Ballpark Dimensions

Baseball’s biggest news, trends, trades and highlights, all broken down from an analytical angle. Subscribe now to stay up-to-date on Majors' most important storylines using the same data as cutting-edge front offices. Enjoy two episodes per week, one with Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello, and another with Mandy Bell and Sarah Langs.

Sports
Baseball
126
The second half of the season is here
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello recap the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game experience in Colorado, then look ahead to the second half of the season by investigating each of the six divisions, projecting who will be in the playoffs, identifying a notable player to watch from each division, and rant about playoff odds numbers and complaints about player appearances at the All-Star Game. 
63 min
127
Shohei Ohtani and the HR Derby | Plus: Xavier S...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello discuss Shohei Ohtani’s latest otherworldly feats, wonder if the Brewers have already locked up the NL Central, look at how Edwin Diaz may have turned around the New York perception of the big trade with Seattle, and share the possible way to predict the Home Run Derby winner, before welcoming guest Xavier Scruggs to talk about having a locker next to Yadier Molina, his new MLB.com podcast “The Bigs,” his new DEI job with the Cardinals, and his media work with ESPN, MLB Network Radio, and elsewhere.
53 min
128
Kyle Schwarber is the hottest hitter alive | Ex...
MLB.com’s Mike Petriello is joined by David Adler to talk about Kyle Schwarber’s red-hot June, the Nationals’ postseason chances, Kyle Tucker’s underrated contributions in Houston, Fernando Tatis Jr’s huge defensive improvement, an All-Star +1 idea to account for the year’s best stories, Steven Duggar, Tony Kemp, a bad AL MVP take and the lack of a third NC State/Vanderbilt game.
36 min
129
The All-Star leaders so far | Plus: Look at the...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello review the latest leaders in fan voting for the All-Star Game, talk about how weird the Angels/Giants extra innings game was, investigate what it means to have Wander Franco in the Majors, highlight how incredible Matt Olson’s season has been, share a very unexpected fact about how the Braves play defense, highlight the promotion of knuckleballer Mickey Jannis, shine a light on Brady Singer, and rant about how the All Star ballots actually work and whether baseball’s pace of play issue is worse than basketball’s.
53 min
130
The teams most likely to have pieces to trade a...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk about how the D-Backs and the all-time record for consecutive road losses, look at the upcoming Trade Deadline and who this year’s sellers might be most likely to move to contenders, discuss Tyler Glasnow’s injury and the effects it will have on Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes, react to a real-time Rays trade, express surprise at which strategy is working the best in extra innings, share an incredibly shocking fact about the struggles of San Diego’s offense, highlight the achievements of Luke Williams and Taijuan Walker, and rant about the impact of Albert Pujols, bunting with Shohei Ohtani, and the truth about historical hit by pitch numbers.
57 min
131
The division leaders most likely to hang on | ...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk about how the Chris Archer trade could still look better (or worse), check how the division leaders shape up and who is most likely to hang on, dive into how interesting the Astros have been this season, talk about Yoán Moncada’s uncanny ability to post all-time BABIP, share how Jacob deGrom has changed his approach while still dominating, spotlight Cedric Mullins and Eric Haase, and rant about requiring context in spin rate investigations involving foreign substances and multiple instances of home runs being called back for missing bases
60 min
132
The Rays have baseball’s best record | Plus: Th...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk about Lou Gehrig Day and the fight against ALS, how the Rays have achieved the best record in baseball, how the Blake Snell trade looks in retrospect and whether Tampa Bay will trade Kevin Kiermaier. Then they try to figure out what’s wrong with Juan Soto – if anything is at all – check in with the soft-tossing Cubs rotation, review what a 60-game season ending now would look like, focus on Patrick Wisdom and Austin Adams, and rant about fielding percentage and Jacob deGrom’s stature in the game.
47 min
133
The Vladimir Guerrero Jr. breakout is here
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk about the six pro baseball games New York City will see on Thursday, marvel at the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. breakout, gawk at Yasmani Grandal’s all-time weird batting line, point out a reason for the rise in strikeouts this year, check in with the surging Dodgers and Padres, highlight J.P. Feyereisen and Pablo Lopez, and rant about instant replay and Houston fan reactions.
