But the point is that he certainly wasn’t philosophically opposed to stealing bases. His teams were 4th in the AL in stolen bases over the course of his career, and there’s no consistent pattern of him giving up on the stolen base over the course of his career. The bunt was more of a philosophical thing- he didn’t just give up on bunting but also explained why he didn’t like it.

I think, in fact, that the idea of the stolen base as a small ball tactic is greatly overstated. The idea behind the bunt (and the hit-and-run, when used as a tactic to avoid the double play) is to reduce risk; you’re trying to improve your chances of one run even at the cost of decreasing your chances of scoring a bunch of runs. Base stealing is very different because a successful steal increases both your chances of a single run (advancing the runner) and a big inning (cutting down on the double play), while a failed stolen base decreases both. In that sense, stealing bases is philosophically closer to playing for the three run homer than it is to sacrifice bunting.

Weaver is a perfect example why I oppose prohibiting challenges altogether. I’m not for little dorky flags and the like — but, dangit, managers should be able to come out and kick a little dirt too. Some of us are not for professionalism.

And now that I’ve said that, can you imagine Weaver telling off Joe West? Ah, the very thought of it warms my frosty heart.

Given the extraordinary vision and success Weaver had, you’d think his saber-friendly approach would be embraced, but no. Still a bit too nerdy for some, I guess. I can work up a full head of steam for the “no-sac bunt” approach any day.

Jaffe’s article was a fun read and an affirmation that a results driven enterprise needs the best talent for the job as opposed to a guy who just LOOKS like the best talent. Weaver would have been a fine CEO of any large business: he understood that the best move was the one that got results, not the one that just looked good. As much as I like to take jabs at Billy “The Great & Powerful” Beane, I have to acknowledge that he’s pretty much cut from same cloth as Weaver when it comes to “do what works, not what tradition dictates”. I’m glad to know more about Weaver. He would have be fun to have around these days.