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Baseball Maverick: How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baseball and Revived the Mets
In 2010, the New York Mets were in trouble. One of baseball’s most valuable franchises, they had suffered an embarrassing late season collapse and two bitter losing seasons. Their GM had made costly mistakes. And their principle owners, two Bernie Madoff investors, were embroiled in the fall-out from the largest financial scam in American history.
To whom did they turn? Sandy Alderson, a former marine who served in Vietnam and graduated from Harvard Law. Alderson started in baseball with the Oakland Athletics in 1981. Two years later, he was running the team.
With the A’s, Alderson led a revolution in baseball. Partnering with Apple, he introduced the first computers into the sport and used statistical analysis for everything from unorthodox player evaluation to modernizing ticket sales. He attracted bright people and turned the team into a powerhouse, winning the 1989 World Series. When new owners slashed payroll, his creativity and intelligent management were thrust into the spotlight.
Best-selling author Steve Kettmann follows Alderson's transformation of baseball over the last thirty years and his attempts to turn the Mets back into contenders. This is a gripping behind-the-scenes look at a Major League team and a fascinating exploration of what it means to be smart.
To whom did they turn? Sandy Alderson, a former marine who served in Vietnam and graduated from Harvard Law. Alderson started in baseball with the Oakland Athletics in 1981. Two years later, he was running the team.
With the A’s, Alderson led a revolution in baseball. Partnering with Apple, he introduced the first computers into the sport and used statistical analysis for everything from unorthodox player evaluation to modernizing ticket sales. He attracted bright people and turned the team into a powerhouse, winning the 1989 World Series. When new owners slashed payroll, his creativity and intelligent management were thrust into the spotlight.
Best-selling author Steve Kettmann follows Alderson's transformation of baseball over the last thirty years and his attempts to turn the Mets back into contenders. This is a gripping behind-the-scenes look at a Major League team and a fascinating exploration of what it means to be smart.
337 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2014
18 people are currently reading
377 people want to read
About the author
Steve Kettmann
14 books98 followersSteve Kettmann is the author most recently of "Baseball Maverick: How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baseball and Revived the Mets," out in paperback in late 2015 (Grove Atlantic). He is Publisher of Wellstone Books, a small, independent publisher focusing on personal writing that is not afraid to inspire. A former staff reporter for New York Newsday and the San Francisco Chronicle, Steve has reported from more than forty countries for publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Salon.com and Wired.com. He's also the author of "One Day at Fenway" and the co-author of four New York Times best-sellers, including "Juiced" with Jose Canseco and "What a Party!" with Terry McAuliffe.
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April 17, 2015
When Sandy Alderson agreed to become general manager of the New York Mets in 2010 he was somewhat aware of their financial situation. He was cognizant of their ownership involvement with the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal, but not the depth of their financial losses. Believing that accepting the job was a career challenge, plus it would bring joy to his father who lived in Florida, Alderson accepted the position. What Alderson did not know was that the Wilpon family, who owned the Mets invested over $500 million dollars with Madoff and counted on a constant 10% return to run the team. Once the scandal broke that money was gone, and they no longer had the funds to pay off the debt from their 2002 purchase of the team from Nelson Doubleday, Jr. The team was in such bad shape that baseball commissioner, Bud Selig agreed to an immediate short term loan of $25 million so the team could meet payroll expenses, and convinced Alderson to take over as general manager. On top of that one of the trustees involved with the Madoff investigation sued the Wilpons for being “willfully blind” in dealing with the “Ponzi master” for $300 million. The suit was finally settled on March 20, 2012, for $162 million, in addition the Mets had lost $70 million in the 2011 season. When Alderson came aboard the Mets had reduced their payroll from $140 to $85 million in one year, the highest percentage salary reduction in baseball history. This is what Alderson had to deal with during his first few years at the helm. The debacle that had encompassed the Mets and Alderson’s plan to restore confidence in the team as well as rebuilding their baseball operation is told in Steve Kettmann’s new book, BASEBALL MAVERICK: HOW SANDY ALDERSON REVOLUTIONIZED BASEBALL AND REVIVED THE METS. The book is not your typical sports narrative. It is more of an intellectual biography of Alderson where the author weaves the Mets’ general manager’s life story that saw him as a Dartmouth and Harvard Law graduate, a Marine officer in Vietnam, in addition to his baseball successes as he applied his analytical, “moneyball” approach to rescue the franchise.
The reader gains insights into Alderson’s personality and approach to organization during his tour in Vietnam, when he goes over the head of his commanding officer who passed him over for a position because he had once disagreed with a decision that involved the constant rotation of company commanders in his unit. As a Marine, normally this was not acceptable behavior. However, in this case, Alderson used a seldom employed Marine tradition for officers and “requested mast,” the right to go over the head of a commanding officer to the regimental commander, who in this case was Colonel P.X. Kelley, Commander of the First Marines, a formidable figure who would later become the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Kelly agreed with Alderson and gave him a plum position in intelligence. Following a description of Alderson’s eight month tour in Vietnam, Kettman traces his journey from a law office in San Francisco, his education as a baseball administrative novice, to his present position.
