Memory

My greatest memory as a fan doesn't consist of one thing but simply a series of memories. They will always be the numerous monstrous homeruns that I saw Barry Bonds hit while I was at the ballpark with my father. But the one that stands out to me the most is one when the Giants were in the playoff hunt in either '01, '02 or '03, but the Giants were down and Barry just hits this towering shot that went very deep into the cove. When he hit it, the entire crowd erupted and everybody was clapping and cheering. Right after he hit the homerun, Danny Glover (who had season tickets for the seats in front of my seats) turned around and I gave him a high five. That will always be one of my favorite memories, as a fan.

Reflection

This knight school was very fun and engaging. As a teacher it was cool to actually know something and provide this information with other people who never knew this stuff. Not only did this contribute to my enjoyment of the class, but the fact that we got out of the classroom and actually played baseball and wiffle ball was also entertaining. Overall I really enjoyed my last knight school and hope that this class continues on next year.

A Look Back

 Baseball knight school definitely broadened my understanding of a game that I have been playing since 1998. The specific look into the stat/moneyball world of baseball truly altered my idea of how teams are built and formulated. This is something I feel I can help incorporate into my game as moneyball will certainly make me look at generic stats such as BA and RBI differently, and give more weight to stats like OBP, OPS, and WHIP. Whiffle ball was a great touch to the class, and the competition added some good chemistry to the class dynamic. Overall, i really enjoyed the people and activities and interactions with random folk on the scavenger hunt. It was fun to experience parts of historic baseball San Francisco, and make our way around the city.

This Knight School was really great for me because I kind of got to "re-discover" the game after having not played it in four years. I had been getting less and less involved in baseball since I stopped playing, but getting to both play and read about baseball again has rekindled my love for it. Having not picked up a bat in such a long time, it was great (and humbling) to hit again at the batting cages and in whiffleball. Going to the Stanford game was really fun since we got to see the action up close and personal and arguably in its "purest" form. This was definitely my favorite knight school class of the 4 i have taken and I am now looking forward to the season even more!

Reflection On Class

I had a tremendous time teaching this class all week long and had an absolutely amazing time. All the cool stuff we did, including the batting cages and the scavenger hunt, really gave me a better understanding of baseball in general. Even though I was a teacher, my knowledge of baseball went up a ton and I had a great time beating Cheese in Wiffle Ball as well. Looking forward to the championship game for Wiffle.

Baseball Reflection

This class was a lot of fun. I liked the mix of off campus and on campus stuff. I liked playing whiffle ball the most. It was really fun playing, but in the end of the game we lost on a walk off single. I was very interested in stats and also keeping book. I never knew you had to pay attention that much to keep score book. It was just a really fun week and it will be one of my favorite knight school classes!

baseball, homeboys

I had a ton of fun this week.  My favorite part was definitely the wiffleball, and the expression on Tim's face when we hit the walk off single in the seventh inning with two outs. I'm sure winning the wiffleball championship will also feel great.  I really enjoyed the batting cages too, and watching the 2004 CCS game was definitely a highlight.  This has easily been the best knight school week. 

Best Pitcher

If were being honest here, Adam Wainwright deserved to win the Cy Young. While Lincecum had a tremendous WHIP and number of complete games, Wainwright was sensational all year long playing in what many would consider to be a hitters park and a very strong division. One of the worst teams in the NL Central was the Cubs last year and they were still loaded with talent and were tough to face every time. His 2.64 ERA was extremely good and a WHIP of 1.22 isnt bad either. Striking out 7 men per 9 inning was also great and I feel Wainwright deserved the Cy Young.

Reflection

This was the best knight school ever. We got to learn about the sport I love, play it and watch the great players of it play. I already loved baseball so this was an opertunity to be with people who share my love for the sport. I also like all of the out of school stuff we did to show people another side of the game of baseball. I think this was a big success.

Baseball

In this class, I learned a whole lot about baseball even though I am constantly playing baseball and watching. I learned how much statistics really play into finding a player and how much work is taken into fielding a good baseball team. Meeting with the CIO of the Giants really made me wonder how baseball at a larger level is not just a game, its a business.

reflection on baseball

I liked hearing about the business side of baseball, especially as it was describes by the Giants' exec. yesterday.  Everyone knows it's a multi-billion dollar business, but hearing about the specific revenue/expenditure totals was very interesting.  I especially enjoyed hearing about what it looks like when the team travels, how they go through security at the park and then roll right up to the plane, how they go into hotels through the back, how they stay under alias names, how there is food everywhere, constantly.  I also loved seeing the inner workings of ATT.  I suspect that the Giants' locker room is WAY nicer than the visitors' locker room.  I guess what came across most clearly to me is that even though baseball is a game, and something fans live for, it's still a business with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.  Thank you, Mr. Joss, for such a complete look at how baseball operates.

Reflection

This week could not have been more fun for a school week. Probably the best i have ever had. The wiffleball was filled with intensity and commitment, along with lots of laughter and yelling. The scavenger hunt was also a rush. Feelings of excitement and being worried about missing busses and having to take taxis kept the day spontanious. The focus and commitment by the students is what kept this experience together. Knight now for me has extremely high expectations and i feel lucky to have had the chance to take this class. Thanks guys, it could not have been better. 

Baseball Reflection

This whole baseball Knight School experience so far has been great. I have really enjoyed being able to throw and catch with a baseball and even go to the batting cages, especially because I had to give up baseball after 5th grade for my main sport, lacrosse. This course was very fun for me, and after talking with many of my friends, it seems like it was better than all of their courses.

Reflecting on Knight School

I thought this was a very fun, interesting and informative class to take.  In fact, it was much more informative than I was expecting.  Our scavenger hunt and Giants tour in the city allowed me to learn a lot more about the impact of baseball as a whole outside of just the playing field.  It has become a part of our culture more so than I ever before realized. I think this course had a good mix of the "fun stuff"and the educational stuff, although I had fun with both.  I am glad to say I have a gained a new perspective on baseball and that I respect the sport more than ever, but most importantly I discovered the importance of sports and how they influence our society in every day life.

