New
Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball’s best minds have turned to out- developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball: Success stems not from focusing on finished products, but from making the most of untapped potential.
Lindbergh and Sawchik’s behind-the-scenes reporting reveals:
- How undersized afterthoughts José Altuve and Mookie Betts became big sluggers and MVPs
- How polarizing pitcher Trevor Bauer made himself a Cy Young contender
- How new analytical tools have overturned traditional pitching and hitting techniques
- How a wave of young talent is making MLB both better than ever and arguably worse to watch
About the Authors:
Ben Lindbergh is a staff writer for The Ringer. He also hosts the Effectively Wild podcast for FanGraphs and regularly appears on MLB Network. He is a former staff writer for FiveThirtyEight and Grantland, a former editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus, and the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team. He lives in New York City.
Travis Sawchik is a staff writer for FanGraphs and regularly contributes to The Athletic Cleveland. He previously covered the Pirates for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Travis is the author of the New York Times bestseller Big Data Baseball: Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak. Sawchik has won national Associated Press Sports Editor awards, and his work been featured or referenced on ESPN, Grantland, and MLB Network. Sawhcik lives in Bay Village, OH.
The Big Story in Baseball Today with Ben Lindbergh
The MVP Machine by Ben Linbergh Reviews:
“Even MBAs who don’t know what an ERA … will grasp the book’s essential message: next-generation technologies and analytics radically transform top-tier talent development and technique.”—HarvardBusiness Review
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