With the production of the film Moneyball back in 2011, Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane became a nationally known figure.
Since that outstanding movie’s release, the A’s have been even more successful and Beane has been even more daring.
The Athletics have made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons—two American League West titles and one Wild Card Game appearance—which is the most consecutive postseason appearances under Beane.
Even though they have failed to advance to the next round in any of those years, it’s hard to argue with that kind of success in a frugal environment like Oakland.
Not only is Beane very smart, but he is also so innovative that it’s incredibly hard for the rest of the game to keep up.
Moneyball mainly outlined the importance Beane placed on patience and getting on base, but now he is adjusting his philosophy a bit to concentrate on getting maximum production out of all 25 roster spots. In other words, he feels that loading up on platoon players is the most efficient way to allocate the meager resources he is given.
Joe Lemire summed it up nicely in an article he wrote last year for the Wall Street Journal:
Part of Oakland’s motivation was to maximize all 25 roster spots in a contending season; platoons are a cost effective way of generating production, as two part-time players tend to cost less than one full-time regular.
Beane was already revered as a genius, and he could have stuck with his notion of getting on base and would still be considered among the best executives in baseball. But he is never satisfied, especially without a ring, and that is why from now on the A’s will always be legitimate contenders.
Because Beane won’t allow them not to be.
How often can a team trade, over the course of 14 months, three Baseball America Top 100 prospects in Grant Green, Michael Choice and Addison Russell, trade an All-Star outfielder in Yoenis Cespedes, trade away one of the best third basemen in the game in Josh Donaldson, fail to re-sign All-Star pitchers Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzija, and still have a legitimate chance to compete in arguably the toughest division in baseball?
Not often at all, but in Oakland it is just another day at the office.
The A’s have 16 players on the roster who weren’t with the club at all last year, including eight pitchers according to ESPN.com’s Christina Kahrl.
This offseason, the Oakland front office has pursued plenty of different faces. Ben Zobrist, Billy Butler, Brett Lawrie and Ike Davis were among the club’s major hitting additions, while Jesse Hahn and Tyler Clippard should contribute to the pitching staff.
While they don’t have any true superstars anymore, they definitely have a slew of above-average players who have the potential to be a very good team.
Baseball Prospectus projects the A’s to win 84 games, finish third in the AL West and make the playoffs as the second wild-card team. Fangraphs is even more optimistic, predicting Oakland to be good for 88 wins.
How a team that overhauled most of its premier players from last year can even be close to competitive is a miracle, and the fact that the A’s have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs is simply remarkable.
I am going to say that they will make the playoffs. I think the Zobrist addition and the host of other platoon options gives Bob Melvin the most flexibility of any manager in the league.
The pitching will be solid, especially in cavernous O.co Coliseum, and they will score just enough runs to win games.
Also, maybe most importantly, if the A’s are in the hunt when the trade deadline comes around, Beane will do everything in his power to add any pieces necessary to win.
Beane has never overseen a World Series victory, and he maybe never will, but the way he is able to maximize his team and keep them toward the top of the standings seemingly every year is absolutely phenomenal.
I’m not a gambler, but if I were to put money on how the A’s will do in 2015, there is no way I could bet against Billy Beane.
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