Andrew E. Friedman as GM of Tampa Bay Devil Rays free essay sample

Case -4 A New Pitch for an Old Classic Andrew E. Friedman is a new breed of manager in America’s favorite pastime—the classic game of baseball. As the general manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (his formal title is executive vice president of baseball operations), Friedman is responsible for overseeing and directing the team’s overall baseball operations. And he’s doing it his way—by relying on financial models and data mining to help improve the team’s performance and valuation. For the 2006 season, Sports Illustrated has ranked the team 24th overall out of the 30 MLB (Major League Baseball) teams.Its payroll of $35 million puts it at the bottom of the league in terms of players’ salaries. However, Friedman uses his own numbers approach to assess the value of his team and to help it realize its maximum potential. With a degree in management and finance from Tulane University in New Orleans, Friedman understands the language of business. We will write a custom essay sample on Andrew E. Friedman as GM of Tampa Bay Devil Rays or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He spent 5 years on Wall Street before joining the Devil Rays organization as director of baseball development. Having played on Tulane’s baseball team until an injury sidelined him, Friedman is no stranger to the game.However, in baseball, quantitative, statistics- based methods of player talent assessment, team valuation, and contract negotiations are not the usual approach to doing business. That’s why Friedman isn’t concerned about having the lowest payroll of any major league team because his assessment—based upon a valuation technique used on Wall Street—places the real value of the Devil Rays’ payroll at closer to $50 million. Friedman also uses a quantitative approach to trading players. He says, â€Å"1 am purely market driven. I love players I think that I can get for less than they are worth. It’s positive arbitrage, the valuation asymmetry in the game. † He and team owner Stuart Sternberg and team president Matt Silverman recently put their philosophy of quantitative, statistics-based talent assessment into action as they made their first big trade, â€Å"exchanging their all-star closer Danys Baez, for two untested starting pitchers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany. † The trio is betting that the two prospects will blossom into top-rated starting pitchers—†perhaps the most elusive and highly valued commodity in baseball today. What other planning tools and techniques might be useful to Andrew Friedman as he oversees and directs the team’s operations? Be specific. 2. In baseball, where the traditional approach to assessing player potential and performance has involved watching the individual play in different settings (scouting the player) and where most of the team management would not have a business background, how might you overcome the doubts of â€Å"traditionalists† about the benefits of using quantitative tools and techniques? 3. What are some ways that Friedman might evaluate whether his quantitative tools are working? Be specific.