Max Scherzer struck out victim number 3000 (he's the 19th guy to do it), pitched an immaculate inning, and had a perfect game into the eighth inning... and if you wanted to find out more while this was going on, you needed to scroll down on ESPN's website. Yes, baseball continues to lose popularity, and the Baseball Rabbi identifies the Rays as exemplifying the problem. (The problem, in short, is that their boring brand of baseball works.) Plus: handicapping the NL MVP race (Tatis? Wheeler?...

The San Francisco Giants have been the surprise of the baseball season; they could lose every game until the end of the season and still end up with a record significantly better than we anticipated back in April. How, exactly, are they doing it? That's where the questions start, but not where they end; there's something weird happening by the Bay, and it could be incredible coaching, some advantage conferred by advanced analytics... or something else? Whatever it is, Pesach and Scott lay out...

Two months ago, the NL MVP was clearly Jacob deGrom or - if you insisted on voting for a position player - Fernando Tatis, Jr. Well, things change fast in baseball, and the race is both wide open and fascinating. Pesach and Scott offer their insights as to where it's going, and discuss whether Zack Wheeler can be the MVP (after all, he's got the highest bWAR) while boasting only the sixth best ERA in the National League. Also pay attention to what they think about Joey Votto's Hall of Fame...

This might have been the most exciting trade deadline in years - or ever?- and MLB deserves kudos for actually doing something right for a change. And while most contenders worked to improve their chances at making the postseason or going on a deep playoff run, that doesn't mean that any given team is necessarily better off today than it was last week. (Howdy, Padres! Take a bow, Bosox!) Pesach and Scott look at some of the major buyers, and analyze whether they're playoff bound or more...

The National League Central is so different from the chaotic NL East: each team's actual record is close to where advanced analytics says that the team should be. But the division is full of storylines, and the Baseball Rabbi offers them to you on a silver platter. The Brewers are actually really good, but in ways you might have missed. The Reds are interesting, even as they will likely be "that team" that just misses the playoffs. The Cubs' collapse was predictable because they're not very...

The Baseball Rabbi made lists of the five most memorable seasons for each position, but listing significant catcher seasons poses a unique challenge. What makes catcher different from every other position? How can we compare modern catchers with catchers from before 2008? (Answer: We can't.) Join Pesach and Scott for a deep dive into catchers, starring Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella, Gary Carter, Buster Posey, Carlton Fisk, Joe Mauer, Yogi Berra, and a bunch of guys who didn't make the cut....

It's been one hundred years, and finally baseball has a Shohei Ohtani... but his uniqueness transcends his ability to be two different players. Pesach and Scott look at what he's doing, why it matters, and what his future might hold. Elsewhere in the American League West, the Houston Astros have a historically good offense, though their ability to succeed in October is not quite as clear. The Seattle Mariners are the luckiest team in baseball (that's an objective reality, not an attempt to...

Pesach and Scott had similar lists of their favorite seasons by shortstops, first basemen, and second basemen, but their lists diverge when it comes to third base. Brett or Brooks? Eddie Mathews or Adrian Beltre? One Mike Schmidt season or two (or three or four or five)? It's all about the strange nature of third base, and how it has changed drastically over the years. Plus: is corking bats akin to taking steroids, and how Eddie Mathews might have changed the course of baseball history...

As the season passes game 70, Pesach and Scott look carefully at what may be MLB's most fascinating division, the National League East. Jacob deGrom may be having the greatest pitching season in history and can lead a strong starting staff to the Promised Land... if only the team could actually hit. (Although Pesach says that the Mets' terrible hitting is actually a hopeful sign.) The Braves can hit but can't pitch, the Nats have to decide by the trading deadline if they're a young...

What teams are the most disappointing of all time? Which teams should have been more memorable, or won more rings, than they actually did? Pesach and Scott each provide a list of the top (or bottom) five non-dynasties of all time (with only one team making both lists). After last week's addition of the current Yankees to the list - this time with mathematical evidence -  nothing is more appropriate than talking about other great teams that didn't do what they were supposed to do. 

Yankee fans often complain about their team's inability to go all the way (2009 was a looong time ago), but that's only part of the story; the bigger issue is that since their last pennant, the Yankees have won more games than any other team, and have watched 13 other teams play in the World Series while they've stayed home. Is it time to change the conventional narrative around the Yankees? Stat guru Moshe Schorr provided some fantastic charts to Pesach and Scott which help analyze this and...

So the Red Sox were basically innocent, right? Not so fast: die hard Sox fan Scott thinks that Manfred's punishment was a joke and that this is a BIG deal and a bit of a cover-up, whereas Pesach isn't so sure that the commissioner got it wrong. And as a sequel to our presentation of great teenage baseball players, the Baseball Rabbi offers the greatest players in their 40s. Who is the greatest ever (and it's not really close)? Listen in to find out.

