This is great and every sports commentator should be forced to read it. I always get frustrated when people misunderstand Moneyball or reference it incorrectly. When people use Moneyball and the words Dodgers or Yankees in the same sentence they probably are missing the point. The A’s maximized wins at minimal cost. Spending $240 million on a free agent with a high OBP is definitely not Moneyball. Spending $500k on a washed up player who still has a high OBP is Moneyball at its finest.
You referenced Eric Walker in today’s post. I bought his book, The Sinister First Baseman, when it was published in 1982…it was filled with insights leading to lots of Aha! moments. It’s out of print and essentially unfindable (Amazon has copies available for $990, AbeBooks for $585 - nope, not typos - and there are a few out there for under $100.) If you can get your hands on a copy it’s a great read.
Bob, this is an awesome piece. Thank you.
This is great and every sports commentator should be forced to read it. I always get frustrated when people misunderstand Moneyball or reference it incorrectly. When people use Moneyball and the words Dodgers or Yankees in the same sentence they probably are missing the point. The A’s maximized wins at minimal cost. Spending $240 million on a free agent with a high OBP is definitely not Moneyball. Spending $500k on a washed up player who still has a high OBP is Moneyball at its finest.
You referenced Eric Walker in today’s post. I bought his book, The Sinister First Baseman, when it was published in 1982…it was filled with insights leading to lots of Aha! moments. It’s out of print and essentially unfindable (Amazon has copies available for $990, AbeBooks for $585 - nope, not typos - and there are a few out there for under $100.) If you can get your hands on a copy it’s a great read.
Good one! Sharing this with my sons, my brother, and my cousins who will all love!!