At the end of Moneyball, Billy Beane is sitting in the luxury boxes pondering whether to take the Red Sox general manager (GM) job. Beane, of course, turned the offer down and is still waiting to win the last day of the season. Who knew Beane would return to Boston but in a different capacity.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the inventor of Moneyball is expected to leave the A’s to pursue a business venture with Boston Red Sox owner John Henry. RedBall Acquisition Corp, a company Beane holds a stake in, is set to merge with Henry’s Fenway Sports Group.
Redball will purchase a 25% stake in the Red Sox and then take the stock public to allow fans to buy shares. It’s unlikely that Beane would step into a front-office role with Boston, but his knowledge can’t hurt having him in the building.
Fenway Sports Group, owned by John Henry, has been very successful. The Red Sox have turned into a juggernaut since Henry purchased the team. Henry also owns Liverpool FC, which is the class of the Premier League in England. The WSJ article also suggests Beane is a fan of soccer, and will be a part of that venture.
Beane famously turned down Henry’s lucrative offer to join the Red Sox in 2002. Boston then used his philosophy to start winning championships in 2004 under Theo Epstein. They were also the first club to employee Bill James. Now Beane will return to the Red Sox in a business role.
It’s unclear how the A’s will replace Beane, but he’s been the face of their organization for a long time, keeping the team competitive for a very long time. He’s just never won the big one.
