Manager John Farrell to the Red Sox: An Analysis

New Red Sox Manager John Farrell

The Boston Red Sox finally landed their man over the weekend, acquiring Toronto Blue Jays’ skipper John Farrell for infielder Mike Aviles. The Red Sox, embarrassed by the team’s worst performance in decades under the chaotic leadership of Bobby Valentine, took the unusual action of trading a player for a manager. Historically, these types of deals have been rare, with very mixed results for the team acquiring the manager. For this trade to make sense for Boston, they must have felt that John Farrell is significantly more valuable than any other managerial candidate they considered. But how much more productive will Farrell have to be to justify the trade?


The first part of the question is relatively easy, as the Red Sox have already answered it. Farrell simply has to be one “Mike Aviles” more productive. Here, we will express Aviles’s production as Wins Above Replacement (WAR), a metric which assigns a value in terms of wins above what a replacement level player (veteran AAA or AAAA) would contribute. According to Baseball Reference, in 2012, Aviles had a WAR of 2.0, a solid total for a fringe everyday player. Aviles was likely going to be a utility infielder for the Red Sox in 2013, but he still had significant value due to his defensive ability and versatility, and tolerable production at the plate. He’s first time arbitration eligible this offseason, and will receive a sizable raise, although he still will be an inexpensive option for Toronto at one of the middle infield positions. Overall, I think it’s reasonable to suggest the Red Sox gave up 2.0 WAR to get Farrell; or in other words, that Farrell will contribute at least the equivalent of 2.0 WAR next season.

But here is the problem.

There is no way to convert a manager’s performance into value. This is largely due to the fact there is no agreed upon or reliable method for evaluating managerial results. Classic statistics like win-loss record, pennants, and World Series victories may be relevant in Hall of Fame discussions, but they aren’t particularly useful when attempting to predict future performance. It doesn’t matter a whole lot to the Red Sox that the Blue Jays finished 73-89 last season. They’re far more interested in how Farrell performed in the context of that team. To objectively measure a manager’s value, it can be useful to separate his personal performance from that of his players.

Two such methods are discussed by Adam Darowski in his post on Beyond The Box Score. Both attempt to show “Wins Above Expectancy”, or WAE. The first compares a team’s actual win-loss record to their Pythagorean record, or WAE/pyth. The Pythagorean calculation was developed by Bill James to determine a team’s expected win-loss based on runs scored and runs allowed. Most teams end up within 1-2 wins of their Pythagorean record. The theory on how this relates to a manager performance is rooted in the idea that teams that overachieve compared to their run differential do “little things” or “intangibles” at a higher rate. These teams do more with less, Here, we are attributing any difference between the actual win-loss and the Pythagorean win-loss to the manager. It’s not unreasonable to think that some of the in-game impact that managers have may show up in this calculation. According to the Pythagorean method, the 2011 Blue Jays should have won 79.2 games. In reality, they finished .500 going 81-81. So for 2011, John Farrell gets 1.8 WAE/pyth. In 2012, the Jays were expected to win 74.3 games by this model, but instead won only 73 games, putting Farrell at -1.3 WAE/pyth for the year, and .5 WAE/pyth over his short career. But there are certainly limitations to this approach. Attributing all, or even some of, the discrepancy between expected and actual WAR to the manager is some quite a leap. An even bigger assumption, which is frankly untrue, is that the manager is not influencing the amount of runs scored or allowed. Obviously managers are expected to improve the ability of hitters to score runs and of pitchers to prevent runs, through both instruction and strategy.

Our second method for determining managerial value goes a little bit farther than the Pythagorean record. This calculation will again give us a form of Wins Above Expectancy, but uses WAR to develop the expected total of wins. WAE/war is constructed in a very different way from its Pythagorean counterpart. It starts by assuming a replacement level team (An entire roster of replacement level players) would finish with a record of 52-110. This replacement level team was originally modeled from expansion teams but has been linked to a more precise mathematical formula. The individual WAR values for the players will contribute toward making the team better than this level. So if all of the players’ WAR values on a given team are summed, and added to the base line of 52 wins, it should give a pretty clear indication of how the team finished. But there is normally some variation, and this variation will is the WAE/war. So in 2011, Toronto players collectively produced a 30.4 WAR; from which we would expect them to win 82.4 games. They really only won 81 games, so we would attribute a -1.4 WAE/war to Farrell for the year. In 2012, they would produce only 22.4 WAR, meaning we would expect them to have won 74.8 games, when in reality they won only 73, leaving Farrell at -1.8 WAE/war for the year and -3.2 WAE/war for his career. Here’s all of the results put into a table (Darowski has related data for any manager you’d be interested in).

Year	Actual Wins	ExpW/     pyth	WAE/     pyth	ExpW/      war	WAE/   war
2011	81	79.2	1.8	82.4	-1.4
2012	73	74.3	-1.3	74.8	-1.8
Total (2)	154	153.5	0.5	157.2	-3.2
Avg.	77	76.75	0.25	78.6	-1.6

This measurement really gets at how a manager utilizes his players’ production. While WAR is modeled to reflect players’ contribution to runs, it does not fully correlate. This variation could at least partially be explained by how a manager behaves relative to all of the events that place on the field over the course of a season. But again, the value of this stat is severely limited by the fact that it doesn’t consider the manager’s ability to impact his player’s performance, as if they all prayed in a vacuum. But in general, “good” managers do well in these metrics, while “bad” managers do poorly. So while there isn’t much data to judge Farrell by here, we can be confident that he’s not some drastic overachiever, guiding terrible Blue Jay rosters to mediocrity. At best, he’s been a mixed bag, taking average to below average Toronto teams to finishes maybe just a touch under what we might expect.

As you can see, it’s very difficult to value managerial performance, especially relative to player production. But the Red Sox attempted to do just that. If you accept the data above, it seems as though Boston made a mistake. If you don’t except the data, you probably feel that selecting a manager is a gut decision. With that philosophy, any candidate they hired would have been a judgment call. But getting Farrell was the only move that had a quantifiable cost in Mike Aviles’s production. For this move to be reasonable, the Red Sox must see something very special in Farrell. They really raised the stakes on an essentially gut decision.

NBA Offseason Roundup: Part I

Lebron James and Chris Bosh went to Miami. The Heat won a championship.

Three of the top ten players in the NBA have changed teams in the last three free agency periods. LeBron took his talents to South Beach, Chris Paul helped construct Lob City, and Dwight Howard maneuvered his way out of Orlando. These three players exemplify how free agency can allow a team to dramatically alter the course of its franchise. In the upcoming weeks, I am going to examine the positives and negatives of the offseasons of all thirty NBA franchises and how each team has either improved or worsened their ability to contend in the upcoming seasons. I will begin with the teams that made the least noise this offseason and they will be divided into three categories.

