In the good old days of the 50s, 60s I remember watching such baseball managers as Casey Stengel, Leo Durocher and Billy Martin. In those days the manager ruled his team as a dictator with absolute power. Even a super star like Mickey Mantle feared Casey Stengel. When Mickey stayed out all night before a …
Sabermetrics is derived from the acronym SABR used for the Society of American Baseball Research. Sabermetrics is the science that uses baseball data to form statistics allowing baseball people to make objective baseball decisions. In the past most general managers just followed what previous general managers did in making crucial decisions. However, as the amount …
The Oakland Athletics have pulled their usual second half of the season trick of getting just the right player, from a team out of contention, for their stretch drive to the playoffs. What is unusual this year the team out of contention is the Boston Red Sox. In the blockbuster trade just completed the Red …
After retiring in 2001 as an active player, Rico spent a short time figuring out what a 32 year old retired ballplayer will do with the rest of his life. He continued his connection to Major League Baseball scouting for such teams as the Rays, Rockies, and Diamondbacks. He returned to his roots and coached …
In teaching my Baseball and Statistics course at Quinnipiac University, besides using my bookSandlot Stats,I require my students to read the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis. The book describes how Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics general manager, navigated his team through the 2002 season. In that season, Oakland finished first in the American League West with a …