Dr. Stephen J.K. Walters

[weams]

The front office is a lot like the club you see on the field," said Loyola University Maryland economist Stephen J. K. Walters, who uses the advanced statistical analysis called sabermetrics to advise Duquette on player moves. Sabermetricians take their name from the wonky Society for American Baseball Research.

"In addition to a great work ethic, everyone here has skills that complement each other," Walters said. "Dan collates information from more sources than you can imagine. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-md-orioles-front-office-20141004-story.html

Behind the scenes, Duquette is advised on player moves by consultant Stephen J.K. Walters, a sports economist at nearby Loyola University Maryland. A longtime confidante of Duquette, Walters has written several papers on baseball, including an analysis of the rate of return on draft picks. Clearly, Duquette believes that Walters' proprietary sabermetric methods give him a leg up on other GMs.

In the office, Sarah Gelles -- like Duquette a part of the strong Amherst College pipeline -- oversees the O's analytics department, which reaches into both pro scouting and video advance scouting. Gelles built the Orioles' database from scratch, and the team has added Kevin Tenenbaum -- a math-econ major who wrote research papers with Dave Allen at Middlebury College -- and Pat DiGregory in the past year.

http://www.oriolesuncensored.com/2015/02/24/orioles-seen-as-believers-when-it-comes-to-using-analytics-by-espn

Sell the Hilton.

But Young's office consulted economists who endorsed the idea of selling the hotel.

"Get it off the city's books and onto the books of the private sector and use the cash to fund needed programs. I think it's a great idea," Stephen J.K. Walters, a professor of economics at Loyola University Maryland, said in a statement released by Young's office.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-md-ci-hilton-sale-20150816-story.html

"Frank Cashen's first big deal as a baseball executive exemplified his career - it worked on the field, in the clubhouse, and at the box office," explains Stephen J.K. Walters, professor of economics at Loyola University Maryland and adviser to the Orioles. "When he and Harry Dalton stole Frank Robinson from Cincinnati in December of '65, the city of Baltimore got just what it needed: a star and a leader who happened to be African-American and who would show his teammates and the fans just how good things could be here."

http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/2015/1/12/requiem-fond-farewells

When it comes to Keynesian-style stimulus at the state or local level, however, the juice is rarely worth the squeeze. The alleged magic of the multiplier-by which extra dollars of government spending supposedly ripple through the economy and raise incomes by several times that amount - depends on spending that is financed by deficits. But Maryland and most other state and local governments must balance their budgets, and the higher taxes required to finance these development programs crowd out private spending and offset some or all of the hoped-for stimulus.

These schemes also damage growth by misallocating capital. In markets, only projects that promise a return in excess of the cost of borrowing get built. Government allocation of capital, by contrast, exalts the judgments of politicians and bureaucrats over those of consumers and investors, and substitutes political pull for economic merit in the competition for capital. In combination, this is a prescription for inefficiency, inequity and corruption.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304185104579437741341341738

[InsideCoroner]

Sell the Hilton.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-md-ci-hilton-sale-20150816-story.html

Awful to find out that The Hilton has been a money pit. I wish they would implode that thing. It pains me to see that monstrosity blocking the view of the city skyline. I want our Bromo Seltzer Tower back in view.

[Creamsicle]

Awful to find out that The Hilton has been a money pit. I wish they would implode that thing. It pains me to see that monstrosity blocking the view of the city skyline. I want our Bromo Seltzer Tower back in view.

I don't understand how anyone would think that the Hilton can be sold.

The City would have to pay someone to take it.

And +1 on missing the Bromo Tower

[MDtransplant757]

Awful to find out that The Hilton has been a money pit. I wish they would implode that thing. It pains me to see that monstrosity blocking the view of the city skyline. I want our Bromo Seltzer Tower back in view.

No kidding it's been a money pit. Have you seen how much rooms go for there? I could get season tickets for the next 3 years with the money I could spend on a hotel room there for one night.

[MDtransplant757]

That and when does big government ever work?

[weams]

That and when does big government ever work?

Despite the fact that the Orioles Economist has views which might tend to go in political direction, we skip that here. I should have mentioned when I posted that. Simply interested in letting folks know that we have an economist, and who he is. And the level of attention he gets.

[InsideCoroner]

No kidding it's been a money pit. Have you seen how much rooms go for there? I could get season tickets for the next 3 years with the money I could spend on a hotel room there for one night.

I'm not surprised in the least, the lobby and bar there are routinely empty, even on game nights. So just demolish that eyesore already.

[MDtransplant757]

Despite the fact that the Orioles Economist has views which might tend to go in political direction, we skip that here. I should have mentioned when I posted that. Simply interested in letting folks know that we have an economist, and who he is. And the level of attention he gets.

Oh....my bad. Sorry. He's an "economist".

[MDtransplant757]

I'm not surprised in the least, the lobby and bar there are routinely empty, even on game nights. So just demolish that eyesore already.

Or sell it to the Orioles/ Ravens and have them go crazy with it. The possibilities are endless there for a baltimore sports hotel