Reflection

Through this I class, I have rediscovered how much I enjoy playing baseball.  For the past three years, I have barely played, and this week was a great way to pick it up again.  It was interesting to look at baseball in a different way, by taking stats.  While I had read Moneyball awhile ago, I learned even more the second time reading it.  Knight School is a chance to learn something new and exciting, and this class exceeded my expectations in this area, for I both learned a ton and had fun everyday.  Whether playing whiffle ball in the quad, scavenger hunting through the city, or sitting in the Visitor's Dugout at AT&T Park, I had a blast.  

Baseball Reflection

I had a lot of fun in this Knight School class. The scavenger hunt in the city was really interesting and I really enjoyed touring AT&T park. I thought going on the field and inside the visitors dugout and clubhouse was really cool and we were privileged to see it. I also found it interesting to see how much baseball history was in San Francisco had, because I had no idea. Talking to the head of technology for the Giants was also really interesting and it was cool to see how innovative they were. I also found it very interesting to learn how to score in more detail. I kind of knew how to do it already, but it was cool to learn in more detail. Reading Moneyball was also really interesting, I've always wanted to read it, but probably never would have without this class. I learned a lot about baseball from it. Overall, this class was very interesting and I really enjoyed it. 

reflection

This was an awesome Knight School. We were able to go outside and have fun with baseball, which is pretty cool. I learned much more about the game; how to keep score, how to watch the game, and how to just enjoy the game. This knight school has been the best one during my time at Menlo

Baseball Reflection

This week has been super solid. After preparing for this course, I was excited to spend a week playing, learning about, and teaching baseball. My favorite part was definitely the activities we dd that involved playing baseball. Throwing each morning and playing whiffle ball brought back recent memories of playing baseball with my friends. The scavenger hunt was awesome because aside from finding many baseball sites in the city, we had to negotiate public transit in the city. The meeting with Bill Schlough shed some light on how a professional sports franchise is run. We learned about the technology that teams use to gain the competitive edge, and we also learned about the management of the team. I cannot imagine a better way to spend the Knight School week.

Reflection on Baseball

 I came into the course expecting to learn just a bit about baseball. I certainly came in with some pretty strong knowledge, so I didn't think there was too much to learn. My expectations were definitely exceeded, as there were new statistics that I learned about. Reading Moneyball was very interesting because I learned about new strategies to scout players. The thing that I got the most out of was listening to Bill Schlough talk to us about the business strategies of the Giants and technology. I was shocked to see the new technology "Field FX" and how that will have a huge effect on the future of scouting for the Giants and the major leagues. On top of that I am excited to use the replay technology at AT&T Park. Overall, I got a lot out of baseball knight school because I learned a lot and enjoyed myself quite a bit. If I got the chance to take the class again I definitely would. 

Best Pitcher

In my opinion, the most important stat relating to pitching dominance is WHIP. The lower the WHIP, the more the pitcher has completely shut down his opponents. And while Tim Lincecum is not first in WHIP, he trails by such a small amount that I find the difference completely negligable. What puts him over the top for me is that he pitched 30 more innings than the other WHIP leaders, meaning he kept up his dominance for a longer period of time and proved to be more durable. This durability is also shown with his four complete games, which is quite a feat now days. Lastly, I believe that as a Giants fan Lincecum has overcome some of the worst offensive production on his side that baseball has ever seen. Lincecum gets comically little run support, whereas Carpenter enjoys several prominent bats behind him.

lincecum is the man

Lincecum is definately the best player in the NL. If you were to throw numbers aside and just look at the talent of pitchers and which ones truly dominate the strike zone and opposing batters, Lincecum would no doubtedly be the pitcher who impresses you the most. He is able to face the best hitters and make them look silly. But, as you also look at the numbers, Lincecum appears even more impressive. Although Lincecum only collected 15 wins (which is still high), while the league leader was at 19 wins, the Giants were the 26th best hitting club out of the thirty in the major league. Furthermore, Lincecum had an ERA of 2.48 WHIP of 1.05 and strike out count of 261, which are 3rd, 4th, and 2nd in the league respectively. Those are excellent numbers. Try and make a case for any other pitcher. Carpenter? He has over 100 strikeouts less and is ranked 46th in the league in that category. Wainwright? He has a higher WHIP, ERA, and less strike outs. Santana? Haren? Cain? Cliff Lee? They all fall behind Lincecum in the three main categories. You can try to build an argument around any other player in the national league, but maybe bringing up that the player may have more heat on the fastball, or more wins because they have better batters, but when you look at all the numbers, and the way that Lincecum dominates, you realize that there is no other comparison between him and the other NL pitchers

The baseball class had a delightful time in SF today and while we may never make it to "The Show", at least now we know what it feels like to sit in the dugout. :-) 

best pitcher

Everyone seems to feel the same way about who is the best and I agree.  Given his massive number of strikeouts and reasonable number of BBs, it just seems like he simply denies other teams the opportunities to be on base more than anyone else.  To me it feels like the opposite of what we've heard about the primary focus for batters: just get on base.  For the pitcher it must be: just don't let anyone get on base.  It seems to me like Lincecum does this the best.

The Freak

In my opinion, Tim Lincecum was the best pitcher in baseball last year. The stat that jumps out at me is his innings pitched. He threw 225.1 innings last year. Aside from Dan Haren, this was the best total out of the group. If memory serves, Haren started out the season lights out, but as the year progressed, he faded. Lincecum was the other way around. After some early season troubles, he worked his way back into form. This is a testament to his durability and ability to stay effective throughout a whole season. Lincecum won the Cy Young with only 15 wins this season. This is the lowest total wins of a Cy Young pitcher ever. This just shows that the voters are becoming more knowledgeable about stats now, and they know that there are so many other variables that could affect whether or not the pitcher gets the win.