The American League East is becoming the most interesting division in baseball, not to mention the most talented, and Pesach and Scott are ready to uncover the storylines and narratives you need to be an educated baseball consumer. What flaws do the Yankees (baseball's best team for the past month) need to fix? What is the secret of the Red Sox success? Why are the Blue Jays the opposite of the Rays? And is there hope for the actually interesting Orioles? Plus: why the Chicago Bears need to...

LISTEN TO THIS CLASSIC EPISODE OF THE BASEBALL RABBI PODCAST!   Al Kaline's bWAR was close to 93, making him one of the greatest right fielders in history. But when you look at his career stats, it's a little bit difficult to figure out how his WAR got that high. How can we explain his greatness? And in honor of Kaline's great play as a young Tiger (he won the batting title when he was 20), Pesach and Scott list their favorite teenage seasons of all time. Dr. K, Tony C, Bryce Harper, Juan...

Most people who watch baseball realize that something is wrong, but how can we fix the game in a way that won't ruin what makes it unique? Can traditionalists ever make peace with rule changes? And are the problems even solvable? Join Pesach and Scott as they analyze Theo Epstein's recent appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast, where he asked a key question which, if understood properly, can make all the difference. The Baseball Rabbi is ready to solve baseball, and all you have to do is...

When Pesach purchased Bud Selig's memoir, he was ready to spend 336 pages rolling his eyes. Imagine his surprise when he actually (gulp) liked it, thereby completely destroying his own self identity. But that's OK, and he tells Scott that it's actually essential reading for any baseball scholar. They also discuss the increasingly important reality of parity this year, and whether we can expect it to last. And people freaked out over the Baseball Rabbi's making statistical observations last...

With about an eighth of the season behind us, some trends are becoming apparent, like the fact that no one can hit anymore and actually getting on base without hitting a home run is a relic of the past. That may be a small exaggeration, but baseball is changing and the Baseball Rabbi is here to explain what's happening today, and where we may be going tomorrow (goodbye, launch angle, hello small ball!). Are we in a golden age of pitching and defense? Why is the MLB batting average...

Pesach and Scott (with an assist from Moshe Schorr) have a terrific conversation with noted Fangraphs scribe Dan Szymborski about projections (remember, he created ZiPS), the upcoming CBA negotiations, rule changes, narratives for the upcoming season, how he got his job (we know, every listener is probably jealous), the differences between fWAR and bWAR, the place of the Negro Leagues in baseball history, his favorite baseball books, and more. Join the Baseball Rabbi team as a Patreon...

Is the American League East the same old story? Contrary to popular belief, there actually is no such thing; the division changes all the time - and the Baseball Rabbi is here to tell you all about it. The Yankees' pitching is great as usual, but there's a consistent flaw that might - might - be related to their inability to win a pennant. The Red Sox actually look pretty good and are rebuilding the team the right way; Toronto already did that, and the time to win is now. The Rays don't look...

The National League East looks like baseball's best division; four teams are among baseball's top thirteen, and its worst team may be better than the worst team in any other division. There are plenty of storylines to go around, including a discussion of the stars-and-scrubs Nationals, the pitching-rich Mets (and they can hit, too), the hitting-rich Braves (and they can pitch, too), the surprisingly good looking Phillies (who might be able to take the division), and the not surprisingly...

(Because of Passover, Pesach and Scott are off this week; they'll be back with the Baseball Rabbi preview of the National League East next week. In the meantime, enjoy this rerelease of the Baseball Rabbi interview with the great Bob Tewksbury.) Bob Tewksbury had a fascinating career, pitching for six teams and becoming the greatest pitcher at preventing walks since the Dead Ball Era. But what he has done since then may be even more fascinating - and Pesach and Scott have lots of questions...

The AL Central is on the rise! The division is becoming one of baseball's most fascinating, and Pesach and Scott are here to tell you exactly what to look for as the 2021 season inches closer and closer. The White Sox might be a notch below the Twins according to projections, but don't be fooled; Chicago is the real team to watch here. Not that the Twins are bad - they're really good - but they have a big problem. The Royals are creeping back toward temporary respectability (emphasis on...

Well, the good news is that someone has to come in first place! When Pesach and Scott look at the National League Central, they see the worst team in baseball, plus four more that would likely come in fourth or fifth place in some of MLB's other divisions. That doesn't mean there aren't storylines and narratives, of course, and the Baseball Rabbi is here to deliver them directly to you door. Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals (Pesach's surprise pick for division winners, by the way) is a total...

Pesach says that every Major League Baseball season is like a Russian novel, with heroes, villains, storylines, twists, surprises, and the Karamazov brothers (or at least Joe Maddon); and one of the main plotlines will probably take place in the American League West. Will the Angels waste Mike Trout's 30s in the same way they did his 20s, or do they actually have a window open this season? Is Houston still the class of the division? Can the A's continue their annual overachieving ways, or...