TITLE: Computing Everywhere: In the Dugout and On the Diamond AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford DATE: July 08, 2018 10:47 AM DESC: ----- BODY: How's this for a job description: "The successful candidate will be able to hit a fungo, throw batting practice, and program in SQL."
We decided that in the minor leagues, we would hire an extra coach at each level. The requirements for that coach were that he had to be able to hit a fungo, throw batting practice, and program in SQL. It's a hard universe to find where those intersect, but we were able to find enough of them--players who had played in college that maybe played one year in the minors who had a technical background and could understand analytics.
The technical skills are not enough by themselves, though. In order to turn a baseball franchise into a data-informed enterprise, you have to change the culture of the team in the trenches, working with the people who have to change their own behavior. Management must take the time necessary to guide the organization's evolution. The above passage is from How the Houston Astros are winning through advanced analytics. I picked it up expecting a baseball article, or perhaps a data analytics article, but it reads like a typical McKinsey Report piece. It was an interesting read, but for different reasons than I had imagined. -----