Lincecum= The Best

I would definitely have to agree with the professional voters on this one. Lincecum was a leader in ERA, WHIP, K, K:BB, and CGs all while keeping this consistent throughout his 3rd most innings pitched. Though Chris Carpenter actually led the league in ERA and second in WHIP, he simply did not pitch enough innings. The actual difference between Lincecum and Carpenter's innings was around 33 innings, and within that difference a lot can happen. On top of that, Lincecum did all of this on a bad hitting team, so to even get 15 wins on the Giants is pretty impressive.

LINCECUM BABIES!

I agree that Lincecum was the best pictcher. He has a ridiculous number of strikeouts, a very low number of home runs, and a greater than 4-1 ratio of strikeouts to unintentional walks. His four complete games and 15 wins doesn't hurt either.

Best Pitcher

To me, the best pitcher seems to be Chris Carpenter. Not only did he have the best ERA and WHIP, but he also put up an impressive three complete games and 17 wins. His greatest competition seems to be Tim Lincecum who is behind him in all of these categories except for complete games. Carpenter also gave up only seven home runs and walked only 38. He is also in the top ten for giving up the least amount of hits. He definitely seems like he had the strongest season based on stats.

Lincecum doin work

I believe that Tim Lincecum deserved to be tagged with the label of best pitcher of 2009. The next best hurler seems to be Chris Carpenter. Yet despite Carpenter's greater number of wins, there is a large discrepancy between the number of innings pitched between the two. Lincecum pitched nearly 35 more innings than Carpenter, or in translation, about 6 games worth of innings. Also, Carpenter pitched 21 games that were decided, where as Lincecum pitched 22. The connection between these two points leads me to believe that Lincecum was a more valuable pitcher. The number of innings pitched versus actual games decided indicates two very different circumstances in the pitchers' backgrounds: it would appear that Carpenter had much greater run support than Lincecum and this can be attributed to his efficiency of innings turned into wins. Finally, it can be argued that Lincecum did face tougher hitting in his division, especially with the added hitter's dream of Coor's Field in the mile high city of Colorado. Carpenter day in and day out faced more mediocre teams on average than the Giants' young ace.

Best Pitcher

Considering only the given numbers, I think Chris Carpenter was the best pitcher in 2009. He has a low BB/IP, a high K/IP, and a low ERA. He also has the lowest HR/IP, showing that his low ERA is not necessarily a result of his team's defense, because the number of HRs hit can only be controlled by the pitcher, not the fielders. Though he may not be the best in every category, he is consistently in the top 5, while other pitchers fluctuate between the best and the worst of various categories.

Best Pitcher

I think the best pitcher out of all those is Tim Lincecum. After going over every stat in the sheet, Linecum's stats were either in the middle of the pack or were the best in the pack. Linecum only gave up 10 homeruns last year which I feel is really good. He had a high walks to strike outs ratio, and in general all his stats were either above average or average. Of course we love him because he is a Giant, but from looking at those stats i believe that he was the top pitcher last year.

Pitcher

I think that strictly from the numbers, Carlos Zambrano was the best pitcher out of the bunch. He had the lowest number of walks while keeping pace with all other pitchers in key categories such as hits and earned runs. He also was among the lowest in HR/IP.

BEST PITCHER ANSWER

I think that tim lincecum was the best pitcher last year in the major league of baseball because even though he didnt have the best era or most wins, he was the most collective and best all around pitcher in the league.

Billy Beane

I think that Billy Beane was smart for what he had to do for the A's. The A's did not have the money to be buying the "hotshots" right out of high school or college. Instead Billy Beane would typically scout the players for potential. These players may or may not have known what they were capable of doing in the majors and because of this, they would not be demanding a large amount of money. Billy Beane was able to get future stars for less money than a star right out of college, but it would be up to the coaches to make them stars. It was possible that Billy Beane, himself could have been a star as a player, but the coaching staff he worked with may not have been able to allow him to perform at his full potential.

Best Pitcher

It is always difficult to compare pitchers' statistics and determine who is the best or most valuable. It is impossible to know how different pitchers would pitch if they are on different teams and put in different situations. Based on what I see from these statistics, in addition to what I already know, I would want Tim Lincecum on my team before any other pitcher. Chris Carpenter is certainly another contender, however I see Timmy's success on such a lousy offensive and defensive team as the most impressive hands down. Lincecum's particular advantages are in his strikeouts and strikeouts to unintentional walks ratio. Another particular stat that I think is important is innings pitched, in which Lincecum is in second. I am surely biased in picking Lincecum, but I think that being a diehard Giants fan, I get an appreciation for exactly what he has accomplished since he joined the majors. Also, based on the circumstances, I think Timmy's most impressive statistic is his wins. Sure, it is less than Carpenter as well as many other pitchers on the leader board. However, the fact that Lincecum can pull off fifteen wins, when he plays on a team that typically generates a run or two per game, is unheard of. No other pitcher in the major leagues could have led the Giants at the top of a stellar rotation to almost make the playoffs, when their hitting is just about the worst in the majors. I did not expect to see the Cy Young go to Tim Lincecum last season, but I do think it is well deserved as he has proven himself, and will hopefully lead the Giants to even more success in the 2010 season.

Billy Beane

There is no doubt in my mind that Billy Beane is solely a product of his environment. It would be wildly unreasonable to say that the development of moneyball did not stem from his unfortunate experience as an elite MLB prospect. Yes, this system does seem to work to some degree, but the evidence seems to show that such drastic implementation of the system (i.e. the A's) undermines a team's effort to win a championship. The aspect of scouting and drafting certain players based on Billy's theories is something I personally respect and agree with. However, this highly emphasized focus on player development still does not change the fact that big money teams like the Red Sox and Yankees will always be able to make tidal wave counter-moves with trades and acquisitions of big players who have been in the league for a solid number of years. And just by looking at the last 5 years, the A's just simply have not been able to stack up against the big money.