The worst place to be for an NBA franchise is the middle of the pack because it is the place where not only can you not build through the draft, but you are also not competing for a championship.

Veteran teams that suffer first round playoff exits or finish just outside of the playoffs can be stuck in that dreadful position for a long time. “Bottoming out,” or having a few really bad seasons and acquiring talented rookies with high draft picks, has proven to be an effective (but also risky) way for a team to rapidly improve its roster. And then, of course, there are some teams that seem to have no direction in their front office at all. So let’s classify ten teams who made the least dramatic moves this offseason into three groups: the “dreaded middle,” the “clueless,” and the “bottoming out" groups. 

Dreaded Middle

Golden State Warriors

It seems that, for the past few seasons, Golden State emerges as a potential sleeper team before the year begins. Unfortunately, they have failed to live up to expectations. Last season, they mysteriously traded Stephen Jackson for Richard Jefferson, which was a move that only seemed to add $11 million of limited production to their cap for next season. Andris Biedrins and David Lee both have bloated contracts, and only one of them will be able to start alongside the newly acquired Andrew Bogut this season. The Warriors have some good young players, such as Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry, but this roster is good enough to finish in the 7-10 zone in the West and that’s about it. Not an ideal situation for a roster that has four players who are being paid around $10 million annually.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks most notable move was resigning forward Ersan Ilyasova to a four-year deal worth about $32 million. That’s a lot of money for a guy who’s averaged ten points and six rebounds a game over his four-year career. The Bucks did make a sneaky good signing by picking up Samuel Dalembert to fill in their gap at center that has been a problem since Andrew Bogut was traded away. The Bucks’s main problem is their lack of star power and that will doom them to either a very low playoff seed or a spot just outside looking in, which could make it difficult for them to overhaul their roster any time soon.

Portland Trail Blazers

The 2011-2012 season was one of the worst in many years for Portland. Last season, Portland saw their franchise player (Brandon Roy) retire because of a bothersome knee and their longtime coach (Nate McMillan) get fired. This offseason, they unsuccessfully courted center Roy Hibbert and signed swingman Nicolas Batum to an outrageous four year, $45 million deal. The Blazers are stuck with Batum and Wesley Matthews, who take up about $18 million of their cap per year for the next three seasons, which could be an issue considering both guys haven’t even proven to be legitimate starters. Led by improving big man LaMarcus Aldridge, the Blazers have enough talent to avoid the cellar of the Western Conference, but not enough to make any sort of run in the playoffs.

Washington Wizards

The Wizards made the first big acquisition of the 2012 offseason when they sacrificed cap room to acquire center Emeka Okafor and swingman Trevor Ariza. The acquisition of Okafor and Ariza, along with big man Nene last season, demonstrates Washington’s intent on building a winning team around franchise point guard John Wall. The only problem is that the Wizards are not anywhere close to the level of the elite teams in the East. In fact, unless John Wall undergoes a significant improvement in his third season, the Wizards may not even make the playoffs. If the Wizards fail to make the playoffs for the sixth season in a row, they would be a major disappointment considering that they just traded valuable cap space in order to improve their roster right now.

Bottoming Out

Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats tanked their way through the 2011-2012 campaign in order to give themselves the best shot at acquiring Anthony Davis, a legitimate franchise changing center. They ended up falling just short, as the New Orleans Hornets leapfrogged them for the #1 pick and the Bobcats instead ended up with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Kidd-Gilchrist is known for his gritty style of play and his athleticism, but he will not have the same impact that Davis would have had. The Bobcats traded Corey Maggette for Ben Gordon and they signed Ramon Sessions to a two year, 10 million dollar deal. Gordon and Sessions will bolster the Bobcats offense but both guys are lackluster defenders and they will take up $18 million of cap room in 2013-2014. The Bobcats have a long way to go to become a winning team, but they should have several top lottery picks coming their way in the next few drafts.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs are slowly returning to relevance and they are doing it through the draft and not free agency. The Cavs have three top-four picks from the last two years. One of those picks was Kyrie Irving, the 2011 Rookie of the Year, who has as bright a future as anyone in the league. On the other hand, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters are very much question marks and if they don’t pan out, the Cavs could become a case study about the risky nature of building through the draft. Look for the Cavs to return to the lottery in 2013 and they will also have enough cap space to potentially make a significant move in free agency.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are managing their situation similarly to the Cavs because they are building through the draft and avoiding shelling out big and unnecessary contracts in free agency. Andre Drummond, Brandon Knight, and Greg Monroe are the Pistons’ last three lottery picks, and Monroe has already blossomed into a very effective big man through two seasons. The Pistons also made a shrewd transaction when they traded Ben Gordon for Corey Maggette, which will clear up about $12 million in cap room next summer. Like the Cavs, the Pistons should have a high draft pick and cap space next summer, which leaves them in a good rebuilding position.

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors have struggled ever since losing Chris Bosh two years ago, but they brought in four, potentially important, newcomers this season. Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas, the fifth pick in the 2011 draft, will make his debut after sitting out last season, and the Raps got a nice pickup at point guard when they acquired Kyle Lowry. Their most questionable move was signing Landry Fields to a three-year $19 million contract. Fields has the reputation as being the “glue guy” for the Knicks over the past two seasons, but career averages of nine points and five rebounds per game should not get you that kind of money. The Raptors key players are youthful and inexpensive and drafting a few more good young players will put them in a good position going forward.

Clueless

Phoenix Suns

Parting ways with the face of the franchise (Steve Nash) was supposed to signal the start of a rebuilding period in Phoenix. Instead, they spent their offseason signing veteran players to multi-year contracts. Goran Dragic is solid but he’s never been a full-time starter at any point in his career and the Suns gave him a four-year $30 million deal. The Suns also acquired Michael Beasley and Wesley Johnson, two former top five picks who have underachieved throughout their careers. The Suns have a flawed roster, and they have committed too many dollars to veteran rotation players such as Dragic, Marcin Gortat, and Channing Frye. Of course, the Suns then decided that they needed another veteran rotation player, so they signed 32-year old Luis Scola. Phoenix should have acquired young talent and valuable draft picks for Nash and saved cap space for the future. Instead, they got little in return for Nash and acquired four players who might help them win just enough games to prevent them from obtaining a high pick in next year’s draft.

