Episode 965

On this edition of FanGraphs Audio, we welcome a documentarian to talk about a Blue Jays legend before speaking to a major league right-hander who’s on a new team.

• To kick things off, Jay Jaffe welcomes Jon Bois of SB Nation and Secret Base. Jay just wrote about Dave Stieb, while Jon recently began a four-part series called “Captain Ahab: The Story of Dave Stieb,” chronicling the Toronto ace who excelled during the 1980s. Jay and Jon talk about why Stieb was underrated and didn’t get much Cy Young award love, as well as his numerous near-no-hitters before finally landing the one he was looking for. We also hear about Jon’s creative process and how he decided on this particular subject. [2:46]
• After that, David Laurila welcomes Louis Head, right-hander for the Miami Marlins. The pair spoke last fall when Head was a 31-year-old in the midst of a breakout rookie season for the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, he has joined a different bullpen on the other side of Florida. Head tells us about his winding journey to the majors, which included calling it quits and selling solar panels door-to-door for a while, and how a different approach to his slider helped reshape his career. We also hear about a challenging debut, facing his old team, and what it was like to be optioned 12 times in a season. [39:48]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 63 minute play time.)

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Episode 964

This week on the show, David Laurila welcomes long-time Pittsburgh scribe and former Baseball Prospectus colleague John Perrotto to the program.

Perrotto has been covering baseball long enough to remember the last labor stoppage, and he shares his perspective on the current lockout and how it compares to 1994. After that, we get anecdotes about a number of Pirates legends, including what it was like to get to know Jim Leyland, and that one time Brian Giles took batting practice in his birthday suit. We also hear about Perrotto’s clubhouse relationship with Barry Bonds, how impressive of an interview he could be when he wanted to be, and what it took to earn the slugger’s respect.

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 43 minute play time.)

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Episode 963

On this episode, we review Prospects Week before traveling back to the 1960s with a guest.

• At the top of the show, lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen welcomes fellow evaluator Tess Taruskin for her FanGraphs Audio debut. We hear about Tess’s background and how she ended up joining the FanGraphs team before the duo shares what it was like to help build this year’s Top 100 Prospects list. The pair also talk about Tess’s article on the catching prospect landscape, and how the position could be in for big changes in the future should robot umpires arrive. [2:47]
• After that, David Laurila welcomes baseball writer Thom Henninger to the program. Thom is the author of The Pride of Minnesota: The Twins in the Turbulent 1960s, and he and David review many of the remarkable stories in the book. They talk about Jim Kaat’s 1967 injury, the arrival of NHL and NBA franchises in the same year, the tragic tale of Bill Masterton, Muhammad Ali and the Vietnam War, and more. We also get anecdotes about greats like Dean Chance, George Mikan, and Mudcat Grant, and how the Twins ran wild on the basepaths under the management of Billy Martin. [33:19]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 1 hour 3 minute play time.)

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Episode 962

On this week’s episode, David Laurila welcomes veteran major league reliever Adam Ottavino to the program.

Ottavino shares his thoughts on the lockout and spring training before the pair go in-depth on pitching itself. We hear about the nuances of slider usage, who the right-hander models himself after, and the idea of evolving your pitching game before hitters can adapt to it. Ottavino also describes how pitching in different parks can feel, what it was like to play for both the Yankees and the Red Sox, the story of his pair of major league hits, and what his own future may have in store.

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 36 minute play time.)

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Episode 961

This week on the show, David Laurila is joined by Brian Garman, pitching coach for the Dayton Dragons, High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.

Garman shares the story of how visiting Driveline back in his playing days — thanks to a recommendation from teammate and friend Caleb Thielbar — led not only to a change of philosophy, but eventually a change of career. Now focused on teaching instead of throwing, he shares his thoughts on how the challenge of increasing velocity can vary player to player, the relationship between command and improved velocity, and how important stuff continues to be in pitching development. We also hear about his experience with players like Bryce Bonnin, Stevie Branche, Carson Spiers, Vincent Timpanelli, Braxton Roxby, and more.

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 35 minute play time.)

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Episode 960

This week, we welcome a coach who is a big part of a remarkable big-league staff before a conversation about what some of us are working on and pondering lately.