Alderson’s first step toward a career in baseball occurred when Roy Eisenhardt, an attorney in the firm that Alderson worked for asked him to oversee a major deal. Eisenhardt’s father-in-law was Walter A. Haas, Jr. Chairman of Levi Strauss who wanted to purchase the Oakland A’s from Charley Finley and save the team for the Oakland area. Along with Haas’s son, Wally, Alderson oversaw the purchase from the inimitable “Charlie O.” and the result was that he could not avoid being “bitten by the baseball bug.” Kettman provides an ideological history of sabermetrics going back to Branch Rickey, who hired Allan Roth who developed the “on base percentage.” Kettman next introduces, Eric Walker a young sabermatrician who prepared “The Oakland Athletics: A Quantitative Analysis by Mathematical Methods.” Alderson hired Walker and their friendship would continue for years. Oakland became Alderson’s baptism under fire as he employed his analytical or sabermetric approach to evaluating personnel and aspects of being a successful general manager. Alderson’s baseball philosophy can be summed up as, “once you established a correlation between on-base percentage and slugging percentage with run production, then you also established a correlation between gross run production and win-loss percentage, and it became apparent that the best approach was on-high base percentage and hit the ball out of the ballpark, as opposed to batting average, as opposed to the hit-and-run and bunting.” (78) Many baseball lifers had difficulty accepting “computerball,” but since Alderson was trained as a Marine military officer and a lawyer he had no difficulty adjusting. If things made sense from an analytical and organizational perspective Alderson was on board. Alderson applied this approach in Oakland and took Charlie Finley’s run down operation and turned the A’s into a World Series team between 1988 and 1990 under Tony La Russo, and winning it all by sweeping the San Francisco Giants in the “earthquake series” in 1989.
Kettman explores a number of important issues in baseball apart from Alderson’s organizational successes. The author provides insights into the life of a sportswriter. The task of attending mostly boring baseball meetings, having your newspaper columns evaluated by how many “tweets” it generates, the lack of time to think and reflect on subjects they are investigating, and the rhythms of spring training are all described. Kettman goes on to explain the controversy concerning steroids in baseball. The issue created a great deal of controversy, particularly for the A’s since two of their best players, Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco, the “bash brothers” were users. The question that Kettman asks was should someone as smart as Alderson have known about it, but with no testing, no punishment, and no official baseball PED policy, how could he be accountable. Another interesting aspect of the book is the relationship between Alderson and Billy Beane, a former New York Mets prospect who finished an uneventful career in Oakland. Beane became Alderson’s protégé and eventually he became assistant general manager in 1993. Beane is described as a younger version of his mentor and when Alderson left the A’s, Beane took over complete control and if you have seen the film or read the book Moneyball, the relationship proved very successful.
Before taking over the Mets in 2010, Alderson did a stint with the San Diego Padres and worked with Major League baseball in the Dominican Republic to internationalize the game. The book is essentially a case study in leadership and Alderson’s approach to restoring the Mets to prominence bears that out. First, Kettman describes how Alderson constructed his organizational team. Hiring two former general managers, Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi, and keeping John Ricco, the Mets assistant general manager reflects Alderson’s own personal security and his vision in employing individuals who have their own expertise in creating a superb front office. Each had their own special talents that blended together nicely. Their approach toward grooming younger players, signing free agents, dealing with player representatives, i.e.; Scott Boras and Jay Z, and creating a winning culture in the locker room should provide encouragement for despondent Mets’ fans for the future.
Alderson’s approach in dealing with young players with great potential is fascinating. Kettman uses Zach Wheeler, a young phenom that Alderson acquired in a trade for Carlos Beltran, Jacob deGrom, a former short stop who was National League rookie of the year in 2014, and Lucas Duda, who the Mets could not decide whether to trade or not, as case studies in how to develop players. He explores when to promote a player to the major leagues, the burden placed on a young player who seemingly is seen as a major part of the future success of the franchise, how a young player deals with their own development, balancing fan expectations, handling a prospects first big league appearance, and how a young player adjusts to playing on the major league level, particularly with the distractions that playing in New York can bring. In Wheeler’s case it worked well, until a few weeks ago when he succumbed to “Tommy John” surgery, for deGrom and Duda they have started the 2015 season very nicely.
Kettman analyzes how Alderson puts together a roster in conjunction with his staff as well as how they went about trades with other teams. Currently, the Mets on the precipice of actually having a winning season. If in the end the Mets finally become financially sound on the field and off, Alderson will be declared a “genius,” if not despite his past resume he will be roasted as a failure in the New York tabloids. Overall, Kettman has delivered a strong “baseball book,” that has applications for leadership in other venues. If you enjoy baseball and how a thoughtful and intelligent person goes about creating a winning culture for success, this book is a wonderful read.
The reader gains insights into Alderson’s personality and approach to organization during his tour in Vietnam, when he goes over the head of his commanding officer who passed him over for a position because he had once disagreed with a decision that involved the constant rotation of company commanders in his unit. As a Marine, normally this was not acceptable behavior. However, in this case, Alderson used a seldom employed Marine tradition for officers and “requested mast,” the right to go over the head of a commanding officer to the regimental commander, who in this case was Colonel P.X. Kelley, Commander of the First Marines, a formidable figure who would later become the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Kelly agreed with Alderson and gave him a plum position in intelligence. Following a description of Alderson’s eight month tour in Vietnam, Kettman traces his journey from a law office in San Francisco, his education as a baseball administrative novice, to his present position.
