Billy Beane
Billy Beane
William Lamar "Billy" Beane IIIis an American former professional baseball player and current front office executive. He is the Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Prior to his front office career, he played in MLB as an outfielder between 1984 and 1989 for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, and Oakland Athletics. He joined the Athletics front office as a scout in 1990. He was named general...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth29 March 1962
CityOrlando, FL
CountryUnited States of America
(Macha) did a fine job. We obviously had significant player turnover and injuries. The end result was good. It was great to see the young guys make the progress they did.
I hate this idea that I've somehow become detached. It's like I can't win. I'd been hearing all these years that I was too hands-on: that I was the guy writing out the lineup card. Now, I'm not present enough. How is it possible to be a detached micromanager?
I don't want a lot of guys like me who played the game. Quite frankly, I want blank canvases; I want people to come in with new ideas. I don't want the biases of their own experiences to be a part of their decision-making process.
It's something you have to consider, no question. And that's out of respect for the guys already here.
The perfect guy either might not be out there or beyond our (financial) means.
We've been inconsistent with our offense and pitching. But the effort is there. Guys are busting their tails. And certainly, relative to previous starts, we're on fire.
This guy probably represents nirvana for us from an offensive standpoint. We see him as an incredible acquisition.
I'm collecting them all. But obviously, Danny's smarter than I am because he decided to go to Stanford. He's a great player, but he's also a great kid. He's the kind of guy you'd like to have as your son, just a really impressive young man.
This is a guy whose skill level and his presence in a lineup is undeniable. Even last year, if you look at the impact he had in the brief time he played, his skills are still there. Frank Thomas is a presence.
You could get carried away with the superlatives. Not just his power, but his selectivity at the plate. That type of approach can carry over to the other guys in the lineup.
I'm sure we'll have some sort of conversation. That's going to be a challenge, even if we start negotiations. He's a talented guy who is going to command a lot.
It would be malpractice not to do research. Of course, it would also be malpractice to make a foolish trade.
It was an emotional time for the family, a life decision for them. The fact that we didn't agree right away wasn't unusual, given the magnitude of the decision.
Essentially this has been a business that's been around for over a hundred years and it really hasn't changed much so any time someone's doing something differently, its probably going to create some friction.