Pitcher Santos Saldivar Enters The Brewers System After A Great Statistical Experiment

Santos Saldivar is the newest signee of the Milwaukee Brewers and will be reporting to Helena of the Northwest League.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: Shepherd Express

Kyle Lobner, Columnist

If the Milwaukee Brewers’ rebuild could be summed up in a single phrase, it would be “acquiring, developing and retaining young, controllable talent.” Sometimes that search for talent means looking in places you typically wouldn’t go for potential contributors that others might have overlooked.

That’s what the Brewers did last week when they signed former Southern University and independent league Sonoma Stompers pitcher Santos Saldivar. That move typically wouldn’t have drawn a lot of attention, but Saldivar and his Stompers teammates were recently featured in the book The Only Rule Is It Has To Work, which is about two longtime Baseball Prospectus writers’ season using advanced statistics to assemble a Pacific Association team.

Just a matter of hours into his affiliated professional career, we talked to Saldivar about his independent league experience, his new team and his goals for the season ahead.

What have the last few days been like for you as a new member of the Brewers organization?

I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity. This is what I dreamed of as a kid. After I didn’t get drafted, I didn’t think I had a shot of being in affiliated ball. So I’m living the life and couldn’t complain.

Did you think you were done with baseball when you went undrafted following your senior season in college?

Yeah, I was just playing slow-pitch softball. For a good month and a half I didn’t pick up a baseball or anything.

Tell me about your time with the Sonoma Stompers. That’s probably not an organization that a majority of fans in Wisconsin are familiar with. What was it like pitching in that environment for a year?

It was awesome to have a team that went out there wanting to win every game. I hadn’t really had that in a good little while. So that was a great opportunity. I was meeting guys from all over, talking about their experiences from affiliated ball and different independent ball teams, and I grew up as a baseball player. Even though we only had two coaches, I basically had 20 older guys that were just teaching me the right way to play the game.

Your career with Sonoma drew a little more attention due to The Only Rule Is It Has To Work. Has that generated any extra attention for you, and what’s that been like?

I got calls and emails from guys that I didn’t even know knew about the Stompers, telling me how good of a book it was. I haven’t gotten all the way through the book, but the last few chapters are basically about the championship, the part I haven’t got to. But they told me it was a great article, that they weren’t expecting that out of a small independent team and from guys that got picked up just based on stats.

You mentioned getting picked up based on your stats. Since that time have you had a chance to talk to any scouts or anyone else about why you went undrafted?

What I basically figured, I’m only 5’8”, so I figured height was probably the big thing. And just from me coming from a small school (Southern University), even though I put up big numbers they come from a small Division 1 conference, guys don’t really get picked up from there unless they’ve got speed. All the guys that get picked up are center fielders or shortstops that run 6.2’s (in the 60-yard dash), and I’m definitely not a shortstop.

In the book excerpt I’ve seen, they talked about players who had moved on with their lives and decided not to pursue playing independent league baseball. What was the process like to decide to go play indy ball, and did you consider not going?

Actually, I really did consider not going. Just the fact that I was ok with…you know, I had a great college career, I got my degree. I was ok with being done with baseball. I was getting ready to have an office job. But the other thing that seemed intriguing to me was California. I had never been there, they told me they were going to pay for my flight to get up there, so I’m basically going to be playing with casino money. Why not go out there and see what I can do? It wasn’t coming out of my pocket, so why not? Why not give it a shot?

When did you first hear that the Brewers might be interested in signing you?

It’s a funny story: I was actually going back to Sonoma and had just landed in San Francisco. I was at the baggage claim grabbing my bags when my GM called me and basically asked me if I was interested, that the Brewers were interested in me and was it ok for him to give them my number. I was like, ‘of course.’

So where do you go from here? How much do you know about what the Brewers have planned for you?

They told me I’ll be going to short season in Montana (with Helena). That’s the plan.

What are some of your goals for this year and moving forward?

Honestly, I’m way too old to be in Helena with all these 18, 19-year-olds. So my goal is to hopefully finish the season in A-ball and hopefully start in AA next year. That’s my goal. Like I said, I’m too old to be playing with these guys and I’ve got too much experience to be…they don’t let them throw two-seams (two-seam fastballs), and I’m a two-seam kind of guy. I feel like I’ve learned how to pitch and now I’ve just got to put up the numbers.

Stompers Open Season On Road

The 2016 Sonoma Stompers begin their season on the road at Vallejo tonight.

