Postseason Managerial Report Card: Aaron Boone

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

I’m using a new format for our postseason managerial report cards this year. In the past, I went through every game from every manager, whether they played 22 games en route to winning the World Series or got swept out of the Wild Card round. To be honest, I hated writing those brief blurbs. No one is all that interested in the manager who ran out the same lineup twice, or saw his starters get trounced and used his best relievers anyway because the series is so short. This year, I’m sticking to the highlights, and grading only the managers who survived until at least their League Championship series. I already covered Stephen Vogt and Carlos Mendoza. Today, I’m looking at Aaron Boone.

My goal is to evaluate each manager in terms of process, not results. If you bring in your best pitcher to face their best hitter in a huge spot, that’s a good decision regardless of the outcome. Try a triple steal with the bases loaded only to have the other team make four throwing errors to score three runs? I’m probably going to call that a blunder even though it worked out. Managers do plenty of other things — getting team buy-in behind closed doors for new strategies or unconventional bullpen usage is a skill I find particularly valuable — but as I have no insight into how that’s accomplished or how each manager differs, I can’t exactly assign grades for it.

I’m also purposefully avoiding vague qualitative concerns like “trusting your veterans because they’ve been there before.” Playoff coverage lovingly focuses on clutch plays by proven performers, but Luke Weaver and Brent Honeywell were also important contributors this October. Forget trusting your veterans; the playoffs are about trusting your best players. Juan Soto is important because he’s great, not because he won the 2019 World Series. There’s nothing inherently good about having been around a long time; when I’m evaluating decisions, “but he’s a veteran” just doesn’t enter my thought process. Let’s get to it. Read the rest of this entry »


Job Posting: Milwaukee Brewers – Associate (Intern), Baseball Systems

Associate (Intern) – Baseball Systems

Location: Milwaukee, WI

Position Summary:
As part of the Baseball Systems department, this role will work closely with the Data Engineering and Software Engineering groups to enhance existing tools and processes, and build new ones using technologies that bridge multiple engineering disciplines.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Investigate user identified data quality concerns relating to areas such as game statistics, scouting reports, and transactions. Diagnose and fix the issue(s).
  • Load new datasets from vendors into internal databases and make the data available to users.
  • Develop user interface (UI) components using front-end technologies, ensuring user-friendly design.

Qualifications:

  • Experience with programming languages such as Python, Java, C#, Javascript-based frameworks, and object-oriented programming (OOP) principles.
  • Experience with SQL, including writing and maintaining queries.
  • Experience working with relational databases such as SQL Server and PostgreSQL.
  • Experience with advanced statistical baseball concepts, including advanced statistics and player evaluation metrics.

Our Team:

  • Baseball Systems is the software backbone of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Baseball Operations department. We provide data and decision-making tools for analysts, coaches, and front office personnel to help win a World Series.
  • Our department consists of a team of data engineers and a team of software engineers who work across all different aspects of Baseball Operations providing support and tools relevant to each group.
  • We work directly with stakeholders in every department of Baseball Operations to ensure every project we work on drives value to the organization and helps us win more games on the field.
  • We help drive technical innovation to find new ways to solve baseball problems.

Our Pitch:
You come here to make a difference. We are a purpose-led organization, focused on building an inclusive and engaging culture that fosters excellence, collaboration, and ingenuity. We strive to be a model employer and cultivator of talent, empowering our teams to drive innovation through the inclusion of diverse thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. We operate at the highest standard of excellence, investing in the development of our staff across all levels and embracing differences through a culture of respect and understanding.

We are proud to offer a highly competitive perks and benefits package including:

  • League wide medical insurance plan
  • 401(K) match and an additional annual contribution from the Club 
  • Collaborative recognition program and incentives
  • Online educational platform for personal and professional development
  • Employee Resource Groups
  • Paid time off for volunteering 
  • Year-round diversity, equity and inclusion training and development
  • Brewers Home Game tickets, promotional giveaways and other discounts!

For more information about our Crew, other benefits and insight into our Club culture please visit our Careers Page.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Milwaukee Brewers.


Effectively Wild Episode 2240: We’ve Got Options

EWFI
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about team/player option/opt-out decisions involving Gerrit Cole, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, and Eugenio Suárez, the Royals re-signing Michael Wacha, the players who received qualifying offers, the Minasian brothers as rival GMs (and potential PoBros), Carlos Santana’s historic Gold Glove, an international signing scandal (on multiple levels), evidence of racial bias in player development, a Japan Series upset, and more, plus a postscript.

Audio intro: Grant Brisbee, “Effectively Wild Theme
Audio outro: El Warren, “Effectively Wild Theme

Link to MLBTR on Cole 1
Link to MLBTR on Cole 2
Link to pitcher WAR since 2020
Link to P RA-9 WAR since 2020
Link to MLBTR on Snell
Link to Snell leaderboard
Link to MLBTR on Bellinger
Link to MLBTR on Suárez
Link to Suárez leaderboard
Link to Suárez Stathead search
Link to MLBTR on Wacha
Link to FG on Wacha
Link to qualifying offer list
Link to FG top 50 FA
Link to Rob Arthur article
Link to Rob on racial bias in 2020
Link to Rob on Black catchers in 2020
Link to Ringer scouting reports series
Link to MLBTR on Minasian
Link to LAT on the Minasians
Link to USA Today on the Minasians
Link to Langs Santana stat
Link to ESPN on signing scandal
Link to MLBTR on signing scandal
Link to Rob Arthur article
Link to Rob on racial bias in 2020
Link to Rob on Black catchers in 2020
Link to Ringer scouting reports series
Link to Climax Series wiki
Link to Climax Series bracket
Link to BayStars win 1
Link to BayStars win 2
Link to Jim Allen tweet
Link to Ben on the BayStars
Link to Hank Hill promo

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Wacha Won’t Walk: Michael Wacha Signs Three-Year Deal To Stay in Kansas City

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Excuse us while we adjust our Top 50 Free Agents list. Coming off their first postseason appearance since 2015, the Royals have decided to keep the band together. On Sunday, the team announced that Michael Wacha has signed a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth year. Royals starters ran a 3.55 ERA in 2024, second only to the Mariners. Their 16.7 WAR trailed only the Braves. Now that Wacha is locked up long-term, Kansas City is set to return eight of the nine pitchers who started a game for the team during the 2024 season, led by ace Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Wacha. The only exception is midseason acquisition Michael Lorenzen, who has entered free agency.