Sacramento Kings

It’s been difficult to decipher Sacramento’s strategy given their recent transactions. After drafting Thomas Robinson to play in the frontcourt alongside Demarcus Cousins, they proceeded to resign Jason Thompson to a five-year, $30 million deal. Thompson averages ten points and seven rebounds in his career, and the signing makes even less sense considering that the Kings signed Chuck Hayes (another frontcourt rotation player) to a similar deal last year. The Kings hodgepodge of shoot-first guards grew even larger when they signed Aaron Brooks to a two-year $6 million deal. The Kings don’t have any sort of cap space because they have been giving out ill-advised contracts the past few years. Sacramento needs to be focused on trading some of their young players for a major star. Otherwise, they’ll be making an annual visit to the lottery for many years to come.
_ _ _ _

Stay tuned for Part II of the Roundup in the coming weeks!

From the Booth #2: An Interview with Zach McCulley

This is the second post in a six post series featuring the Cornell At Bat broadcasting team. These posts will appear throughout the Fall semester. For part one of the series, click here. 

One hallmark of any successful baseball team is depth on the mound. Following a strong 2012 season where Cornell set a program record 31 victories and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time ever, the hopes for repeating as Ivy League champions will largely rest on the team’s pitching staff. Adding to the already deep Big Red staff will be 6-foot-5 left handed transfer Zach McCulley.

The tall and lanky southpaw from Faulkner State Community College boasts a solid three pitch mix with an upper eighties fastball, a solid breaking ball, and a changeup. McCulley brings real experience to the team, and will be a welcome addition to the Big Red stockpile of arms.

Cornell At-Bat sat down with Zach to talk baseball, his journey to Cornell, and how through it all, his faith guides him. Read the interview after the jump.


Me: “Hey Zach, thanks for taking the time to speak with us today. How’s it going?”

Zach: “You got it, man. My pleasure.”

“Let’s get right into it, shall we? We’ll start you off with an easy one to get it started. Where are you from originally?”

Zach: I was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, way down south. It’s much warmer there than up here, as I’m starting to learn, but it was really just a solid place to grow up.

It’s definitely a bit of culture shock, coming up north. Could you tell us a little bit about why you did choose to come to Cornell?

Zach: Well, being a transfer, this is the fifth school I’ve been at. William & Mary, Pensacola State, NW Florida State, and Faulkner State. Cornell was just the right fit for me and my family. It’s obviously a good mix of baseball and academics. After about a year and a half of reevaluating where I was going in life, I realized this was just the right place that God wants me.

Definitely. Can you take us through your personal path and how you traveled through all those different places?

Zach: Out of high school, I went to play baseball at William & Mary, but after a semester there I decided to transfer. Baseball wasn’t taken too seriously there and neither were academics and some of the other things outside of baseball. It was a real loose environment, and wasn’t really a fit for me. Spring semester of my freshman year, I was actually out of baseball and just went to school [at Pensacola] and that gave me a bit more time to reevaluate where I wanted to go with as far as baseball is concerned, and how I was going to let faith determine my path. Through the other two junior colleges, I was able to prepare to come here by getting the most innings possible under my belt.

How long did this whole process take, start to finish and eventually winding up here at Cornell?

Zach: It was about January of my freshman year until this past August when I committed here. It was a solid chunk of time spent just searching.

I think that speaks to your mental toughness, being able to go through that. Can you describe your season last year?

Zach: Junior College baseball is A LOT different from here. It’s a real blue collar environment in the respect that you’re doing field maintenance almost just as much as you’re doing actual work pitching or hitting. That really helps, though. We were more pals than teammates. It was really like an extension of high school baseball. We had a good run though as a team, and got to go down to Ozark, Alabama (the middle of nowhere) for our conference championships. It’s definitely a lot different from Ivy League athletics.

Did you work at any other positions?

Zach: (laughing) They didn’t want me to drop any bombs. It wouldn’t be fair for anyone.

(laughing) I see. Did you primarily start or come out of the bullpen?

Zach: My first appearance was actually out of the ‘pen and it was rather shaky. I came in with the bases loaded and preceded to cash ‘em in with a home run. That was definitely a humbling experience. They figured I wasn’t too good out of the ‘pen, so from there I started.

Ouch, that’s rough, but I suppose it worked out for the better. Off the field, what do you see yourself doing post-graduation?

Zach: To be honest, my answer to that question has probably changed a lot in the last year and a half. Initially I wanted to come here to make a lot of money (laughing). That’s what the word is. You go to an Ivy League school, you get a sweet job, and you’re set. But then I really started to understand the Gospel and what it means to have true faith in Jesus Christ. My goals have shifted and I’m not really sure where I’ll end up, but I’m hoping it’s a place where my faith can be exhibited through my job field and my entire life.

Do you see yourself staying in the game somewhere?

Zach: I can’t really imagine what it would be like to not have anything to do with baseball. I feel like the game will always have a place in what I’m doing, but honestly, I don’t know. I’d like to say so, but I just don’t.

What else are you involved with here on campus?

Zach: I’m involved with a few things here or there. I’m actually a member of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and that’s a group that’s starting to grow and mature together. I’m also involved with another Christian Fellowship on Campus, CRU, and that’s really allowed me to meet a lot of great guys who share faith in Christ as well. It’s definitely important to get plugged into a community that you can grow together with. Other than that, I’m a semi-pro/amateur Ping-Pong phenom. A lot of time is spent their working on my game (laughs).

That’s awesome, definitely important to get connected. I’m going to give you a couple lighter questions here, rapid-style fire, ready?

Zach: Oh yeah.

Favorite team?

Zach: Braves. Or anyone that’s winning and/or has soft-tossing lefties.

When did you start playing?

Zach: When I was 3 and a half, got some pre-teeball action going on.

Were you always a lefty?

Zach: They actually tied my right arm behind my back. It was actually a little bit shorter than my left arm growing up. They took it seriously in my house (laughs).

Did your dad play baseball?

Zach: He did in high school, but he was a football guy and played at Navy. He broke all his knees, so he never had me play. I’ve always been baseball.

Starter or Reliever?

Zach: I had a good fall, was healthy. We have a lot of solid pitchers, and I think there’s 8 left-handers. There’s going to be a lot of competition, and I’d like to start. Hopefully within three-years that’ll happen.


Compared to fellow lefty,Cole Hamels for his
stature, McCulley hopes to perfect his craft like the Phillies' ace

 

Any other position you’d like to play?

Zach: Hmmm….

I know you’re a left and all of y’all like to tell me shortstop-

Zach: (laughs) I was leaning toward short, but I’ll go with catcher. I’d like to get dirty, throw my body in front of those balls in the dirt.

Very nice. If you could do dinner with three people, who would it be?

