Billy Beane, the current Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Oakland Athletics, has caught the eye of his first professional team as a player, theNew York Mets. The creator of the Moneyball tactic, which was taken to the big screen in the Brad Pitt movie in 2011, is said to be one of the leading candidates to fill the role for the Mets.
Beane who has been a part of the Oakland Athletics front office since 1990 could finally be ready for a new challenge according to reports from The Athletic, as he makes a long-awaited move away from the A’s given that longtime friend and mentor Sandy Alderson is the New York Mets President.
Beane’s name came up for the position in the report by Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic which also mentioned that manager Bob Melvin could also be on the move to the Mets this offseason. So, what are the chances that Billy Beane makes his switch to the New York Mets?
Billy Beane on Mets radar for Baseball Operations role
Oakland Athletics vice president and general manager Billy Beane introduces Hiroyuki Nakajima of Japan to the Oakland Athletics at the O.co Coliseum on December 18, 2012 (Getty)
The truth is it is pretty high, given the over 31-year relationship Beane has with Sandy Alderson, Beane began his front office career as a scout for the A’s later becoming General Manager of the cost cutting Oakland Athletics, which forced Beane to think outside the box. That forward thinking created the Moneyball formula using sabermetrics.
Under Beane’s cost effective eye the Oakland Athletics found value in players that were discarded by the Baseball elite and reached the playoffs in four consecutive seasons from 2000- 2003. Beane had the 24th out 30 least expensive salary in the MLB by 2006 but had the 5th best regular season record in that span.
One thing that might be a rock in the road to a potential deal with Beane is that he has a 4% ownership stake with the A’s. Nonetheless the Mets have a considerable amount of money to spend but are in dire need of someone who can provide the organization with a clear roadmap and proper management of players and contracts.
The irony is that in 1984 Billy Beane was recruited by the New York Mets and only played two seasons with the team. After dangling in the minors Beane was traded in 1985, and called his decision to play for the Mets the “only decision he would ever make in his life about money.”
The New York Mets sit third in the MLB NL East on a 72-75 record, and a promising season has begun to fall apart as the team will most likely miss the playoffs.