48 min
134
This season is no-hitter season | Plus: Ohtani’...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk about Corey Kluber and Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitters, how many no-hitters are still enjoyable, whether the Low-A St. Lucie Mets have baseball’s best rotation, how the Shohei Ohtani experience has blossomed just as Mike Trout got injured, point out how Nolan Arenado is having the best year of his career in his first season away from Coors, wonder if Trevor Rogers is the best pick from the 2017 first round, focus on Jesse Winker and Pavin Smith, and attempt not to rant about the Tony La Russa / Yermin Mercedes saga.
47 min
135
Gerrit Cole has 78 strikeouts and 3 walks | Plu...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk about attending baseball games and the ridiculous heights that Gerrit Cole is achieving, discuss how the Mariners have turned the future into the present by calling up Logan Gilbert and Jarred Kelenic, look into the White Sox dominating against lefthanded pitching, point out how little support the Phillies have given to Bryce Harper, and shine a light on Travis Bergen and Patrick Mazeika.
48 min
136
John Means made history, somehow | Plus: Baseba...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk through John Means’ no-hitter and the controversial dropped third strike rule, look at which teams have had the worst fortune in extra innings games, look at Tony La Russa’s admission that he didn’t know the rule for the runner on second, point out why Byron Buxton is playing deeper, shed some light on Angel Stadium being the best lefty home run park in baseball, point out why Cincinnati is the best place to go long, shine a light on Cole Sulser and Adolis Garcia, and rant about Giancarlo Stanton’s perception and the state of the NL East.
53 min
137
The Rockies finally made the change | Plus: Mik...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello discuss Anthony Rizzo striking out Freddie Freeman, the leadership change in Colorado, how the Giants are making it interesting in the NL West, whether it’s time to worry about Francisco Lindor and the Mets offense, gawk at how Mike Trout is somehow having the best month of his career, focus on Omar Narváez and Garrett Whitlock, and finish with thoughts on the validity of the 2020 Dodgers title, whether it matters if Madison Bumgarner gets a no-hitter or not, and recap Trevor Bauer’s comments about Fernando Tatis Jr.
43 min
138
What the A’s are doing, and Yankees are not | P...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello discuss the 11-game winning streak of the Oakland A’s, the terribly disappointing start of the Yankees, wonder if it’s too early to ponder Max Scherzer trade destinations, highlight the upcoming Dodgers/Padres series as baseball’s best rivalry, note the huge difference in Kenley Jansen’s performance when he has extra rest, point out Trevor Story’s bizarre start to the season, praise Joey Gallo’s RBI bunt, and focus on Evan Longoria and Trevor Rogers.
54 min
139
The Carlos Rodón no-hitter is the best story of...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello discuss the ramifications of Carlos Rodón's no-hitter, what it means for the White Sox, how it fit into a crazy night of baseball, what Ronald Acuña Jr.'s newfound plate discipline improvements mean for the rest of the National League, how Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s. best-in-baseball Sprint Speed improvement bodes well for the Blue Jays, dive into the turnaround of the Red Sox, highlight Philip Evans and Jazz Chisholm, and rant about scoring decisions and Atlantic League rule changes.
52 min
140
The 2021 playoffs odds are already changing | P...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello discuss how much – and for which teams – the 2021 playoff odds are already changing in the season’s first week, discuss how the breakout Reds managed to get off to such a good start, dissect all of Tony LaRussa’s early season bullpen management moves, gawk at the idea of a Home Run Derby in Coors Field, push back against the idea of a shift ban being unfair to lefty batters, call out Mets Twitter for caring too much about lineup decisions, and welcome on David Adler to highlight some early season Statcast standouts like Akil Baddoo, Byron Buxton, and Michael Kopech.
53 min
141
The 2021 MLB Season Preview: 60 Facts for 30 Teams
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello give their final preview of the 2021 MLB season by both picking an interesting fact, metric, or number for each of the 30 teams.
