PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - Former Pirates beat writer and current author of "Big Data Baseball" and co-author for "The MVP Machine," Travis Sawchik joined Dan Zangrilli on the NASCO Roofing Preview Show.
"Big Data Baseball," was about the 94 win Pittsburgh Pirates team and how they overcame 20 years in a row of losing seasons. Dan brought up to Travis how that book in todays baseball would be somewhat antiquated.
"Yeah. I hate to say that about my own book but the game has changed so much in the last five or six years," Sawchik said.
"The Pirates were one of the more analytically driven smarter teams in thirteen fourteen and fifteen. Since that team we have seen new technology come aboard."
The large market teams now have a bigger advantage over the small market teams where before it was the small market teams undermining the large market teams. The small market teams have to rely on player development.
"You look what the Rays did with Glasnow, Meadows, and Shane Baz at a minor league level. You have to wonder why were the Pirates unable to do these things with these players?" said Sawchik. "With Geritt Cole, why were the Pirates not telling him to do what the Astros were telling him to do?"
Sawchik says you think about the value there not only for the player but the money that teams are saving.
"If you can take someone elses players and make them better, that's free money, and the teams that are doing that, have a huge expedite.