Amidst much speculation about the future of the Athletics’ front office, the team’s chief baseball officials (executive VP of baseball operations Billy Beane, GM David Forst, and assistant GM Billy Owens) are expected to continue working in Oakland for the 2021 season, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. In addition to Slusser’s sources, A’s manager Bob Melvin intimated during a recent discussion with Slusser and other reporters that the team’s front office trio would be returning: “It looked like at the beginning of the offseason that there might be several in that group not here. At this point, it looks like everyone will be back.”
The key factor seems to be that the proposed merger between RedBall Acquisition Corp (Beane is RedBall’s co-chair) and Fenway Sports Group LLC (the parent company of the Red Sox) doesn’t appear to be on track to get league approval before the end of the year. Had a deal gone through, Beane would have left the A’s due to the obvious conflict of interest. It isn’t clear when the commissioner’s office could weigh in on the merge, though as Slusser puts it, “Beane is likely to remain at the A’s helm through 2021.”
Had Beane left the team, Forst was seen as the logical candidate to take over the baseball operations department, with Owens the favorite to move up the ladder and become general manager. That said, both Forst and Owens received interest from the Mets and Angels for their front office vacancies, with Owens interviewing for both general manager openings. It doesn’t appear as if Forst even spoke with either team, as reports indicate he enjoys his job in Oakland.
Changes could still be coming to the A’s depending on Beane’s future business dealings, but for now, the Athletics will continue their rather remarkable front office stability. Beane has been with the team for over 30 years and atop the front office pyramid since October 1997, Forst has been with the organization since 2000, and Owens spent five seasons as a minor league hitting coach before moving into front office work in 2003.
Bob Melvin never seemed that scary to me
7-13 record in the playoffs for Oakland, but a million excuses from press and fans because “good guy syndrome”.
I forget … how many WS rings has Beane won in his tenure with the team? Oh that’s right … ZERO! Excuses, excuses, all he does is cry poor.
Its Fisher who cries poor, not Beane. But yeah, “Moneyball” always meant “you still have to pay superstars”, which is why Boston got rings and Beane doesn’t.
If the A’s offered Giambi a 7th option year, he never would have signed with the Yankees, and Moneyball would never have existed.
statman It’s A’s ownership that cries poor….not Beane. He doesn’t set his own payroll limits, the team owner controls that. All he can really do is try to make the most of what little spending room he’s always given.
Beane is part owner … also he’s made some terrible moves and non-moves over the years that have hindered his teams in the postseason. What was the move he made this past year? Oh yeah, he didn’t make one! Very overrated IMO …
Zero, and how many times has his teams made the playoffs with payrolls half the teams that finish behind him?
“There are rich teams, and there are poor teams. Then, theres fifty feet of crap. And then there’s us.”
@statman- It’s a minority stake. The man himself is worth about $16 million. His entire networth wouldn’t cover half of Trout’s AAV. How much money do you really think he COULD invest in the Athletics? Your argument is deceptive.
Then you’ve never watched him hit…
Beane Forst to stay Owens to extenuating circumstances.
Looks like we’ll have to await the debut of MoneyBall II to find out this ending.
As an Angel fan, Beane away from the AL West is a good thing. As a baseball fan, the game is better off with Beane it it.
isn’t beane the moneyball guy?
Most people don’t understand what Moneyball is. It’s buying undervalued players. Back in 2000, that was OBP. OBP isn’t undervalued anymore.
Yeah Zito, Hudson, mulder, Chavez, tejada, dye, Ellis all super undervalued. That teams success had nothing to do with having a bunch of great players any team would have taken. You watch too many movies halo
Agreed … notice how the movie never showed much of any of those players and instead acted as if Beane scrubs like Hatteberg were the reason they won it all that year — oof I keep forgetting they didn’t win squat that year (or any year under Mr. Bean)!
Yea, the shine of the movie really goes away when you realize that 4 of the A’s 5 starters had both ERA’s and FIP’s under 4 and two had ERA’s under 3. Plus they had a lot of home grown hitters. Guys like Hatteberg helped them win, but it’s not as romantic of a story once you look into how they won.
And he kept winning long after they left.
To be fair none of Hudson, Mulder, or Zito had even three full seasons in the majors yet and Chavez and Tejada barely did. Dye was brought in midway through the previous season and the team did have a bunch of scrubs at that point. Frank Menechino, Randy Velarde, Greg Myers, Jeremy Giambi, John Mabry. A lot of those players were roster filler at that point
No that’s Brad Pitt
Yo Sabey-Sabes.
Notice That The Angels are Up The Mets AS% on Everything Because The Angels Owner Doesn’t like Steve Cohen …
proof?
