This Bud, is for you
Dear Bud,
I would like to be the first to apply for the position of Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball. Let me tell you why I should be the one to replace Sandy Alderson as your right hand man. First I just recently had an interview for a position in baseball operations for a major league team. I met with an assistant GM and two scouts. I have had contact with MLB through Dinn Mann last year. He wrote: “Something along these lines has been in the works; it is a matter of the necessary devices getting installed, and we have considered pitches and prototypes for the very purposes you mention. The best primary contact for you at MLBAM regarding any involvement in this is Cory Schwartz, who is reachable at as is our CEO, Bob Bowman. I’ll make sure they are made aware of your interest and earlier contacts.”
I wrote him with a new statistic that I created for defense. It is called Reaction and Range, and it could measure the best and worst plays in the field, and give them a number that is easy to compute and measurable two requirements that Tom Verducci said to me, was needed for a statistic to be recognized. Bill James even said I was ahead of my time with this idea, which divides the Time of a play by the Distance the fielder ranges. R/R=T/D
This is not the first statistic I created. I spoke to an umpire, Mark Hirschbeck a few years ago, and told him how a machine could measure an umpire’s ball and strikes and would give each umpire a rating for each game. This was before anyone heard of ques-tec. I even contacted Dr.Phil Janssen when he was evaluating umpires for MLB, and he sent this idea to Ralph Nelson
I have been preaching the gospel of the Blue Ribbon report for years. I can name the panel like it was the Murderer’s row of the 27 Yankees. Mitchell, Levin, Volcker, and Will. I read all 97 pages of the report, competitive balance will be restored if I am hired. I wrote to every owner to have a salary cap in baseball. One president wrote “I too believe a “payroll cap” is both necessary and in evitable.” Another president said “I am sympathetic to the fact that the present revenue sharing formula and luxury tax has not produced the competitive balance that is necessary for all teams to have a fair chance at winning. Either the formula has to change or some form of cost-certainty must take place in order to achieve that goal.” One owner said “we are typically perceived as a “small market team” and accordingly, have been clear about the need to inject some financial sensibility into the industry” Other than George what team is not in favor of a salary cap? I even can give you a definition of the “debt service rule” which goes in effect in 2006.
I promise to make baseball more popular than ever, by letting kids watch the games in October. With me on your team, post season baseball will start no later than 6 PM so that all the kids can watch their heroes and be in bed by 10, not at 1:22 in the morning.
Then there is my latest idea that really is “for the good of the game” Even today an ESPN baseball exec told me I was ahead of my time with this idea. He wrote “Could become a staple at all sporting events.”
If each home team adopted the following guidelines, fans will stay in control, and not interfere with the players, or any ball that is in play:
Mandated Ballpark Reporter
It is required by team authority that all security, vendors, ushers, and team personnel report orally and in video/audio within 2 innings to the department of ballpark operations whenever there is reasonable cause to believe a fan has consumed too much alcohol, caused physical harm, verbal assault, or any type of abuse within the confines of the ballpark. Upon review by ballpark operations such individual guilty of any of the following will be permanently banned from entrance into ballpark, and subject to season ticket holder’s tickets being revoked.
I am The Fan’s Commish,
but soon I will be VP of baseball operations for MLB
Rick Swanson