Zach: Oh man. Wow, well first off, it would have to be Jesus Christ. Christ died for me, and if I could speak to him at dinner, wow, I don’t think there could be a greater joy a man could have. Second, I’d have to go with the apostle Paul. The biggest thing that I’ve found in my faith is that I haven’t been bold enough when I could’ve been. Throughout the gospel you see that Paul is the boldest guy there is. Third, oh man, that’s a tough one. Let’s go with Stonewall Jackson. General Stonewall Jackson, one of the toughest men that ever lived.

(laughing) Stonewall Jackson? Wow, do you know why he’s called Stonewall?

Zach: I’d imagine it’s because he’s American, he fears nothing, and I heard he had rock-hard abs. Stonewall abs.

(chuckles) Excellent. How about pre-game, any routines/supersitions?

Zach: No superstitions but I like to get away from the guys a bit, collect my thoughts, talk to God and read a little scripture. I think last Spring, that was something that I picked up a lot. It puts into perspective what you do on the field and what you really stand for.

Is there any one verse that is your “go to” that you carry out with you onto the field?

Zach: Isaiah 40:31. It basically says that those who trust in the Lord will not grow weary, will renew their strength, and will soar on wings like eagles. Going on the mound, if you really believe that, all your anxiety just becomes so trivial. It’s like, “If I truly believe this, nothing is going to stand in my way.”

That’s awesome. Do you have any signature moments so far from your time with the team?

Zach: I’ll go with this Fall season. I had a good start, and after a few outings, I was probably floating a little too high. So naturally, I had a pretty humbling experience which has definitely turned into one of the best experiences so far. Chris Cruz hit a homerun. Belt-high fastball. It cleared the bases. I kind of sulked on that one for a few days, but that one really helped bring me down a bit. It reminded me to keep a level head and always to work hard. Welcome to the Ivy League, courtesy of Chris Cruz

You’re definitely not the first-

Zach: That’s what I’ve heard (laughing).

As we wrap up, what is your bottom line, number one reason for playing baseball here at Cornell?

Zach: I’m convinced that the reason I’m here is to use baseball as a pedestal for what I believe. I think if I wasn’t using this game to do that, to share my faith, than I’d be wasting my time. It’s obviously a privilege to be playing baseball at this level, but the bottom line, when it all comes down to it, I’m playing baseball to glorify God, and that’s not just to be cliché, but it’s what it comes down to.

And one final question, a real tough one. What’s one thing people don’t know about you?

Zach: I thought of this question earlier, and I’ve actually got a few. This first one needs to be taken seriously. I was 3rd grade spelling bee champion. There was a little discrepancy with how the word ‘which’ is spelled. Witch or which? I actually got a silver medal for that little performance, but the teacher never specified which spelling one was right. Not many people know that, but I WAS that 3rd grade spelling bee champion.

You just want to set the record straight?

Zach: Yeah, that needs to be out there (chuckles). Also, something else people need to know, and hopefully are getting to know is that I’m a Christian and I believe in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ dying and rising from the dead for me. I think hopefully that becomes better known as time goes on. And I’ve got one more thing as well. You know Trent Richardson, right?

Of course.

Zach: Trent Richardson, who now is the running back for the Cleveland Browns, who went to ‘Bama and did work there is from Pensacola, my hometown. In the fall of 2009, he was playing against Tate High School, home of the Mighty Fighting Aggies. Trent goes up for a fast break dunk, and gets it thrown not two rows deep, but at least three or four. Just double-handed block, into the stands. Trent Richardson, world-class athlete, swatted.

Wait, you blocked him?

Zach: Oh did I. This thing was sent. I packaged it up, wrapped it and sent it on its way.

Did you let out any guttural sounds as you landed on the court?

Zach: Oh yeah, I let out a few screams, ripped my jersey a little bit, and I think I started waving my finger at him.


And he didn’t take exception to that?

Zach: (Laughing) Nah, well he’s obviously a lot stronger than I am, but I think after that swat, he got the picture, you know, who his daddy was. In other words, I am Trent Richardson’s daddy. That’s what people need to know about me.

And on that note, let’s call it a day. Thanks so much, Zach, for sharing with us. We wish you best of luck this season and hopefully a lot of opposing teams meet “their daddy” with you on the mound this Spring.

Zach: My pleasure.

For more information on Cornell At Bat or if you want to get involved, contact Alex Gimenez email at ajg322@cornell.edu. For previous Cornell At Bat adventures, look here, here, here, here, and here.  

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A Statistical Dissection of the 2012 Oakland A’s: Billy Beane’s Finest Work

Billy Beane 

The Hollywood blockbuster, Moneyball, ended much like any other feel good film, as protagonist Scott Hatteberg belted a home run that sent the small market underdog Oakland A’s into the postseason. However, unlike most silver screen dramas, the story of the Oakland A’s did not end with a “happy ever after” attached at the end.

After using Billy Beane’s innovative scouting to build teams that posted above .500 records from 1999 to 2006, the A’s could not finish above that mark for the next 5 years. It seemed as though the rest of the league had caught on to the A’s strategy, and that Billy Beane had lost his touch. Using their economical advantage, combined with the sabermetric scouting originally developed by the A’s, other larger market teams seemed to once again hold a competitive advantage over Oakland.

At the onset of the 2012 baseball season, virtually all baseball fans could not imagine the Oakland A’s making much of an impact in an AL West division dominated by the superstar heavy Texas Rangers and Los Angeles of Anaheim. However, 2012 turned out to be Billy Beane’s most masterful work yet as the Oakland A’s finished 94-70, winning the division with a payroll of roughly $99 million less than Angels and $65 million less than the Rangers. So how did this happen? How did the A’s once again use undervalued talent to reach the postseason?

When opposing pitchers stared at the Oakland A’s lineup card during 2012 season, it is hard to imagine any of them shaking in fear. The A’s did not feature any hitter batting over .300 or who drove in over 85 runs, and only had three players finish with more than 20 home runs. However, the A’s use of platooning, a declining trend in Major League Baseball, to account for their deficiencies, led to the underrated effectiveness of their lineup.

At first base for example, Brandon Moss is the regular starter against right-handed pitching, while Chris Carter usually gets the start against left-handers. Moss put up stellar numbers against right handed pitching all season, hitting 19 home runs, while driving in 44 runs and slugging .643 in 207 at bats. Against lefties, Carter hit five home runs, drove in 17, while slugging .494 in 83 at bats. Another platoon employed by the A’s is at designated hitter with Johnny Gomes and Seth Smith. Smith homered 12 times while slugging .454 and having an OPS of .805 against right handers in 313 at bats. While Gomes hit 11 homers to go along with a .413 OBP and .974 OPS against left handers in 164 at bats. The A’s have also prominently used other platoons throughout the season, such as at the catcher spot with Derek Norris and George Kottaras.