Wacha joined the Royals as a free agent before the 2024 season, inking a two-year, $32-million deal with a player opt-out. After running a 3.35 ERA and putting up a career-high 3.3 WAR, he was all but certain to exercise that opt-out. Instead, the 33-year-old is set to stay in Kansas City through at least 2027, his age-35 season. He’s also guaranteed to roughly double his career earnings to this point. The deal guarantees Wacha a minimum of $51 million and could be worth as much as $72 million. According to Mark Feinsand, Wacha will earn $18 million in the first two years. In 2027, he’ll have a base salary of $14 million, with performance bonuses that could push it to $18 million. If the Royals exercise their 2028 option, Wacha’s salary will feature the same 14/18 structure. If they decline the option, they’ll pay him a $1 million buyout. As Anne Rogers reported, five of the 10 largest contracts in franchise history now belong to players on the current roster. Wacha joins Lugo, Bobby Witt Jr., and Salvador Perez, who appears on the list twice thanks to two separate extensions, in that club.

The 2025 season will be the first since 2019 in which Wacha doesn’t pitch for a new team. He came up in 2013 and pitched for the Cardinals until 2019, then signed a succession of one-year deals with the Mets, Rays, and Red Sox. In 2023, Wacha signed with San Diego on a convoluted one-year deal that featured a club option for two more years (which the Padres declined), and player options for three more years (which Wacha declined). Read the rest of this entry »


2025 Top 50 MLB Free Agents

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the offseason. As is customary, FanGraphs’ annual top 50 free agent rankings come following the World Series. In recent years, we’ve rotated through the writers principally responsible for the list – first Dave Cameron, then Kiley McDaniel, Craig Edwards, and, more recently, me. I’m back this year and I’ve brought help: the FanGraphs staff contributed mightily to this piece.

Below, I’ve provided contract estimates and rankings of the winter’s top free agents, along with market-focused breakdowns for the top 25 players. That could be a quick discussion of where a player might sign, what a team might look for, or even statistical analysis masquerading as market analysis – what can I say, I like analyzing players. Meanwhile, a combination of Davy Andrews, Michael Baumann, Jay Jaffe, David Laurila, Eric Longenhagen, Leo Morgenstern, Kiri Oler, Esteban Rivera, Michael Rosen, and Dan Szymborski supplied player-focused breakdowns, which are designed to provide some context for each player at this moment in his career. Special thanks to David Appelman, Jon Becker, Sean Dolinar, Jason Martinez, and Meg Rowley for their help behind the scenes.

The players are ranked in the order in which I prefer them. That’s often the same as ranking them in contract order, but not always. In some cases, I prefer a player I expect will get less money over one who stands to make more. I’ll generally make note of that in the accompanying comment, but just to reiterate, this list isn’t exclusively sorted by descending average annual value or anything like that. Read the rest of this entry »


Job Posting: Toronto Blue Jays – Multiple Openings

Direct links to applications (please see job details below):

Biomechanist
Data Scientist
Player Valuation Research Analyst
Senior Data Engineer, Baseball Systems
Senior Developer, Baseball Systems
General Baseball Operations Entry Level Opportunities

Biomechanist

Overview:
The Blue Jays are seeking a Biomechanist to join our Biomechanics team. This position works between Baseball Research, Player Development, and Scouting to push our understanding of player movement forward. The ideal candidate will have experience processing biomechanical data, finding insights, and communicating those insights to non-technical users.

Primary Focus:

  • Conduct baseball biomechanical research and contribute to ongoing departmental research around player performance and health.
  • Create tools that incorporate this research into decision making, as well as working to improve those processes.

Responsibilities and Duties: 

  • Process biomechanical data, conduct data analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of pitching and hitting biomechanics data to players and staff. Create reports and visualizations to help explain findings. 
  • Design, test, implement and maintain metrics and predictive models using biomechanical information to contribute to strategy and decisions in Player Development and Scouting projects.
  • Collaborate with hitting, pitching, medical, strength and conditioning to incorporate biomechanical findings into the player development process.
  • Keep up to date with current public and academic research related to the role and provide evidence-informed opinions (based on biomechanics studies) to contribute to decision making.
  • Create new processes that integrate other biomechanical and human performance datasets into existing processes and modeling strategies.

Experience and Job Requirements:

  • Either a post-graduate degree in biomechanics or demonstrated practical knowledge and understanding of biomechanical data.
  • Experience with building pipelines to process large data sets. 
  • Technical ability conduct analysis and visualizations on large data sets.
  • Proficiency with R, Python or other similar mathematical language is required.
  • Proficiency in Visual3D or Open Sim is required.
  • Experience with scientific process, design, and analysis.
  • Excellent reasoning, problem solving, creative thinking, and communication skills at tactical and strategic levels.
  • Interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals from diverse cultures including members of the front office, scouts, field staff, and players.
  • The ability to work with multicultural populations and a commitment to fairness and equality.
  • Ability to work occasional evening, weekend, and holiday hours as dictated by the baseball calendar.

Beneficial Experience:

  • Related work experience and accomplishment in elite sport industry and talent development is preferred.
  • Experience with SQL or other rational databases is preferred.