Alderson’s first step toward a career in baseball occurred when Roy Eisenhardt, an attorney in the firm that Alderson worked for asked him to oversee a major deal. Eisenhardt’s father-in-law was Walter A. Haas, Jr. Chairman of Levi Strauss who wanted to purchase the Oakland A’s from Charley Finley and save the team for the Oakland area. Along with Haas’s son, Wally, Alderson oversaw the purchase from the inimitable “Charlie O.” and the result was that he could not avoid being “bitten by the baseball bug.” Kettman provides an ideological history of sabermetrics going back to Branch Rickey, who hired Allan Roth who developed the “on base percentage.” Kettman next introduces, Eric Walker a young sabermatrician who prepared “The Oakland Athletics: A Quantitative Analysis by Mathematical Methods.” Alderson hired Walker and their friendship would continue for years. Oakland became Alderson’s baptism under fire as he employed his analytical or sabermetric approach to evaluating personnel and aspects of being a successful general manager. Alderson’s baseball philosophy can be summed up as, “once you established a correlation between on-base percentage and slugging percentage with run production, then you also established a correlation between gross run production and win-loss percentage, and it became apparent that the best approach was on-high base percentage and hit the ball out of the ballpark, as opposed to batting average, as opposed to the hit-and-run and bunting.” (78) Many baseball lifers had difficulty accepting “computerball,” but since Alderson was trained as a Marine military officer and a lawyer he had no difficulty adjusting. If things made sense from an analytical and organizational perspective Alderson was on board. Alderson applied this approach in Oakland and took Charlie Finley’s run down operation and turned the A’s into a World Series team between 1988 and 1990 under Tony La Russo, and winning it all by sweeping the San Francisco Giants in the “earthquake series” in 1989.
Kettman explores a number of important issues in baseball apart from Alderson’s organizational successes. The author provides insights into the life of a sportswriter. The task of attending mostly boring baseball meetings, having your newspaper columns evaluated by how many “tweets” it generates, the lack of time to think and reflect on subjects they are investigating, and the rhythms of spring training are all described. Kettman goes on to explain the controversy concerning steroids in baseball. The issue created a great deal of controversy, particularly for the A’s since two of their best players, Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco, the “bash brothers” were users. The question that Kettman asks was should someone as smart as Alderson have known about it, but with no testing, no punishment, and no official baseball PED policy, how could he be accountable. Another interesting aspect of the book is the relationship between Alderson and Billy Beane, a former New York Mets prospect who finished an uneventful career in Oakland. Beane became Alderson’s protégé and eventually he became assistant general manager in 1993. Beane is described as a younger version of his mentor and when Alderson left the A’s, Beane took over complete control and if you have seen the film or read the book Moneyball, the relationship proved very successful.
Before taking over the Mets in 2010, Alderson did a stint with the San Diego Padres and worked with Major League baseball in the Dominican Republic to internationalize the game. The book is essentially a case study in leadership and Alderson’s approach to restoring the Mets to prominence bears that out. First, Kettman describes how Alderson constructed his organizational team. Hiring two former general managers, Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi, and keeping John Ricco, the Mets assistant general manager reflects Alderson’s own personal security and his vision in employing individuals who have their own expertise in creating a superb front office. Each had their own special talents that blended together nicely. Their approach toward grooming younger players, signing free agents, dealing with player representatives, i.e.; Scott Boras and Jay Z, and creating a winning culture in the locker room should provide encouragement for despondent Mets’ fans for the future.
Alderson’s approach in dealing with young players with great potential is fascinating. Kettman uses Zach Wheeler, a young phenom that Alderson acquired in a trade for Carlos Beltran, Jacob deGrom, a former short stop who was National League rookie of the year in 2014, and Lucas Duda, who the Mets could not decide whether to trade or not, as case studies in how to develop players. He explores when to promote a player to the major leagues, the burden placed on a young player who seemingly is seen as a major part of the future success of the franchise, how a young player deals with their own development, balancing fan expectations, handling a prospects first big league appearance, and how a young player adjusts to playing on the major league level, particularly with the distractions that playing in New York can bring. In Wheeler’s case it worked well, until a few weeks ago when he succumbed to “Tommy John” surgery, for deGrom and Duda they have started the 2015 season very nicely.
Kettman analyzes how Alderson puts together a roster in conjunction with his staff as well as how they went about trades with other teams. Currently, the Mets on the precipice of actually having a winning season. If in the end the Mets finally become financially sound on the field and off, Alderson will be declared a “genius,” if not despite his past resume he will be roasted as a failure in the New York tabloids. Overall, Kettman has delivered a strong “baseball book,” that has applications for leadership in other venues. If you enjoy baseball and how a thoughtful and intelligent person goes about creating a winning culture for success, this book is a wonderful read.
