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1By Jared Diamond
2Aug. 20, 2019 1:27 pm ET
3Early in the movie “Moneyball,” Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane sits in front of a room of befuddled old-school scouts and delivers the message that has defined the real-life Oakland Athletics for nearly two decades.
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5“If we try to play like the Yankees in here,” Oakland’s heralded executive says, “we will lose to the Yankees out there.”
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7That attitude helped spark baseball’s data revolution and made the A’s the blueprint for how to thrive with a minuscule budget. Unable to compete with their big-market opponents for high-price talent, the A’s built a powerhouse in the early 2000s largely through their farm system.
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9But with the A’s now pushing for yet another playoff berth despite a payroll near the bottom of the major leagues, an examination of their team reveals something strange: As they begin a crucial three-game series against New York on Tuesday, the A’s are suddenly more like the Yankees than the Yankees themselves.
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11Oakland has just six homegrown players—those who have spent their entire North American professional career in the A’s organization—on its active 25-man roster and MLB injured and restricted lists. Only the Chicago Cubs have fewer. The Boston Red Sox, the game’s highest-spending team, have 14. The deep-pocketed Los Angeles Dodgers have 19. The Yankees, the exact opposite of the A’s when it comes to wealth and luxury, have 13.
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13“We’re zigging when everyone else is zagging,” A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty said.
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15It’s what the A’s have been doing for as long as Beane—now Oakland’s executive vice president of baseball operations—has been in charge, and that unyielding commitment to being different has paid off. They’ve reached the postseason nine times since 2000, better than all but five teams over that span, a group that includes blue bloods like the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers.
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18Oakland Athletics executive vice president Billy Beane signs autographs for fans. PHOTO: MASTERPRESS/GETTY IMAGES
19Much of that success stemmed from shrewd scouting and development. Twenty years ago, they nurtured homegrown talent, including sluggers Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada and Eric Chávez and the pitching trio of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. The A’s had four Rookies of the Year between 1998 and 2009, the most in the majors during that stretch.
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21Baseball has changed since then, however. Inspired by teams like the A’s to re-evaluate their approach, even the biggest spendthrifts now covet economic efficiency. (The A’s have a payroll of a little over $90 million this season, compared to upward of $210 million for the Red Sox and Yankees.)
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23This shift in thinking has resulted in a new paradigm for team-building. Virtually all general managers, not just the ones operating with payroll constraints, value prospects as integral components of their roster, not trade bait. They have little interest in paying for midtier free agents, which has depressed the market. And they have no qualms about engaging in dramatic rebuilds—a strategy known as tanking—leading to decreased competition for established assets.
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25The A’s have taken advantage of those forces by quickly finding the latest inefficiency to exploit: actual major-league players.
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28Since identifying infielders Matt Chapman and Matt Olson—a pair of recent first-round draft picks—as a core they wanted to build around, the A’s have gone on a trading spree. In recent years they’ve acquired key contributors like Piscotty, Khris Davis, Marcus Semien and Ramón Laureano all in deals. Last month, they traded for two new starting pitchers, adding Tanner Roark and Homer Bailey. Much of their bullpen, perhaps their greatest strength, arrived via trade, including All-Star closer Liam Hendriks.
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30In almost every instance, the A’s received more production than they gave up.
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32“We’ve always had to operate a little differently than everybody else,” Oakland GM David Forst said. “We’re never afraid to be wrong, and if that involves trading away good players, then we’re OK with that, because, ultimately, we have a lot of conviction in the players we’re getting in our half of the deal.”
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35Oakland Athletics pitcher Liam Hendriks celebrates after striking out a batter to win the game. PHOTO: JEFF CHIU/ASSOCIATED PRESS
36The A’s have supplemented their roster in free agency, snagging useful players for less than they might have in the past. Before the 2018 season, they signed Yusmeiro Petit for just $10 million over two years, and he’s emerged as one of their most reliable relievers. This past winter, they committed $14.1 million to re-sign starting pitcher Mike Fiers, in addition to spending another $22.5 million on reliever Joakim Soria, outfielder Robbie Grossman and starters Brett Anderson and Marco Estrada.
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38They’ve been able to do all this even with their payroll limitations because of the increasing number of teams across baseball prioritizing the future over the present. There, too, is where the A’s differ from their opponents: They try to win every season, no matter what, a mandate from Beane. Forst describes it as “our responsibility to the fans to put a good product on the field.”
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41It hasn’t always worked; the A’s finished in last place in their division three straight times starting in 2015. But in none of those seasons were the A’s actively tanking, a tenet that could pay off with a second straight playoff appearance in 2019. They entered Tuesday a game out of a wild-card spot in the American League.
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43“It’s never, ‘Tear it down and not try,’” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ve always done the best we can here with what we have, and I really appreciate that.”
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46Athletics right fielder Stephen Piscotty celebrates with left fielder Khris Davis after hitting a home run. PHOTO: JOHN HEFTI/REUTERS
47The A’s realize there are downsides to their way of doing business. Their frequent trades create a roster churn, with Oakland fans rarely developing a longstanding relationship with individual players. Forst says the A’s have “certainly got the message from the fans that they want players to stay here.” They hope if they ever complete their quest for a new stadium, it will allow them to increase payroll and keep their stars.
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49Until then, the A’s will continue trying to make the postseason their way—and hopefully more than that. Despite all of their October appearances, they haven’t reached the World Series since 1990. Last season, they lost to the Yankees in the wild-card game. This season, they expect more than that.
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51“That experience alone taught us that we can get there,” Davis said. “It’s not out of our reach.”