Rick Bolen/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: Sonoma Index-Tribune

Tim Livingston, Special to the Index-Tribune

After a history-making 2015 season that was featured in the New York Times bestselling book “The Only Rule Is It Has To Work” by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller, the Sonoma Stompers return to action on Tuesday for their third season in the Pacific Association.

Sonoma begins their 2016 season on the road in their first week of play, beginning with a three-game set in Vallejo before heading to Pittsburg for the weekend. They’ll return to Arnold Field on Tuesday, June 7, and host Vallejo in their home opener.

Takashi Miyoshi is back at the helm once again after taking over the managerial role midway through the 2015 season. Rookie coach and Texas native Chris Matthews will be the team’s bench coach.

Six players return from last year’s team that came within a walkoff single by the San Rafael Pacifics of winning the league championship, including 2015 Rookie of the Year winner, Mark Hurley, who will be patrolling left field.

Joining him on offense is first baseman Daniel Baptista, among the league leaders in hitting in 2015, and middle infielder Eddie Mora-Loera, a late addition to the 2015 squad that became a spark plug down the stretch for Sonoma.

The Stompers brings back three pitchers, as well. Mike Jackson, Jr., who has been with the franchise since its inception in 2014, returns for his third season with the team, along with second-year Stomper Gregory Paulino, who had two complete games last season and tied a team record for strikeouts in a game (12) on June 24, 2015.

Sean Conroy also returns after his historic rookie season, as the first openly gay professional baseball player in history had mementos from his thrilling Pride Night start shipped to Cooperstown for enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Clifton Park, New York native will be the team’s opening night starter.

As a team last year, the Stompers had six members of their organization get called up to higher levels of independent baseball, and just one week ago, once and future staff ace Santos Saldivar arrived in Sonoma only to be signed by the Milwaukee Brewers that same day. Salidvar is now working out at the team’s training facility in Glendale, Arizona, awaiting his first affiliate assignment.

The newcomers brought in by general manager Theo Fightmaster hope to plug up the holes left by the departed members of the team, beginning with third baseman Caleb Bryson. A powerful right-handed hitter, Bryson hit 30 home runs in only 62 games playing for Trinidad of the Pecos League, and should fit right in to the middle of the lineup.

Two players who had short stints previously with the Stompers are also back, as middle infielder Derrick Fox, the 2015 Pecos League MVP who played in seven games for the 2014 team, and pitcher Eric Mozeika, who threw two innings for Sonoma last season before getting a quick call-up to Bridgeport of the Atlantic League, will add experience to a young squad.

Conroy, Jackson, and Paulino will be stalwarts in the starting rotation. Joining them will be two players with affiliated experience, as Jose Flores (Brewers) and Oliver Garcia (Seattle Mariners) fill out the other two spots. Garcia has been truly impressive in Spring Training, hitting 94 MPH on the radar gun to go along with a wipeout slider.
 
An interesting late addition to the pitching staff arrived last week in sidearmer Taylor Thurber. The young right-hander played for Schaumburg in the Frontier League in 2015 and was targeted by the Stompers throughout last season as a possible mid-season addition. He joins the staff as a key bullpen asset much like Conroy was last season.

Tickets for the opening home series against the Admirals and all home games are available now at stompersbaseball.com. They are also available at The Fan Shop located on 234 W. Napa St. in Sonoma and can be purchased beginning one hour before any home game. For more information, email jack@stompersbaseball.com, or call 938-7277, ext. 12.

Stompers Baseball Brings Whiff Of Outside To San Quentin Inmates

The baseball field where the San Quentin baseball teams play is located right in the middle of the bayside prison.

Kent Porter/The Press Democrat

Originally Published: The Press Democrat

Bob Padecky, Columnist

A guard in the tower Saturday watched a wall cleared and did not raise his weapon; a baseball left the field, not an inmate. Three Sonoma Stompers batters were plunked by fastballs but no one rushed the mound; a convict was standing on it. Fifteen men were sitting on the warning track in left field but were not asked to move for their safety; in San Quentin this is as safe as safe can get.

This is baseball inside a state prison as famous as any, a prison that has or has held among the most infamous inmates in American crime: Charles Manson, Scott Peterson, Ramon Salcido, Richard Allen Davis, Richard Ramirez.

“It always crosses your mind, to look up (at the surrounding buildings),” said Stompers first baseman Daniel Baptista. “Who’s in there? Who don’t we see?”

