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Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 2/14/2022
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Frank Thomas the Tank Engine
12:44
Favorite US amateur ballpark?
Kevin Goldstein
12:45
Fun question. I've been to some insanely nice high school parks in SoCal . . . best high school environments are in Miami. College? UNC comes to mind...
Cynthia
12:46
I have a friend who was a SP in the minors about 15 years ago, and his team had him throw at least 20% changeups his first year to develop the pitch. Is that type of thing still done by teams?
Kevin Goldstein
12:46
Very much so.
Frank Thomas the Tank Engine
12:46
When scouting another team's major or minor leaguers and you run into a player on that team at, say, a pizza parlor, can you say hello or is that considered tampering?
Kevin Goldstein
12:46
TAMPERING.
Guest
12:46
Hi KG, no question, just a thank you for turning me on to Sumo broadcasts on NHK World.  I lived in Japan 1998-2002 and got to some Osaka tournaments.  Forgot what a blast it is!
Kevin Goldstein
12:47
IT'S THE BEST.
GBS42
12:47
How about that Super Bowl?!?  And the Olympics, too!?!  Were you aware these non-baseball, non-sumo sporting events were occurring?
Kevin Goldstein
12:48
I played scrabble and listened to Dry Cleaning last night. I'm aware they are happening, and know the Rams won last night, but I didn't watch it. I watched the halftime show because Twitter let me know it was starting and I have a thing for spectacles. I've watched very little of the Olympics, really just because I get excited when something is in 4K/HDR....
Teddy
12:49
To what degree do players get better from being around guys who are "better" than they are? E.g., would being around Yuli help your hit tool?
Kevin Goldstein
12:49
Not really. Yuli is a remarkable hitter, but also very unorthodox. Trying to hit like him would be a huge mistake for most.
$11 Worth of Taco Bell
12:49
At its height, what percentage of the average minor leaguer's dietary intake came from Taco Bell?
Kevin Goldstein
12:50
If you just change that to 'fast food', more than half.
Guest
12:50
Can you speak to the Gerrit Cole trade from the Pirates, and whether the Astros had ANY concerns given how well that trade worked out for them?
Kevin Goldstein
12:50
No concerns.
Dave
12:50
Meg deserves a raise for editing the deluge of transaction writeups
Kevin Goldstein
12:50
And for a variety of other reasons.
jonesing
12:50
Your chats are the highlight of my Monday. Thank you.
Kevin Goldstein
12:51
You need more exciting Mondays!
171
12:51
Yordan trade is one of my fav Chin Music stories.
Kevin Goldstein
12:51
It's one of my favorite stories period.
Peter Brand
12:51
Will minor leaguers ever be treated well?
Kevin Goldstein
12:51
I think they'll be unionized by the end of the decade, if not sooner, so yes.
Guest
12:52
If a team called you today and offered to make you THE gm, would you have to consider it, or is it one of those jobs you almost cannot decline because there's only 30 of them in the world.
Kevin Goldstein
12:52
I think it would be a mistake for a team to do that, but it's hard to turn down seven figures, no?
Devil Ray Jay Johnson
12:52
Can scouts go to another team's backfields during spring training or is that access limited?
Kevin Goldstein
12:52
Yes they can. They have to sit on the bleacher like the rest of the people in attendance, but yes.
Teddy
12:53
What's Jake Marisnick like?
Kevin Goldstein
12:53
He's great. Super chill dude. Very happy.
Devil Ray Jay Johnson
12:54
Who is the smallest guy you scouted who became a major leaguer or at least an upper level minor leaguer who had a shot at the majors? (Height and weight is fine if you prefer not to name the player)
Kevin Goldstein
12:54
I saw Ozzie Albies when he was 15 and like 5-5/140.
zurzles
12:54
Going to steal a question from last week: Having worked (I presume) alongside David Stearns Mike Elias, what would you say his strengths are that have made could make him successful as a GM/PoBO?
Kevin Goldstein
12:55
Very disciplined, very process driven, huge believer in acquiring as much information as possible before making a decision.
jim
12:56
do you remember an astros minor leaguer named bobby boyd? seemed like he had promise as a bench player. what happened?
Kevin Goldstein
12:57
Of course I do. Little lefty hitter, could run a little bat. Just not enough hit and little power.
Mitch
12:58
You've talked about how the Astros emphasized pitch shapes when deciding which international amateur FA's to sign. How do the teams get this info? Do you have to individually capture bullpen sessions for each player with a trackman unit set up? Surely each team can't get every prospect to throw a bullpen for them..
Kevin Goldstein
12:58
Sure they can . . .
Guest
12:59
if you put your best effort into it, how long do you think you could go without learning the winner of the superbowl?
Kevin Goldstein
12:59
Not much. I look at Twitter a lot, probably too much.
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