May 9, 2015
Liked this book, though I don't particularly like the title and I thought the timing of it is odd (why not wait until after the Mets get good?).
Nice biography of Sandy Alderson, particularly interesting to learn about his younger days (including his time in Vietnam) and his game-watching habits (he has a hard time watching close games...just like fans of his team). I felt like I knew most of the Mets stuff, but some good tidbits to go through. Kettmann had great access and made the most of it. Was a little bit of a slow read, but I do recommend it.
Nice biography of Sandy Alderson, particularly interesting to learn about his younger days (including his time in Vietnam) and his game-watching habits (he has a hard time watching close games...just like fans of his team). I felt like I knew most of the Mets stuff, but some good tidbits to go through. Kettmann had great access and made the most of it. Was a little bit of a slow read, but I do recommend it.
April 7, 2015
You certainly don't have to be a Mets fan to love this book. In an age where prequels are so popular, this book is the prequel to "Money Ball", with the Mets being the natural extension, but who knew the importance of cutting edge baseball management when the Mets were hit so hard by the Madoff scam.
March 15, 2020
It’s definitely interesting to read this book with hindsight, both from the 2015 season and what came after. At the time this book came out, the declaration that Sandy Anderson “revived the Mets” felt a little premature, but 2015 did give some credence to it. However, as all Mets fans know, the sustained success Alderson hoped to build never came. Reading this book with Brodie Van Wagenen now as GM, there is a certain amount of nostalgia for the Alderson era. It makes you appreciate just how much Sandy was keeping a lid on things and sort of holding the whole operation together. All in all, a really good biography and fun account of the Alderson era Mets.
April 15, 2015
When Steve Kettmann's new book on Sandy Alderson reached baseball writers this spring, the question that drew the most attention was whether Alderson really has "revived the Mets," as Kettmann claims in the book's title.
I'm not sure he has, although the size and enthusiasm of the Citi Field crowds for the first two Mets home games of the season suggest that at least a small revival is in progress. But I also know that I was able to enjoy and appreciate Kettmann's book without much concern about how far down the revival road Alderson's Mets have traveled.
Kettmann is a friend, and I've liked his writing ever since we met when I was covering the Tigers (at the time not at all revived) and he was covering the A's (definitely revived). I like this book a lot, in part because of the access and insight he was able to get from Alderson himself, but just as much because of what he was able to learn and pass on about Alderson from talking to others.
Whatever your view on the Mets revival question, it's hard to argue against the main title of the book, which labels Alderson as a "Baseball Maverick." He does have a much different background from most baseball execs, and his ability to look at the game in different ways led to Billy Beane and the Moneyball era of the A's.
Alderson can be a polarizing figure in the game. His stay in San Diego didn't go very well, and there are those in the game very willing to criticize him for both his time overseeing the umpires and working on MLB's policies in Latin America.
But whatever you think of him, Alderson has had a fascinating life, and Kettmann does a great job of chronicling it. The strongest parts of the book come early, describing Alderson's two trips to the Vietnam war, his time in the Marines and then how he ended up running the A's.
The Mets part of the book features some real insight on how Alderson went about making trades. But since the premise of the book was that Alderson turned the Mets around, Kettmann would have been helped greatly if 2014 had been the true turnaround season.
Instead, to believe in the premise, that Alderson has "revived the Mets," you need to buy into the idea that this will be the true turnaround season. The early evidence is that many Mets fans have bought in.
If they're right, and if Alderson and Kettmann are right, the book should be as big a winner as the team.
If they're not? I'd say the book is worth a read, anyway.
I'm not sure he has, although the size and enthusiasm of the Citi Field crowds for the first two Mets home games of the season suggest that at least a small revival is in progress. But I also know that I was able to enjoy and appreciate Kettmann's book without much concern about how far down the revival road Alderson's Mets have traveled.
Kettmann is a friend, and I've liked his writing ever since we met when I was covering the Tigers (at the time not at all revived) and he was covering the A's (definitely revived). I like this book a lot, in part because of the access and insight he was able to get from Alderson himself, but just as much because of what he was able to learn and pass on about Alderson from talking to others.
Whatever your view on the Mets revival question, it's hard to argue against the main title of the book, which labels Alderson as a "Baseball Maverick." He does have a much different background from most baseball execs, and his ability to look at the game in different ways led to Billy Beane and the Moneyball era of the A's.
Alderson can be a polarizing figure in the game. His stay in San Diego didn't go very well, and there are those in the game very willing to criticize him for both his time overseeing the umpires and working on MLB's policies in Latin America.
But whatever you think of him, Alderson has had a fascinating life, and Kettmann does a great job of chronicling it. The strongest parts of the book come early, describing Alderson's two trips to the Vietnam war, his time in the Marines and then how he ended up running the A's.
The Mets part of the book features some real insight on how Alderson went about making trades. But since the premise of the book was that Alderson turned the Mets around, Kettmann would have been helped greatly if 2014 had been the true turnaround season.
Instead, to believe in the premise, that Alderson has "revived the Mets," you need to buy into the idea that this will be the true turnaround season. The early evidence is that many Mets fans have bought in.
If they're right, and if Alderson and Kettmann are right, the book should be as big a winner as the team.
