“The worst that anyone could have imagined”… ‘Moneyball’ legend Auckland’s fall

The ‘Moneyball’ myth is a thing of the past. The Major League Baseball (MLB) Oakland Athletics are crashing endlessly. It is a crisis to leave the record for the most losses in a season in the history of the big leagues.메이저사이트

Japanese pitcher Shintaro Fujinami (center), whom Oakland ambitiously recruited in the offseason, has fallen into a bullpen losing team this season. USA Today = Yonhap News

Oakland is recording an odds rate of 0.196 with 11 wins and 45 losses this season until the 30th (Korean time). The last 10 matches are 1 win and 9 losses. On this day, he defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-2 and managed to end his 11-game losing streak, but he still has a win rate in the 10% range. Of the 30 MLB teams, the only teams that have yet to win more than 20 are the Oakland and Kansas City Royals (17-38).

Oakland is at the bottom of the American League (AL) Western Division, 18.5 games behind the Los Angeles Angels (29-26), which is fourth in the same division. The team’s batting average (0.220) and team ERA (6.78) are both the lowest in the big leagues. In particular, the gap with the 29th place Colorado Rockies (5.22) in average ERA is large. The team’s goal difference is -194, overwhelmingly in last place. He was the only team member to exceed 100 minus points.

Not only this. Oakland is arithmetically on a 32-130 pace this season. At this rate, there is a possibility of rewriting the disgrace left by the New York Mets in 1962 (120 losses, since 1900) in a single season.

Oakland is a team that caused a sensation in the 2000s with ‘Moneyball’, which was created by general manager Billy Bean (current vice president). They offset the weaknesses of the ‘small market’ clubs by selecting players who can create high efficiency at low ransom prices.

But this year, it seems that this way of operating does not work. In the past two years, key players, including ace Chris Bassett, have been sent to other teams, but the prospects brought instead of them are not showing their skills. Recruiting Drew Luchinski (former NC Dinos), who was the best foreign pitcher in the KBO League, and Shintaro Fujinami, a Japanese pitcher, are still a failure.

Drew Luchinski, who had been active in the NC Dinos of the KBO League until last year, has been performing poorly in Oakland this season. USA Today = Yonhap News

In an interview with MLB.com, general manager David Post of Oakland said, “The (worst) situation is happening that no one could have imagined. Veteran players are sluggish together, and prospects show a lack of experience. To make matters worse, there are injuries.” I’m losing interest in ”. I’m trying to motivate myself with a positive mindset as much as possible.”

Coach Mark Katsei also said bitterly, “We have to learn and grow from these mistakes. I hope young players learn big lessons from the big leagues.”