Billy Bean

I don't think he's crazy.  I actually like the idea of Paul Podesta sitting there at his laptop, crunching numbers that haven't typically been considered in traditional recruiting.  There seems to be a kind of scientific element involved in using data about what a player has done rather than intuition about what a player might do.  Still, I think it's probably best to have a blend of what Billy does and what the old school scouts have done.  I just remember what the Stanford coach said yesterday about how he looks at a players feet first, judging what type of balance he has, and how he also tries to measure respect for parents.  Of course these can't show up anywhere in the data.  

Billy Beane: Genius, In The Wrong Place

Billy Beane is an incredible man whose approach to scouting players is revolutionary and effective. To be a successful GM, you have to be willing to take risks and go out on a limb to be able to build a great team and Beane has done this time and time again. However, I believe that Beane should not be a GM in the major leagues because while he is a tremendous scout and evaluator of players, you look at the overall success of the A's franchise since he has been there and the results subpar at best. With only 2-3 playoff appearances and only 1-2 wins in the playoffs, Beane spends to much time focusing on the future while his team continuously struggles almost every year. We always hear about these amazing prospects coming up through the system (Huston Street, Carlos Gonzalez) but they never seem to take the field as Oakland A's, as Beane trades them away for different prospects who he thinks can pan out a little bit better. Gonzalez for example, was traded from the A's to the Rockies and continued on to hit 4 postseason HR's and bat over .400 down the stretch. This cycle has been continuing on for about 4-5 years and I think its time that A's fans get a little bit angry at how their club is playing and not get lost in the aura of Billy Beane.

is Billie Bean a Genius?

He is absolutely a genius. He was a player at one point in his life and he gets what it is like as a major league baseball player. He has experienced that talent and the hardships that come with it. But, Billie Bean does not brag about it, rather he takes the tools that he has learned from the league and applied it to running an organization. For instance, he takes players in the draft who were unlike himself, prospects with good numbers, but may not have as much god-given talent. They have proved themselves and Billie sees that. His realization that players, especially college players who have excelled in their environment make better prospects, helps the A's develop a much better farm system. The A's do not have that much money, therefore most of Billie Beans job is getting a good draft, because that cannot trade for good players, they have to draft them while they are cheap. If Billie is able to draft great players, then he is doing his job well. Billie is a winner

Billy Beane

Billy Beane has a solid foundation in how he evaluates talent, but sometimes he loses sight of how to scout a can't miss prospect. As a player, he was a can't miss prospect, so I think he tries to get away from those since he was a complete bust. That being said, sometimes there are guys who simply cannot be passed on, and he needs to be able to change how he drafts at least a little bit. The A's have not been doing so hot as of late, so maybe its time to step back and ask himself if what he is doing is really right. In Moneyball, it talks about how he can't actually sit and watch an A's game in its entirety. This alone, shows that he is a little bit off his rocker. If he can keep what he has been doing, but tweak it to make exceptions for prospects who might give the A's a little star power (and hitting power), he could turn the franchise around again.

baseball memory

I did not play that much baseball growing up. I think I stopped playing baseball around coach pitch. So, I cant really remember that much about playing myself. However, I can remember watching games on TV. I guess the thing that I remember the most was watching Aaron Boone smack a homer in extra innings against the Red Sox in game 7 of the ALCS. I badly wanted the Yankees to lose that game because they were by far my least favorite team in baseball. Furthermore, I'm a big cubs fan and I could empathize with the Red Sox at that time. But don't get me started about the cubs. Anyways, the homerun hit me deeply and I will never forget Aaron Boone's shot into left field.

Billy Beane

I wouldn't call Billy Beane a genius. I give him credit for pioneering in the recruiting process: using statistics rather than qualitative measures of a player to determine his worth. But at the same time a player's value cannot be determined solely by his past performances, at least not until he is retired. A player's potential means something. That 'dream-on' quality is worth something. It makes sense given the A's limited finances that he looks for cheap players with solid stats because that minimizes his risk. When he cannot afford superstars and potential superstars it makes sense to be risk-averse and try to put together a solid line-up, rather than a potentially outstanding one. I think Billy Beane has created a workable system given the circumstances, but I wouldn't call him a genius.

Billy Beane-genius

Personally, I believe Billy Beane is a visionary genius, whose determination to take a non-traditional approach to evaluating and recruiting players led him to realize and correct a major flaw in baseball’s recruiting process. In the old days of baseball, statistics like the ones that Paul Depodesta was looking at were not available, but now that they are, it makes sense that they should be heavily considered when drafting a player. If baseball has the ability to modernize its ways, why shouldn’t it? It is illogical to spend what has inflated to millions of dollars on guys that have an immeasurable and improvable characteristic called “potential”. High school and college players need to have proved themselves to be more than just a “good body” or “moldable player” before they are considered for the major leagues. If they haven’t showed themselves to be disciplined and consistent hitters by the time they reach the draft, why should major league coaches believe that they could mold them now? Furthermore, Beane’s obsession with the on-base percentage is far from crazy, since after all, it doesn’t matter how someone reached a base, only that he got there. A walk is just as good as a single in terms of its ability to lead to a run scored. Though his ideas may have been revolutionary at the time, Billy Beane is a genius fundamentally questioning and fixing the recruiting process of baseball.

Billy Beane: You have to be crazy in order to be revolutionary

Billy Beane must have been crazy to think that he could attempt to succesfully alter the way baseball recruiting always has been, but what else could he have done. If he were to use the same strategies and same criteria to evaluate players, he would never have legitimate shot at contending as a GM in the big leagues. If he is going to use the same strategy as the teams that have major money, he is going to have the exact same success/failure ratio, and unlike the big money teams he will not be able to pay for his mistakes. It makes perfect sense that he would attempt something to level the playing field and the fact that this strategy actually makes logical sense makes it for sure worth the risk. The key idea here is that there was through this idea he had everything to gain and nothing to lose, because this gave the A's the potential to have a breakthrough no other team would have. The brilliance of it is that even if it fails, the organization won't lose any ground because they were already somewhat at the bottom of the league in many aspects

Billy Beane

I honestly believe that Billy Beane is a genius at certain times. When he first discovered the importance of OB% and SLG%, he was a genius. But at the time he was crazy for countering the traditional thought of drafting. However now as we look back on this time through Moneyball, we see that he truely was a genius and discovered something that no other Baseball club had. But again, as times have changed and many of the small market clubs change their philosophy on drafting to one that is similar to Billy Beane's, he goes back to being an angry lunatic. But once again when he finds that key stat that will help his club win games, he will be crazy and then a genius when everybody catches on. It is simply like a cycle of Billy Beane's genuineness and insanity.