If they're not? I'd say the book is worth a read, anyway.
May 27, 2015
A very interesting and in depth look into the life of one of baseball's brightest and intriguing minds. Sandy Alderson, for as long as he's been in the public eye, has managed to uphold this air of mystery around him.
This book gives us a behind the scenes look at the experiences that shaped Sandy into the man and thinker he is today. It takes us through his early years sneaking into the Vietnam War to join his father who was deployed there, his experiences as a Marine leading troops through the war, and his ascension as the architect of the Athletics organization through innovative and clever thinking. It also gives a really insightful account of Alderson mentoring Billy Beane in Beane's early days working in the A's scouting department.
The book fleshes out how Alderson used his "Moneyball" philosophy to build up the Mets farm system and change the dreary woe-is-me culture around the team. It gives detailed accounts of the thought process behind Mets player personnel decisions such as the Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard/Travis d'Arnaud trades.
But to me this book is about more than just baseball. It's about getting in to the mind of how a successful person thinks, and what habits lead to success, which Sandy Alderson certianly has achieved throughout his life. Great read for any Mets and baseball fan!
This book gives us a behind the scenes look at the experiences that shaped Sandy into the man and thinker he is today. It takes us through his early years sneaking into the Vietnam War to join his father who was deployed there, his experiences as a Marine leading troops through the war, and his ascension as the architect of the Athletics organization through innovative and clever thinking. It also gives a really insightful account of Alderson mentoring Billy Beane in Beane's early days working in the A's scouting department.
The book fleshes out how Alderson used his "Moneyball" philosophy to build up the Mets farm system and change the dreary woe-is-me culture around the team. It gives detailed accounts of the thought process behind Mets player personnel decisions such as the Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard/Travis d'Arnaud trades.
But to me this book is about more than just baseball. It's about getting in to the mind of how a successful person thinks, and what habits lead to success, which Sandy Alderson certianly has achieved throughout his life. Great read for any Mets and baseball fan!
December 7, 2015
Really enjoyed this book. As a baseball fan, it was fun to read more about Alderson's background and some of the moves that took place during his time in Oakland. As a Mets fan, it was fun to read this book after their World Series trip in 2015. The plan appears to be working. I was also impressed with how 'forward thinking' baseball GMs have to be in their decision making. Drafting a kid that may not play in the majors for 5 years, trading for prospects, etc. If you love baseball this is a pretty good book for you. If you're a Mets fan, its a must read in my opinion.
July 21, 2016
I love baseball almost more than life itself, but for some reason, I'm always slightly disappointed with baseball books. It was an interesting story, good to learn more about how Sandy became one of baseball's best minds, but I guess I just wanted more dirt, trades that almost happened, draft pick strategy, etc.
The book is definitely not just for Mets fans as it's more about Sandy, his history and leadership philosophies.
The book is definitely not just for Mets fans as it's more about Sandy, his history and leadership philosophies.
May 18, 2015
As anyone who knows me will tell you... I'm not a big sports fan. But, I have to say that I did enjoy the way Baseball Maverick read (4.5 Stars). I really like biographies and Baseball Maverick did it with telling me all about Sandy Alderson. Great job, and I will make sure that I give my copy that I won on Goodreads to a friend loves Baseball.
May 10, 2015
Great book. Interesting insight into Alderson's professional and personal life. As a fellow veteran and baseball fan getting to learn more about his journey was inspiring. Also Kettman gave great detail on the workings of an MLB front office. I especially found the chapter on the Mets interest in Robinson Cano very intriguing!
July 1, 2015
Hope springs eternal for every Mets fan. Sandy Alderson just added more water to the source.
April 4, 2020
A decent book that has a lot of Moneyball-traits as author Steve Kettmann writes about Sandy Alderson, who helped guide the Oakland A's as GM in the 1980s, the San Diego Padres for about three years and then the New York Mets starting in 2010. The book focuses on the A's and Mets and there are some decent stories on Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Dennis Eckersley, Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, David Wright, Orlando Cespedes, Daniel Murphy, Noah Syndegard and Steven Matz to name a few. But I just couldn't get into this book that much. Alderson has had a great life, but not sure it was worthy of a whole book. More than anything this book was just OK for me. Not bad, but not great.
July 7, 2025
The parts on Sandy were great. The Mets season recaps from like 2011-2014 were a touch boring. As exhilarating as the late season and playoff runs in 2015 were, the author seemed to rush through them, especially the postseason. I like the inside baseball feel that the author, a former beat writer for the A’s, gives. Sandy is a great topic. Sandy in these Mets seasons, maybe not so much, though it’s pretty good.
Looking back, it’s a bummer how it all fizzled out for the pitchers. Harvey-done. Syndergaard- just about done. Deform-somehow making a comeback. Matz- already a Journeyman.
Looking back, it’s a bummer how it all fizzled out for the pitchers. Harvey-done. Syndergaard- just about done. Deform-somehow making a comeback. Matz- already a Journeyman.
January 25, 2020
This book traces Sandy Alderson's life, from military brat and Vietnam War combat soldier to Harvard Law and Major League Baseball general manager. While there is plenty of behind-the-scenes, front office baseball stuff, I wanted to read more about how Alderson applied analytics in putting together ball clubs, first in Oakland and later in New York with the Mets. Still, not a bad book at all.
