Oct 19, 2022
BRT Game Night - The Saban Process + the History of the World Series w/ NYT National Baseball writer Tyler Kepner - BRT S03 EP52 (151) 10-16-2022
What We Learned This Week
- Business of Baseball Drafting Players to Analytics, & How the game has evolved
- History of World Series – Game Changers - Did babe Ruth call his shot?
- The Process – Nick Saban’s success formula to focus on the moment, and being more fundamental & sound for each play
- Sports Gambling – who are the big players in the industry from sports books to Casinos
- Chess Strategy – how to train the mind to make better decisions
Guests:
TYLER KEPNER is the author of the New York Times bestseller K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches. He has covered every World Series game of the last two decades for The New York Times. He started his career as a teenager, interviewing players for a homemade magazine in the early 1990s. He attended Vanderbilt University on the Grantland Rice/Fred Russell sportswriting scholarship, then covered the Angels for the Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise and the Mariners for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He joined The New York Times in 2000, covering the Mets for two seasons, the Yankees for eight, and serving as the national baseball writer since 2010.
From the New York Times bestselling author of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, a highly entertaining, revelatory history of the World Series, filled with gripping behind-the-scenes stories from 117 years of the Fall Classic.
The World Series is the most enduring showcase in American team sports. It’s the place where legends are made, where celebration and devastation can hinge on a fly ball off a foul pole or a grounder beneath a first baseman’s glove. And there’s no one better to bring this rich history to life than New York Times national baseball columnist Tyler Kepner, whose bestselling book about pitching, K, was lauded as “Michelangelo explaining the brush strokes on the Sistine Chapel” by Newsday. In seven scintillating chapters, Kepner delivers an indelible portrait of baseball’s signature event. He digs deep for essential tales dating back to the beginning in 1903, adding insights from Hall of Famers like Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Jim Palmer, Dennis Eckersley and many others who have thrived – and failed – when it mattered most.
Why do some players, like Madison Bumgarner, Derek Jeter and David Ortiz, crave the pressure? How do players handle a dream that comes up short? What’s it like to manage in the World Series, and what are the secrets of building a champion? Kepner celebrates unexpected heroes like Bill Wambsganss, who pulled off an unassisted triple play in 1920, probes the mysteries behind magic moments (Did Babe Ruth call his shot in 1932? How could Eckersley walk Mike Davis to get to Kirk Gibson in 1988?) and busts some long-time myths (the 1919 Reds were much better than the Black Sox, anyway).
The result is a vivid portrait of baseball at its finest and most intense, filled with humor, lore, analysis and fascinating stories. THE GRANDEST STAGE is the ultimate history of the World Series, the perfect gift for all the fans who feel their hearts pounding in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Seven.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/tyler-kepner
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/634030/the-grandest-stage-by-tyler-kepner/?ref=PRHC184D6440
Notes:
Tyler Kepner wrote the grander stage the history of the World Series about baseballs October classic. Is the New York Times national baseball radar and has a background in being a bit writer for teams.
He’s originally from Philly. He was an intern at the Boston Globe and then the Washington post. Got a job out of college covering the Angels. Then got a job covering the Seattle Mariners for a newspaper in Seattle. In 2000 he got a job at the New York Times covering the mats for two years. Then he was covering the Yankees for eight years. 2010 he became the New York Times national baseball writer.
Writing the book on the history of the World Series was a lifelong goal. He had written a previous book about pitching called K. The book was a three-year project to write. Tyler has covered 24 World Series dating back to 1998 as well as gone to two as a fan, 1983 series with the Phillies as a kid and then 1993.
Tyler always follows good stories for his baseball writing. The 2022 baseball playoffs started in St. Louis to see about Albert polos last games. Then moved on to cover the New York Yankees. And then he’s going to see the Seattle Mariners as they are in the playoffs for the first time in years.
TV ratings for baseball have been decent. Still gets very good ratings in local markets. Baseball like other sports is still live programming and and they jam of TV. Sports creates appointment setting type TV.
When you cover baseball as a rider, you will go to the ball park about 2 PM for a 7 PM game. He would mall around the stadium and clubhouse talk with players the manager may be the GM.
Most days he’s writing, with a deadline by the night time to be able to post by the next day. Player access in baseball is pretty open, it’s an every day business and they give the media plenty of room to work.
Tyler missed game seven of the 2001 World Series in Arizona versus the Yankees because of a family commitment.