To apply: 
Please follow this link: Biomechanist


Data Scientist

Overview:
The Blue Jays are seeking a Data Scientist to join our team and push our organization forward through the utilization of cutting-edge data methodologies and emerging technology. The ideal candidate will have experience taking data science problems from the idea/planning phase through completion and implementation while collaborating with others.

Primary Focus:

  • To conduct baseball research and contribute to ongoing departmental research.
  • To create tools that incorporate data into the decision-making process, as well as learning how decisions are made in all areas of Baseball Operations and working to improve those processes.
  • To challenge current technical processes, explore new data sources that could provide competitive advantages, and propose novel ways to solve data-intensive problems.

Responsibilities and Duties:

  • Design, test, implement and maintain advanced baseball metrics and predictive models to contribute to strategy and decisions across all departments within Baseball Operations.
  • Conduct empirical research related to baseball strategy, player evaluation and player development whilst understanding how findings would apply to better decision making and increased operational effectiveness.
  • Offer technical expertise to other members of the Baseball Research Department, providing constructive feedback and guidance.
  • Collaborate with the front office, coaches, and scouts while conducting research. Results of this work should help those within the organization better understand, consider, and apply the use of information and data to their decisions.
  • Work with the Development team to integrate new information into existing Baseball Operations processes and infrastructure.

Experience and Job Requirements:

  • 4+ years working in the data science field, building predictive models and communicating results to non-technical users.
  • Passion for baseball and excellent reasoning, problem-solving, creative thinking, and communication skills.
  • Strong interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals including members of the front office, scouts, and field staff.
  • Demonstrated ability to successfully design and execute rigorous quantitative research projects.
  • Strong understanding of current baseball research.
  • Proficiency with R, Python, or other similar statistical language.
  • Proficiency with SQL and relational databases.
  • The ability to work with multicultural populations and a commitment to fairness and equality.
  • Ability to work occasional evening, weekend, and holiday hours as dictated by the baseball calendar.

Beneficial Experience:

  • Ph.D. or Master’s degree in a quantitative field.
  • Demonstrated experience with:
    • Stan or another probabilistic programming language.
    • Computer vision models and techniques.
    • Machine learning methods, including clustering, boosting models, and neural networks.
    • Timeseries analysis and biomechanical data.

To apply: 
Please follow this link: Data Scientist


Player Valuation Research Analyst

Overview:
The Blue Jays are seeking a Player Valuation Analyst to join our Research team and support our player evaluation processes in collaboration with our Professional and/or Amateur Scouting department. This position will primarily be office-based, leveraging video analysis, internally developed tools, and valuation methodologies. While prior baseball experience is a plus, it is not required. We are looking for candidates with strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to collaborate effectively across departments.

Primary Focus:

  • Provide objective player valuations using proprietary tools and data.
  • Work across departments (Scouting, Player Development, Research, etc) to improve our internal process for evaluating players. 
  • Collaborate with scouts and analysts to inform player evaluations during drafts, trades, and signings.

Responsibilities and Duties:

  • Filing scouting reports on acquirable players based on a thorough review of available data and video assets. 
  • Interrogating outputs of predictive models to identify potentially undervalued acquirable players. 
  • Maintain and enhance existing valuation models to ensure consistency and accuracy.
  • Work with scouts to validate and complement subjective evaluations with data-driven insights.
  • Monitor player performance trends to identify undervalued talent or areas of concern.
  • Stay updated on the latest developments in baseball analytics and player valuation methodologies.

Experience and Job Requirements:

  • Familiarity with baseball rules, strategies, and player development pathways.
  • Experience with video analysis platforms and tools (e.g., Synergy, BATS, or proprietary systems).
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with scouts and front-office personnel.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Ability to work with multicultural populations and a commitment to fairness and equality. 
  • Ability to work occasional evening, weekend, and holiday hours as dictated by the baseball calendar.
  • Possible travel of 10-20 nights per year. 

Beneficial Experience: 

  • Previous involvement in baseball analytics, player development, or scouting (professional or amateur).
  • Working knowledge of baseball projection systems. 
  • Proficiency with R, Python, or other similar statistical language. 
  • Proficiency with SQL and relational databases. 
  • Experience working with scouting reports or baseball statistical databases
  • Experience applying coding skillset to improve valuation models or develop custom tools.

To apply: 
Please follow this link: Player Valuation Research Analyst


Senior Data Engineer, Baseball Systems

Overview:
The Toronto Blue Jays are seeking an experienced Data Engineer to join their Baseball Systems team to help build their next generation of databases and data processing systems. In this role you will work on challenging and compelling problems with some of the largest and most exciting datasets in sports. Your work will impact the entire organization from Research and Development through to Scouting, Player Development, and the Major League team by giving staff and players access to the full range of available information. 

Primary Focus

  • To build and maintain databases and other systems for storing baseball data. 
  • To build processing pipelines to transform data and extract useful information. 
  • Optimize new and existing data infrastructure to improve performance and scalability. 

Responsibilities and Duties:

  • Design and build systems to store a growing volume of statistical, ball tracking, player tracking, and biomechanical data. 
  • Build and maintain data pipelines for processing, transforming, and integrating large volumes of baseball data from a variety of sources and tracking systems. 
  • Develop systems for reporting, monitoring, and quality control of incoming data to ensure that systems are performing as expected and the data conforms to required standards. 
  • Understand and document database structures, data formats, definitions, and the limitations of current systems and establish future requirements. 
  • Oversee the evaluation, selection, and rollout of new software and data infrastructure. 
  • Complete ad-hoc database queries and analysis as required by the circumstances. 
  • Provide technical assistance to other Baseball Operations staff and collaborate with the Research team to ensure they have the data and resources required for their work. 
  • Recommend new data sources for purchase and new techniques to gather data. 