I think Billy Beane’s philosophy regarding scouting and drafting makes sense. It is completely rational. Why should you continue listening to the scouts that repeatedly bring you bust after bust based on nothing more than observed “potential”? In following the Harvard graduate, computer toting, statistics man, Billy Beane is being completely sane. The player picked based on the “classic” scouting model will on average be less useful to the organization as a whole that the player picked entirely on a statistical basis. The problem I have with this, however, is that sports in general, including baseball, are not rational and never will be. Would Beane’s model work for continuing slow, but steady growth of the franchise? I have no doubt that it would. But I do doubt that they would ever become National Champions with such a philosophy. A stat analysis of draft picks will get them reliable performers, but I don’t think they will ever get those catalyst homegrown superstars using this method. And ultimately I think these are required to make a World Series run regardless of how consistent your players are. You need to take the risks to see the fantastic upsides every once in a while.

Billy Beane - Just a little crazy

    While his A's organization was clearly on to something well before many other clubs, Billy seems a bit "crazy" . . . though in both good & bad ways.
    You've gotta be crazy to question the establishment, to ask questions that no one else is willing to ask, to go out on a limb and challenge the orthodoxy. That's the kind of crazy we can all learn from. He saw something -- in Sandy Alderson & Bill James & others - that made sense to him and he acted on it. Way to go Billy.
    However, let's be clear. This is a guy who expresses his emotions by throwing a chair through a wall? Doing it the "old" way, he drafted Giambi, Hudson, Zito, and Mulder. Doing it the "new" way he drafted Jeremy Brown and "the Creature". Sure I'm taking small sample sizes from both the old & new eras, but my point is that he had some spectacular success with the former method. It's far from clear that, whatever it's short comings, it should just be tossed out the window. There MUST be something usable there, but in the book we don't really get to see it.

Billy Beane

I think that Billy Beane’s strategy of looking at statistics and prospects in an objective way is a very smart and interesting way to think about recruiting and evaluating players. Especially because it had never been thought of before. With all the opportunities that new technology has to offer to calculate stats and things like that, it seems like it should be used and taken advantage of if it will in fact help determine more about each player. I also think that this strategy was a very good one specifically for the A’s organization. They didn’t have a lot of money or time to work and develop players, so they needed one that would produce right away. However, I believe that this strategy should be used as well as the strategies of his counterparts. I think that potential, character, and skill is also important to look for in a player in addition to stats. Perhaps the dismissal of this strategy in the A’s organization is one of the reasons that they haven’t had recent success. Both strategies should be used together.

Billy Beane

I think that Billy Beane is right for the organization he is in. The A's need guys who they know that are going to be worth the money. They can't afford to give money to someone who won't play for quite some time. I think he would be wrong for richer clubs but for the A's he is just right. Billy has kept this club in the running with the Angels even with only about 50% of the payroll. He also has to work around not being able to keep his stars. He has to constantly get new ones and he does. I think that the other form (molding) cost too much money for too little results.

Billy Beane

I think that Billy Beane is doing what is right specifically for the A's organization. To him, he needs instant gratification for the picks he has made because he does not have a lot of time to wait for prospects to pan out. He has a very skeptical view of players in that they don't change very much. He does not have the time to wait for players to pan out; since the A's are a small market team that can only hold on to players for their first couple of years. If he were at another team with more money; he would definitely not use the stats method to this degree. I think however that his point should be used across the baseball community; the pure stats do contribute to how a player will play in the future. Just looking at a player and seeing if they are good or not just won't cut it anymore.

Billy Beane Question

i think that billy beane is smart and right, because with the A's situation, not a lot of money compared to the yankees, he has to take not the best statistical player, but the players that have potential. One's that don't need lots of money to be paid, but ones that will form into great players.

Billy Beane Answer

I think Billy Beane could be wrong about putting stats ahead of pretty much everything. I think a player with a decent amount of talent, and a lot of potential is a better prospect with a player that has little potential, but a far superior amount of talent on the field. Another thing Billy is wrong with is, letting his scouts choose which players that should be drafted. In the book, they mention that the scouts top picks had all been drafted before it got to their turn. So overall, Billy Beane's choices are not the best choices for this organization. I think looking for more potential and having more room to improve for a player is a lot more successful than a player with a great amount of skill and no room for change.

Billy Beane

I think Billy Beane is brilliant with his scouting strategies. Being honest about what certain players' strengths are is really the key to scouting skilled players. I think that the act of looking past people's stats and trying to see the "potential" really just speaks to the ego of certain scouts, and the fact that they think they are smarter than the stats. Certain statistics like on base and slugging percentages, in which Billy Beane particularly focuses, really are an accurate depiction of talent. With statistics like hits and RBIs, there are many subjective factors and not everyone is necessarily on the same level playing field. However, the only variable in slugging and on base percentages is that certain players may face different opponents. However, this is something that through time is usually insignificant, and it is a common issue among any statistic in just about any sport. Billy Beane's method is successful because it gives a fair representation of players through a common eye. While most scouts deal with their biases, by possibly picking people that they liked from the start for any reason, they are set back and not actually getting the best of the best.