April 6, 2022
A very interesting look into the personal and work life of Mr. Alderson. A few sidebars and extended looks at players that were current during the time of the books publishing, but overall a very enjoyable read. Well written and informative.
October 17, 2017
Had no idea about the life Sandy Alderson has lived before the A's, but what an impressive guy. This behind the scenes look was a fascinating read.
March 13, 2021
Solid Story - Solid Leader
The backstory of Sandy Alderson was a great way to explain who he was as a leader and as a person.
The backstory of Sandy Alderson was a great way to explain who he was as a leader and as a person.
January 25, 2017
1/25/2017 audible version
July 7, 2015
I am a big baseball fan. Though football is definitely more popular now, to me, baseball will always be the national past time. So if a new baseball movie or book is made there isn't a question of whether I want to see it, only if I can find time. It doesn't matter if I care about the specific subject of the piece; if it is baseball I'm in.
As a librarian I have plenty of books on my summer reading list, but when I saw "Baseball Maverick on the new books shelves I knew I needed to read it.
I was fascinated by the early life of Sandy Alderson. He is the son of a Air Force pilot who eventually joined the Marines. He developed and showed great leadership ability, was not content with the status quo, and was not averse to taking measured risks. This served him well as he toured Vietnam during the war both as a civilian and a Marine.
The above mentioned traits are also what would help him ascend to and be successful as the general manager of the Oakland Athletics and now with the New York Mets. While Sandy Alderson loves baseball and played a little in his youth he never played professionally, but he new how to lead and how to delegate. He also knew and learned enough to form his personal philosophies about baseball which really were the precursor to "Moneyball".
The early portions of this book read like a biography which I truly enjoyed, but as I reached the halfway point of this book the author turned his focus squarely to Aldersons hiring as GM of the Mets in 2010. The book then seemed to focus less on Alderson and more on his rebuilding of the Mets. Much more was written about the personnel and players that Alderson chose and their thoughts and performances than on Alderson himself.
I understand how the performance of those that Alderson hires directly affects our perception of him and the job he has done, but it quickly became apparent that what the author was more concerned about was the rebuilding Mets rather than the legacy of Sandy Alderson. This became even more apparent as I read the epilogue where the author gave his opinions on what the GM needed to do to succeed with the Mets.
It just seems that Kettmann got lost with the type of book he was trying to write. Was he writing as a biographer or was he writing as a beat writer?
So, if you love baseball in general you may like this book, because you will be much more forgiving of the inadequacies. But if you are only a fan of your teams then you probably won't enjoy this as much unless you are a Mets fan.
As a librarian I have plenty of books on my summer reading list, but when I saw "Baseball Maverick on the new books shelves I knew I needed to read it.
I was fascinated by the early life of Sandy Alderson. He is the son of a Air Force pilot who eventually joined the Marines. He developed and showed great leadership ability, was not content with the status quo, and was not averse to taking measured risks. This served him well as he toured Vietnam during the war both as a civilian and a Marine.
The above mentioned traits are also what would help him ascend to and be successful as the general manager of the Oakland Athletics and now with the New York Mets. While Sandy Alderson loves baseball and played a little in his youth he never played professionally, but he new how to lead and how to delegate. He also knew and learned enough to form his personal philosophies about baseball which really were the precursor to "Moneyball".
The early portions of this book read like a biography which I truly enjoyed, but as I reached the halfway point of this book the author turned his focus squarely to Aldersons hiring as GM of the Mets in 2010. The book then seemed to focus less on Alderson and more on his rebuilding of the Mets. Much more was written about the personnel and players that Alderson chose and their thoughts and performances than on Alderson himself.
I understand how the performance of those that Alderson hires directly affects our perception of him and the job he has done, but it quickly became apparent that what the author was more concerned about was the rebuilding Mets rather than the legacy of Sandy Alderson. This became even more apparent as I read the epilogue where the author gave his opinions on what the GM needed to do to succeed with the Mets.
It just seems that Kettmann got lost with the type of book he was trying to write. Was he writing as a biographer or was he writing as a beat writer?
So, if you love baseball in general you may like this book, because you will be much more forgiving of the inadequacies. But if you are only a fan of your teams then you probably won't enjoy this as much unless you are a Mets fan.
February 5, 2016
I am a Red Sox fan, but I lived in Queens for six years and went to a lot of Mets games. I decided that the Mets would be my secondary team. (I maintain one can add a secondary team, provided it is in the other league, and one doesn't allow it to conflict with the primary rooting interest) Those 2005/6 Mets were really fun too - Wright and Reyes were young and exciting, Pedro had just started his brief Mets stint, Piazza was still there for one season. Remember, they were one game away from a pennant in '06. Good times. Then they just crumbled, and they were not as fun anymore.
Last season was great though, and it was really fascinating to read about how it all came together, slowly, Harvey, Syndergaard, and DeGrom coming up through the minors, Alderson trying to build expectations but not too fast. Anyone who is interested in last minute deals and the life of a GM would find this a good read.