Experience and Job Requirements:

  • Demonstrated experience building and maintaining relational databases and data warehouses. 
  • Strong working knowledge of SQL and database programming. 
  • Highly proficient with Python (preferred) or another general-purpose programming language for manipulating data. 
  • Knowledge of database architecture, design patterns, and best practices to ensure system performance and long-term maintainability. 
  • Exceptional problem-solving skills – finds pragmatic solutions to data and engineering challenges within time or technology constraints. 
  • High attention to detail – anticipates and identifies potential issues early and strives to produce reliable and high-quality work. 
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively explain complex technical concepts to a wide range of individuals. 
  • Ability to read, speak and comprehend English effectively. 
  • The ability to work with multicultural populations and a commitment to fairness and equality. 
  • Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holiday hours as dictated by the baseball calendar. 

Beneficial Experience:

  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or other educational qualifications. Higher level academic qualifications are a plus. 
  • Experience with a task orchestration framework such as Airflow, Luigi, or Dagster. 
  • Experience with cloud services and infrastructure (Azure, AWS, GCP). 
  • Experience with R programming and data visualization. 
  • Experience working with baseball, sports, or biomechanics datasets is beneficial but not required. 

To apply: 
Please follow this link: Senior Data Engineer, Baseball Systems


Senior Developer, Baseball Systems

Overview:
The Toronto Blue Jays are seeking a talented and versatile Python developer to join our growing Research and Development team in Baseball Operations. In this role, you will help to design and build web applications that empower the work of users throughout the organization and directly impact decision-making in areas such as the Front Office, Scouting, and Player Development. 

Primary Focus:

  • Design and build new features of internal web applications. 
  • Work with end-users to collect requirements and feedback. 
  • Develop creative approaches for displaying information. 

Responsibilities and Duties:

  • Work closely with the Research & Development team to add new functionality to our existing suite of Python-based web applications to communicate their work to end-users. 
  • Design and build new features to take advantage of new data and video sources, internal research, or to enable other organizational initiatives. 
  • Contribute to code review, software testing, documentation, and maintenance of existing systems as part of a collaborative software engineering team. 
  • Participate in technical decision-making that will shape the next generation of the Blue Jays’ baseball systems. 

 
Experience and Job Requirements: 

  • Professional developer with experience designing and building web applications. 
  • Highly proficient with Python and one or more web frameworks such as Django, Flask, Pyramid, SQLAlchemy or similar. 
  • Strong understanding of foundational front-end web technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript).
  • Understanding of database development and proficient in SQL (especially MS SQL Server or PostgreSQL). 
  • Experience using Bootstrap and CSS preprocessors with the ability to create front-end views matching designs or mock-ups. 
  • Able to communicate with non-technical users to understand their roles and requirements and propose appropriate solutions. 
  • Strong problem-solving skills – finds pragmatic solutions to data and engineering challenges within time or technology constraints. 
  • High attention to detail – anticipates and identifies potential issues early and strives to produce reliable and high-quality work. 
  • Invested in learning and gaining new skills, both technical and non-technical. 
  • Passion for baseball and an interest in statistical and analytical aspects of the game. 
  • The ability to work with multicultural populations and a commitment to fairness and equality. 
  • Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holiday hours as dictated by the baseball calendar.

Beneficial Experience:
The following technologies or fields reflect potential projects for this role and experience with any of them is beneficial but not required: 

  • Experience with UI design and tools such as Figma or Adobe CC applications. 
  • Data visualization using libraries such as D3, Plotly, Three.js, or ggplot. 
  • Experience with additional general-purpose programming languages (PHP, Ruby, Java, C# or similar). 
  • Front-end JavaScript frameworks such as React, Angular or Vue. 
  • CSS preprocessors such as SCSS, LESS or Stylus. 
  • DevOps and CI/CD experience with Bitbucket Pipelines, GitHub Actions or similar. 
  • Data manipulation, modelling, and visualization in R or Python. 

To apply: 
Please follow this link: Senior Developer, Baseball Systems


General Baseball Operations Entry Level Opportunities

The Toronto Blue Jays are seeking highly motivated and creative individuals to assist with day-to-day tasks across various areas of Baseball Operations, including Scouting, Player Development, High Performance, and Research & Development/Analytics. Start and end dates are flexible depending on the specific role, and we will consider both full-season and partial-season candidates. These positions are paid and may be based in Toronto, ON; Dunedin, FL; or one of our affiliate locations across Canada, the United States, or the Dominican Republic.

Key Qualities We’re Looking For:

  • Passion for baseball, with excellent reasoning, problem-solving, creative thinking, and communication skills
  • Strong interpersonal skills to collaborate with a wide range of individuals, from fellow staff to players
  • Ability to work independently, self-direct tasks, and manage multiple projects with attention to detail
  • Effective time management skills to balance priorities in a fast-paced environment
  • Flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as required by the baseball calendar

The Blue Jays see diversity and employment equity as foundational to creating a successful culture. Applicants who may not traditionally feel empowered to apply for a job in this field are strongly encouraged to apply.
There are several roles with different primary focuses, with more detail on each broad type of position provided below. You only need to submit one application to be considered for all potential roles. We will match your skills and experiences to available opportunities. If you have a specific area of interest, feel free to highlight it in your application.

You may receive an email asking you to complete a more detailed follow-up application regarding your interests and employment goals. Please ensure that baseballresumes@bluejays.com is allowed in your email system. 

Role Summaries

Player Development Technology
This role is ideal for candidates interested in working closely with coaches and players through embedding themselves with teams at the Blue Jays’ development complexes or affiliates. Key responsibilities include:

  • Serving as the point person for video, technology, and data resources
  • Deploying and operating technology for recording data during both practice and game settings
  • Organizing, cataloging, distributing, and reviewing video and data/advance resources for affiliate staff and other PD personnel
  • Helping to track player goals and progress over the course of the season and collaborating across departments (Minor League Operations, Nutrition, High Performance) to support projects and processes
  • Assisting with on-field activities (batting practice, fungos, catching pens) and day-to-day logistical needs of the team as needed

Proficiency in Microsoft Office is required; experience with video editing software and baseball-related data capture systems is beneficial. Spanish proficiency is also helpful and may be required in some cases.

