Want to be a GM when you grow up? Read this.

[RVAbird]

I found this nifty little BP interview with an AL and NL exec. I'm heavily considering attempting to break into baseball in some regard or another after I finish up school, and I found this pretty interesting. You might too.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6751

The real interesting stuff comes after the "What do you think would surprise our readers the most about your jobs" question.

Part 2 should be posted soon.

[DrungoHazewood]

But...but... Sportsguy says that the job of GM is trivially easy. These guys must be makin' stuff up so you feel sorry for them.

[Moose Milligan]

But...but... Sportsguy says that the job of GM is trivially easy. These guys must be makin' stuff up so you feel sorry for them.

Well it IS easy, Drungo, gosh!

[square634]

I haven't even gotten that far in the article, but this quote:

AL Exec: It’s not a fluke that Arizona’s way outperforming what they should be doing in terms of runs scored and allowed. Having a real outlier bullpen, one way or another, will distort the team’s performance relative to expectations. That should be obvious, but it’s not talked about enough in the blogs. The reason is simple. If you have great relievers, you can control their tactical deployment, and use them in higher leverage situations.

is actually perceptive and shows knowledge of the types of things sabermatrics preach. I would like tho think the Orioles have executives that are this smart, but I doubt it.

[RShack]

I haven't even gotten that far in the article, but this quote:

The reason is simple. If you have great relievers, you can control their tactical deployment, and use them in higher leverage situations.

is actually perceptive and shows knowledge of the types of things sabermatrics preach. I would like tho think the Orioles have executives that are this smart, but I doubt it.

I'm in no way challenging the idea that sabermatricians preach it, but the basic insight is about tactical thinking, not stats. It's the way a good Army captain, or even a good squad leader, should think. We can pull many examples from many other fields. Now, if stats can be used to help illuminate the importance of thinking tactically, rather than thinking in terms of arbitrary prefab roles, then that's a wonderful use of stats.

[RVAbird]

I'm in no way challenging the idea that sabermatricians preach it, but the basic insight is about tactical thinking, not stats. It's the way a good Army captain, or even a good squad leader, should think. We can pull many examples from many other fields. Now, if stats can be used to help illuminate the importance of thinking tactically, rather than thinking in terms of arbitrary prefab roles, then that's a wonderful use of stats.

Honestly, what are you even trying to say here? I really wish you'd just get down to the point more often (when you have one) and cut the rhetoric. I think you'd be more convincing.

In any case, the whole point of statistics are: 1) to properly display past performance, 2) to give us a relatively reliable way of predicting future performance, and 3)to give us a model for thinking strategically.

What in the world do you mean by arbitrary prefab roles?

[RShack]

Honestly, what are you even trying to say here? I really wish you'd just get down to the point more often (when you have one) and cut the rhetoric. I think you'd be more convincing.

In any case, the whole point of statistics are: 1) to properly display past performance, 2) to give us a relatively reliable way of predicting future performance, and 3)to give us a model for thinking strategically.

What in the world do you mean by arbitrary prefab roles?

I'm not sure I agree with your list of three, but let's not worry about that. This issue has nothing to do with numbers 2 or 3. The point the guy made was a tactical point, not a strategic one.

By "arbitrary prefab roles", I mean using people according to some formula just because everybody else does it. The usual example of this is using your best reliever as a "closer" who only gets used in the 9th inning, when maybe you shoulda used him in the 7th when there were 2-on and nobody-out.

[Sports Guy]

The good ol boy network.

Always amazes me how close minded these guys are when it comes to hire interns and people like that.

Its not who you know but what you know....That is why so many other people could be better at these jobs than those who have the jobs....The problem is, some of those who could be better will never get that chance.

Instead, we have the people like Flanagan getting them because he has been around forever and PA likes him.

That's the way it goes.

And i still say that besides the hours, their job isn't that difficult.

[rolliefingers]

So, SG, if you think you have the chops to be a GM, why not suck it up and start making contacts within a ML organization? In a perfect world, everything would be decided by merit rather than "connections", but that's just not the way things work.