The writing isn't the best, though. Kettman has these loooong sentences with a million commas that can be impenetrable. And it seems weird to think of Alderson as a "maverick" "revolutionizing" things. He was an outsider, coming to baseball via the Marines and law school, so that's interesting. But really, how is it maverick-y to draft/trade for/cultivate good young pitching? That's the oldest baseball thing in the world. And back in the As days, as Kettman reminds us, Alderson managed to bring up three rookies of the year back-to-back-to-back. This isn't some genius computer nonsense, it's just normal, good, sometimes lucky baseball.
Kettman is lucky this book came out the same year the Mets won the pennant. He is not lucky, however, in spending more time on Zack Wheeler than anyone else, a player who sat out the entire season because of surgery. Really, I wish the book had a little less Zack Wheeler.
Last season was great though, and it was really fascinating to read about how it all came together, slowly, Harvey, Syndergaard, and DeGrom coming up through the minors, Alderson trying to build expectations but not too fast. Anyone who is interested in last minute deals and the life of a GM would find this a good read.
The writing isn't the best, though. Kettman has these loooong sentences with a million commas that can be impenetrable. And it seems weird to think of Alderson as a "maverick" "revolutionizing" things. He was an outsider, coming to baseball via the Marines and law school, so that's interesting. But really, how is it maverick-y to draft/trade for/cultivate good young pitching? That's the oldest baseball thing in the world. And back in the As days, as Kettman reminds us, Alderson managed to bring up three rookies of the year back-to-back-to-back. This isn't some genius computer nonsense, it's just normal, good, sometimes lucky baseball.
Kettman is lucky this book came out the same year the Mets won the pennant. He is not lucky, however, in spending more time on Zack Wheeler than anyone else, a player who sat out the entire season because of surgery. Really, I wish the book had a little less Zack Wheeler.
October 4, 2015
In “Baseball Maverick: How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baesball and Revived the Mets”, Steve Kettmann tells the story of baseball executive Sandy Alderson, and the story of the teams he helped to (re)build.
In the quest to walk the line between these two subjects, Kettmann begins with a biography of Alderson, talking about his life and how baseball influenced it – with some information of how baseball, in particular the Oakland A's, were influenced by him. As the book progresses, however, it's more and more about baseball and less and less about Alderson, until the book became about the 2012-14 New York Mets and Alderson was simply one conpoment of its assembly. (One powerful component who actually DID most of the assembly, admittedly …)
If the reader is a Mets fan, they probably appreciated the evolution of the book's focus. However, as someone who was more interested in learning about Alderson and about his philosophy in building and maintaining a baseball team, I wish that the spotlight had stayed more strongly on the man behind the team rather than its performance.
Still, it was a good book, and I would recommend it to baseball aficionados.
RATING: 4 stars.
DISCLOSURE: This book was provided to me free of charge in a random draw; the publishers hope for a review (and probably for a positive one) but one was NOT required for receipt of the book.
In the quest to walk the line between these two subjects, Kettmann begins with a biography of Alderson, talking about his life and how baseball influenced it – with some information of how baseball, in particular the Oakland A's, were influenced by him. As the book progresses, however, it's more and more about baseball and less and less about Alderson, until the book became about the 2012-14 New York Mets and Alderson was simply one conpoment of its assembly. (One powerful component who actually DID most of the assembly, admittedly …)
If the reader is a Mets fan, they probably appreciated the evolution of the book's focus. However, as someone who was more interested in learning about Alderson and about his philosophy in building and maintaining a baseball team, I wish that the spotlight had stayed more strongly on the man behind the team rather than its performance.
Still, it was a good book, and I would recommend it to baseball aficionados.
RATING: 4 stars.
DISCLOSURE: This book was provided to me free of charge in a random draw; the publishers hope for a review (and probably for a positive one) but one was NOT required for receipt of the book.
May 4, 2016
Overall I liked this book. I'm a huge Mets fan--I watch 150 games a year and go to 10-15 and was very satisfied with the way Sandy was approaching the GM job. He's been building from within, being patient, making timely and smart trades and not spending just to spend.
There are issues however and a lot have to do with editing. It's obvious Kettmann put the time in and got to know Sandy well, and Sandy has always seemed like someone who's hard to get to know. However there was a ton spent on his pre-baseball biography and not enough on his baseball career. More depth about his time in Oakland and his overall philosophy would've been a great read.
Also for whatever reason I kept losing track of location and speaker. I never have to do this with such an easy read but there was something off about the writing structure that made it oddly hard to follow.
Still though if you're a baseball fan and especially a Mets fan it's worth a read, especially now that we're (finally!) enjoying a good team again. I wish more fans would understand how doing things the right way can have huge long-term benefits.
There are issues however and a lot have to do with editing. It's obvious Kettmann put the time in and got to know Sandy well, and Sandy has always seemed like someone who's hard to get to know. However there was a ton spent on his pre-baseball biography and not enough on his baseball career. More depth about his time in Oakland and his overall philosophy would've been a great read.
Also for whatever reason I kept losing track of location and speaker. I never have to do this with such an easy read but there was something off about the writing structure that made it oddly hard to follow.