Beane’s gonna be part owner of the Bosox? Would he hire himself to take over Boston baseball ops?
So if the deal still goes through Beane has to leave?
Is this implying that this is Beane’s last season in Oakland?
I can’t recall the exact reason, but if Beane’s deal goes through it would be a conflict of interest to stay with the A’s. Yeah, he’d have to leave.
Not an A’s fan, but I’m a fan of what that front office has done the last decade or so. They are always interesting to watch and MLB will be worse off without Beane where he is.
I’m not much of a fan outside of Beane and moneyball, but with profits soaring and owners crying poor, moneyball sure looks like a terrible, anti-player idea in hindsight.
Being that Beane has never won anything, maybe everyone needs lay off its importance? I read the book and to me it said “Moneyball can fill in a lot of blanks, but you also still need to pay your stars and superstars to win a title”, which is why Boston has four rings in the 2000’s and Oakland has none.
Moneyball does not work in the postseason when walk-first hit-second players face Aces and #2s. Teams will gladly walk players rather than give up hits and with emphasis on walks over hitters, Oakland is exposed in October. That along with the fact they can’t execute little things like bunts, ground balls to right side to advance runners or drive in runs from 3rd with less than two outs. That doesn’t work against top teams.
The postseason is also where good managers and bad managers are exposed for what you alluded to, everyone throwing their best possible players at them in the most useful ways possible. Maddon is about to wreck Melvin 20 times a year. A’s will never get a chip with a 7-13 playoff manager.
You’re right, and that falls on Beane and company having too much control over what decisions are made in the dugout.
Maddon thinks he’s smarter than he is, as an A’s fan kind of glad they hired him.
Moneyball is not a baseball strategy. As I wrote earlier, most fans don’t understand what it is.
It’s buying undervalued stats. The A’s are not the same style team they were in 2002.
They aren’t the same style team because the A’s drafted well under Alderson and really haven’t under Beane ever since he started firing scouts.
The undervalued stats should remain undervalued if the defense is willing to allow undervalued stats just to gain outs or put on force plays or double plays.
I read the book. I understood the book. I also understand the A’s methods do not work with the best teams. Hence the October failures.
A’s Billy Beane is just an incredible executive only he is a minority owner of the team and his hands are tight as to budget expending is considered. John Fisher owns the Oakland Athletics and approves or disapproves anything Billy suggests…
So if and when Beane does leave, is David the Forst in line to replace Billy?
I need a hobby…
You all clearly don’t read much. When the Sox purchase the company beane is leaving baseball n running a soccer organization the Sox own. Why do you think mlb is holding off on allowing this. Oakland losing beane will I’ll go 50%+ ruin the organization n they don’t want that. But money does what money does.
@sportsfan101 Maybe we don’t read as much as you, but in your case it’s clearly not helping your writing skills. I have no idea what the heck your second-to-last sentence meant.
If KC can win a ring and Tampa cam make the WS twice then the As have no excuse for not making the world series in the near 25 years that Beane has been there in Oakland. Either the As need to move from Oakland or they need to change GM. Plus theres seems to be a conflict of interests between Beane and the Red Sox. You liable to see lopsided trade favoring the Red Sox.
KC deployed a running game – something Beane and the A’s do not value. KC ran wild on the Mets and it paid off. Oakland’s ignorance to valuable baseball tactics will continue to be their undoing. Moneyball should be renamed Funnyball. There’s nothing money about it.
A’s probably would of beat the Royals in 14’ but Lester can’t hold a runner on and once Soto got hurt and had the leave the game, Norris and Lester was an awful combo for anyone to run wild. Freak thing/bad luck played a role as the A’s blew a nice lead.
A’s manager made questionable decisions late in the game.
Regardless, Oakland does not believe in base stealing or certain baseball fundamentals. Oakland wouldn’t run because they do not set up their team properly. If they played in the AL East they’d probably have 1-2 playoff appearances since 2000. Not an exaggeration.
No, just a dumb and useless hypothetical.
Not really. They haven’t beaten an AL East team in the playoffs in 30 years. Only 2 World Series wins from an AL West team in 31 years. If you want useless just watch them get exposed every October. Clockwork.
Oh, I was so hoping the A’s would get a fresh start with some new people in the FO. Guess I should know better than that. It is, after all, the same old cheap, stagnant A’s ownership, too. Same stuff, different day! I just feel for the young disillusioned, disrespected (by ownership) players who are drafted into or traded to the A’s, they don’t have a choice but to be there and pray that the organization will be able to find diamonds in the bargain bin to join them to make a winning team, knowing this team won’t spend necessary money to get the best players out there and make the A’s a world series team. Sad…they’re so close!