MLB, Rawlings participate in '22 SABR Analytics Conference

In winning 102 games, the 2002 Oakland Athletics captured the minds of the collective baseball world. The analytics craze known as Moneyball was born, and the game has never been the same since.

Today -- 20 years later -- analytics are now as married to baseball as peanuts, cracker jacks and the smell of freshly cut grass on a warm spring day.

The analytics fervor was on display March 17-20, with Major League Baseball and Rawlings hosting the 11th annual SABR Analytics Conference.

Held over Zoom, the conference connected many of baseball’s elite minds with a savvy crowd -- including future front-office stars.

MLB sponsored a host of candidates to attend the conference. In addition to 50 at-large selections, 19 current Diversity Fellowship Program selections were also in attendance.

SABR also conducted skill development and networking sessions each day of the conference, which were available to all attendees.

Among the weekend’s headline speakers was Michael Hill, now the senior vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball and an industry veteran of 30-plus years. Hill most recently helmed the Marlins' front office, rising in the ranks to become the club’s president in 2013.

In speaking with a majority college-aged audience, Hill imparted a wealth of knowledge derived from his more than three decades of experience, providing valuable insight on succeeding in the industry.

“When I started my journey to the front office, the internet was just getting going, if you guys can believe that. I am sort of dating myself,” Hill said.

Drafted by the Rangers but with sights on professional life outside the lines, Hill focused on developing what he believes is the key to a successful front-office career.

“One thing that all you people, who are incredibly smart, know is that networking is everything," said Hill. "When I was still playing, I took the opportunity to speak with as many people who were behind home plate as possible. If they were scouts or front-office people, I was just talking to them, asking them about their experiences.”

The aforementioned strategy panned out, allowing Hill to meet the eventual first GM in the Tampa Bay Rays’ history, Chuck LaMar.

The game, Hill said, is analyzed much differently today than when he first joined the front-office ranks.

“A lot of money and effort right now is being filtered toward the biomechanics and in the biomechanical sciences, trying to understand deliveries and helping to make decisions and predictions on players’ short- and long-term health,” Hill added.

"Because the money has really gotten -- as you guys can see with the contracts out there -- to the point where you need to make the most informed decisions you possibly can, because you don’t want to make a mistake.”

The transition to analytics within the game did not take place overnight, Hill explained.

“In the beginning, you had old-school people who may have been narrow-minded in their thinking, who didn’t want to believe that analytics could help in the decision-making process," Hill said. “It was a matter of showing those people, that when it’s the right decision, what I am saying from an analytical standpoint is exactly what you’re saying from an evaluative standpoint.”

Despite his trust in numbers, Hill believes that scouting remains an integral part of the process.

“When our scouts [with the Marlins], who we felt were the best evaluators in the game, and our analytics people -- who we felt were the best -- are saying the same thing, you feel a lot more confident,” he said.

With vast experience overseeing all aspects of a baseball-operations group, Hill reiterated the importance of fostering relationships and trust with colleagues and cohorts.

“I don’t know if that’s a badge of honor or not, but I have made a trade with all 30 clubs,” Hill said. “And I was fair and said what I meant, and meant what I said.”

Looking ahead, Hill also touched on several of the potential developments that could change the way baseball is played on the Major League level.

“From a technology standpoint, automated balls and strikes is going to be at Triple-A this year," said Hill. "The technology has gotten so good, and you talk to our 30 clubs and if a strike is a strike, people want it called it a strike. If a ball is a ball, they want it called a ball.

“[Automated balls and strikes] allows us to do that. But it’s at the expense of a fabric part of our game, our umpires.”

Hill also commented on one of the experimental rules being implemented outside of affiliated (Majors and Minors) ball.

“There are some interesting rules in the [independent] Atlantic League," said Hill. "One that fans really like is stealing first base. I know the baseball purists, me being one of them, think it’s a strange play. But for people watching the game, drinking beers and not paying attention [at the time of the steal], it’s pretty exciting.”

Under the Atlantic League rule, implemented in 2019, batters may "steal" first base on any pitch not caught in flight (the batter can be thrown out if he attempts to run).