Operations (Scouting, Baseball Operations, Player Development)
Candidates with excellent organizational skills and attention to detail will support the logistical and administrative functions of the scouting, player development, or baseball operations departments. Duties may include:

  • Organizing, entering, and maintaining data and/or video resources
  • Supporting departmental administrative tasks (expense reports, compiling statistics and rosters, meeting logistics, etc.) and responding to ad-hoc logistical or organizational needs
  • Contributing to player evaluation processes through review of video and data
  • In the Player Development department, additional duties may include translating documents to/from English and Spanish, and assisting with integration of technology into on-field work

Microsoft Office (especially Excel) proficiency is crucial; knowledge of baseball rules and regulations is also a strong asset. Spanish proficiency will be beneficial (required in some cases). Proficiency with data management and analysis tools like SQL, R, Python are also beneficial but not required.

Advance Scouting
This role involves supporting the Major League team with game-by-game and series-by-series preparation, using strong baseball knowledge to assist with:

  • Collecting and organizing statistics for scouting reports, identifying patterns in player performance and team tendencies
  • Editing and assembling video clips/visual presentations relevant to upcoming matchups
  • Conducting ad-hoc research and analysis on players or the game of baseball in general
  • Watching video to provide written evaluations and insights to coaching staff, helping to shape game strategies
  • Supporting on-field video and data collection and operating game-prep technology 

Candidates with excellent knowledge of baseball rules and strategy and strong time management and organizational skills will excel here. Proficiency in video editing software and tools like R, Shiny, or similar platforms is helpful but not required.

Research & Development
This role is geared towards analytical thinkers passionate about using data to uncover new insights in baseball. Key responsibilities include:

  • Conducting self-directed research using R, Python, SQL or similar tools
  • Working on areas like data acquisition, organization, and cleaning, as well as statistical modeling and visualization
  • Presenting research findings to front office members, coaches, or players, ensuring the work is accessible and actionable
  • Providing logistical support during major baseball events like the Draft or Trade Deadline

In addition to the technological background mentioned above, experience with advanced modelling techniques or other specialized skills (Computer Vision, AI, Bayesian Modeling, Anomaly Detection, Time Series etc.) would be beneficial, but not necessary.

Baseball Systems Development
This role focuses on creating and supporting internal web applications and databases for Baseball Operations. Duties may include:

  • Collaborating with end users to gather requirements, ensuring systems meet operational needs
  • Engineering systems to acquire and store new datasets, improving data accessibility
  • Designing intuitive front-end web interfaces for internal baseball information systems
  • Experiencing and providing logistical support to key points on the baseball calendar

Experience with software engineering, web development, and database management is important, and examples of relevant work can be helpful in demonstrating your capabilities.

Biomechanics/Sports Science
This role is for candidates passionate about using Biomechanics or Sports Science to uncover insights about baseball and eager to apply their academic background to baseball. Responsibilities may include:

  • Conducting data-driven research, using biomechanical data to inform player improvement strategies
  • Working hands-on with players and staff to support data-collection and provide real-time feedback on movement and performance
  • Staying up-to-date with the latest research in biomechanics, applying insights to support Player Development and High Performance
  • Collaborating closely with R&D and Player Development to align research with player development goals

In addition to your academic background in this subject area, proficiency in statistical programming and data visualization is a plus but not required.

To apply: 
Please follow this link: General Baseball Operations Entry Level Opportunities


We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Toronto Blue Jays.


Job Posting: Cleveland Guardians – 2025 Baseball Technology Fellowship

2025 Baseball Technology Fellowship

Location: Goodyear, Arizona, United States

Primary Purpose

The Cleveland Guardians Fellowship program is designed to accelerate the pace of development and impact for people interested in working for our organization. Fellowship roles are focused on solving complex challenges, which involve developing innovative approaches, tools, and techniques to meaningfully drive the organization forward. Fellows will be exposed to work across multiple departments and have access to and be encouraged to use a suite of internal, proprietary software.

The Cleveland Guardians Fellowship program is all about fostering your growth and making an impact within our organization. As a fellow, you’ll take on real challenges and come up with creative solutions that help move us forward. You’ll get to work with different departments across the organization, gaining hands-on experience and using some of our exclusive, in-house tools. It’s a great chance to dive in, learn, and make a difference!

We are seeking Fellows to join our Baseball Technology department. Each Fellow will work full-time with one of our minor league affiliates (Columbus, Akron, Lake County, Lynchburg, and Arizona Complex) and report to the Baseball Technology, Player Development, and Baseball Operations departments. Fellows will be expected to manage the collection of multiple data streams and operate as a resource for both coaches and players. This position will include travel to away games.

We’re looking for someone who’s curious, creative, and open to new ideas—someone who loves working in a team setting. You should be comfortable communicating with others, building solid relationships, and explaining complex ideas in a way anyone can understand. You’ll also have the opportunity to take the initiative and perform research in the area of your choosing that helps push forward the Guardians’ approach to player development.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Baseball Technology:

  • Operate bat/ball tracking technology and other sports science technology.
  • Manage pre-game, in-game, and post-game video processes.
  • Manage the corresponding data and video collection process and assist with interpretation & distribution.
  • Assist the Information Systems team with Baseball Technology-related troubleshooting and support.

Coaching Staff Support:

  • Support Minor League field staff with Advance Scouting Process.
  • Assist affiliate staff with various administrative tasks (i.e. daily scheduling, team travel).
  • Assist Minor League field staff with pre-game activities.

