Keith Law on Biases, Decision Making, and The Inside Game

On this edition of the SIS Baseball Podcast, senior research analyst Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Keith Law (@keithlaw), senior baseball writer at The Athletic and author of the new book “The Inside Game.”

Mark and Keith talk about the motivation for writing this book and what he would want someone to get out of it (1:11), bias as it relates to high school pitcher selection in the MLB Draft (4:41), the power of the first impression a player makes (9:08), biases that become apparent when trying to evaluate defense (11:15), the challenge of coming up with solutions to dealing with bias and where teams will improve at dealing with bias in the next 20 to 50 years (17:35).

They also discuss a favorite computer game, Earl Weaver Baseball, and what made it so good (20:27), and how simulations could help with decision-making under pressure (22:37). They end their discussion talking about another passion of Keith’s, board games, and what board game best simulates baseball thinking (25:23). Keith also provides a list of minor league prospects to watch on the defensive side when baseball resumes (30:57).

Thanks for tuning in! And stay safe!