In front of the seen and unseen the Stompers played their last exhibition game of the spring training and it was going to be unlike any other. That much was certain before they gained entry, when prison guard J. Barr meticulously examined all the team’s gear, from shoes to gloves to bats, a happy camper he was and would remain “as long as you don’t bring anything in here that could wind up in my neck.”

If an inmate asks for a batting glove, refuse. It’s a felony if you give it up. Never once did the Stompers give up the watchful eye, not that could. The 16 players and three team officials passed a memorial at the entrance that honored 10 prison guards who died in the line of duty.

Through a courtyard they continued, past Death Row up there to the far left, curling to the right and down a small hill to a sight that won’t be forgotten: a baseball diamond watched by guards in five towers. The ball field occupied about half of the recreation yard, its dirt infield scrubbed clean and smooth. Sea gulls and pigeons everywhere, inmates along the warning track, a card table in right center field — its participants not scared of getting hit by a measly baseball.

As the Stompers reached the field, even before they warmed up, inmate Pedro Espinal found Stompers pitcher Gregory Paulino. When the Stompers played at San Quentin in 2015 Paulino learned one inmate was from his native Dominican Republic. Paulino and Espinal became friends, wrote letters to each other over the past year.

“I haven’t been to my home country since 1974,” said Espinal, burglary his crime. “He tells me of my home country. He tells me of what life is like on the outside.”

Life on the outside. That’s what the Stompers are to the inmates. The outsiders, the people from the other place, where I used to be. They are young and free to come and go and the inmates welcomed them as if they were a homecoming parade.

“Here, we (inmates) are objectified by administration and staff, made to feel like second-class citizens,” said Isaiah Thompson of East Oakland, in for 16 years on a triple robbery conviction. “But they (Stompers) remind us that we’re still citizens, that not all of us are bad guys.”

Not a large percentage of the 3,922 inmates are allowed on the yard. Death Row inmates and inmates in the Assignment Center are not allowed. Only the inmates who wear blue, who have shown the ability to co-exist without violence, are permitted in the rec yard.

“I am required to tell you,” said San Quentin liaison and coach Elliott Smith, “that in the case of a raid we will not negotiate for your release if you become a hostage. But I also will tell say you have a greater chance of winning the lottery (than being held hostage). Talk to them. They want interaction.”

They want to get a whiff of the outside. That’s what boys in blue wanted. In some cases they made that desire heard loud and proud. Every time a player for the Sonoma Stompers reached third base, the San Quentin third baseman ran over to the runner, pumped his hand, gave a compliment. Every time. Nineteen times to be exact. David Fraire is just four months removed from nine years in solitary confinement.

“I’m getting to be a human being again,” Fraire said. What he was before, he just shook his head. Fraire wasn’t sure if he could function outside of the Security Housing Unit. Solitary does that to a person, strips away identity, not to mention social skills. Fraire was scared. He was alone for 23 hours a day, for nine years.

Fraire, convicted of murder and torture, was using his third base gathering spot as a learning tool. Yes, he was loud, exuberant beyond belief. The Stompers never blinked, shook his hand, thanked him for the courtesy of recognition. The Sonoma guys quickly found the game to be the elixir they needed – and that the prisoners needed as a well. A sport is an escape from the real world and baseball was that for the inmates. Baseball, on the other hand, is also was a welcome reminder of the real world for the Stompers.

“It’s almost euphoric when our players leave the prison,” said Theo Fightmaster, the Stompers general manager. “They see what they see inside here, people with a lack of freedom, and then they go to In-N-Out Burger on the way home. We have some players who haven’t found host families yet in Sonoma and have to sleep on air mattresses. After they play at San Quentin the air mattresses don’t feel that uncomfortable.”

The game went without a hitch. Baptista was Babe Ruth, hitting three homers. The Stompers won, 16-0. A large inmate, who otherwise must spend a lot of time by himself, offered a non-stop oratory from behind the backstop. Stompers reliever Austin Delmotte, who bears a striking facial resemblance to Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, was continually called “Kershaw”. This guy was not ignorant of the game. He threw out Bop Roberts and Randy Johnson and Dusty Baker and Steve Balcony out there, sometimes for no apparent reason other than it had been two minutes since he last opened his mouth.

A moment of pause did occur. Three of them in fact. Three Stompers were hit. Three Stompers took a breath, glanced down and did the only mature thing to do: run to first base.

