JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 6/22/20

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Ben Clemens

3:04

presumably that's his name

MSW

3:04

Is there a way to legally watch NPB games in the states? Or just the KBO?

Ben Clemens

3:04

I am not aware of one. That doesn't mean there isn't one.

But yeah, KBO is easy and NPB hard

Billy G

3:05

Is there a part of baseball that you'd like to research more?

Ben Clemens

3:05

So much stuff

I'd like to do a lot more work on the game theoretical puzzle going on between pitches and hitters between eveyr pitch

3:06

I'd like to learn much more about how we can translate individual talent levels into expected team winning percentage

Like we've gotten 80% of the way there, let's say, in some really intuitive ways

And I'd love to know how much of that last 20% I can untangle in less intuitive, or even potentially ridiculous ways

3:07

I have a long-running project that I've never been able to crack where I try to isolate the effect of a batter seeing the same pitch twice

I'd like to know how much of the DH penalty can be explained by players recovering from injury

It's weird... during the season I feel like there's an infinite amount of stuff to write about, and topics smack me in the face essentially

3:08

When there's no season, it's hard to fill out enough volume of articles, so you're constantly pressing for ideas and end up drained

That was not a great explanation of it, I'm sure, but there are plenty of topics I'd love to research and I feel like not having a season isn't helping me with that as much as it is pushing them off into the future.

MSW

3:08

The answer to the MLB bubble is to play the games in an actual bubble. Toronto Skydome only!

Ben Clemens

3:09

I mean, some players might feel safer in Canada than the US at the moment!

But haha Toronto is a pretty big city, and by September/October I imagine people will be spending a lot of time inside there

Michael

3:09

When looking at which teams may not want a season, shouldnt we include a look at vesting options that won't vest (eg yankees with ja happ)? Seems like those numbers may be a negative influence on playing.

Ben Clemens

3:09

Yeah sure

3:10

It's not a huge effect, but it is one

That said, there are countervailing things here too we aren't counting.

The Dodgers are just going to get a whopping zero Mookie games if there's no season

3:11

Etc

ballsandgutters

3:11

Why aren't more baseball media mentioning the Black Players roundtable that MLB hosted last week with Harold Reynolds, Josh Bell, Jackie Robinson's daughter and a couple other young players? Best thing baseball has done in years.

Ben Clemens

3:11

It was indeed excellent

I also really enjoyed the one the Athletic held

3:12

I don't have a good answer for you for why this wasn't talked about more. For all the things I think the league does that are gross and coldly calculated to get the most money for the least outlay

3:13

I truly enjoyed that discussion and I'm glad they did it

Baseball has a shameful history with racism (most sports do!), and I find the 'wrap yourself in a Jackie Robinson banner' stuff pretty obnoxious, but less propaganda and more letting people share their experiences is a great way to handle things I think

Trivia Answer Guy

3:14

Pete Rose (1973) Willie McGee (1985), Ichiro Suzuki (2001)

Ben Clemens

3:14

Well, I got two of them right

I had no clue Willie McGee had so few dingers when he won MVP, though I know he won MVP b/c my dad wouldn't stop telling me about it when I was a kid

3:15

I wasn't sure if Rose won an MVP, but I thought he was the type of player who might, so I guessed him. And then I knew Ichiro

Laffey Tuffy

3:15

Any thoughts on the KBO signings of Addison Russell and Brandon Barnes?

Ben Clemens

3:16

Gonna be totally honest with you, I don't know much about Brandon Barnes. I'm not sure whether we're going to write something about Russell or not. I'm not a huge fan of the signing unless Russell is sincerely a changed man, or at the very least has convinced the team that he is.

3:17

I also know that I'm predisposed to give MLB teams zero credit for thoughtfulness and morality

And I'm not sure where to put KBO teams on that axis

I just have a lot less experience with the league

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