Baseball business as no hard salary cap, just some luxury taxes. It is expensive to build a team as you need free agents but also good scouting and player development. There’s a lot of have and have Nots. Many of the smaller teams like the Oakland A’s I’ve had player stolen by big teams like the Yankees or the Red Sox, almost acting like farm systems for the bigger teams.
Baseball has changed over the years with the introduction of analytics and stats that now dominate the game. The teams that use at the best and can communicate the info to the players usually win.
A great example of this is the GM of the Dodgers Andrew Friedman, who previously had been the GM of the Tampa Bay rays. Dodgers are well run team have a little bit of a small team mentality where they draft and develop players well, but also of the big resources and money to get the free agents.
Teams have to convince the players how data will help their game. It isn’t that hard since the new generation has been raised on their cell phones and data. The idea being a singing how are you can swing better, or what is a better pitch for a pitcher to use so that players can play well.
Older guys in baseball lament the analytics and how it’s changed the game.
Amateur players understand how they have to do well on the metrics, and how hard they hit the ball, and swing playing in velocity. The older scouts and baseball people dislike the fact that it’s not about moving the runner over in contact anymore.
The game has evolved and the analytics and the data shows you what you need to do to win.
Sports, including baseball is good for TV because it has live programming and people still watch live programming. Baseball games still may take longer but they still get OK national ratings and very good local ratings.
Baseball is working on a little changes for more balls in the way and excitement. There is a lot of home runs and strikeouts right now.
Baseball making some rule changes to affect us like regulating the shift and how the defense fields, changes to the baseball and maybe bigger bases to encourage base running aggressiveness in more stolen bases as examples.
Billy Beane of Moneyball and the Oakland A’s popularized baseball analytics and data. Been had a classic line I pay you to get on base, not to get caught stealing. No risky place.
Tyler wanted to write World Series stories that people don’t know. An example is what happened in the next game after Don Larsen throws a perfect game for the Dodgers. What happened to setup Kirk Gibson home run in 1988 vs As
Tyler loves the art of pitching and the slider and the knuckleball. He had written a previous book K the history of baseball and 10 pitches.
Did Babe Ruth call his shot? That is the legend, but it is not true. Babe Ruth told the Cubs he was going to do some thing, but did not point at offense. Back then the cubs pitchers would’ve thrown at Babe Ruth if he was showboating like that.
Seg 1:
Nick Saban – The Process
Head Coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, has more than 250 wins, & 7 national titles
His coaching philosophy centers on a mental model called “process thinking” — or as he calls it: “The Process.” With links to behavioral psychology, process thinking is a framework that emphasizes preparation over the prize. Each step of a process is executed with diligence and precision, the desired outcome becomes all but inevitable.
Nick Saban’s was a the Coach at Michigan State University, where he created the Process with the help of a Psych professor named Dr. Lionel Rosen. The main idea was to win individual moments, can you be better than your opponent for 7 seconds (1 play). If your play is consistently better 7 seconds at a time, the score takes care of itself.
Saban’s philosophy of practicing well, and operating within the Process system. He uses mental models to simplify the complex, and focus on the details.
Mental models are frameworks we use to examine problems, make decisions, and understand the world. As Farnam Street’s Shane Parrish explains:
“Not only do they shape what we think and how we understand, but they shape the connections and opportunities that we see. Mental models are how we simplify complexity, why we consider some things more relevant than others, and how we reason.”
Train people (employees) to think within the system. You cannot have a system for all things. There will always be situations that arise that were not thought of, but systems and checklists will cover 80 – 90% of what employee will face.
Look at the New England Patriots in sports – same coach (Bill Belichick), system, but different players for 15 years, and yet the same Super Bowl winning results. Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban (multiple college championships) is a big believer in systems and process. Saban also happens to be a former assistant of Belichick.
Bill Walsh, the legendary football coach of the San Francisco 49ers created the west coast offense. It was all about the system, and timing of the passing game to setup the entire offense. Walsh was known for taking average Quarterbacks and producing above average results (and winning).
Walsh was so organized he scripted the first 15 plays of the game. He created the idea of ‘situational football’. He had certain plays for certain moments within a game, like the last 2 minutes of a game, etc. Many teams copied the 49ers system, and this changed how the game was played in the late 1980s to even today’s football. What is common today in football, did not exist before Walsh.
More on Saban and recruiting the best –
Dave Kline telling a story of how Saban is a master recruiter.
Football players can go somewhere else and play an Alabama 1x / year. Or they can go to Alabama and practice and play vs Alabama everyday. Over the long term the level of competition just on the team propels a player to greatness and the Pro level of the NFL.
