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December 14, 2004

Winter Meetings Diary

Live From Anaheim

by Baseball Prospectus

The Winter Meetings are over.

There's plenty more work to be done this winter for every team. The next milestone may be the non-tender date of Dec. 20 and free-agent dominoes are starting to fall. So many teams seem intent on doing...something that they often aren't at a stage where "Plan B" is really in sight. Many still think that everything will fall their way.

I started on Friday listing how "neat" it is to stand in a room with Peter Gammons, a gaggle of general managers, and a hundred other interesting people just as passionate about baseball as I am. I met hundreds of people, shook thousands of hands, and heard millions of rumors in a weekend that included everything but sleep.

Looking back while awaiting my flight back to the "flyover state" I call home, I am left with one thought: Baseball is getting smarter. I'm not sure about better yet; the smart guys still make too many mistakes, and the short bus hasn't picked up all its passengers yet. Teams people think of as backwards have statistical analysts that are as good as any I've seen, and I've met scouts as sharp as those analysts. Teams are starting to plow towards a middle ground full of beer and tacos, scouts and stats, all seeking baseball's ultimate prize.

From MLB's offices to the sports sections across the country, baseball is slowly but surely getting smarter. Bill James sauntered through the lobby on Saturday, obliviously passing the people who ignored him for 20 years. I'm not sure if that felt good for him, but as a symbol, it was nice.

I looked around the meetings and realized that while symbols are nice, reality is better. Joe Sheehan talked with national writers. Jay Jaffe talked with front office personnel. MLB.com streamed the Rule 5 draft.