Several years ago, my brother-in-law Bill, encouraged me to read the book “MONEY BALL”. I bought the book but it has been sitting on a shelf for several years but I intended to read it some day. I finally read it. It is about baseball. It reveals how the Oakland Athletics with the smallest payroll in baseball, continue to win their division year after year.
The General Manager of Oakland is Billy Beane (you can’t make a name like that up). It kind of rolls off your tongue. There is a commonly used description of a baseball thrown at the head of a batter is a “bean ball”. It is as if Billy Beane was meant to be the lead character in the book.
I’m in the book. There is a description of a ball player that the Oakland Athletics see potential in. He can’t field a ground ball. He can’t hit. and he can’t throw. That is me! Oakland teaches a player named Scott how to play first base and field ground balls. Scott learns how to hit a curve ball which is something I always wanted to do. Scott becomes one of the most productive players in baseball. The beauty is that Oakland paid Scott almost nothing by major league standards. That part I didn’t like. lf I make major contributions, pay me big. i can dream can’t I?
The revelation in the book is really how the computer has revolutionized baseball. Putting statistics together in meaningful ways has allowed for more effective management. Baseball is one of the few sports that has over 100 years of historical data from which to draw trends. The Oakland Athletics were really the first team to take advantage to statistical revelations. Getting on base as a batter is really important. Dah!
So when you read MONEY BALL, look for me. I’m there under the name of Scott.
My conclusion is that my time in baseball didn’t coincide with the new computer assisted analysis available today. That is the story of my life. Right skills, wrong time.
Summer is here. Yeah!
Love,
Dad