While the A’s use of platooning did spark their offense, this success did not stand out in traditional statistical categories. With a batting average of .238 the A’s finished 28th in the league, leaving only two last-place teams, the Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners, with lower marks. Even On Base Percentage, a statistic prominently featured in the original Moneyball, cannot account for their 2012 success, as their .310 OBP ranks 24th in the league.

However, what Oakland lacked in getting on base and batting average they made up for in the power game. The A’s finished 7th in the league in home runs and while their slugging percentage ranked 15th in the league, that ranking is considerably higher than expected given their lowly batting average. In the sabermetric community, Oakland’s hitters excelled, as well. The A’s ranked 10th in the league in Weighted Runs Created (wRC+), an improved version of Bill James’s original Runs Created statistic, which “attempts to quantify a player’s total value and measure it in runs.” Overall, despite a ridiculously low batting average and lack of star power, the A’s were able to produce the 14th most runs in Major League Baseball, which, with their surprisingly impressive pitching staff, proved to win a lot of ballgames.

Similar to the offense, the A’s pitching staff proved that big names are not a necessity for success. Unlike the hitters, however, more traditional metrics can be used to quantify the A’s pitching staff feats. In 2012 the A’s staff posted a 3.48 ERA, which was good for 6th best in the league to go along with 1.24 WHIP. The one anomaly was strikeouts, in which the A’s finished 26th in the league. This lack of strikeouts, however, was not truly an anomaly, but rather an indicator of a general pitching strategy employed by the A's.

The A’s finished 9th in the league in fewest walks allowed going along with having the 10th lowest walk percentage. The A’s also had the 7th highest percentage of fastballs thrown. These statistics show that A’s pitchers used the strategy of attacking the zone with fastballs and forcing contact in order to limit opposing batters. This strategy does not require having pitchers with dominant strikeout arsenals, a skill set generally more expensive to obtain.  While pitching to contact by attacking hitters with fastballs worked in 2012 for the A’s, advanced sabermetrics suggest that the success of the A’s pitchers might be somewhat attributable to luck. The A’s had the third lowest BABIP (Batting average on balls in play) in the league, the 7th highest xFIP (Expected fielding independent pitching), and the 8th highest SIERA (Skill interactive ERA). Having a low BABIP is a signal that many balls hit by opposing batters went directly to Oakland fielders. Going forward, this might not always be the case and more balls could fall in for hits. xFIP is a statistic that attempts to judge pitchers on entirely what they can control, using a combination of strikeouts, walks, hit by pitches, and “how many home runs they should have allowed” (using home run to fly ball ratios and multiplying it by fly ball rate), to try and determine how effective a pitcher is without the effect of his fielders. The higher the xFIP a team or pitcher has, the worse they were and the A’s xFIP of 4.2 is categorized as “below average” by Fangraphs.

The last sabermetric in which the A’s pitching staff failed to excel was SIERA. SIERA differs from xFIP because it places more emphasis on balls in play, using groundball and flyball rates, as well as walks and strikeouts to attempt to determine a pitchers skill. The A’s finished the year with a SIERA of 4.03, which was the 8th highest in all of baseball. So while the A’s did have one of the most effective staffs in the league according to traditional measures like ERA, advanced sabermetrics predict that the A’s success might soon run out or is unlikely to reoccur. In total, however, the A’s only allowed the 6th lowest amount of runs in the league in 2012, which along with their power and timely hitting led to winning 94 games.

The next question one must ask when dissecting the success of the 2012 Oakland A’s is, how did Billy Beane assemble this team? What changes were made from 2011 to 2012 that led to this significant increase in wins?

The only headlining acquisition was the signing of international free agent Yoenis Cespedes for a 4 year, 36 million dollar deal. Cespedes might have been an international superstar, but many in baseball circles thought that it would take some time for him to adjust to Major League pitching. Yet, the A’s Director of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi, felt he could be a key contributor and convinced Beane to make the investment. The 2012 season is proof that Zaini made the right judgment, as Cespedes hit .292 with 23 home runs and 82 RBI’s.

While the Cespedes deal made headlines, it was the more low key moves made by Beane that really boosted the A’s all season long. Similar to the 2002 season depicted in Moneyball, Beane was able to find value in players where other teams did not. In a deal with the Red Sox, Beane sent reliever Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney to the Red Sox for inexperienced outfielder Josh Reddick and two minor leaguers. As stated earlier, Reddick exceeded everyone’s expectations by hitting 32 homers and slugging .463. Also, in a multiplayer deal with the Diamondbacks, Beane traded starter Trevor Cahill and veteran reliever Craig Breslow for rookie Jarrod Parker, reliever Ryan Cook, and Colin Cowgill. In 2012, Parker was arguably the best rookie pitcher in the American League posting 3.47 ERA in 181.1 innings, while Ryan Cook was an All-Star reliever in the set-up role with a 2.09 ERA and 42 holds.

The third trade which significantly increased the strength of the team was the deal with the Nationals, which sent Gio Gonzalez and a minor leaguer for rookie Tommy Milone, Derek Norris, Brad Peacock, and a minor leaguer. While Gonzalez won 20 games, he would have soon been a contract the A’s could not afford. The newly acquired Milone, a soft-tossing righty with an average fastball velocity of 87.7 went on to also be one of the best rookie pitchers in the American League, posting a 3.74 ERA while winning 13 games. Norris also stepped in, playing a crucial role at the catcher position as half of the platoon with George Kottaras.  All of these trades represent examples of Beane dumping established players for relatively unproven talent, yet in all three cases the unproven talent was able to significantly contribute the A's success in 2012; this is a great tribute to the effectiveness of the A's scouting department.. These three trades, along with a trade with the Rockies for Seth Smith and the signings of journeymen Jonny Gomes and Brandon Moss, are all examples of Beane’s ability to trade and acquire underutilized cheap talent.

Though the 2002 season will probably be most remembered when people look at the Billy Beane’s career as General Manager, it is the 2012 season that is by far his finest so far. Unlike 2002, in 2012, Beane did not have the luxury of marching out three all-star quality starters (Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and Tim Hudson). Instead, in 2012, Beane not only had to piece together a lineup full of mostly unknown veterans and rookies, but he also had to construct a pitching staff of underrated parts as well.

Beane’s ability to assemble talent as well as manager Bob Melvin’s coaching staff’s ability to maximize it, through the implementation of platoons and pitching strategy, led to the 2012 Oakland A’s far exceeding anyone’s expectations and the revival of the belief in Moneyball in its original city.

Event Recap: Gary Gertzog '80

Gertzog '80 with members of the ILRSBS E-Board

On Friday, September 28th, the Cornell ILR Sports Business Society was joined by Gary Gertzog '80, the Senior Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel of the NFL.