“That’s one thing I learned from coming here last year,” Baptista said. “Don’t argue with the umpire. Don’t argue calls. Don’t do anything but keep your head down. Yes sir, that pitch was a good pitch. Don’t make anything complicated.”

The home plate ump was an inmate. So was the umpire on the bases. Inmates were sitting on a wall in right wall, bodies in play. Inmates were talking smack. The fans were inmates. As for home field advantage the San Quentin Giants-A’s have the greatest home field advantage of all time. The Giants-A’s play 40 games a year at home. You might say attendance is steady.

“This is the most memorable game I’ll ever experience,” said Stompers bench coach Chris Matthews.

Why? You don’t go to prison to play a game. You don’t go to prison unless someone like Fightmaster says it’s going to be a good idea, that you’ll get more out of it than you can imagine. And that there’s no way to make mom completely comfortable until it’s over.

“I’m going to call her,” said corner outfielder Ethan Szabo. “She wants to hear how it went.”

She wants to hear her son’s voice. After all, San Quentin is the only prison in the United States that has such a baseball arrangement. To those who raise an eyebrow in suspicion, to those others who question whether this should be permitted, Eddie Herena, 33, in for a murder, provides the answer in just six words.

“What good do you think comes of this?” I asked.

“I’m sitting here talking to you,” Herena said. For him and other inmates baseball just wasn’t a game Saturday. It was a portal. Players, free men, crossed over and came to us. One day, Herena dreams, he’d like to return the kindness.

Visit To San Quentin Becomes Tremendous Team-Building Experience

The Stompers pose for a photo before entering San Quentin State Penitentiary for a game against the inmate All-Stars on Saturday.

Anthony Grant/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Media Relations & Broadcasting

Daniel Baptista strode to the plate at the baseball diamond in San Quentin State Penitentiary. It was the fourth inning, and he had already had himself quite a game, smashing a line drive to left center in his previous at-bat and a towering home run to right that bounced off the cement wall that surrounds the prison yard well beyond the playing field in his first at-bat.

Behind home plate, a heckler named Mike had just arrived to the ballpark, and just in time to let loose his best banter for anyone in the vicinity. That banter had no allegiances, and was just as loud for the home team as it was for the visitors.

“Big Papi striding to the plate!” yelled Mike, as the hulking left-handed hitting first baseman dug in. Baptista had actually been heckled at by Mike and others to try and go the other way instead, saying if he had kept pulling it, the teams might run out of baseballs and couldn’t finish their game.

So on his next swing, Baptista went the other way. That didn’t help the whole baseball losing conundrum.

His second home run drew oohs and ahhs from everyone watching, with one of Mike’s buddies yelling, “That’s gotta be illegal!”

Mike was also not afraid to call out references to his favorite ballplayers that the Stompers reminded him of. When Austin Delmotte came to the plate for the all-too-rare reliever at-bat, Mike yelled that he looked like Clayton Kershaw.

Even the front office members weren’t exempt. General manager Theo Fightmaster got an AB and got a Steve Balboni comp. Balboni played with the Kansas City Royals in the 1980’s as a first baseman and designated hitter and led the team to the 1985 World Series. Clubhouse manager Anthony Grant even got an at-bat, getting compared to Mike Marshall in the process, the All-Star outfielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers from the 1980's.

That was just a taste of the scene at San Quentin Saturday morning. A few hundred of the near 4,000 inmates that populate the prison were watching, talking, and inquiring about this Sonoma Stompers professional baseball team and their visit to the prison to play the inmates.

There were even some who remembered returning players from the team’s visit in 2015, such as Baptista, Mark Hurley and Mike Jackson, Jr., who threw two innings in the seven inning exhibition and looked ready to assume his role in the starting rotation. 

Gregory Paulino, another returner who had established a pen pal with a fellow Dominican that was an inmate after the team’s visit in 2015, was someone that a lot of the Latin inmates came up to during the game, with one inmate going so far as to show him a photo album of members of his family.

The game was designed as a way for the Stompers to give back to people who had lost their spots in society. When the game was over, even with the score 16-0 in favor of Sonoma, the inmates were quick not only to congratulate the Stompers on the win and thank them for coming to play, but to make them realize the great opportunity they have as professional ballplayers.

The message of the All-Star team was one of gratitude, and to let the Stompers know that things can change in an instant. That their presence at the ballpark was a reminder of what the inmates who are close to finishing their sentences can look forward to when they re-enter society.