Clips from BRT Management Accelerator w/ Dave Kline
- BRT S03 EP44 (143) 9-11-2022
Guest: Dave Kline
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkline/
https://maven.com/dave-kline/new-manager-accelerator
Bio: (x-Bridgewater Associates, x-Moody’s Analytics, x-PwC Consulting) has run large, global strategic and operational teams for the last 2 decades. He has a BSEE from Bucknell University and an MBA from NYU’s Stern School. Find him on Twitter @dklineii or LinkedIn, writing about management tactics, leadership lessons, and the evolution of online learning.
Your Codified Management Playbook
Convert your intuition to intention and develop your system to lead high-performing teams. Develop the CODE of your management system: coach, operate, delegate, & engage. Leave with a decision making system tailored to your individual management style.
How A Manager Creates Value
We start with a foundation of what makes managers unique: mindsets to master, abilities to develop, skills to hone.
Recruit High Performance Teams
We examine optimal role designs for different functions and tactics required to attract and retain the best talent.
The machine of an organization is a combo of people and processes to get outcomes. You see what works, you measure and you get feedback. It’s all about design, then test, then iterate. You want to determine what’s predictive to become a system.
The Bridgewater investing philosophy was on macro trends, fundamental basis, and long term. Long-term thinking also is part of their culture and processes.
The average investor, it’s tough to compete with big hedge funds, who have armies of people and data. Single investor really does not have those types of resources to compete. Single investor if they take the long term, get good at capital preservation and wait.
Full Show: HERE
Seg. 4:
Topic: AZ Legalized Sports Gambling
Adam Candee w/ Legal Sports Report
https://www.legalsportsreport.com/arizona/
Clips from Seg 3 of 5/9/2021
Full Show: Here
AZ has just legalized sports gambling, and it is due to go live in the Fall of 2021
Adam Candee is a radio host and journalist who runs the top sports gambling info websites / podcast - Legal Sports Report (.com). He joins the show to talk all things sports gambling. We cover AZ and all of the other states (like NY) who just passed the initiative also, and potential tax revenues.
We talk the big players (Draft Kings, Barstool Sports) and the casinos who have thrown their hat in – Caesars, MGM.
Adam tells of the history of sports gambling in the US, the growth of offshore books in the 1990s, and what we can learn from Europe’s sports betting market the last 20 years.
European operators moved to US, Betfair, Bet 365 ‘in play betting’ in NJ
Betfair – Andrew Black – Rich Koch invested
Flooder – Sky Bet Post Bet (Australian)
Patty Power owns Fan Duel
Draft Kings
Fan Duel partners with Phx Suns – Sports book in Suns arena in Fall 2021
Vegas – casinos, Caesars & MGM – growth with sports betting
Growth by acquisition (M&A) Caesars buys William Hill
$55 billion market in U.S. estimated, Oct. 20 $3 billion / month, global $465 billion
Draft Kings - $57 / stock
Barstool sports book, Penn National Gaming (owns 36%)
Topic: Chess, Poker, Business & the Queen’s Gambit' w/ Jennifer Shahade
Clips from Seg 2 of 2/7/2021
Full Show: Here
https://new.uschess.org/give/women-chess-initiative
Podcasts: https://thepokergrid.com/
Jennifer Shahade is a two-time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion, author, speaker & PokerStars Ambassador. The first female to win the US Junior Open, Jennifer is passionate about empowerment and creative work around the games she loves most, chess and poker. She is the author of Chess Queens, and Play Like a Girl, books that, along with her work with US Chess Women and Poker Poker, are making the games more inclusive.
Chess can have a long learning curve, and improvements can take time, then suddenly it comes together. There are tons of free resources online for both kids and adults to learn online.
Decision Making / Strategy – it’s about making the Right Moves at the Critical Moments, possibly in the Middle Game and lots of pieces are being traded, so you should think longer at these moments. Life Analogy – there are many small decisions daily that have little impact on your life vs those Big Decisions that affect many areas of your life long term.
Jennifer’s Prep for a Game is: 1. getting focused, 2. taking a walk before a game (as she will be sitting for hours, and 3. not eating too much. The Sicilian is Jennifer’s favorite opening. She likes classical chess vs speed chess. She describes herself as creative, and methodical in her chess moves.
Learn to Say No, Focus More - do not be so agreeable that your time is taken up with too many minor projects. A Mindset of Restraint.
Get a Coach or Mentor, what you study & how you study it is sometimes more important than the info learned – the process, use your time well to learn more in shorter time windows.
If you enjoyed this show, you may like:
BRT Sports: HERE
BRT Marketing: HERE
BRT Business: HERE
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