During this Q&A session, Gertzog discussed NFL topics such as globalization, the emergence of the Red Zone Channel, the rise of fantasy football, as well as his career path and career advice for students.

On his career path, upon graduating from Cornell:

Gertzog graduated from Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 1980. He knew that he wanted to attend law school, and ultimately decided to pursue this path at George Washington University. It was a strong school, and it was in a big city - the latter of which he didn't get to experience in Ithaca.

Upon graduating from law school, Gertzog was hired by a New York City-based law firm, Townley & Uptike, in 1983. Upon becoming a partner at the firm, Gertzog's first case was a highly publicized vessel collision in New York Harbor. When someone resigned from NFL Properties, he was asked to handle trademark and licensing work for the NFL.

He admitted that, although he was ecstatic about the thought of this opportunity, he tried not to let it show.

"I told them, you know, I got this New York Harbor vessel case I'm working on right now, so I'd have to see if...actually, yeah, I might be able to fit this in."

Gertzog first started by sending cease and desist letters to anyone using the NFL logo. One example he specifically brought up was a group who started selling "New Jersey Giants" gear as a joke on the Giants, who play their home games at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

When an executive whom he was closely connected with at the NFL was promoted, Gertzog was asked to replace him in the position as the head of NFL Properties in 1994.

On his role with the NFL:

Since joining the NFL, Gertzog's role at has expanded to include the overall legal and business affairs  for the NFL’s commercial operation. The NFL, as he likes to describe it, is:

"Made up of two parts - the first component is the football side which serves as the unincorporated association for the 32 teams. The other part is the business side, which I'm involved with, and that is everything that makes money for the National Football League."

Gertzog said his involvement with the NFL's business includes everything from TV contracts (the NFL Network and the Red Zone Channel), corporate sponsorships, and licensing, to hundreds of companies, league and team marketing, intellectual property, providing business advice, and other media ventures in the form of radio, internet, and wireless devices.

On the biggest challenges and accomplishments over the course of his career with the NFL:

Gertzog said,

"I've been at the NFL for over eighteen years, and have stayed because of the constant challenges there are. Every day is different, every hour is different, and every challenge is different."

Gertzog's first case as an NFL executive was a landmark suit between Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones and the NFL. The business model at the time had the NFL selling and overseeing the marketing rights for all 32 teams. Jones, along with Al Davis, and the other NFL owners, were paying hundred of millions to own teams, and they wanted to control the marketing rights.

While this was one of Gertzog's biggest challenges, it also became a major accomplishment. As a result of this case, the NFL created a new business model where portions of marketing rights were reallocated to the teams, with the NFL still overseeing the majority of them. This model has led to success, and in 2004, it was extended for 15 years. In fact, it has since been extended for another seven years, which has brought long term stability to this former issue.

On some of the NFL's most important business initiatives during the past year:

To resolve last year's lockout, the NFL and the NFL Players' Association agreed on a ten year labor deal with no early termination rights. This labor deal is longer than any deal that has been put into by any of the four major sports.

This was tremendous for many reasons; but most importantly, it provided security and was essential in negotiating new league partnerships because neither side had to worry about a work stoppage in the next ten years. This set a foundation for the NFL's TV deals. The NFL made an eight year agreement with ESPN for Monday Night Football, in addition to a nine year deal between CBS, Fox, and NBC which rotated the broadcasting rights for the Super Bowl  every three years. Both of these deals are the longest deals of their kind.

The NFL also made a ten year agreement with Pepsi. Gertzog said long term deals are essential - the first year or two are mostly used to figure things out, and once they've find the right formula, they start to see a substantial return on their investment over the long run.

Another important development has been the emergence of the NFL-operated channels, the NFL Network and the Red Zone Channel. This year, the NFL Network finally came to an agreement with Cablevision and Time Warner Cable after years of not being featured on these cable providers. The NFL Network used to televise the NFL's eight Thursday Night games. However, this year, the NFL expanded to 15 Thursday Night games, and they felt that was a key bargaining chip. The NFL Network now has a reach of over 70 million homes, and the NFL feels that they have completed their distribution.

Gary Gertzog ' 80

Asked if the at-home experience was surpassing the in-stadium experience:

While the NFL has taken many steps to improve the quality and accessibility of the at-home experience, it might be at the expense of selling season tickets. With the secondary ticket market available to consumers, season tickets are becoming devalued to fans who can who can pick and choose which games they'd like to attend, instead. Becausee most of the NFL's revenue is generated from media rights, it wouldn't be as strong if seats weren't being sold.

"We need to convince people that there is nothing like the in-stadium experience. That nothing compares to showing up early to tailgate in the parking lot, or being at the game when the home defense has to make a stand on 3rd & 1 - and you're on your feet screaming along with 80,000 other fans. There simply is nothing that compares to being at the game."

However, with the emergence of the secondary market, and the Red Zone Channel, and fantasy football, some people might simply prefer to stay home, because the lack of stadium Wi-Fi prevents them from being connected. The NFL is working with companies like Verizon and AT&T to get NFL stadiums Wi-Fi enabled - to keep fans connected with each other. Stadiums are also making an effort to show highlights and statistics from around the league during timeouts and breaks, something they rarely used to do.

Another key issue that might devalue the in-stadium experience that the NFL is working to improve is fan conduct. Fans pay a substantial amount of money to go to the stadium, and might be accompanied by their kids. If a fan's behavior is out of line to the point that it's detracting from others' experience, then that is unacceptable. If a fan's behavior takes away from your experience, it used to be that you'd have to find security and bring them down to your section to address that fan. However, the NFL has set up a texting service that allows fans to do this anonymously - where each stadium security has a number that fans can text with their section number, the issue, and a description of the fan, and security would take care of it without exposing you to that fan.

On the globalization of the NFL:

The NFL has taken many steps in the past decade to foster a globalization of their product. That started with NFL Europe, which wasn't the most successful initiative, but it allowed Europeans to become somewhat accustomed to the game. Five years ago, the NFL had its first regular season game in London, which sold out Wembley Stadium in minutes. Gertzog laughed as he recalled the progression of the English fans during this annual game:

"Five years ago, when the Dolphins played the Giants, I remember there was a touchdown scored, and you could almost hear a pin drop...I was so confused. Then all of a sudden, the kicking unit comes out for the extra point, and when the ball went through the uprights, the crowd went absolutely crazy. It was funny to see, but it just showed that the fans weren't fully familiar with the rules of football. Then three years later I went back, and they finally started going crazy for the touchdowns, which is a good sign!"

Gertzog claimed that the ultimate goal for the NFL is to eventually have a franchise based in Europe to capitalize on this expanding market.

