A MONEYBALL TRADE IN RETROSPECT.

A MONEYBALL TRADE IN RETROSPECT. Michael Lewis is a wonderful storyteller. One of the stories he tells in MONEYBALL is how Billy Beane hornswoggled Kenny Williams of the White Sox into a trade in which Beane got relief pitcher Chad Bradford and the White Sox got catcher Miguel Olivo. Lewis wrote of it as a sabermetrics versus scout trade. Bradford had astounding results in the minors, but had an unusual underhand delivery. Olivo had a throwing arm that would awe any scout. Lewis portrays the trade as a triumph for Beane—the 2010 BASEBALL PROSPECTUS refers to the idea that Williams was “…flayed in a best-seller for getting Miguel Olivo for Chad Bradford…..” I always thought that the trade showed how good both men were at evaluating players who were at a very early stage in their careers. Both Bradford and Olivo have gone on to good careers. I was pleased to see the 2010 BASEBALL PROSPECTUS has a footnote on the trade pointing out that Olivo is “a good bet to match Bradford in career value when all is said and done….—and really, what WAS the fuss about?”