Baseball Maverick

March 23, 2015
With Vietnam combat experience, a Harvard law degree, and time logged with the fabled 1980s Oakland A's in the "moneyball" era, Sandy Alderson became the GM of the limping New York Mets in 2010, with the blessing of Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig. Kettmann (One Day at Fenway) picks up the long journey of Alderson with cheerleading zeal, as the latter goes from being a Marines platoon commander in Vietnam to becoming an Ivy League mouthpiece representing a buyer for the Oakland Athletics. He then steps up as an executive for the same team, which competes in three straight World Series. The Mets, following back-to-back disappointing seasons and a lackluster former GM, welcomed Alderson with his solid baseball instincts; he stressed player development over good trades, and despite a limited budget, he featured top-ranked young talents such as Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom. Kettmann's solid profile of the Mets' Alderson, now piloting one of the brightest teams in major league baseball, provides worthwhile insider tidbits, along with a competent view of the front office and the intriguing complexities of sports politics.

March 15, 2015

When former marine and Harvard Law graduate Sandy Alderson became general manager of the New York Mets in 2011 there was a lot of talk about "Moneyball with money," but with two of the team's investors subsequently ensnared in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, the second "money" became a spent notion. In the 1980s, Alderson served as general manager of the Oakland Athletics's succeeding in the robust Bash Brothers era of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco before moving onto the MLB's commissioner's office in the late 1990s and choosing his protege Billy Beane to become his replacement. Best-selling author Kettmann (One Day at Fenway) uses the present-day Mets (a collapsed team with looming financial peril and embittered fans) as a backdrop to showcase Alderson in action, but it's the manager's prior work that takes center stage: his development in Oakland, partnership with Apple, and "quantitative analysis by mathematical methods." It becomes evident that Alderson's genius lies in his healthy pragmatism and ability to efficiently reason. VERDICT There are many deceptively simple nuggets of wisdom dispersed here that are applicable to multiple contexts. Though the title may seem directed toward Mets fans, Kettmann's nimbly written, captivating story line will appeal to all sports fans. A riveting and rich deconstruction of Alderson's process and a fascinating peek behind baseball's curtain.--Benjamin Malczewski, Toledo-Lucas Cty. P.L., MI

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2015
Sandy Alderson is one of the most respected baseball executives in recent years. Kettmann, who worked with steroid-using ballplayer Jose Canseco on Juiced (2005), traces Alderson's journey from a military background to a career highlighted by his time with the innovative Oakland A's franchise, the subject of Michael Lewis' best-selling Moneyball (2003). There Alderson and his protege and successor Billy Beane pioneered the use of modern research, statistical tools, and technology to mold their personnel decisions and develop a winning baseball franchise. Since 2010, Alderson has been with the New York Mets, whose ownership was bilked by Bernard Madoff, decimating the team's finances. The organization's future remains uncertain, but much of the book focuses on the Mets' anticipated revival. The merits of deals in baseball are not always immediately apparent, and if the team succeeds this season, Kettmann's book may be in the vanguard of understanding why.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)