Still though if you're a baseball fan and especially a Mets fan it's worth a read, especially now that we're (finally!) enjoying a good team again. I wish more fans would understand how doing things the right way can have huge long-term benefits.
February 25, 2016
In my honest opinion, "Baseball Maverick" is a must read for Mets fans and anyone interested in one of the most mysterious and interesting men in baseball. Although most of the content was written previously to the Mets 2015 breakout season, Steve Kettman has done a marvelous job at tracking the day to day life of what it's like to be General Manager of the New York Mets, as well as taking you back in time and revealing Sandy Alderson's past endeavors (which really sets the table of understanding Sandys methods.)
My only gripe with the book is that it may have been written a little prematurely. Much is written about Zach Wheeler and Matt Harvey, whereas Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard get the short end of proverbial content stick, although the latter two may just be of more value to the Mets success.
What you have here are many interesting stories any baseball fan could enjoy. Each chapter is chock full of stats, dates and moments of the building of a 2011 last place team to 2015 National League Champions.
My only gripe with the book is that it may have been written a little prematurely. Much is written about Zach Wheeler and Matt Harvey, whereas Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard get the short end of proverbial content stick, although the latter two may just be of more value to the Mets success.
What you have here are many interesting stories any baseball fan could enjoy. Each chapter is chock full of stats, dates and moments of the building of a 2011 last place team to 2015 National League Champions.
February 8, 2017
Sandy Alderson is a nontraditional baseball executive with a storied career starting with the Oakland Athletics. His journey from there to being the Mets' General Manager is well told in Steve Kettmann's book. Alderson went from marine to law school to baseball and has built a stellar reputation. Kettmann patiently built his background over five years and got Alderson at his most candid, along with tons of others who were there for the ride. this is a good read about the thinking man's executive as well as a good look at how the beloved Mets went from horrid to amazing. If there is a flaw, the last year is given short shrift.
June 3, 2015
I was lucky enough to be a Goodreads winner of this book and found it quite enjoyable. The story is about Sandy Alderson who is a pioneer in the use of data in building a baseball team. A former Marine and Ivy league educated man, he is a founding father of Moneyball in procuring talent for the teams he has ran. The book occasionally bogs down on day to day review of games that have been played, but like baseball itself, it is an enjoyable pastime and yet keeps you rooting for more. Well worth the read even if you are not a Mets fan. This is a Home Run
June 28, 2015
The first half the book, essentially a biography of Sandy Alderson, is great.
The second, which includes a great deal of minutiae about the Mets' 2013 and '14 seasons, is less likely to be interesting for most readers. Even now, with the Mets not playing well in 2015, those chapters can seem pretty dated.
Still, seems like a must-read for Mets fans, along with A's fans born before 1990. And I think we can all envy the author for getting to spend so much time with Alderson, who seems like a truly fascinating person.
The second, which includes a great deal of minutiae about the Mets' 2013 and '14 seasons, is less likely to be interesting for most readers. Even now, with the Mets not playing well in 2015, those chapters can seem pretty dated.
Still, seems like a must-read for Mets fans, along with A's fans born before 1990. And I think we can all envy the author for getting to spend so much time with Alderson, who seems like a truly fascinating person.
July 10, 2015
This book was disappointing. It doesn’t know how to pace itself. You get a chapter that covers 10 years. Then 3 chapters that cover 2 months. It’s primarily about Alderson w/ the Mets, but he doesn’t get to New York until after page 100. So just when you’re getting used to a biographical approach, you get a ton of info about a short amount of period. He should’ve broken up the stories about Alderson’s earlier life throughout the tale of his time with the Mets. Actually, I dunno how much that would’ve happened. The Mets period reads far too much like a string of forgettable game recaps.
March 8, 2016
a strange book that emerged a year before the mets made the world series. on the one hand, kettman's extensive access to sandy alderson produced a useful prologue to michael lewis' moneyball. on the other, how did this book get published, with no evidence that the mets were going anywhere fast (even with some solid arms in the rotation)? the publisher needs to ask kettmann to write 30 more pages detailing the mets/royals series, because otherwise, what's the real point of this?
note: a later version has addressed this, so the book is now quite timely indeed
note: a later version has addressed this, so the book is now quite timely indeed
April 9, 2016
*Book was received as part of a Goodreads giveaway*
This would have been a great long-form essay, but as it stands unless you are interested in the New York Mets and/or the life of Sandy Alderson, there is a decent chance that the narrative will prove to be an exhausting chore. I gave it my best, and had to throw in the towel with a chapter or two remaining.
This would have been a great long-form essay, but as it stands unless you are interested in the New York Mets and/or the life of Sandy Alderson, there is a decent chance that the narrative will prove to be an exhausting chore. I gave it my best, and had to throw in the towel with a chapter or two remaining.
September 11, 2015
I liked this book because I'm a baseball enthusiast and because Steve Kettman was a high school student of mine. He does a great job of chronically the life of Sandy Alderson, a most interesting guy, and delving into the mysteries of putting together an MLB roster. If you're not a baseball person, hmm, I'm not sure here, but my fantasy baseball guys and I loved it.
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