That gratitude was not lost on the Stompers. The team donated the baseballs used in the game to the inmates for use throughout the summer, with players and coaches signing a few as mementos from Saturday’s game. The inmates presented their own signed baseball to Fightmaster as a token of their thanks for the visit from the Stompers.

Weekends are normally visiting days at the prison, and it’s clear after Saturday’s visit by the Stompers that both the inmates and the visitors learned from each other, and that both groups earned some perspective thanks to the day they met on the dusty field at San Quentin.

Stompers Announce Partnership With SVTV 27

SVTV 27 will broadcast at least 12 games this season for the Stompers, beginning with the team's home opening series on June 7.

Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Media Relations & Broadcasting

The Sonoma Stompers, presented by Virginia Dare Winery, have announced a partnership with Sonoma Valley Television, Comcast Cable 27 to produce television broadcasts of Stompers home games for the 2016 season.

SVTV 27 will produce 12 games throughout June and July, including the entirety of the first home series the Stompers play against the Vallejo Admirals beginning Tuesday, June 7. More games could be added as the season progresses, as well.

SVTV 27 has been in operation since 2006 and has covered Sonoma Valley High School sports broadcasts since its inception. Working in concert with KSVY 91.3 FM, the TV station and radio station have had coverage of local sports for 12 years, including select Stompers broadcasts in 2014 and 2015.

KSVY is the hosting partner for Stompers radio broadcasts, which are carried live on StompersBaseball.com and the TuneIn Radio app on mobile devices. 

As part of the partnership, the Stompers will have weekly team updates on the KSVY Morning Show Tuesday mornings that is simulcast on SVTV and KSVY, featuring visits from team representatives and players to talk about how the team is doing and the upcoming events for that week.

The beginning of the regular season is right around the corner for the Stompers as they open the season on the road in Vallejo on May 31 against the Admirals to begin a three game series. 

Tickets for the opening home series against the Admirals on June 7 and all home games are available now at stompersbaseball.com. They are also available at The Fan Shop located on 234 West Napa Street in downtown Sonoma. For any questions or information, email jack@stompersbaseball.com, or call (707) 938-7277, ext. 12.

Stompers Continue To Improve In 7-3 Win Over Diamonds

Third basemen Caleb Bryson getting into defensive position at Peterson Field in Sonoma, California.

Geoff Safford/ Sonoma Stompers

Geoff Safford, Media Relations Assistant

The Stompers seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time as the regular season is quickly approaching.

The Sonoma Stompers defeated the Pittsburgh Diamonds, 7-3 in the Stompers' penultimate game of spring training at Peterson Field in Sonoma. 

The Stompers pitching staff did a good job of keeping Sonoma in the game early before the Stompers offense was able to get into gear.  They did a great job of pitching out of trouble at many points in the game including pitching through a bases loaded, one out situation in the top of the fourth inning. 

The game entered the late innings in a tie, as the Diamonds were able to battle back from a 3-1 deficit with runs during the fifth and seventh innings. But the high-pressure situation did not seem to phase the Stompers as they played some of their strongest innings overall. This included great work on the mound from right-hander Taylor Thurber and southpaw Matt Picucci. 

The offense chipped in with their best inning of the game with a four-run eighth to put the Diamonds away for good. The Stompers showed great patience at the plate in the inning as the Stompers took the lead with a bases loaded walk by Matt Petrone. Oliver Garcia blew the Diamonds away in the top of the ninth to put an end to the game.

This game was the final game that the Stompers will play in spring training against a Pacific Association opponent.  Sonoma will play their final exhibition game on Saturday morning as the team will head into San Quentin State Prison to play against the inmate All-Star team. 

The beginning of the regular season is right around the corner for the Stompers as they open the season on the road in Vallejo on May 31 against the Admirals to begin a three game series. Opening night at home for the Stompers will be on June 7 at People’s Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field against the Admirals. 

Tickets for the opening series, and all home games are available at stompersbaseball.com. They are also available at The Fan Shop located on 234 West Napa Street in downtown Sonoma. For any questions, or information email jack@stompersbaseball.com, or call (707)-938-7277, extension 12.

