By Jake McDonnell
Ken Weinman had a chance to interview Ben Reiter, author of 'Astroball, The New Way To Win It All' on Tuesday. Reiter, a Sports Illustrated columnist, wrote a cover story in June 2014 predicting the Astros winning the 2017 World Series. As it turned out, Reiter was correct.
The reason why Reiter felt so confident proclaiming the Astros 2017 world champions three years out is due to how the Astros took an innotvative, data-driven approach to rebuilding their organization. Orioles General Manager Mike Elias and Assistant GM Sig Mejdal were both in Houston's front office when this operation took place.
Reading Astroball gives readers a perspective on how Mejdal and other Astros advisors used analytics and technology to rebuild their team. Many of these practices are now being implemented by Elias and Mejdal into the rebuild of the Orioles. Now Orioles fans can be on the lookout for an upcoming SI issue predicting the Birds winning the World Series in 2022.
