioles’ player development machine, the details of how waiver wires and DFAs work, how the team is making pitchers better after acquiring them, what they saw in Jorge Mateo, and insight as to why they made so many transactions during this encouraging season. [5:30]
• After that, Jay Jaffe welcomes David Cone in his return to the podcast. The pair were both in attendance at Yankees-Guardians Game 1 on Tuesday night, and they discuss Gerrit Cole’s impressive performance and playoff legacy. Cole recently said being the ace of the Yankees is “the hardest job in the league,” and Cone offers his insight, adding that it can also be the most rewarding. The pair also discuss Cone’s own career (and Hall of Fame chances), and how things like pitch counts have changed the game over time. [31:24]
• Finally, David Laurila returns in the third act with Julian McWilliams, reporter for The Boston Globe. We get the story behind McWilliams’ Baseball-Reference page and short indy ball career, including how long it took him to realize he was joining a team in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The duo also talk about Xander Bogaerts‘ importance to Boston, the comparison between Rafael Devers and Matt Olson, making a comparison between Olson and Triston Casas, being in awe of Yordan Alvarez, and the difference in consistency versus championship success between the Yankees and Red Sox in recent years. [56:51]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 78-minute play time.)

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