What A Minor League Moneyball Reveals About Predictive Analysis

Harvard Business Review Staff Photo

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: Harvard Business Review

Michael Schrage, Columnist

The book The Only Rule Is It Has To Work is the true story of how a couple of clever quants, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller, tried to bring sabermetric superiority to the Sonoma Stompers, a minor league baseball team nestled in California’s wine country. The self-described “statheads” have the chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity to test out their own Moneyball-style theories when the management team and owners of the Stompers invited them to run operations as part of a learning experience and team promotion.

Even if you loathe baseball, it’s a terrific yarn. This is what real-world data-driven organizational transformation looks and feels like. Practically speaking, the book is more insightful — and useful — than Moneyball. The latter is unrealistic for many organizations because, for one thing, there aren’t many bosses like Billy Beane, and, for another, major league teams enjoy resources that most companies don’t. Persuading teams to embrace statistics they don’t really understand makes a nifty tale of data-driven despair. Getting people to consistently and reliably act upon real data is a real leadership challenge. Superior knowledge doesn’t guarantee greater effectiveness.

Lindbergh and I recently discussed lessons learned from their experience bringing analytics to an ambivalent and under-resourced enterprise. These lessons deservedly extend beyond dugouts and diamonds into C-suites and boardrooms.

Effectively communicating and sharing analytic insights is as important as finding them. Lindbergh and Miller were consistently startled — and frustrated — by the resistance to even their most compelling insights. Yet remarkably little investment went into making their analytics easy, accessible, and engaging. No gamification, edutainment, or coaching epiphanies here. They were rigorous around every aspect of their analyses, except selling them. If they had a do-over, said Lindbergh, they’d be smarter missionaries and marketers for their data-driven recommendations.

“One of the keys is how to convey the insights to the players and the intermediaries in a way they’d appreciate them,” Lindbergh observed. “We were sort of at a disadvantage there. We had no way to do that consistently for managers and coaches. Our own background came back to bite us.”

Lindbergh and Miller behaved as if their evidence — or, more accurately, their presentation of the evidence — was obvious or self-explanatory. It wasn’t. Their data-driven reasoning was alien to (and sometimes alienated) the Stompers status quo. That ongoing dynamic propelled much of the season-long drama and conflict.

“I do think we eventually arrived at a kind of coaching epiphany with Yoshi [the final Stompers manager],” Lindbergh noted in a follow-up to me. “It just took a lot longer than we’d have liked (which was largely our fault).”

Predictive analytics create organizational winners and losers, not just insights. Competitive organizations want results. Players aren’t just supposed to play well; they’re expected to win. Predictive analytics explicitly seek to pick winners, sideline losers, and manage risk. That makes them as much a source of power as insight. Serious analysts know their numbers will influence who plays, who’s seen to have potential, and who gets cut. The players know this, too. But who really benefits when analyst and their spreadsheets gain power? Machiavelli proves a better guide than mathematics.

“The players we signed had a natural allegiance to us,” Lindbergh acknowledges. “They were only there because of our spreadsheets and our stats… Anything that gets them a job in pro baseball they were inclined to like.” These Stompers were more open to data-driven suggestion not because they necessarily bought into Moneyball metrics, Lindbergh observes, but out of gratitude and loyalty. “We figured they’d be more receptive because to what we had to offer,” he notes. “The downside was that they might not have the desire.”

The players the duo didn’t sign, by contrast, knew they literally didn’t measure up to the new sabermetric standards. Even when the Stompers were winning as a team, that stuck in their craw.

But analytics provoked the greatest conflict with managers and coaches. Smart spreadsheets created a rival power center to traditional leadership and openly subverted managerial influence. Increasingly, the numbers got the last word. “There was a lot of jockeying for authority,” Lindbergh agrees. “That was uncomfortable for everyone. But we couldn’t avoid it.”

Superior assessment doesn’t assure ongoing improvement. Lindbergh and Miller got the greatest pleasure and professional satisfaction from identifying and signing undervalued talent. Building the best possible roster within punishing constraints proved a statistical and financial puzzle they enjoyed solving. “Our spreadsheet was smarter than we were,” Lindbergh noted time and time again.

But what happened after talent came on board? Even though Lindbergh successfully scrambled to acquire state-of-the-art video equipment and build a world-class analytics infrastructure for the Stompers, the overwhelming focus is on acquiring and using talent — not cultivating it. The book tells shockingly few stories about coaches using data-driven insight to help players get better. No vignettes celebrate how a talented underachiever breaks through by getting a spreadsheet tutorial.

