The A’s announced Friday that team architect Billy Beane is moving further up the organizational ladder and away from baseball matters, assuming a new role as a senior adviser to managing owner John Fisher.
Beane had been the executive vice president of baseball operations, where he worked above general manager David Forst. Beane had also been the longest-tenured leader of baseball operations in MLB, though Forst has been handling the bulk of day-to-day baseball decisions since assuming that role in 2015 when Beane was elevated to the VP job after 18 years as general manager.
“This is really as much about not just me transitioning into a new role, but also David taking on a responsibility that he’s earned as one of probably the top executives in the game in my opinion,” Beane said on a conference call Friday.
Beane and the A’s were at the cutting edge of the sabermetrics revolution in baseball, relying on data and analytics to determine player performance at a level deeper than simple box score metrics or scouting with the naked eye. Now all teams rely heavily on advanced metrics to make roster decisions and determine on-field strategy.
“It’s humbling,” Beane said of the changes in baseball and the media coverage of his move. “I’m not an overly nostalgic person but I would definitely say that I’m incredibly proud of the people I’ve been around for the last 20-something years.”
Forst, who said he did not expect to hire an assistant GM to help manage the load left by Beane’s departure, noted Beane’s place in history.
“He would say it started with (former GM Sandy Alderson), but there’s no denying the impact that the ‘Moneyball’ had on how we how we operate now in baseball,” Forst said Friday.
Beane’s new job “affords him the opportunity to explore non-baseball endeavors,” a team release said. Beane has been connected at times to ownership and management of various soccer teams around the world: He was formerly part of the ownership group of England’s Barnsley FC, but said Friday that he now has an ownership interest in a French club and is involved in a Dutch club, too.
Fisher hinted at Beane’s further remove from baseball operations in a statement from the club’s release.
“Billy is and will always be an Athletic. He is a trusted advisor to me and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him on strategic initiatives that impact our Club. This position at the ownership level allows Billy to pursue other non-baseball sporting interests while continuing to hold an important role with the A’s and me. I am also excited for David Forst to now serve as the head of baseball operations, while still continuing his long and successful partnership with Billy,” said Fisher.
Beane was the architect of the “Moneyball” A’s, using advanced analytics to identify a low-cost, high-value lineup that rattled off 20 consecutive wins down the stretch of the 2002 season and seriously outperformed expectations to reach a 103-59 record. That was the third in a string of four consecutive playoff seasons for the A’s, who lost in the divisional round each year.
He later oversaw an A’s team that made three straight playoffs from 2012-2014, but also never advanced out of the divisional series; the same fate befell the 2018-2020 teams under general manager Forst before the A’s made one last playoff push in 2021, which failed, and began another teardown last offseason. Oakland finished 60-102 in 2022 under first-year manager Mark Kotsay.
“We know we have a lot of work to do,” Forst said of the team looking forward. “I’ve talked to Kots about every day this offseason about how excited he is to move forward and, you know, get some new blood here.”
For his part, Beane said he didn’t plan to be too far away, noting he would be at MLB’s winter meetings.
“I’ve got way too much A’s gear in my closet to ever do anything else,” he said.
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