Keith Woolner --> Cleveland Indians

[Mephistopheles]

Baseball Prospectus has, since its inception, been dedicated to the concept that that there are better ways for major league baseball teams to make decisions. Augmenting conventional, scouting-based reports with objective evidence gathered through analysis of the statistical record can help a team gain a competitive edge. This philosophy, long advocated by BP, reached a critical mass of awareness through Michael Lewis' bestseller Moneyball, and initiated a wave of change that has swept across the ranks of professional baseball. It has even carried some BPers into positions with major league teams. That trend continues today.

 

It is with a tremendous amount of excitement and twinge of sadness that I announce that I will be leaving Baseball Prospectus to join the front office of the Cleveland Indians to become their Manager of Baseball Research and Analysis. In this role, I will be responsible for advanced objective analysis, forecasting, and strategy analysis. I will also be working on integrating the information from the disparate worlds of scouting and stats in a way that makes each stronger. Having met with Mark Shapiro, Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, and others in Cleveland, I am impressed with their abilities, moved by their decency, and encouraged by their enthusiasm for bringing BP-style analysis in-house. This is going to be fun.

 

I am proud of the nearly 10 years I've spent with Baseball Prospectus, and the work I've done here. But I am even more humbled by the collection of talent I've had the opportunity to work with, and with the overwhelming dedication and loyalty of our readers. All of you made this possible for me, and for that I am forever grateful. I hope I have given you at least a small fraction of what you have given me. And I thank you.

 

And can the Cubs hire Chris Antonetti already?

[treebird]

the cubs already have a computer, and it can figure avg w/risp way faster than any of these guys

[daske17]

It also makes a great paperweight.

[snoodmonger]

the cubs already have a computer, and it can figure avg w/risp way faster than any of these guys

 

it can also perform a lightning-fast google search to find out the precise year izturis won the gold glove.

[rawaction]

The Cubs computer can calculate intangibles, such as grit and heart, and can tell if someone is a professional hitter or not.

[TruffleShuffle]

The Cubs computer can calculate intangibles, such as grit and heart, and can tell if someone is a professional hitter or not.

 

i hear that NASA used their computers to try to calculate David Eckstein's heart/grit factor, and the computers CRASHED

[treebird]

The Cubs computer can calculate intangibles, such as grit and heart, and can tell if someone is a professional hitter or not.

 

i hear that NASA used their computers to try to calculate David Eckstein's heart/grit factor, and the computers CRASHED

 

i think they had his heart in English and his grit in metric

 

doh!

[SouthSideRyan]

I'm always happy to hear these guys get jobs with big league clubs.

 

As long as it isn't Mitchell Lichtman.