Analytics for acquiring the best possible Stompers talent dominated; analytics to make those acquisitions better was an afterthought. “It wasn’t that we were uninterested in improving players once they were there, or that we thought that wasn’t a worthwhile pursuit,” Lindbergh acknowledges. “We were just very limited in what we could do…because of the team’s lack of resources and everyone’s lack of time. The Stompers hardly had a coaching staff, and we couldn’t get a company to give us a coach the way we could get one to give us a computer system….So we were sort of forced to focus on what players had already demonstrated that they could do.” The result? There was no measurable culture of improvement.

When your people become datasets, you risk treating them that way. The oddest aspect of The Only Rule is its seamlessly schizophrenic shifts from seeing players as “people” with real lives and treating them as “data”’ with measurable attributes. On the one hand, Lindbergh and Miller wanted to emotionally connect with the talent their analytics had identified; on the other, they really, really liked the numbers. Their objective analytics subjectively biased their expectations. “We went in to this 100% objective,” Lindbergh says. “We thought our spreadsheets objective, impartial and unbiased….We tried to reduce things down to performance, rather than what we did — sort of like a blind hiring practice.”

But throughout the season, less quantifiable — and unquantifiable — human elements consistently forced compromise and recalculation. Interpersonal dynamics influenced performance outcomes, and “fudge factors” crept into analyses.

Lindbergh concedes more of their objectivity became subjective, and that pushed them to become more objective about their subjectivity. They became more sensitive to and sophisticated about the human dimensions they couldn’t measure. But whether that made them more effective, Lindbergh still doesn’t know.

Recognize, respect, and remember what’s not being measured. Miller and Lindbergh did a fantastic job bringing sabermetric sophistication to a minor league team. They brilliantly leveraged limited information to target undervalued talent. They pushed hard and sometimes succeeded in influencing game-time decisions. But as the season wore on, what wasn’t being measured — self-motivation, team chemistry, manager/player compliance with statistical insight — assumed greater importance.

Much like the way sabermetrics began when innovators like Bill James recognized that traditional metrics did a poor job explaining player value, The Only Rule highlights the relentless nature of real-world statistical insight. Today’s breakthrough creates tomorrow analytic opportunity. A willingness and ability to follow data-driven advice makes talent even more valuable. Measuring that matters.

In our talk, Lindbergh agreed his Stompers life would have been easier and more effective if the team could have identified coachable players amenable to sabermetric insight. “I would pay a premium for that quality if we could assess it accurately,” he agreed. “That would definitely effect how I perceive player value.”

Smart quants self-quantify. The more important analytics become, the more imperative it is to measure their impact and influence. Metalytics — analyzing the analytics — define how quants gain insight into how they create insights, as well as how effective they prove at communicating them. (Rising to this challenge is a key message in Lazlo Bock’s excellent book Work Rules.) Self-quantification offers the surest way for ambitious statheads to lead by example.

I asked Lindbergh how comprehensively Nate Silver, his uber-quant employer at the popular FiveThirtyEight website, quantifies how his quants are doing. “There may be some quantification going on,” Lindbergh laughs, “but if it is, it’s concealed from me.” Indeed.

These six takeaways highlight that high-impact predictive analytics are as much about power as knowledge. In the final analysis, turning undervalued opportunities into desirable outcomes demands the power to persuasively act on insight.

Ironically but appropriately, just as The Only Rule came out, Lindbergh posted a superb analysis on FiveThirtyEight identifying a surprisingly undervalued opportunity: Statheads are the best free agent bargains in baseball. “We’ve mined the data and charted the proliferation of these numbers-savvy front-office staffers over time,” Lindbergh and collaborator Rob Arthur write. “Yes, there are more of them now than ever, and yes, they’ve had a demonstrable effect on their teams’ fortunes.”

Stompers Fall 1-0 In Exhibition Tilt Against Pacifics

Right handed pitcher Oliver Garcia warming up between innings in exhibition against the Pacifics in Sonoma, California.

Geoff Safford/Sonoma Stompers

Geoff Safford, Media Relations Assistant

The Sonoma Stompers dropped a pitchers duel to the San Rafael Pacifics 1-0 in exhibition play at Peterson Field in Sonoma on Wednesday.

Both pitching staffs were outstanding, as both offenses were held scoreless until the fifth inning when Jourdan Weiks hit a solo homer for the Pacifics.

