Of the Oakland Athletics In its history we can spend hours talking about its trajectory or influences in the league, it could well be as the greatest representatives and promoters of the management system “MoneyBall”.
The Athletics began with their “MoneyBall” for the 2002 campaign, which to this day continues to be directed by Billy Beane, setting a strategy on how to compete with the big markets, using a good body of exploration and scouting, as well as a large nucleus of skilled coaches, driven by sabermetrics in a strategy where investment may remain in the background.
We could speak of the Athletics as promoters or the great reference of “MoneyBall”, a managerial strategy that today is a trend in the MLB, linked to which we could speak of great results in other teams as is the case with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Since the Athletics entrusted their trip to the “MoneyBall” and his saints, since 2002 they have reached the postseason in nine of twenty seasons, although the winning results have not come with the same magic, for a team that does not reach a World Series on MLB since 1990 and haven’t won one since 1989.
The Athletics ended their season on Sunday, staying out of the postseason for the first time in a streak that had been active since 2018, while others referring to MoneyBall, such as the Tampa Bay Rays, won their division for the second time (this one), themselves who were present as the league’s World Series runners-up in 2020.
The Athletics are preparing for what will be the offseason, where they will see eleven of their players going to free agency, while a twelve player with a team option or a thirteen under option agreed by both parties, a group that will include pillars of the team in what was 2021 as Starling Mars or Mark Canha.
We must also emphasize the degradation of the minority systems of the organization, which contrary to cases such as the Rays that have their main support in a powerful Minor League system, for the Athletics the birth of new stars from the heart of the franchise has been become complicated.
For the preseason of this 2021, the site specialized in the coverage of minor league baseball, MLB Pipeline, according to its ranking of the best farms among teams of MLB, the Athletics were ranked twenty-six, a position that has continued to decline with their position at twenty-eight in the midseason rankings.
While from the big team, only seven players are natural material of the franchise, another six from free agency and another fifteen in player transfer movements.
The Minor League systems are undoubtedly today the most important pillar for competitive teams and maintain consistency over the years, so along with what was a year where the Athletics did not meet expectations regarding the franchise and a management system that continues to limp, it is worth asking: When will we talk about Moneyball results in the Athletics?
To adapt a new and renewed philosophy in the coming years, we should remember Oakland’s shortcomings as a market, although moving plans have grown on a large scale in recent years on the franchise, on which both the economic and its desire for competitiveness could depend. .