By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College<\/p>\n
Every Spring, I write a column after reading the Major League Baseball assessment of a team\u2019s farm system. Other columnists with sports publication usually rank the Atlanta Braves dead last, or close to the bottom of the barrell. And yet every year, the \u201cCream of Cobb County\u201d seems to rise to the top, as Atlanta\u2019s baseball team produces either a Rookie of the Year winner, or a top-three candidate. Perhaps after Catcher Drake Baldwin\u2019s award<\/a>, the critics will give the Braves a second look.<\/p>\n In the book\/movie \u201cMoneyball,\u201d<\/a> Billy Beane and his baseball staff build winners for the low-budget team, the Oakland Athletics. Beane and his associates go beyond what the scouts are focusing on, which is looks and myths. For example, these traditionalists get into a player\u2019s muscles and physique as marks of \u201cfuture success.\u201d Another claims to focus on a player\u2019s wife. If she\u2019s hot, it shows the player has confidence, and so he should be signed, or so the myth goes.<\/p>\n By the way, a college football coach said that what he learned from \u201cMoneyball\u201d was to hire assistants with hot wives, because it showed they had confidence. This coach was fired from his position, as his team failed to meet expectations this year.<\/p>\n Now, some of the scouts do use data, but they focus on home runs and runs batted in. They aren\u2019t bad statistics, but they aren\u2019t the best stats. We learn that getting on base may matter more, which leads to more runs, then more wins, then more attendance in Oakland, and therefore profits.<\/p>\n The Braves seem to be one of the few franchises which \u201cgets it,\u201d when it comes to what to do with minor leaguers<\/a>. One of the frequent criticisms by others who follow MLB is that the Braves\u2019 MiLB (minor leaguers) don\u2019t always win games.<\/p>\n Is that the point? Shouldn\u2019t a farm system be about developing players? If your small city wacky nickname team is winning championships, does it guarantee major league player success? If your team loses MiLB games, but takes home awards for best rookies, or makes the short list, isn\u2019t that a good thing?<\/a><\/p>\n Look at the Braves over the last few decades: Drake Baldwin, Ronald Acuna Jr., Michael Harris and Craig Kimbrel. Freddie Freeman, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach were also finalists. And wouldn\u2019t Austin Riley qualify for top marks somehow when he was a prospect?<\/p>\n What\u2019s more is that you can look at Rookie of the Year Award winners who are flashes in the pan, out of Major League Baseball a short time later? All of those players had long, productive careers. By the way, here\u2019s my article<\/a> touting Baldwin\u2019s ROY\u2019s qualities, from May 29 this year.<\/p>\n Speaking of Freeman, there\u2019s a recent move by some Dodger fans to claim Freeman as one of their own<\/a>. \u201cHe won two championships in four years for the Dodgers, but only one in 12 years with the Braves,\u201d the meme shows.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, from 1989 to 2023, the Dodgers won one World Series title, while the Braves won two during that time.\u201d Sounds like Freeman helped the Dodgers more than the other way around. L.A. is the best at signing good free agents from other teams. But when it comes to developing young players, the crown can now be found in Cobb County.<\/p>\n John A. Tures<\/a> is a professor of political science at LaGrange College<\/a> in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu<\/a> or on \u201cX\u201d at @johntures2. His first book \u201cBranded\u201d will be coming out this Fall, published by Huntsville Independent Press (https:\/\/www.huntsvilleindependent.com\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By John A. 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