• To kick things off, David Laurila welcomes Craig Albernaz, bullpen and catching coach for the San Francisco Giants. We get some insight into the impressive coaching staff employed by the club, and what it is like to work with Brian Bannister, Farhan Zaidi, and Gape Kapler (guest on episode 896). We also hear stories about coaching (or being teammates with) players like Logan Webb, Buster Posey, Alex Cobb, Jeremy Hellickson, Jake McGee, Patrick Bailey, and more. [2:44]
• In the second half, Ben Clemens and Eric Longenhagen catch up on how their offseason projects are going before discussing pitchers who throw both four-seamers and sinkers, just how challenging it is to quantify deception, and Ben’s SABR award nomination. The duo also go in-depth on how difficult it can be to evaluate pitching prospects nowadays given how inconsistent and unpredictable they can be. [40:44]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 1 hour 9 minute play time.)

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Episode 959

On this episode of FanGraphs Audio, David Laurila welcomes Blake Butera, the manager of the Charleston RiverDogs, Low-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Butera, who is just 29 years old, shares his journey from playing at Boston College to being drafted by the Rays to becoming a key part of their player development system. We get stories about players such as Brendan McKay, Tommy Pham, Curtis Mead, Colby White, Cole Wilcox, Taj Bradley (a guest on episode 937), and more. Butera also offers some insights into what makes the Rays system so special and how the team is capable of consistently producing major-league talent.

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On last week’s episode of FanGraphs Audio, Jay Jaffe welcomed ESPN senior writer and host of the Baseball Tonight podcast, Buster Olney, for a conversation about the upcoming Hall of Fame election and the effects of modern ballot-tracking. This transcribed conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

…

Jay Jaffe [3:03]: For FanGraphs audio, this is Jay Jaffe. It’s Hall of Fame election season, with the results set to be announced on January 25. Against the backdrop of the current lockout, it’s been a contentious election cycle, particularly with a quartet of controversial candidates — Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and Curt Schilling — in their final year of eligibility, and Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz in their first. The topics of performance enhancing drugs and the character clause have loomed large, and at times the din of the debate has been overwhelming. Earlier this month at ESPN, Buster Olney penned a piece asking about whether this prolonged discussion and the daily drip of ballot reveals is good for the Hall and the electoral process. I took issue with a couple of Buster’s points, and after a friendly exchange on Twitter, it seemed natural for the two of us to continue our conversation on a podcast.

With me today is ESPN senior writer and host of the Baseball Tonight podcast, Buster Olney, whom I’ve been reading for longer than I’ve been writing about baseball, which is to say a long time. Buster came to my attention back when he was covering the Yankees for the New York Times, and he’s been at ESPN now for a long time. We’ve crossed paths in conversation once at a Pitch Talks in Toronto in 2016. So it’s really great to have him on the show. Welcome, Buster. Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 958

On this week’s episode, we sit down with a veteran baseball writer to talk about the Hall of Fame before hearing from a minor league outfielder with plenty under his belt already.

• To begin the show, Jay Jaffe welcomes Buster Olney, senior writer at ESPN and host of the Baseball Tonight podcast. Earlier this month, Buster wrote a piece about the upcoming Hall of Fame election and the effects of ballot-tracking, and he and Jay were eager to dive into the nuances of the issue. The duo discuss why Buster no longer participates in voting, the hypocrisy involved in the creation of the character clause, how important accountability and transparency have been among voters, how the industry covered the steroid era, and the current labor lockout. [3:03]
• In the second half, David Laurila welcomes free-agent outfielder Rhett Wiseman. The pair first talked a decade ago, and since then Wiseman has been drafted twice, won a championship with Vanderbilt in 2014, played in the Nationals system, and recently reached free agency. We hear about that journey and the challenges of the minor league experience, as well as the pros and cons of the CBA, the need for a minor league players union, and how impressive it was to play with Juan Soto. [42:22]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 73 minutes play time.)

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Episode 957

This week on the show, David Laurila is joined by Dan Dickerson, radio voice of the Detroit Tigers who last joined us back in episode 892, and Don Gonyea, a long-time political correspondent for National Public Radio and a diehard Tigers fan in his own right.

Dan and Don share stories of their decades-long friendship, as well as the baseball they have followed and covered. They reminisce about Mark Fidrych and “the summer of The Bird,” getting to know the legendary Ernie Harwell, following sports and meeting fans while working around the globe, and the fateful day of Armando Galarraga’s near-perfect game.

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 45 minute play time.)

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