Mark Simon (he/him)

Me and no one else.

One thing I did not expect when I went to see some stand-up comedy tonight was that the comedian would do a ‘Moose Skowron wasn’t a big man by today’s standards” joke … and yet, it happened

The SIS Baseball Podcast Baseball Podcast · Updated Bimonthly · The R&D team at Sports Info Solutions is joined by special guests to discuss notable topics related to baseball analytics and defensive excellence. Hosted by Mar...

New baseball podcast episode with 4(!) guests

SABR awards finalists:

@zcrizer.bsky.social - What's up with CF offense?

@maddiellandis.bsky.social - Angles of pitches

@michaelrosen.bsky.social - Trail runners

+ Pirates head of coach & player development Michael Chernow

tinyurl.com/SISpodcast22

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we mourn the six million Jews and millions of others targeted, abducted and murdered by the Nazi regime.

Together, let us honor their memory by rooting out hate and antisemitism wherever we may see it.

Never again.

SABR Analytics Conference

Voting is now open to select the winners of the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards! Cast your vote today: sabr.org/latest/vote-...

David Stearns, fan of the 2000 Mets, got his Mike Hampton

Stat of the Week: The Hall of Fame And Active Players Who are some of those that are on the bubble at the moment?

Using the JAWS system and Bill James' Win Shares in tandem to evaluate current players and where they stand with regard to Hall of Fame worthiness ...

Our Stat of the Week
www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/01/21/s...

Sometimes in sports you run out of miracles.

Great finish to that one.

4 players age 35 or older caught 50+ games last season

Salvador Perez
Kyle Higashioka
Travis d'Arnaud
Martín Maldonado

They combined for 1.5 bWAR

Realmuto has caught 133, 99, and 132 games the last 3 seasons.

He turns 35 in March

Meet Me At The (Hot) Corner A look at transitions from shortstop to third base and the challenges that come into play with the switch.

RE: Bo Bichette

We looked at the shortstop to third base transition a few years ago

At the time we did it, our sample size was 12

7 guys did better defensively going SS to 3B

5 did worse

Like much of life, it could go either way

www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2022/12/22/m...

Todd Hundley will play left field

That'll be a good one to reminisce on in 5 years

it is!

New interview: Stacy Kess Wants More Accessibility For Everyone She started a non-profit, Equal Access Public Media, and shared the goals of the organization

Have you been looking to read @marksimon.bsky.social's Journalism Salute interview about Equal Access Public Media and our founder instead of listen? It's here!

journalismsalute.beehiiv.com/p/new-interv...

Stat of the Week: Which Team Can Put Out The Best Defensive 9-Man Group? It’s January, which is always the time when you see articles considering a team’s all-time performance or some other aspect of franchise history (best free agent signings is a common one).

Stat of the Week:

We teach each team's best player's Defensive Runs Saved total at each position and sum them up to see which team would do best.

Kind of a 'best ball' competition for defense spanning 2003-2025

From the #1 Cardinals to #30 Marlins ...
www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/01/15/s...

Get up close and personal with Equal Access Public Media as @marksimon.bsky.social, host of The Journalism Salute, interviews @stacykess.bsky.social.

Find your favorite way to listen using @pod.link.

How Good Is Nolan Arenado Defensively Right Now? He’s still pretty good for a guy who turns 35 in April but he’s a bit removed from his defensive prime…

Just how good is Nolan Arenado defensively right now?

@marksimon.bsky.social has the numbers

www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/01/13/h...

Nolan Arenado - Defensive Runs Saved, last 5 seasons

9, 20, 0, 6, 6

He's still good. But he's not what he once was.

However ...

Diamondbacks have not finished a season with a positive Defensive Runs Saved total at 3rd base since 2019!

New journalist interview: Stacy Kess (@stacykess.bsky.social) of Equal Access Public Media (@equalaccesspublicmedia.org)

We talk accessibility - what more can be done and what her group is trying to accomplish

And this great quote on why journalism is a calling

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

New journalist interview: Stacy Kess (@stacykess.bsky.social) of Equal Access Public Media (@equalaccesspublicmedia.org)

We talk accessibility - what more can be done and what her group is trying to accomplish

And this great quote on why journalism is a calling

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

Is there a place collecting donations to help them out?

The Journalism Salute Documentary Podcast · Updated Weekly · The Journalism Salute is a journalism appreciation podcast. We interview working journalists about who they are and what they do. Our aim is to have diverse gues...

Periodic reminder that I have a weekly podcast on which I interview journalists about their work and careers.

The podcast has a diverse guest list - more than 60% women and 50% people of color. Journalists from all 50 states

LISTEN: tinyurl.com/yu289v7t

NEWSLETTER: journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

A little thing in their banter here that I feel strongly about. @megrowler.fangraphs.com said she regrets not taking Spanish in college.

Me too!!

If you want to work in baseball, I strongly recommend doing what you can to be at least minimally bilingual

well, @davyandrewsdavy.bsky.social wrote a perfect blog

Stat of the Week: New Year’s Resolutions Some players and teams have pretty obvious points of focus in looking ahead to 2026…

Stat of the Week

Made a list of New Year's resolutions for players and teams

But I didn't pick superstars. Instead, I focused on good/ everyday players, like Joey Ortiz and CJ Abrams, pitcher Nick Martinez, as well as 3 teams (Twins, Marlins, Phillies)

www.sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/01/08/s...

Jon Lester next year's ballot ... from 2008 to 2018, his numbers are basically a match for Hamels' numbers and he was a huge part of winning 3 rings.

His similarity score comps include 4-5 guys who are in that "ya know, maybe they should..." class

By 'yes'ing Felix, I'm saying - I like absolute top of the line A+ peak

By 'no'ing Hamels I'm saying- that level of a body of work ... not enough.

Can I hold every pitcher to that same standard?

It's a really hard thing to settle.

For example

As of 8:14pm today, I am a 'yes' on Felix, a 'no' on Hamels.

But then when you look at it, they ended up at almost the exact same place in completely different ways.

So am I being unfair to Hamels, overly generous to Felix?

I don't know

Yeah, the industry was a lot different then when it came to coverage of such things ...

I'm wondering as I become a Hall voter next year:

Where does the line get drawn?

Once you get past Verlander, Scherzer, Greinke, and Kershaw (and maybe Sale), the standard is going to shift quite a lot

I'll be curious to see how Cole Hamels' moves in the next few years.