Building a Winner: The Billy Beane Effect

Former Major League Outfielder Billy Beane didn't have a great playing career, but his work in the front office has been phenomenal. He started off as a scout in 1990 and soon became an assistant G.M of the Oakland A's in  1994. In 1998 he became the A's general manager replacing  Sandy Alderson. From that moment on, Beane built great teams on small payroll using sabermetric principles to evaluate players. Over the years, he's traded a couple of star players and veterans for younger players. Let's break down some of those moves.

It all starts with the big three.

BARRY ZITO: Zito, the 2002 AL Cy Young winner, was the most well-known member of the big-3 which consisted of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Zito. Barry signed a long-term contract with the San Francisco Gi...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - Oakland Athletics
Article is property of BleacherReport.com