[Sports Guy]

So, SG, if you think you have the chops to be a GM, why not suck it up and start making contacts within a ML organization? In a perfect world, everything would be decided by merit rather than "connections", but that's just not the way things work.

It would be nice but at the end of the day, it just isn't realistic.

I have to be lucky enough to meet these guys in some other kind of setting.

When i was younger, i received a phone call from Kevin Malone...I spoke with him.

I have sent out letters to various people.

It just doesn't matter...These guys feel they are the only ones who can do it and they aren't about to give anyone a chance.

It was very frustrating working down with the Orioles...Now, i wasn't there that long but they wouldn't even acknowledge you...I told them i would work however many hours they wanted me to and that i would do it for free...Didn't matter.

No, to an extent, i get it....They don't want people working there because they are afraid of leaks. I get that...It makes sense.

It used to be easier for what i understand...Not anymore.

[davearm]

The good ol boy network.

Always amazes me how close minded these guys are when it comes to hire interns and people like that.

Its not who you know but what you know....That is why so many other people could be better at these jobs than those who have the jobs....The problem is, some of those who could be better will never get that chance.

Instead, we have the people like Flanagan getting them because he has been around forever and PA likes him.

That's the way it goes.

And i still say that besides the hours, their job isn't that difficult.

I think you're making a huge mistake to assume that just because this is a relationship-driven business and you have to know somebody to get a foot in the door with a ballclub, that teams are hiring underqualified people, while "so many other people (that) could be better at these jobs" are left on the outside looking in.

Like was suggested in the article, these guys are getting enormous volumes of resumes from candidates that are both highly qualified and highly reccommended by their trusted "insider" colleagues -- folks that know firsthand if a particular guy would be up to the task.

It's not like some knuckledragger with mustard on his chin and snot on his sleeve is getting a job in a front office because he knows somebody.

[davearm]

It would be nice but at the end of the day, it just isn't realistic.

I have to be lucky enough to meet these guys in some other kind of setting.

When i was younger, i received a phone call from Kevin Malone...I spoke with him.

I have sent out letters to various people.

It just doesn't matter...These guys feel they are the only ones who can do it and they aren't about to give anyone a chance.

It was very frustrating working down with the Orioles...Now, i wasn't there that long but they wouldn't even acknowledge you...I told them i would work however many hours they wanted me to and that i would do it for free...Didn't matter.

No, to an extent, i get it....They don't want people working there because they are afraid of leaks. I get that...It makes sense.

It used to be easier for what i understand...Not anymore.

You and a thousand other guys.

Should they give everybody that comes through the door with that sort of enthusiasm and work ethic a chance? They'd have to move operations from the Warehouse to the Pentagon, and the whole organization would be mass chaos.

[RVAbird]

After I finish up my philosophy degree this year I'll be applying for an internship with the Richmond Braves that I believe I can get. I think that's a good place to start forming those relationships, but I'm apprehensive about putting my studies on hold for this because of how exclusive it really is.

[DrungoHazewood]

You and a thousand other guys.

Should they give everybody that comes through the door with that sort of enthusiasm and work ethic a chance? They'd have to move operations from the Warehouse to the Pentagon, and the whole organization would be mass chaos.

Not just you and a thousand guys, you and a thousand guys who've been living and dying with their home team since they were three years old and have advanced degrees from Ivy League schools or MIT, some of whom have recommendations from people that the guys doing the hiring have heard of.

You have to have some way to cull down the 8-foot stack of resumes. A good place to start is keeping the ones where someone you respect vouched for them. Not the optimal thing to do, but it's better than interviewing 564 people for each unpaid intern slot and downselecting from there.

[RShack]

So, SG, if you think you have the chops to be a GM, why not suck it up and start making contacts within a ML organization? In a perfect world, everything would be decided by merit rather than "connections", but that's just not the way things work.

GM's are in the people business. They have to get along with each other. They can't go around insulting people who don't like their trade proposals. I think SG might be a good advisor to a GM (assuming the GM knew when to tune him out, and assuming that SG would get over it when the GM told him to shut-up)... but if he was a GM, nobody would take his calls... except when he was having a fire sale, then they sure would ;-)