Longtime Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane will assume a new position as Senior Advisor to the Managing Partner, the club announced on Friday. The A's baseball operations department will now be guided instead by David Forst, who has served as the general manager since October 2015.
Beane's new role will see him "support the work of baseball operations" as well as provide owner John Fisher with "guidance on broader organizational matters." The A's press release, published in whole below, notes that Beane's new position "affords him the opportunity to explore non-baseball sports endeavors." Beane has long maintained an interest in soccer, and in recent years established the Redball SPAC.
Here's the full press release, courtesy of the Athletics:
"I'm incredibly proud of the 33 years I've spent here in Oakland, and I look forward to continuing with the A's in this new role," Beane said. "I am eager to help guide the direction of the organization alongside ownership. If I have done anything well during my time at the A's it is to create a succession plan, and no one is more prepared to take the helm than David. It has been a privilege to work alongside him for all these years and I look forward to continuing to be a resource for him."
Beane's tenure running the Athletics baseball operations department offered plenty of successes, individually and as a team, though no championships or pennants. His story, as told by Michael Lewis in "Moneyball," undoubtedly helped popularize the use of analytics in front offices. (Though, to be clear, the use of statistical analysis in baseball long predates Beane.)
In recent years, the A's have fallen upon hard times. Their efforts to land a new stadium deal have stalled, leading ownership to pull the financial plug. The A's are in the midst of what's likely to be a long-term rebuild, and figure to continue that dismantling this winter by trading catcher Sean Murphy. Still, there's no questioning how instrumental Beane has been to the A's franchise, or to how influential he's been to the modern game.