Gertzog's advice for aspiring sports business professionals:

"A lot of students want to graduate and jump right into sports. At the NFL, we get about 2,000 resumes every year to fill 8-10 positions. I would strongly recommend that you try to get experience elsewhere, and master a craft that can be applied to sports. Get a job in law, media, marketing, or finance, and get the experience. If anything that strengthens your resume and your experience, as opposed to someone who jumps right into sports."

Gertzog also stressed how there are also so many ways to work in sports. He mentioned that not only can you work in the agency side that most people associate with sports business, but to also think about businesses that have influences in sports. Companies that have products in sports such as Nike, Under Armour, and EA Sports are a great avenue to work in the industry. Moreover, a brand with strong sports sponsorship ties, like Anheuser Busch or Visa, also gets you close to the industry, too.

Miscellaneous: 

- The NFL took somewhat of a leap of faith in hosting a Super Bowl at the new MetLife Stadium. The NFL, he said, is "crossing their fingers" hoping that it goes well. New York has great potential to host the Super Bowl, as long as the weather holds up. If all goes well, he said to expect a cold weather Super Bowl once every 3-4 years.

- The issue of concussions in football has led to less kids playing at a competitive level in their youth. However, the NFL has realized that a lot of these youth and high school leagues follow the NFL for guidance in making their game safer. The NFL has implemented many rules recently in order to make the game safer, and they see these youth leagues following their lead. The league is investing and donating heavily in order to gain a better understanding of head injuries and continue to do so.

- The NFL recently allowed teams to have ads on their practice jerseys. However, Gertzog doesn't see the NFL going in the direction of ads on their game uniforms. One reason is to maintain the purity. However, it also might serve as a conflict of interest for competing sponsors who already pay the NFL billions of dollars.

- Though the Pro Bowl has terrific TV ratings (higher than some NBA postseason games), the product itself has been somewhat disappointing, and the NFL is concerned about the competitiveness of the game. Gertzog feels that this might be due to the fact that the Super Bowl is the absolute peak of the NFL season, and that anything after that is due for a drop off in hype, excitement, and overall interest.

- With the recent news of the approval of Farmers Field in Los Angeles, Gertzog also said that the NFL has a goal to eventually bring a franchise to the nation's second largest media market. It would be too complicated and expensive, and would also ruin the logistics of having a sound number of teams (32) to introduce an expansion team. Thus, the NFL would be more open to moving a franchise to LA if it were ever needed or appropriate.

- Gertzog described fantasy football as one the "stickiest applications." In other words, fans who use one website for fantasy football, are more inclined to use that website for their future leagues. The NFL is still behind Yahoo! and ESPN Fantasy with 2.8 million subscribers at the moment. However, the NFL wants to continuously promote their competitive advantage which is the integration of NFL videos and highlights.
_ _

We are thankful that Mr. Gertzog took the time out of his schedule to speak with our group. We all gained a tremendous amount of insight on the business of the NFL, and are fortunate for that opportunity. We hope to stay connected with Gertzog moving forward, and would welcome him to speak with our group at any time in the near future!

Event Recap: Scott Malaga '89

The ILRSBS E-Board with Scott Malaga, 9/21/12

On Friday, September 21st, the ILR Sports Business Society hosted former Cornell Big Red football captain, Scott Malaga ’89, who now serves as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Intersport.

As SVP, Strategic Partnerships, Malaga oversees the sales efforts for the Sponsorship & Event Marketing division at Intersport, which is a sports, entertainment, and media marketing company based in Chicago.

Before joining Intersport, Malaga had over fifteen years of experience in sports marketing, and most recently served as the Chicago Fire’s SVP of Corporate Partnerships.

Club members were provided with a unique presentation from Malaga, in which he discussed career path, and outlined the field of sports marketing with specific case studies from his career.

“You could’ve invited someone who spent 25 years with the Yankees, or someone who spent their entire career at the NHL, and they’d focus mainly on that. Sports marketing is a very broad industry, a broad term, and a broad definition. I have had many stops along my career in numerous areas of the sports marketing spectrum, and those experiences are what you can learn from me.”

On his collegiate years:

Malaga graduated from Cornell in 1989 as a business management major and dual sport athlete. While playing centerfield on the baseball team, he was also the captain of the Big Red football team. Malaga was the starting running back for the team that won the 1988 Ivy League Championship and is a member of the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame.

Near his Cornell graduation, Malaga attended an event at the Johnson Business School featuring an executive from the Baltimore Orioles. At the time, the sports industry wasn’t common to enter, so Malaga asked him how he could get his foot in the door. He was referred to Ohio University, where he earned his masters in Sports Management.

On his early years in sports marketing:

Malaga’s first job upon graduating from Ohio University was with a company that bought the licensing rights for Champion Footwear. His main responsibility was to travel to NFL and NBA teams, as well as universities to sign athletes and programs to shoe contracts. To do this, he had to have a strategy. Here, it was to develop relationships with each team’s equipment manager.

“I would fly to Kansas City, rent a car, drive to the Chiefs’ facilities, talk to their equipment manager, and ask about players that didn’t have contracts AND were visible. I’d meet with those players, and if I felt they would give us exposure, I’d sign them to a contract Then I’d drive my car back to the airport, go to Denver, rent a car, meet the Broncos’ equipment managers, do the same thing, fly to Los Angeles - this time rent a convertible - and do the same thing over again. My strategy was to develop relationships with these equipment managers who were accessible and knew what was going on within the team.”

After all of that traveling, and to move closer to his family, Malaga decided to quit his job and move to Chicago. Simply put, he said,

“Don’t quit a job, and this is especially true in sports, unless you have another job lined up. I found out the hard way, spending the next 8 months looking for work.” 

Malaga found a job with Kellogg’s working in their food service division, where he utilized sports to sell their products to distributors and institutions. For example, when Kellogg’s had a deal with a sports entity, he created an incentive-based program that provided X tickets to that entity, for every Y number of cases of cereal sold to their distributors and/or consumers.

On his return to Cornell and beyond:

Though his job at Kellogg’s was somewhat connected to sports, Malaga was looking for something more directly involved. At his five-year reunion at Cornell, he was asked to work in Athletic Public Affairs in a fundraising role for the Athletic Department. He created the Cornell Football Association, which is over 3,000 members strong, and eventually spawned the Ivy Football Association.

However, after 2 years, he wanted something else. So Malaga left the Cornell Athletic Department, and went to work in a revenue-driving role in sports. He had stops at Advantage International, Host Communications, Inc. , and ISP Sports where he mostly sold collegiate multimedia rights. At Host Communications and ISP Sports, Scott was involved in the beginning of the whole “multimedia rights bit in college sports.” He said,

“The trend started developing where companies would take the risk, buy the rights from these big schools, and then resell them. The universities loved it because they were guaranteed revenue.”

