Billy Beane
Billy Beane
William Lamar "Billy" Beane IIIis an American former professional baseball player and current front office executive. He is the Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Prior to his front office career, he played in MLB as an outfielder between 1984 and 1989 for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, and Oakland Athletics. He joined the Athletics front office as a scout in 1990. He was named general...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth29 March 1962
CityOrlando, FL
CountryUnited States of America
This guy probably represents nirvana for us from an offensive standpoint. We see him as an incredible acquisition.
This is ultimately what we were trying to do during the season and in the days after it. Unfortunately we weren't able to do that and we parted ways last week. This is the outcome we wanted.
This is the first time since I've been here that we haven't spent the off-season replacing what we've lost. We felt like we were very competitive last year. . . . In particular, when we were healthy, it was a very, very good team. So the idea that we were adding to this group . . . it's a first for us since I've been here as the general manager.
After instructional league, he seemed so far away from being able to compete in a major league game. What a special kid. What a comeback he had last year. No one deserves this more.
Some teams can absorb another guy's contract to get a great player, and we can't do that. It's a huge advantage when you can do stuff like that. Every year I'm asked if we're buyers or sellers, and every year we're both. Just once, it would be nice to buy without selling.
Deals are always ongoing things. So now, in that respect, Brad is part of the deal. But I'm not the reflective sort when it comes to that kind of thing.
There are no hard feelings whatsoever. This is part of the business.
We've been inconsistent with our offense and pitching. But the effort is there. Guys are busting their tails. And certainly, relative to previous starts, we're on fire.
There are very few winters we're going to go, 'Hey, we're set' a day after the season. That being said, this is not going to be nearly as traumatic and exciting as it was last winter.
Paul has seen the ups and down of developing young players and trusting the three, four years they've had in the minor leagues and discounting their first few months in the majors. Developing young players can be a lot of fun, but you've got to have the discipline to live with their mistakes and understand their trend line isn't always going to go straight up.
I hope not. There will be very few winters we say, 'We're set.' There's always decisions to make. That said, it probably won't be as dramatic as last off-season.
I know we didn't get to see the real Dan Meyer. He says he feels great now, and he could be a real shot in the arm for us.
If there is any player who you couldn't be happier for signing a guaranteed multiyear contract, it's Mark Ellis, particularly because of what he went through.
I'm collecting them all. But obviously, Danny's smarter than I am because he decided to go to Stanford. He's a great player, but he's also a great kid. He's the kind of guy you'd like to have as your son, just a really impressive young man.