Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball (Hardcover)

~ Vince Gennaro (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Diamond Dollars is a fresh, provocative, insightful, and analytical look at the business of baseball. Using the win-revenue relationship as a foundation, author Vince Gennaro delves deeply to explain how a team's level of competitiveness impacts the "value" of its players, to explore how a well-developed farm system contributes to a team's economic value, and to discuss some recent business trends, such as team-owned regional sports television networks.

In doing so, Gennaro answers a number of questions that speak to baseball's bottom line. How does winning affect revenues for each team? What is a player's economic value to his team? Why does a berth in the postseason have great economic value? What is the economic value of a productive farm system? Does competitive balance exist in baseball today? He also examines the differences in small-market and large-market teams, discussing how economic and revenue opportunities vary, and highlighting the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox and their methods. The book Moneyball was a breakthrough for baseball because it unveiled inefficiences in the way talent was evaluated. In a similar fashion, Diamond Dollars addresses the inefficiency in the way players are compensated and delivers an unparalleled inside look at the economics of baseball today.

A publication of Maple Street Press, distributed by Potomac Books, Inc.

From the Publisher

"Diamond Dollars provides an insightful look at the business of baseball--at the free agent market, teams' scouting and player development systems, and how clubs market their brands. The book mixes Vince's business acumen as a top executive at a Fortune 50 company with his passion for the national pastime." --Mark Attanasio, Chairman and Principal Owner, Milwaukee Brewers

"Vince Gennaro shows a profound understanding of the economics of a team's baseball decisions. His analyses of a team's win-revenue relationship, the player development system and player valuation, make for a remarkably innovative examination of the baseball front office model that's just as informative for a baseball executive as for a fan." --Chris Antonetti, Assistant General Manager, Cleveland Indians

"Diamond Dollars offers up exciting and stimulating new ideas about the business of baseball. It provides a set of metrics for decisions that have typically been a "gut feeling" for many organizations. I think teams should make this required reading for everyone in their organizations." --Jim Beattie, former Executive VP and General Manager, Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos

"Vince Gennaro has written the best book I've read on the business of baseball. It serves as both a "how-to manual" for baseball owners and a tour guide for fans who scratch their heads at the things their teams do. It should find plenty of readers in both camps." --Dave Studenmund, Editor, The Hardball Times Annual

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Pub. by Maple Street Press, Dist. by Potomac Books (March 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977743632
• ISBN-13: 978-0977743636
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,759 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot like yellowcake, April 21, 2007

By	FRG (California) - See all my reviews

I'm a big Mets' fan living in LA and found this to be a great read. The author gets into some pretty interesting ways for Major league teams to run their business. He talks about a way to put a dollar value on players that I hadn't seen before, since most methods use comparables for what similar players are paid in the free agent market, but this book talks about how much a player is worth to different teams at different level of competitiveness. He shows that the Carlos Beltran signing (which so many experts were criticizing) really paid off financially for the Mets in 2006. There's a lot more to the book than player value, but that was the highlight for me.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but not for everyone, August 18, 2007

By	Phil Kasiecki - See all my reviews

This is a very interesting book that I enjoyed, but there are certainly caveats to those who may be interested in reading this. This book isn't for everyone and there are a couple of recommended prerequisites from my vantage point.

For one, if you're just a casual baseball fan, this book is not for you. It goes into a lot of detail about the business side of baseball and on all levels, and many times I thought to myself that if I didn't know the game and players as I do, I'd probably be lost. It helped me greatly that I have played and coached in addition to having been a serious fan for many years.

Second, it doesn't hurt to understand a little about the business side of anything, as this book is very business-oriented. If you have no business intuition at all, the material in this book will just fly over your head. You don't have to be a Fortune 500 CEO, but at least know a little about how businesses are run and some of the terminology.

In short, while a very good book, it's not light reading and not for everyone. Officials of baseball teams are a primary audience, and this is a must-read for such people. If you're a baseball fan and know a little about business, you'll enjoy it, although even then there will be parts that aren't easy to digest. Early on, I had a little trouble keeping up with all the information being thrown at me, from pure numbers to other facts, and it's almost too much right away. But once I got past that, the rest of the book came much more easily for me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is how you understand baseball, November 6, 2008

By	R. J. Burckhard - See all my reviews

This is a great, insightful look into the structure of MLB teams from the major leagues to the team's player development and minor league system. It delves into areas rarely discussed before and opens up new arenas of discussion for baseball fans.

I've read "Moneyball" and "The Baseball Economist: The Real Game Exposed," and I think Diamond Dollars goes places where these two reads don't. First off, it is the first piece of baseball literature I have ever read to identify a player's marquee and asset value to his team. Second, this book talks about all aspects of organizing a team, from acquiring the right players, to how to use the players to generate revenue for the team, to how to build the brand of your organization.

I would take the concepts in this book a step further and say they can be incorporated into any aspect of business management.

A great read and a MUST-READ for any baseball fan or business person (would make a great holiday gift!).