Summary[]
Ben and Sam answer listener emails about how players with criminal pasts should be treated and how much pitchers’ non-pitching skills matter.
Topics[]
- How to treat players with criminal pasts
- Pitchers' non pitching skills
Banter[]
Ben has been binge watching Friday Night Lights the past few days. Ben liked it more as it went on, Sam says he found it somewhat of a burden to get through.
Email Questions[]
- Mark: "I wanted to ask about your comments about not hiring people with criminal pasts. I wondered about other jobs; would you think that, say, a plumber should be stopped making a living because of a criminal record? I get worried about stuff like this, often when people in the public eye have made a mistake and come back from it they can be a force for good."
- Shawn (NJ): "Was wondering about pitcher valuation. In the recent AL MVP debate, defense and baserunning were big factors for many voters. Does anyone ever consider a pitcher's hitting, baserunning, and defense in factoring their WAR or other stats? I would think that each NL team is probably giving about 400 at-bats to their pitchers and this is a full time player who is sort of ignored. Thanks for your time."
Notes[]
- Sam: "Ben Lindbergh, how was your fiscal cliff?"
- Mark's question is a follow-up from discussions in Episode 109.
- Sam thinks there is a distinction between someone like a plumber and a ballplayer because working with a plumber is mostly a business transaction, whereas fans invest in players and align themselves with them during games.
- The difference between the best (Mike Leake) and worst (Tommy Milone) pitchers, pertaining to non-pitching value, is 2 wins.