Baseball Development and Analysis:

  • Collaborate with coaching staff, Player Development, and Baseball Operations to monitor player goals and player progress.
  • Perform ad hoc research and analysis, both at the request of staff and independently.
  • Communicate findings and insights to Minor League Coaches, Players, and Player Development and Baseball Operations Departments.

At the Cleveland Guardians, we’re all about creating an inclusive environment that brings out the best in everyone. It’s a big part of who we are, how we compete, and how we make an impact in our community. We want every employee to feel like they truly belong here.

We also know that people from historically underserved groups—like women and people of color—sometimes hesitate to apply for jobs unless they check every single box on the qualifications list. We’re looking for the best person for the job, and we know that you might bring skills and experiences that aren’t exactly listed but could be a huge asset to our team. So, if this role excites you, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet every single qualification.

Education & Experience Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree or prior professional experience.
  • Demonstrated passion for at least one: baseball technology, scouting, baseball analytics, sport science, hitting or pitching analysis and/or biomechanics, strength and conditioning, motor learning, or other baseball/softball-related field.

Skills:

  • Organization: Ability to create, maintain, and execute a schedule effectively.
  • Work Ethic: A relentless drive to collect more and better information.
  • Passion: Demonstrate a clear, genuine passion for the game, teammates, the organization, and learning.
  • Resourcefulness: Utilize available organizational resources to develop and understand organizational philosophies.
  • Strategic Thinking: Natural problem-solving mindset and strategic thinking.
  • Time Management: Ability to prioritize and stay focused in a fast-paced environment.
  • Collaboration: Partner with staff and players and exhibit effective communication-both written and verbal skills.

Preferred Experience
While we are looking for a variety of diverse skill sets for this role, we know that past Fellows who have thrived in this role possessed certain skills that are best aligned with the game of baseball. You may be better positioned to thrive in this role if you have demonstrated experience with any of the following:

  • Conversational Spanish or better, a plus.
  • Experience with video editing software is a plus.
  • Experience with SQL and statistical software (i.e. R, Python, Stata, SAS) a plus.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office.
  • Working knowledge of advanced baseball statistics and publicly available research.

Standard Requirements

  • Represents the Cleveland Guardians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
  • Reads, speaks, comprehends, and communicates English effectively in all communications.
  • Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationships with members in all departments of the organization.
  • Ability to act according to the organizational values and service excellence at all times.
  • Demonstrated commitment to working with diverse populations and contributing to an inclusive working environment.
  • Ability to walk, sit or stand for an entire shift.
  • Ability to work extended days and hours, including holidays and weekends.
  • Ability to move throughout all areas and levels of the Ballpark.
  • Ability to work in a diverse and changing environment.
  • Occasional physical activity such as lifting and carrying boxes at least 25 lbs.

About Us
In Baseball Technology, our shared goal is to identify and develop diverse players and front-office teammates who contribute to our mission. By working together effectively and collaboratively, we create a family atmosphere that supports learning as we strive for excellence in everything we do. We believe that we will achieve our goals by making evidence-based decisions and creating environments that support our people and empower them to learn.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Cleveland Guardians.


Sunday Notes: Bryce Eldridge Wants To Crush Pitches In the Air

Bryce Eldridge is the top prospect in the San Francisco Giants system thanks largely to the lethality of his power-packed left-handed stroke, an enviable asset that he augments with a patient approach. Drafted 16th overall in 2023 out of Vienna, Virginia’s James Madison High School, the 6-foot-7 first baseman projects, in the words of Eric Longenhagen, as “a middle-of-the-order force.”

What he accomplished in his first full professional season suggests that our lead prospect analyst’s assessment was spot-on. Beginning the year in Low-A and ending it in Triple-A, Eldridge slashed .289/.372/.513 with 23 home runs and a 137 wRC+ over 519 plate appearances. Moreover, he put up those numbers as a teenager. Eldridge didn’t turn 20 until mid-October.

That he was drafted as a two-way player is part of his story. While he hasn’t toed the rubber in a game since receiving his just-shy-of $4M signing bonus, the possibility of his playing both ways was certainly there. (Longenhagen was bearish on the idea, opining in his post-draft recap that the “two-way experiment should eventually lead him to full-time hitting.”)

His potential as a pitcher was the first subject I broached when speaking to Edington at the Arizona Fall League, where he is suiting up for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Why is he now a hitter only? Read the rest of this entry »


Effectively Wild Episode 2239: The Post-October Banter Backlog

EWFI
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about offseason EW, Tommy Kahnle’s love affair with changeups, the Yankees’ preparation and fundamentals, Aaron Boone’s managing, the Dodgers as a dynasty, the White Sox hiring Will Venable, Alex Kirilloff’s retirement, two prediction anecdotes, glove flips as the new bat flips, the check-swing challenge system, the Premier12 tournament, the Women’s Pro Baseball League, Eric Adams and the World Series, a Yankees executive keeping things in perspective, a record sum for a historic baseball, Shohei Ohtani trumping One Piece, Dodgers parade comments, a no-show for NPB’s Sawamura Award, and more.

Audio intro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme
Audio outro: Daniel Leckie, “Effectively Wild Theme

Link to story on Kahnle’s changeups
Link to Kahnle pitch types
Link to pitch types Stat Blast
Link to Boone report 1
Link to Boone report 2
Link to Sherman on the Yankees
Link to 2015 Royals scouting story
Link to Ben on the Dodgers
Link to Dodgers dynasty story
Link to dynasty system
Link to MLBTR on Venable
Link to MLBTR on Kiriloff
Link to Kiriloff’s announcement
Link to Gleeman tweet
Link to elephants/mice info
Link to Fernando prediction tweet
Link to Fernando prediction story
Link to Vientos prediction tweet
Link to Vientos prediction story
Link to glove flip clip
Link to 2012 Chapman story
Link to Baseball for All tweet
Link to WPBL story
Link to WPBL interview
Link to Siegal EW episode
Link to Premier12 roster
Link to Premier12 wiki
Link to challenge system story
Link to challenge system video
Link to Afterman comments
Link to Adams attendance story
Link to Ohtani ball auction
Link to Ohtani ball auction 2
Link to Fat Joe comments
Link to Ohtani shirt response
Link to One Piece story
Link to Sawamura Award story
Link to Sawamura EW episode
Link to Petriello on catching
Link to “Something’s Coming”

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The Best and Worst Baserunning Plays of the Postseason

Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

It’s not hard to remember who had the biggest hits of the postseason, nor is it hard to remember which superstar sluggers came up short. But what about the components of offense that don’t take place at the plate? This past October had no shortage of riveting plays on the basepaths, so I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the most skillful baserunning, some of the least skillful baserunning, and either way, some of the most consequential baserunning plays of the 2024 playoffs.