My Baseball Memory

Growing up in Northern California I had been to a number of Giants and A's games. My dad, who never had the son to share his passion for sports, dragged his four year old daughter around to rowdy Raiders and Sharks games. Immediately, his passion for sports was absorbed by me. While I had hit much more Bay Area sports games than the average seven year old girl, the baseball game of my youth that I most remember actually took place at Wrigley field. While the game did happen to be against the Giants, the crowd and myself included were pulling for the Cubs. My mom and dad had met and both attended college in Chicago, and my extended family called it home, so my family had always identified with the Cubs. My dad had made a plan to meet up with some of his own college friends and go to the afternoon game. When one of them pulled out of the plan, I eagerly jumped on the opportunity. Reluctant at first, my dad said yes, but that I would have to behave when we went to the bar before and after the game. I don't remember much about the game, just that the Cubs ended up winning. Mostly, I remember the atmosphere of Wrigley and the passion and devotion of the fans. While the game was almost 10 years ago, I still clearly remember walking outside the stadium, shaded by patches of shadows from the trees, looking at the neighboring houses and thinking how cool it would be to live right next to the glorious ball park. To say Wrigley Field has character is an understatement. The park is just as much part of the team as the pitcher or the catcher. I remember in the midst of an afternoon shower at the game, the roof started letting through water onto us (our seats were in one of the few covered part of the stadium). The leaks in the roof didn't seem to bother a soul. It just gave the park even more character. After the game, I bought a Wrigley Field t-shirt that even though it no longer fits, I've kept until this day. Since this game, I've been fortunate enough to attend a few more games at Wrigley and one at Fenway. I'm sure that my memory of my day at Wrigley will stay with me forever.

Baseball Yo

I was not a very talented baseball player. I played two years of farms and then one year of minors. My funniest baseball memory is warming up with my dad for the minors tryouts in fourth grade. He was throwing me fly balls off to the side of the field while I waited for my turn, and I was so nervous I bounced a ball off of my glove and hit myself in the mouth. I went through the whole tryout with a fat lip and a headache and my dad couldn't stop laughing. I think I did pretty well overall.

My Baseball Memory

Last year, I did not get to go to many baseball games. In fact I only went to two. However, the first game I went to last year ended up producing arguably my greatest baseball spectating moment of all time. Jonathon Sanchez was on the mound for the giants; a relatively average starting pitcher who did not muster much excitement for anyone attending the game that night. Sanchez got off to a good start in the first inning grounding out all three batters. I distinctly remember joking around with my friends with such remarks as, "We'll see how long that lasts, haha." But by the 5th inning our snarky our commentary had been transformed and everyone in the stadium was now mildly impressed, because Sanchez had still maintained the same result for every batter he had faced: He was pitching a perfect game. By inning 7, I was in genuine awe, witnessing the performance of a lifetime by the pitcher nobody knew anything about. And then just like that the dream of witnessing a perfect game was shattered. With 2 outs in the top of the 8th, Sanchez fired a smoking fastball low and outside. Scott Posednik chased after it and made weak contact sending a wobbling fly ball into shallow right field. The outfielder got under it and casually reached out to finish the inning with a routine play, only to have the ball bounce off the cap of his glove. As the ball hit the ground, the groans of thousands of fair weather Giants fans echoed throughout the stadium, and Sanchez's magical perfect game was ousted by a routine fly ball gone awry. Sanchez completed a complete game no hitter, no doubt an extrordinary feat, but as I left the stadium I couldn't get out of my mind that I had been one paltry fly ball away from witnessing history.

Baseball Memory

I do not think it was one moment in my baseball career that defined it, so much as an entire season. I played little league from when I was four years old on, and it always was my favorite sport to both play and watch. When I was eleven, I had a lousy tryout and was placed into the minors for the season. Of course this originally brought tears, and quite a puncture to my self esteem. There were a few other eleven year olds in minors, and even twelve year olds, but I never considered myself to be in the same category as them athletically. My team was made up of one other elven year old, a few ten year olds, and what seemed like 100 nine year olds. I will never forget the pain I went through the first weeks of practice, thinking I was on a team with people ten years younger than me. What I didn't know was that I was in for the best year of baseball of my entire life. I still think today that it was a mistake for me to be in the minors that year, as I still do consider myself the best player in the division that year. However, I ended up turning a situation that seemed so terrible into my most memorable sporting experience ever. I had a brilliant coach who had the intensity to make a sub par team like us win the championship. More than just his skill as a coach, he had a true understanding of the situation I was in. When we were a few weeks into the season, I could truly tell that the people on the team looked up to me. It was so great for me to be in the position of a leader for an entire year. Sure, I was embarrassed to be in the minors as an eleven year old, but establishing a real connection with my teammates and my coach canceled out the embarrassment. I've often been in the situation in which I have someone older than me to look up to. This is one of the few times in my life that I have actually gotten the chance to give this back, and it felt amazing. As our team entered the playoffs a favorite to make the championship game, my coach held a meeting to end one practice. He said that he was so proud to have someone on the team, that showed such great leadership as a person and a player, despite possibly being disappointed about not being placed in the right division. He named me team captain through the playoffs, and said that he thought I could carry our team to win the championship. I can never duplicate the honor that I had to wear the "C" on my jersey, even for just the three weeks of playoffs. Our team did end up winning the championship that year, and the #11 Muckdogs jersey that is still reused in our league remains to have the "C" sewn in just above the letters on the left side. I consider that the mark I left on Hillsbrough Little League. Our Hillsborough minors superbowl team continued in the same footsteps by winning the tournament by mercy ruling every other league. To finish off the season, I was called up to the majors for the last game, because the Braves were short a player, and chose me to fill in. I went three for three, made a diving play at third base, and hit 4 RBIs to help our team win by two runs, and was given the game ball. It was actually a better game than any that I had my entire twelve year old year in the majors. During the 2005 Little League season I learned that baseball is such a great game not only because it is so fun physically, but because of all the wisdom and friendships that are shared by anyone who plays. I think that my experience during my eleven year old year is what baseball is about, and whenever I reflect on it I regret my decision to move on from baseball even more.