63 min
142
The 2021 National League Preview, with Sarah Langs
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello are joined by Sarah Langs to go make their over/under guesses on each team’s projected win totals, before each selecting their predictions for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, most surprising and disappointing teams, and playoff predictions.
61 min
143
The 2021 American League Preview, with Anthony ...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello are joined by Anthony Castrovince to go make their over/under guesses on each team’s projected win totals, before each selecting their predictions for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, most surprising and disappointing teams, and playoff predictions.
57 min
144
The Minor Leagues have some experiments to watc...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello discuss the new experimental rules to be implemented in the Minor Leagues in 2021, wonder what the trade market for Trevor Story might end up being, overreact to some Spring Training numbers, try to figure out if Joc Pederson can do something that’s virtually never been done before, and bring on NBA Insider Tom Haberstroh to discuss MLB’s announcement that June 2 will be Lou Gehrig day every year, where fans can go to help, his family’s involvement in MLB’s announcement, and the intersection of baseball and basketball analytics.
61 min
145
A 2021 30-team World Series winner draft, with ...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello are joined by MLB.com national writer Will Leitch to conduct a 2021 draft of World Series teams, from 30-1, explaining what they do and don’t like about each club, including their potential paths to the title.
61 min
146
These are the Top 25 Players Under 25, with Jes...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello bring on national reporter Jesse Sanchez to discuss the Top 25 players under 25 years old, ask Jesse what it was like to see Fernando Tatis Jr. as a little-known teenager, ask him to pick between Tatis, Juan Soto, and Ronald Acuña Jr., and hear about the positive first-hand interactions he’s had with Seattle prospect Julio Rodríguez. Matt and Mike also touch on the current discourse around analytics – good and bad – in the game, discuss how Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker may have benefited from advancements in college baseball, react to informative quotes from Joey Votto and Blake Snell, wish for good health for Cody Bellinger and Byron Buxton, before offering advice to the Mets and their potential black uniforms. 
59 min
147
Fernando Tatis Jr. gets all the years and all t...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello react to the stunning 14-year, $340 million contract handed out by San Diego to Fernando Tatis Jr.; talk about the implications of the Blue Jays starting their season at their Spring Training home in Dunedin, Fla.; look at how the A’s built a suddenly interesting bullpen; try to figure out which mystery team’s exec says his club is underrated; jam out to Yoan Moncada's new hit single while talking about his recovery and the chances of the 2021 White Sox; and revisit, again, whether Shohei Ohtani should continue trying to be a two-way player.
45 min
148
What to make of the Benintendi trade | Plus: Ra...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk about the somewhat difficult to comprehend three-way trade that sends Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City and Statcast hero Franchy Cordero to Boston; dig into the signings of Trevor Bauer (Dodgers) and Marcell Ozuna (Braves); explain what really goes into the unpopular 2021 projections of the Braves to not win the East; talk about the overall competitiveness of the six divisions; implore someone to sign Justin Turner and Jedd Gyorko already; and welcome in special guest Rajai Davis to talk about the highlights of his career and his new role working in operations for Major League Baseball.
56 min
149
The Rockies actually traded Nolan Arenado | Plu...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello talk about the stunning trade of Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals, talk about Nelson Cruz returning to the Twins and what that means for the White Sox, discuss which teams are helped and hurt by the likely return to the smaller postseason field, bid farewell to Dustin Pedroia, and welcome on Shakeia Taylor to talk about her award-nominated research piece on Effa Manley and how Ken Griffey Jr’s return to Major League Baseball reminds us of his stature as unofficial ‘coolest player alive,’ and which current player might succeed him.
59 min
150
The 19 moves of the last week | Plus: The Hall...
MLB.com’s Matt Meyers and Mike Petriello run down the 19 trades + free agent signings that have happened in the last week, wonder where Trevor Bauer, Didi Gregorius, Marcell Ozuna and other remaining free agents land, talk about how the Hall of Fame inducted no new enshrinees this year, bid a fond farewell to Masahiro Tanaka and rant about prospect rankings and the HOF voting process.
49 min