Tuesday, April 20, 2004
It's Geek to Him
With a headline like this, of course the article's about one of what the Los Angeles Times calls "a new generation of baseball executive, one who probably never played the game for a living and in any case trusts in computers as a valuable tool in player evaluation and roster composition."
Author Bill Shaikin quotes some of new Dodger GM Paul DePodesta's remarks last September to an audience at Credit Suisse First Boston:
"Previously there had been no accountability at all in player evaluation. As you can imagine, the scouting community prized that tradition. How were they to feel free otherwise about giving their opinions and keep getting raises at the end of the year, despite how often they were right or wrong?
"… My industry is comprised of human capital — the players are our assets. So subjectivity plays some role. But the enormity of the subjectivity was staggering. Our scouts even started making up vocabulary like 'pitchability' to describe players…. Opinions as conversation starters are fine. Opinions as conclusions are very bad.
"Ninety percent of the player population in major league baseball is replaceable by someone who makes less."
MLB President Bob DuPuy, who got his own job through old-fashioned cronyism, responds by calling sabermetrics "the flavor of the month. Everybody's got their own method for trying to build a winning franchise. That's what makes it interesting." His hometown Brewers, who haven't had a winning season since 1992 and haven't qualified for the postseason since 1982, might want to rethink some of their methods...
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With a headline like this, of course the article's about one of what the Los Angeles Times calls "a new generation of baseball executive, one who probably never played the game for a living and in any case trusts in computers as a valuable tool in player evaluation and roster composition."
Author Bill Shaikin quotes some of new Dodger GM Paul DePodesta's remarks last September to an audience at Credit Suisse First Boston:
"Previously there had been no accountability at all in player evaluation. As you can imagine, the scouting community prized that tradition. How were they to feel free otherwise about giving their opinions and keep getting raises at the end of the year, despite how often they were right or wrong?
"… My industry is comprised of human capital — the players are our assets. So subjectivity plays some role. But the enormity of the subjectivity was staggering. Our scouts even started making up vocabulary like 'pitchability' to describe players…. Opinions as conversation starters are fine. Opinions as conclusions are very bad.
"Ninety percent of the player population in major league baseball is replaceable by someone who makes less."
MLB President Bob DuPuy, who got his own job through old-fashioned cronyism, responds by calling sabermetrics "the flavor of the month. Everybody's got their own method for trying to build a winning franchise. That's what makes it interesting." His hometown Brewers, who haven't had a winning season since 1992 and haven't qualified for the postseason since 1982, might want to rethink some of their methods...
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