Both Host Communications and ISP were bought out by IMG College, which now has a stranglehold on the collegiate rights business.


On his work with the Chicago Fire, and the search for a new jersey partner:

In 2009, Malaga was offered to serve as the VP of Corporate Partnerships for the Chicago Fire. He admitted that he “didn’t know a thing about soccer.” But he always wanted to work on team-side marketing where he could influence ticket sales, marketing, community relations, and corporate sponsorships. He was also enticed by the fact that soccer was an international sport, and that the MLS was a growing brand.

In the beginning of his tenure, the Fire were informed that Best Buy would not be renewing their $2.7 million/year deal to be their official jersey partner. Malaga showed club members the marketing deck that was used to gauge interest from potential brands.

“To find a brand that was looking to spend $2.7 million for a jersey partner for the Chicago Fire, you had to find the perfect storm – we were looking at CMO’s of Chicago-based companies, CMO’s that were looking to utilize soccer, or in international markets, and/or interested in reaching the Hispanic market because 50% of our fanbase was Hispanic.” 

 “We then started talks with Quaker Oats. A guy on my staff who used to work at Coke for 20 years, and he had a friend that was now the VP of Supply Chain at Quaker Oats, who introduced us to their president. The Quaker Oats president is from Mexico, and when running the Quaker Oats brand in Mexico, he made one of their products (Gamesa) the jersey partner for a Mexican soccer club. This was an executive who loved soccer, and saw how much revenue soccer could bring the Quaker Oats brand. Quaker Oats was looking to eat into Kellogg’s market share in Chicago, and they emphasized the values of health, fitness, kids, and nutrition. All of a sudden, we had the perfect marriage.”

A deal was finally agreed upon, and Quaker Oats and the Fire began their collaboration for activations. First, the Fire created the Quaker Corner at the Toyota Park, which was a whole section branded by Quaker Oats, where products were constantly handed out. Another important initiative was the Fire’s integration of Quaker Oats into local Chicago youth soccer tournaments.

“We wanted to expand the reach of the Fire and Quaker Oats broader into the community. Every year, there are four major youth soccer tournaments in Chicago featuring over 450 teams. We not only could reach kids, but there are also parents that are stuck there for the day because each team played multiple games. So I met with all the leaders of the tournaments, and asked to sell into their tournaments in exchange for a small share of our revenue.”

The Fire directly integrated the Quaker Oats brand into this marketing by having signage at over 40 fields, and handing out product to kids and parents throughout the day.

 Read Joe Favorito’s latest blogpost regarding the Fire’s most recent initiative with Quaker Oats

Intersport Presentation: 

 Malaga left the Chicago Fire in 2011 to work in the sponsorship and events marketing division at Intersport, where he focuses on client relations. Upon getting his new position, he said, 

“My career hasn’t been specific in one field, and now, since Intersport offers so much, I can fall back on each experience and apply it in some small way – I know a little about a lot.” 

Malaga shared with us a marketing deck that Intersport sends brands to outline their services in sports marketing. Here is what he had to say about some of these services:

Consulting:

Intersport deals with a number of Fortune 500 clients on some of the biggest stages in sports around the globe. For example, Intersport is the sports marketing agency of record for Taco Bell. They handle all of the consulting, and activations in sports for Taco Bell, including the Taco Bell Skills Challenge during NBA All-Star weekend, a fan activation at the NBA All Star weekend which featured a mock run-through of the skills challenge for fans, and the “Taco Bell: Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” promotion at the MLB World Series.

 “We’re developing strategy for them, we’re negotiating their deals with teams, we’re executing, and at the grassroots level, we’re putting it all together for them.”

Intersport also consulted and led the renegotiation of Papa John’s Official NFl partnership at the conclusion of the 2012 Super Bowl.

Sponsorship Activation: 

Malaga talked about how the recent recession has made it increasingly difficult to prove to brands that sports can provide a return on investment.

“It used to be that a company might’ve just slapped their sign on Wrigley Field and paid a premium to do so. Now, companies really need proof that they will see a return on investment. The way to truly enhance sports marketing is thru activations – which is a word you’ll hear a lot – how can you create an experience for consumers around a sporting event?”

Malaga highlighted a variety of activations Intersport has done with General Motors at the Super Bowl, and at every Monday Night Football stop, in addition to other activations such as conducting the world’s largest game of knockout at the Final Four thru the Buick brand.

Owned Event Properties:

Intersport is also the agency of record for TD Ameritrade, and most recently consulted their sponsorships at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Intersport also helped TD Ameritrade activate their naming rights of the stadium in Omaha that annually hosts the College World Series. In order to gain further value from this deal, Intersport created the College Home Run Derby, a nationally televised event in front of over 20,000 fans in attendance at the TD Ameritrade Park.

Intersport also works with Under Armour for the annual Under Armour All-American Game which showcases 90 of the nation’s most talented high school football players. In this scenario, Under Armour is making an increased effort to reach the high school athlete and enhances the experience for them by hosting a full weekend of events including Combines, Practices, Skills Challenge, and the game itself which was coached by Mike Ditka and Steve Mariucci, and televised on ESPN.

Digital and Social Media:

One thing Malaga stressed was the importance of a social media influence. Intersport implements a strong social media strategy for all of their clients and events. However, he feels that it is widely misunderstood by others in the industry.

“You can have a gazillion Facebook likes if you want and that’s great, but are these consumers engaged with your brand? Sports can maximize the engagement with your brand if done the right way."

Malaga focused on a program on which they collaborated with Papa John’s called the “2011 Papa John’s Dunk of the Yea,r” which won the 2012 Cynopsis Award for Best Social Media Initiative. A description of the program, and it’s effectiveness in social media engagement can be seen below:

Corporate Hospitality:

“ A lot of people don’t talk about this, but every sports entity should include some sort of corporate hospitality. Business isn’t just about B2C (business to consumers) anymore, but also B2B (business to business).”

One example of this is the Double Eagle Club at Augusta – which is owned by Intersport and offers the highest end hospitality at the Masters. Companies can purchase a hospitality package that includes tickets and lodging, which can be used to entertain corporate clients.

The whole experience which starts with getting picked up in a limo, and also includes premium food and beverage throughout the day, cigar rolling, a PGA Pro golf swing analysis, a putting green, as well as the option to rent out a local Augustan residence near the course.

We are all grateful for this unique learning opportunity that Scott provided. Sports marketing is a broad, yet intricate, industry, and many club members had their first exposure to the field from this presentation.

We are thankful that Scott took the time to speak with us, and we look forward to staying connected with him moving forward!