To calculate baserunning value, the bright minds at Baseball Savant have developed a system that estimates runs above or below average for 10 different categories of “advance opportunities” on balls in play. There is certainly room for disagreement with the way the automatic system evaluates plays, but these numbers are a great jumping-off point. That’s especially true when it comes to bad plays, for which there is a clear delineation between the most harmful baserunning decisions and more forgivable mistakes.

Six runners ran into an out that cost their team 0.80 runs or more this postseason. No other baserunning play scored worse than -0.20 runner runs. Here’s a chart and a video compilation of those six disastrous decisions. I’ve also included Savant’s seventh-most detrimental baserunning play of the postseason for comparison:

The Worst Baserunning Plays (on BIP) of the 2024 Postseason
Runner Play Description Runner Runs
Giancarlo Stanton Stanton out at home on throw from left field. -0.95
Alec Bohm Bohm out at second on throw from center field. -0.94
Gleyber Torres Torres out at home on throw from right field. -0.85
Jesse Winker Winker out at third on throw from center field. -0.85
Salvador Perez Perez out at home on throw from right field. -0.84
Justyn-Henry Malloy Malloy out at second on throw from right field. -0.80
Kyle Schwarber Schwarber holds at third on single to right field. -0.20
SOURCE: Baseball Savant

The decisions by Bohm and Malloy to try for second, as well as third base coach Luis Rojas’ choice to wave Torres home, were all varying degrees of justifiable. That’s not to say any of them were smart plays, but it’s important to remember that getting thrown out doesn’t necessarily mean a baserunner made a mistake. A player who never gets thrown out on the bases isn’t taking enough risks.

Stanton’s out at home is at the top of the list for a reason. It was tough to watch him lumbering down the third base line in the moment, and it’s even harder to watch in hindsight when I know the outcome. It makes me feel like I’m watching a horror movie, but instead of wanting to scream at Stanton to stay out of the basement, I want to tell him to hold up no matter what Rojas was signaling. I could say the same of Perez, who is every bit as slow as Stanton. Juan Soto made a terrific throw, but all the same, third base coach Vance Wilson had no business sending Perez on that play. As for the inelegant slide into home, that’s all on Perez.

That being said, I hesitate to call either of those plays the worst example of baserunning in the postseason. For one thing, it’s clear from the clips that their coaches were more to blame. What’s more, it would be pretty boring of me to pick one of the biggest, slowest players in the game as the culprit behind the worst baserunning flub of October. So that brings me to Winker in Game 1 of the NLCS.

Here’s that play one more time:

By my count, Winker made three baserunning blunders in a very short time. His first mistake was taking too far of a turn around second base. His second mistake was realizing his first mistake and briefly turning back toward second before changing his mind once again and continuing toward third. His third mistake was giving up far too easily. He didn’t bolt for third and try to slide under Max Muncy’s tag, nor did he force the Dodgers to run him down, which might have given Jose Iglesias a chance to reach second base. Rather than putting up a fight, he basically just admitted defeat.

The Dodgers went on to win that game 9-0. Winker’s poor baserunning was hardly the only thing that did the Mets in. Still, if he’d held up at second base, it would have been the only time in the entire game the Mets had a runner in scoring position with no outs. Instead, Winker killed what little momentum the Mets almost mustered. So, of the 513 ball-in-play baserunning events that Baseball Savant scored during the playoffs, this gets my vote as the very worst of the lot.

I also went back and watched every caught stealing and pickoff play of the postseason to find the worst bit of baserunning that didn’t come on a ball in play. None of the straight-up caught stealing plays stand out to me as particularly egregious, although I made a compilation video so you can judge for yourselves. The compilation also includes Matt Vierling getting caught at second — a play that technically wasn’t considered as a stolen base attempt, presumably because it would have been officially scored a wild pitch if he were safe:

As for the pickoffs, all four look embarrassing for the baserunners. Pickoffs almost always do. Here they are, and I apologize in advance that the clip of Trevino’s pickoff on MLB Film Room is incomplete. But it’s not like you can’t extrapolate what’s going to happen. I also included Anthony Rizzo’s TOOTBLAN is Game 2 of the ALCS. Like the Vierling play, it technically wasn’t scored as a pickoff because it started with a ball in the dirt, but it’s close enough for our purposes:

The clip of Francisco Lindor is a bad look for the typically excellent baserunner. The camera shows that Lindor misread pitcher Brent Honeywell and started to take off for second base far too soon. Honeywell made him pay. Rizzo’s rundown was embarrassing, too, although after seeing the way Winker responded in a somewhat similar situation, I’ll give Rizzo credit for making a bit more of an effort.