Baseball Memory

Coming from a baseball family, I have been around the game since I started playing t-ball at age 4, and as a result have a plethora of great memories, but one in particular stands out above all the others: the 2002 World Series. Not only was I brought up a baseball fan, but also a die-hard Giants fan. I went to my first game before I was 6 months old, and learned to love going to games at “the ‘Stick” despite the cold. And nearly every season I watched a team that looked promising in Spring Training to come up short either at the end of the regular season or in the early postseason (’97). It wasn’t until 2002 that my (seemingly) pipe dreams of a Giants world series came true. And of, course, the unlikelihood of two wild-card teams meeting in the series added to the “specialness” of the entire event. I really thought this could be the season that we finally became the World Champion San Francisco Giants. I was thrilled at the idea, but even more thrilled when I heard that my family was going to go to Game 4. Game 1 only helped build up my excitement with 3 giants home-runs and a close victory for the Giants, but after losses in the next two games, it seemed like once again we were going to fall short. I came in to the game hopeful, but most of all I just wanted to take in the experience and atmosphere that is only present at a World Series game. Never in my life had I seen a crowd so enthusiastic and impossibly dedicated to a team, living and dying with every pitch just as I had been from home for the last three games. It was magical. At that moment, there was nothing else but the game. Nobody was on their phone or daydreaming; they were just completely engrossed in the action and potential history playing out before them. True passion for the game and the team was evident in every fan there, and I loved it. Once the Giants managed to pull out the win, it seemed once again like the momentum might have shifted back in the Giants favor, and expectations were high once again. I remember leaving the stadium with “Wear Black for Tomorrow’s Game!” up on the big-screen. And a Game 5 win took me further into my frenzy. Alas, it was not meant to be. I remember Games 6 and 7 all too well, especially the (literal) tears shed by a certain member of my household when a now infamous reliever blew the lead for the Giants. A disappointing ending, no doubt, but to this day I will always remember the way I felt after Game 4. That really was what baseball is about.

Baseball Memory

I was lucky enough to meet Ricky Henderson at Copperstown the day before his induction to the Hall of Fame. I also was able to have breakfast with Bob Feller ((HOF 64) who allegedly was clocked at 107.4mph). It was great to hear him tell stories of how baseball was so different when he played. It was amazing to get that hour to just talk with such a hero and legend. The next day we saw a ton of HOF players (Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersly, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Bud Selig, Juan Marichal, Johnny Bench, Wade Boggs, Rollie Fingers) It was amazing to see so many of the greats of baseball in one place. The streets were just flooded with die-hard baseball fans. It was the best 3 days of my life.

Baseball Memory

From Tee-ball to Majors, I pioneered as the solo girl on my Hillsborough Little League teams. By the time I was ten and in Majors, I was the only girl left. My most memorable baseball experience occurred in a regular season game of my last year in Little League in which my team, the Cubs, faced the rival Giants. When I arrived in the batters box in the second inning, I was determined to make my first at bat a good one. The pitcher, a former teammate of mine, was a solid one. He and his twin were known for their nasty curveballs and change-ups. On the second pitch, I eyed a fastball down the middle and swung with all my might. When I made contact, I knew the ball was going far. As my eyes followed it into right-center field, I took off towards first. It wasn’t until I rounded the base that I realized the ball had landed on the other side of the fence. I slowed to a jog, grinned with happiness, and bathed in the cheers of the fans. My first Majors homerun. When I arrived at the plate, my entire team jumped all over me, slapping me on the back and cheering, “That was awesome!” It was one of the happiest moments of my baseball career. When I left the diamond at the end of the game, still smiling, I could hear the pitcher’s twin taunting him, “A girl hit a homerun off you! A girl hit a home run off you!” I’ll never forget my first homerun.

favorite baseball memory

My most memorable baseball experience is surprisingly a game which I lost. It was the district tournament championship game, Alpine Little League vs. Palo alto National Little League. As a proud 12 year old on the alpine squad, I had watched our team bulldoze through several opponents up and down the peninsula. On the other side of the bracket was the proverbial goliath - PA national. They were deemed the chosen ones, with valid hopes of representing the West region in the little league world series. Events led to a balmy night in early july, the deciding game in who would be crowned champions of district 52 - Alpine vs PA national. The tournament was hosted in palo alto, and the town allowed the league to bring in temporary lights. By the 7 o'clock singing of the national anthem, it appeared that over 500 people were in attendance to watch the "little big game." The atmosphere itself was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, and haven't still to this day. Kids packed the outfield, watching the heros of their town, players they looked up to as stars of little league. parents and friends crowded the bleachers, ringing cow bells and holding up signs. The lights made it feel as if we were playing the 7th game of the world series, mystically illuminating the field in a way that seemed to give the contest an added significance. At this point, I also realized what it meant and felt like to represent your town and fellow players who you had been competing against only weeks previous to the tournament. The game itself ended up being all it was hyped up to be. It was locked in a 2-2 tie until the top of the 6th inning, when our ace hung an ill-advised curve ball and watched it sail into the trees lining the center field fence. The solo shot proved to be all palo Alto needed to shut us down and take home the tournament title. The crushing defeat however was transcended by the journey that had me to this memorable spectacle of a little league baseball game, a subtle triumph I will never forget.

Baseball Memory

I have played little league and all of that but the one memory about baseball that was absolutely the best was the World Series game that I went to with the Angels against the Giants. It was game 3 I think and my dad and I sat in the far left field bleachers. The atmosphere behind each play was just amazing. Everyone would stand up and cheer for Barry and would boo the opposing pitchers. I remember seeing Barry Bonds go yard and seeing the ball fly out into the night sky. It was pretty cool in the fact that thousands of people come in to a park just to watch 20 people hit balls or run bases. The focus was solely on those playing. I could barely see anything but you could hear what was happening; almost better than actually watching. The Giants won that game! but just being in a game of such importance just makes you feel great; as if you were part of history.

