Scouting director Dan Feinstein, left, is part of the Oakland Athletics brain trust at the Major League Baseball draft along with GM Billy Beane, right, the architect of the Moneyball philosophy, June 2014. (Michael Zagaris)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t doubt that he does a lot, and has done a lot, for the organization, but I don\u2019t know to what extent,\u201d catcher Derek Norris said of Feinstein during a recent A’s visit here.<\/p>\n
For the past three years, Feinstein, 42, has been one of the prominent executives powering the Oakland approach to diamond success known as Moneyball under its guru, general manager Billy Beane.<\/p>\n
There’s been plenty of success this season for the American League West-leading Athletics, who boast one of the best records in baseball and stand near the top of the league in team pitching and hitting. And they’ve been doing it with an assortment of players excelling in both the traditional and Moneyball statistical categories.<\/p>\n
Beane employed the Moneyball strategy to enable his low-revenue Athletics to compete against richer clubs. Popularized by the Michael Lewis book \u201cMoneyball\u201d in 2003 and the 2011 film of the same name starring Brad Pitt, the plan has spread throughout the major leagues.<\/p>\n
Moneyball aims to identify and acquire undervalued players by placing a premium on what were then newly minted statistics such as OPS (on-base-plus-slugging percentage), as well as walks, caught stealing, pitches taken and other measures.<\/p>\n
Feinstein returned to Oakland in 2011 after spending six seasons as director of baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays and a year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had spent the better part of a decade splicing game videotapes for the Athletics after starting as an intern in 1994.<\/p>\n
Other than his year with the Dodgers, making do on a shoestring budget is the only professional reality Feinstein has experienced. It\u2019s one he embraces.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always trying to think outside the box and acquire or sign players that maybe have some hickeys to them, and I enjoy trying to find players that are maybe undervalued with other teams,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s really the only way I know.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile it\u2019d be nice to work with a payroll of some of the other clubs, I very much enjoy the challenge of staying within a constrained budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moneyball has found success in Oakland, with the Athletics on target to capture their seventh A.L. West title since 2000. They\u2019ve been leading the division most of this season.<\/p>\n
Josh Donaldson is second in the league in WAR (wins above replacement) and in the more mainstream category of runs scored. Teammate Coco Crisp is 10th in on-base percentage. No A\u2019s base stealer has been thrown out more than twice.<\/p>\n
On the mound, left-hander Scott Kazmir is among league leaders in WHIP (fewest walks and hits allowed per innings pitched), as well as the more traditional statistics of wins and earned run average.<\/p>\n
In fact, the A\u2019s lead the A.L. in runs scored and are second in fewest runs allowed \u2013 all on a $74.8 million payroll, ranking them 27th in Major League Baseball. In comparison, the Dodgers and New York Yankees are over $200 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we\u2019re all thrilled,\u201d Feinstein said of Oakland\u2019s 2014 strength.<\/p>\n
Feinstein is ecstatic to be working in baseball.<\/p>\n
At 15, he already knew the game was where he wanted to make his career. Feinstein, a catcher who could not make the team at the University of California, Davis, said he \u201cexplored every avenue to get my foot in the door\u201d after college.<\/p>\n
With the Athletics, who play just down the road from his hometown of Lafayette, Calif., where he still lives, Feinstein started out doing the things interns do — making photocopies and fetching coffee. That\u2019s when he wasn\u2019t lobbying Beane, then the assistant general manager, for additional responsibilities.<\/p>\n
In 1995, he jumped at Beane\u2019s offer to add videotaping to his chores. The following season it became his full-time job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been very lucky. I\u2019ve been in the right place at the right time,\u201d Feinstein said. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anyone in baseball who would tell you they look at their job as a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like anyone employed in a baseball team\u2019s front office, Feinstein said, he aspires to \u201cbigger and better things\u201d professionally, including being a general manager. He added, however, \u201cI\u2019m extremely comfortable and thankful in the role I currently have.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key aspect of that role is the Major League Baseball draft, which was held last month. Eighteen of Oakland\u2019s 40 selections were pitchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was by design,\u201d Feinstein explained. \u201cThe only way that we\u2019re going to have success at the major-league level is if we have pitching, and you can never have enough of it. It\u2019s the single biggest asset we need to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Planning for the three-day draft is \u201ca yearlong, exhaustive process that has already started\u201d for 2015, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that we all are fascinated with: not only the process, but being in that war room in the week prior to the draft,\u201d Feinstein said.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s hopeful the A\u2019s can make a run to the World Series this season \u2013 it would be the team\u2019s first appearance in the Fall Classic since 1990.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of season left to go, and anything can happen,\u201d Feinstein said, \u201cbut so far it\u2019s been a perfect storm of a group of guys who\u2019ve come together and played their best.\u201d<\/p>\n
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