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
We've made a proposal to Kenny. We talked to him for the last couple weeks. We've expressed a desire to have Kenny back. Given his status as an up-and-coming manager, he has options and we are respectful of that. We'll see how it goes. I wouldn't expect it would be a long process. It would be one that should come to some sort of resolution relatively quickly.
There are very few winters we're going to go, 'Hey, we're set' a day after the season. That being said, this is not going to be nearly as traumatic and exciting as it was last winter.
When Frank is healthy, he is a huge right-handed presence. And that's been a big issue for us the last couple of years.
This is ultimately what we were trying to do during the season and in the days after it. Unfortunately we weren't able to do that and we parted ways last week. This is the outcome we wanted.
This is the first time since I've been here that we haven't spent the off-season replacing what we've lost. We felt like we were very competitive last year. . . . In particular, when we were healthy, it was a very, very good team. So the idea that we were adding to this group . . . it's a first for us since I've been here as the general manager.
After instructional league, he seemed so far away from being able to compete in a major league game. What a special kid. What a comeback he had last year. No one deserves this more.
I hope not. There will be very few winters we say, 'We're set.' There's always decisions to make. That said, it probably won't be as dramatic as last off-season.
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.
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.
Even at this time his career, people stop to watch him come to the plate. I know I have.
Both (Williams and Thomas) are highly competitive, highly successful people. It's temporary noise.
Assuming we're healthy, Kenny's not going to have his hands tied very often.