Baseball Memory

A lot of my greatest baseball memories happened at AT&T Park. The first one happened when I was in 2nd grade and my dad had taken me to a NLCS game because that year the Giants went to the World Series. I was at the game where J.T Snow hit a walk off (I think) or a home run late in the game to tie it up. I remember that place going crazy that time and it was so loud there i could barely hear a thing. It was an amazing experience going to that game. Another amazing experience was going to a World Series game at AT&T Park and watching the Giants win that game, but unfortunately end up losing the series.
My next great baseball memory was during a Burlingame Dad's Club softball tournament at AT&T Park. The went to the public middle school in Burlingame before coming to Menlo, and the Dad's CLub of the school district held a Softball Tournament. The tournament consisted of a team of dads from each school in the Burlingame School District. With connections, the tournament was held at AT&T Park. Since my dad put in a big sum of money for advertisement, the person running the tournament told my dad that he could pick anyone to throw out the first pitch before the championship game of the tournament. My dad picked me to walk out to the mound on AT&T Park and throw out the first pitch. There was really no crowd there except little kids and parents, but walking out onto that mound looking at a huge stadium was an amazing experience for me.

Little League no-hitter

My favorite little league memory is of pitching half of a no hitter.  I knew I would only pitch the first half of the game because I had to leave early to go to, of all things, a big time wrestling match in San Jose.  So I didn't allow anyone on base for the first three innings, and then my friend, a lefty, came in and pitched the rest of the game.  I didn't find out until the next morning that he also didn't allow any hits.  We got our names in the little community newspaper in our area and I'm sure it was a huge rush for me.  This was the pinnacle for me, though.  I went on to become perfectly mediocre for the next five years that I played baseball.  When I got cut from the freshman team in high school, I knew it was time to find another sport.

My most memorable baseball moment was definitely getting to go play in Cooperstown. Our All-Star team went as part of a tournament and it happened to fall on the weekend of the Hall of Fame inductions. Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. were being inducted. The town of Cooperstown is completely devoted to baseball. There was one store with the cap of every single major league team, their minor league affiliates, the teams from the Negro Leagues, and many college teams. For me, it was better than the Hall of Fame itself. Our team didn't play too well, but nobody cared too much. We had some of the best times as a team, and made memories that will last forever. I would love to bring my children to Cooperstown to show them what real passion for a sport is. There is nothing like walking down main street in Cooperstown and walking by the card shops that have been there forever. There truly is no better place for a baseball fan to go.

Memories of Baseball

I remember playing little league. Every weekend was a great time playing, eating hot dogs from the snack shack, and watching my friends play. We all encouraged each other and even while playing each other had fun. Being a smaller kid, i was thought of not to hit home runs. In my last game as a little leaguer, on my last "at bat" i thought to myself that i knew i could hit a home run. I stepped up to the plate and swung as hard as i could at the first pitch. I hit the ball as solid as i had ever, and when i looked up to see where it had gone, i saw people ducking at the snack shack. It hit the roof of the snack shack, by far the farthest I had ever hit the ball. Unfortunately, the snack shack was about 30 feet outside of the home run gates. The next pitch, with my new gained confidence that i could hit the ball far, i swung hard again, closing my eyes as usual. This time i rocked the ball fair, down the first base line. I ran to second and stopped and told myself "to hell with it" and ran to third. The opposing team threw the ball and it bounced over the third basemen's head and i ran home. An inside the park home run.

Memories of Baseball

I have lots of baseball memories --  like watching games on TV with my Grandpa Alec and having to leave the room because of his farting. Or seeing the Washington Senators and big Boog Powell (such an unfortunate nickname) when I was 5. Or going to a minor league game in Spokane during summers at Grandpa's and watching a pear-shaped, little manager named Tommy Lasorda. Being "oldish" I have tons of these memories. I was even at the 1989 world series game that was cancelled by the Loma Prieta earthquake. However, if I had to pick a couple of memories that really stand out . . .

   In 1970, my dad, my uncle, and my Grandpa Alec went to Baltimore to see the World Series between the Reds and the Orioles. We sat on the wooden benches at Memorial Stadium, took a family photo, kept the ticket stub, and framed them both. "My" team won that day because Lee May hit a home run and it was the perfect childhood memory. However, what sticks in my mind the most is my complete and utter terror the following day at school. My 2nd grade teacher called me up to her desk while everyone was working and asked me quite sternly why I'd been absent the previous day (I guess my parents hadn't called or anything). Trembling and sweating at the sudden realization that baseball probably wasn't on par with the stomach flu or strep throat when it came to good excuses. Scared that I was about to be expelled or sent home, I managed to whisper, "I was at the World Series with my dad." . . . big pause . . .  "Oh" And then she just looked down. Clearly, she wasn't a baseball fan. But more importantly, her disinterest in further conversation was a sign. A sign that I was being let off! I was positively thrilled. Yes, I learned to read pretty well in second grade, but that was pretty much beside the point. The most wonderful thing about that year was that I'd learned that baseball, or the world series at least, was a perfectly good reason for skipping school.

   In 1993, at the age of thirty, I moved back to SF. I hadn't cared about baseball in a long, long time. Probably not since I stopped playing little league. However, I had a few weeks before starting my new job, so I had plenty of time to kill. For some reason I decided to go to a game. I don't even remember who the Giants were playing that day at Candlestick, but it was GLORIOUS day. The kind of perfect, warm sunny day that happened about once a decade at that godforsaken stadium. After buying a program, I planted myself in the left field bleachers and kept score the whole game. I was hooked again. This time, as an adult, I'd done it by choice. No one had taken me, but I'd rediscovered, the joy of baseball on my own. It was something about the park, or the color of the grass and the beauty of the day, or maybe it was that I kept score and had to pay a little bit closer attention. I don't really know what it was and I have no memory of whether or not the Giants won that day. Ever since then I've been hooked. Watching. Reading. Exploring. Visiting. Discussing. And playing catch.