The very worst of all those caught stealing and pickoff plays came just before Rizzo’s slip-up. Two batters earlier, Jazz Chisholm Jr. also ran into an out at second, and this one was a proper pickoff. It was the only instance out of all the caught stealing and pickoff plays I showed you in which the runner was already safely in scoring position with no outs. There was little reason for Chisholm to take such an aggressive lead toward third base. (Apparently the Yankees were planning to attempt a double steal, but Chisholm took off too early). According to Baseball Reference WPA, Chisholm’s pickoff was the most harmful caught stealing or pickoff play of the postseason (-0.076 WPA). It was also, by far, the worst caught stealing or pickoff play by championship Win Probability Added, reducing the Yankees’ chances of winning the World Series by 1.21%. And yet, I can’t blame Chisholm too much for his aggressive leads because, as you’re about to see, he was also responsible for some of the very best baserunning plays we saw this past October.

It’s significantly harder to identify the best baserunning plays than the worst. Simply put, it’s much easier to find plays in which a runner ran into an out than to separate the best advancement decisions from more commonplace ones. A runner goes from first to third on a single almost every game; when is that good baserunning as opposed to routine execution? All this to say, there aren’t any positive baserunning plays worth upwards of 0.80 runner runs on Baseball Savant. The top three plays of the postseason each added 0.25 runs of value. The next six came in at +0.24 runs. That said, these data still offer a good jumping-off point for this exercise.

I went digging for the top 10 baserunning plays on balls in play this postseason and came back with 11 due to a tie at the bottom of the list. Here are those 11 plays in chart form:

The Best Baserunning Plays (on BIP) of the 2024 Postseason
Runner Play Description Runner Runs
Brice Turang Turang doubles on groundball to left field. 0.25
Anthony Volpe Volpe scores from first on double. 0.25
Shohei Ohtani Ohtani advances to third on throwing error. 0.25
Francisco Lindor Lindor doubles on line drive to center field. 0.24
Bryson Stott Stott triples on line drive to right field. 0.24
Gavin Lux Lux goes first to third on single to center. 0.24
Parker Meadows Meadows doubles on fly ball to center field. 0.24
Shohei Ohtani Ohtani scores from first on double to left field. 0.24
Starling Marte Marte doubles on groundball to right field. 0.24
Anthony Volpe Volpe doubles on line drive to left field. 0.23
Jazz Chisholm Jr. Chisholm scores from second on single. 0.23
SOURCE: Baseball Savant

I wasn’t blown away by any of the three plays with a +0.25 run value. All three were the result of at least one defensive miscue and none involved a competitive throw. Understanding how to take advantage of poor defense is certainly a skill, as is moving fast enough to take an extra base without the defense even bothering to make a throw. Much like how the best defenders make tough plays look routine, the best baserunners can make low-percentage advancements look easy. Still, take a look at these three clips, and I’m sure you’ll forgive me for skipping past them as I try to find the best baserunning plays of the playoffs.

I was much more impressed with a few of the plays that had a +0.24 and +0.23 run value. But let’s start with the five that didn’t turn my head. Lindor made a nice slide to secure a double in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, but he was only safe because Turang couldn’t hold onto the ball to apply the tag. Meanwhile, Stott bolted his way to an RBI triple in Game 2 of the NLDS, but everyone was safe without a competitive throw.

Moving on to the NLCS, Ohtani scored from first on a Mookie Betts double in Game 1, but he did so without a throw. Indeed, the Mets pretty clearly knew he was going to score well before the ball landed in the cutoff man’s glove. Then, in Game 4 of the NLCS, Marte doubled because Betts badly misread a groundball to right field. Finally, Volpe earned 0.23 runs of baserunning credit for a double in the World Series, but he would have been out if Lux hadn’t lost the baseball. Here’s a compilation of those five plays for your viewing pleasure:

Now, let’s get to the three plays I really liked. Back in the NLDS, Lux made a great read on an Enrique Hernández single to shallow center and sprinted from first to third, beating Jackson Merrill’s throw. Meadows also made a terrific read on a pop fly in the ALDS, turning what could have been a routine out into a double. Here’s what those two plays looked like:

However, of these 11 baserunning plays, one clearly stood above the rest. Here is Chisholm scoring from second on an Alex Verdugo single in all its glory:

This was terrific television from start to end. The mind games going on between Chisholm and Michael Lorenzen were almost palpable. The footwork dance battle between Chisholm and Bobby Witt Jr. was delightful. Chisholm’s decision not to slide could have been disastrous, but instead it worked out perfectly (although the home plate umpire might disagree). And the greater context of the game only makes the play more thrilling. Chisholm was only at second base because of a controversial safe call on a stolen base earlier in the inning. The umpire on the field called him safe. The umpires in New York found the replay evidence inconclusive, even though it seemed pretty clear to the average viewer that Chisholm was out. While a less courageous baserunner might have exercised more caution after surviving by the skin of his teeth, Chisholm remained aggressive. It paid off.

According to Baseball Reference WPA, Verdugo’s single was the 10th most valuable ball in play (i.e. non-homer) of the postseason. A few of those nine other plays involved good baserunning, but there were none, I’d argue, in which good baserunning was quite as essential to the shift in win probability. Take a look for yourself. (Side note: While putting this compilation together, I learned that MLB film room won’t let you make a video with the word “balls” in the title. Seems like a design flaw.)

So, Chisholm gets my vote for the best ball-in-play baserunning play of the postseason. And that’s not all. He also provided the two most consequential stolen bases of the postseason, according to Baseball Reference WPA and cWPA. Not only that, but those two stolen bases came three pitches apart in the top of the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series. Another three pitches later, he scored what would have been the winning run if not for Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam. Even without a compilation video of the other 60 stolen bases this October, I feel confident giving Chisholm the crown for the best stolen base sequence of the playoffs. Here’s a look at the complete series of events:

None of the plays I wrote about today will be remembered for nearly as long as Freeman’s big hits, Gerrit Cole’s valiant efforts, or the poor defense that ultimately sunk the Yankees in Game 5. But I love writing about baserunning precisely because it gets far less attention than most other aspects of the game. I’m glad I had the chance to look back on all this action on the basepaths before we all turn our attention to the offseason ahead.