Why the 2019 San Francisco Giants are eerily similar to the ‘Moneyball’ A’s
How the San Francisco Giants began winning
Think back to Spring Training, when Zaidi signed 30+-year-old veterans like Gerardo Parra and Cameron Maybin to minor league deals.
Trades for possible fountains of youth in Connor Joe and Michael Reed surprised all for making the opening day lineup in San Diego.
The pitching rotation was headlined by Bumgarner and Dereck Rodriguez.
If you consider where the team was to now, it is vastly better – obviously – but they are still fighting the battle of the media believing this Giants team can’t make a run.
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The Giants, currently at 48-49, are now in third place in their division – a lost cause – but just two and a half games back from the second wild card. Add to it their current 6-game winning streak and the fact that they’re winners of 13 of their last 15.
Right now the wild card is the possession of the Washington Nationals – who were declared dead men walking at the start of June, and the Milwaukee Brewers – who were only able to win two games out of their yearly six with the Giants.
They also are contending with the really the entire National League but I digress.
How does all of this relate to the 2002 Oakland Athletics; the Moneyball team?
Billy Beane, who may be considered the greatest general manager in the current era of baseball, constructed a team of misfits who either had flashes of promise or carried the most coveted statistic in the new age game, on-base percentage.
Drastic payroll differences aside, the San Francisco Giants approached this offseason the same way, and they saved themselves hundreds of millions of dollars losing out on the Bryce Harper sweepstakes.
They made money-smart deals, given the massive contracts of Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija that Zaidi inherited, and wasn’t afraid to risk their prospects for guys that could help the roster now.
Kevin Pillar, Tyler Austin, and Alex Dickerson are undervalued trades given how they have contributed to this team; each in their own way.
Pillar has the gold-glove defensive and covers practically 1/3 of the Earth.
Austin is below 30, can give Belt a break at first and absolutely destroy left-handed pitching.
Dickerson broke onto the scene in a big way and has continued to provide a high OPS even as the weeks go on.
Then there are the minor-league signings that have made this team into a surprising juggernaut. Donovan Solano has been an excellent filler piece in the middle infield spots – he walked it off Thursday night in the 16th inning, and Stephen Vogt can still catch and can still hit bombs – he has two in his last four games.
The A’s, of course, made drastic changes to the roster, traded pieces even they thought would help the team, and then by magic became buyers at the trade deadline all while reeling off a then best 20-straight wins on route to a division title.
How did the A’s start the ’02 season?
The A’s were miserable to start. After just the first two months, they were 20-26, including a stretch where they went 5-17. As the season went on they had hot streaks but mostly played at .500.
How did the A’s finish?
Well, there was the 20-game win streak and their final record was 103-59.
How did the Giants start the 2019 season?
Miserable. With the league’s worst offense and a flurry of roster moves for the first two months, they looked worse than their previous two years. But a modest June and now a scorching July has made plans to sell difficult but why bother when the team is doing as well as they are?
How are they going to finish?
It very likely won’t be 100 + wins but at this pace, they can certainly push for the high eighties and a wild-card spot.
There is still a good chance this team sells some of their pieces before July 31st, but there are strong, major-league ready arms in Sacramento eagerly waiting for a phone call once a spot becomes available.
Next. MLB Trade Options: Where does Marcus Stroman go?. dark
With the pace the San Francisco Giants are at to start the second half of the season, are we on the verge of history repeating itself?