The Stompers got things started on the mound with a great performance from Dominican Republic native Oliver Garcia. He pitched two very solid innings and impressed from the first pitch. Stompers manager Takashi Miyoshi was very pleased with the performance from the right-hander. “For Garcia to pitch as well as he did in his first spring appearance was outstanding to see. There’s nothing else you can say. He was extremely impressive.” Gregory Paulino also looked solid in two innings of relief as he kept the shutout going after Garcia departed after the second inning.

The Stompers have two remaining exhibition matchups left on the spring training schedule. After an off day on Thursday, the Stompers will take on the Pittsburg Diamonds on Friday afternoon at Peterson Field in Sonoma. First pitch is scheduled for 11 AM. Sonoma will then have a unique opportunity to play against the San Quentin inmate All-Star team inside San Quentin State Prison on Saturday.

Sonoma will begin their Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Club regular season schedule on the road in Vallejo against the Admirals on May 31 with a three game set.  Opening day at The People’s Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field is on June 7. First pitch in Sonoma against the Admirals is scheduled for 6 PM as they begin a three game series.

Tickets for the opening series, or any game this season are available here at stompersbaseball.com. They are also available at The Fan Shop located on 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma. If you have any questions email jack@stompersbaseball.com or call us at (707) 938-7277.

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE 2016 SEASON!

Stompers Impress With 6-3 Win Over Pacifics In Exhibition Matchup

Left Hander Matt Picucci Warms up in the bullpen at Peterson Field

Geoff Safford/Sonoma Stompers

Geoff Safford, Media Relations Intern

fter dropping their first two exhibition games against the Pacifics this spring, the Stompers turned in a strong performance on their way to a 6-3 victory at Peterson Field in Sonoma. 

The Stompers turned impressed both at the plate and on the hill. The coaching staff seemed very pleased with the overall effort from the team. 

Sean Conroy, a familiar face from the 2015 club, got things started on the hill for the Stompers, and set the tone for the afternoon with two solid innings of work. The rest of the Stompers pitching staff continued the trend and kept the Pacifics off the board for the first five innings of the game. 

The middle of the order was a huge strength offensively for the Stompers as both Daniel Baptista and Caleb Bryson lit up the Pacifics from the third and fourth spots in the order. Bryson finished with a three hit day, while Baptista finished with two hits, an RBI, and a run scored. The Stompers also benefited from the arrival of Matt Petrone, as he knocked in two runs with an RBI single in third inning. 

The Stompers have one more scheduled exhibition game this season with the Pittsburg Diamonds on Friday before heading to San Quentin on Saturday for game with the inmates.

The Stompers will open their Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Club regular season slate on the road in Vallejo against The Admirals on May 31st to open up a three game set. Opening night at Arnold Field will be on June 7th, as Sonoma will host the Vallejo Admirals in the 1st game of a three game series. 

Tickets for the opening series, or any games this season are available on stompersbaseball.com. They are also available via our team shop located on 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma. If you have any questions email us at jack@stompersbaseball.com, or reach us by phone at (707) 938-7277.

Stompers Drop Second Game Of Spring To San Rafael, 3-0

The Stompers infield of Caleb Bryson, Eddie Mora-Loera and Derrick Fox (3rd to 2nd) get ready on a gorgeous Monday afternoon at Peterson Field.

Tim Livingston/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

For the second time this spring, the Sonoma Stompers dropped an exhibition matchup with the defending champion San Rafael Pacifics, as Sonoma lost 3-0 on Monday at Peterson Field.

As the score would indicate, the Stomper hitters were having a tough time figuring out San Rafael's pitching staff, which featured a lot of returning players such as JR Bunda. While the offense was scarce, there were some bright spots, as rookie Ethan Szabo went 2-for-2.

The Stompers also got good performances on the hill from Jose Flores, Eric Mozeika, Austin Delmotte, and Martin Cronin while Derrick Fox made some great defensive plays at the keystone. 

Today's game was the first of three games this week where the Stompers face off against the Pacifics, as the two teams will return on Tuesday for another exhibition matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Peterson Field in Sonoma.

The Stompers will begin the 2016 campaign on May 31st when they hit the road to open the Pacific Association League season against the Vallejo Admirals in a three game series. The Stompers will open the home slate at Arnold Field on Tuesday June 7th also against the Vallejo Admirals in a three game set. 

Tickets for the opening series, or any games this season are available on stompersbaseball.com. They are also available via our team shop located on 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma. if you have any questions email us at jack@stompersbaseball.com, or by phone at (707) 938-7277.