Sabermetrics puts science into finding next big stars

Billy Beane. Photo / Ben Margot

Billy Beane is the baseball boss who revolutionised player recruitment techniques by taking scouting hunches out and putting number crunches in.

As general manger of the Oakland Athletics, Beane used his own experience as a highly touted youngster who failed to succeed in the big league to redefine what really matters in evaluating new prospects. The result: Moneyball, the book by Michael Lewis which became the movie in which Beane, now 50, is played by Brad Pitt.

Armed with an obsessive laptop-wielding mate, Beane enhanced the trailblazing theories pioneered by others.

Sabermetrics, the pursuit of objective baseball knowledge, became a buzzword. Moneyball may exaggerate the effectiveness of sabermetrics considering the direct line to players it has uncovered, but this newly publicised branch of sports science has played a significant role in driving professional sport deeper into computer hard drives where the precise effect is enormous but hard to truly measure.

Along the way, the under-funded Oakland Athletics kept out of the results poorhouse although they have again fallen behind the big spending penthouse dwellers.

Moneyball is about to arrive in New Zealand video stores which has brought the Herald and Billy Beane together. He chats about fame, new and even tougher challenges for his club, reveals a friendship with World Cup-winning assistant All Blacks coach Wayne Smith, and signposts the next frontier for sport's victory seekers.

Any complaints about the movie?

When Brad Pitt plays you in a movie, you can't complain. I was very flattered that someone like that would be interested in the project ... the movie did a great job of capturing the whole essence of what was going on.

Sabermetrics - revolution or evolution?

I stay away from labelling what we did and the impact - a little bit of both though. We also benefited from timing, working in a period when technology was moving at a rapid pace. A lot of things were going on and we were only a few miles from Silicone Valley. People who own sports teams are very wealthy and successful - they want rational reasons for what gets done.

The Athletics are in a lean spell though ... are your theories simply helping the big spenders pull even further ahead?

The idea that you can have a huge advantage in any business without some form of imitation resulting just doesn't happen. We are very much at the bottom of the league in revenues, and face even greater challenges than a decade ago. I take it as a compliment that there is a trend towards objective analysis. Number one though, we need to secure our own venue and we are falling further and further behind.

How has fame changed your life?

It's more interesting, not that I was bored. I've been exposed to incredible people around the United States and the world. My life has changed in a good way.

Who is the best baseballer you've seen?

Ken Griffey jnr and Barry Bonds. Phenomenal. One thing unique about baseball is that it requires a very, very high level of hand-eye co-ordination along with a high level of athleticism. Those players had a level of athleticism that would have transferred to any sport in the world. Incredibly unique, like Lionel Messi in soccer. What they had set them apart.

Are you optimistic about where sport is heading?

Because I'm American I'm always optimistic. Look at how soccer has grown in the US, and a lot of that is because of the media, the ability for me to turn on a soccer game in Europe and watch it in real time. I am most optimistic because sport is a way of crossing borders. I wouldn't be surprised if cricket is the sport which grows in the US over the next decade, because of the technology, and because people are travelling. Wayne Smith, the former assistant coach of the All Blacks and former player, is a friend of mine. His son Joshua's favourite team is the Oakland Athletics and he watches them on his computer in New Zealand which once again comes back to the influence of technology.

A couple of surprises there, Billy. Cricket and Wayne Smith. How do you know Smith?

I became friends with Bruce Blair, your coach in cricket who sent staff over here. Through him I met people at the New Zealand Sports Academy and spoke over there a few years ago. Through that I became friends with Wayne and we stay in contact.

Did you give him any tips to put into his laptop?

I don't think the All Blacks need my help at this point. It's not a matter of whether sabermetrics or statistics have an impact - the challenge is finding the ones that have the strongest correlation. There are numbers for everything in every sport and the trick is identifying which ones to put emphasis on.

Do you have any new tricks up the sleeve?

That's a secret - I can't tell you that until the next interview, the next movie. At least I've got to give you the illusion that there is one. I say that jokingly - in all seriousness, I really think it will emerge in the medical field. Minimising the length of injuries along with preventive measures - in many cases injuries determine how a team finishes. None of us have the answers yet but we are all searching.