You can make a strong case that this guy has revolutionized the game from a management perspective. He has consistently done more with less than anyone in modern baseball history. And it is telling that his chief disciple, Theo Epstein, took his style to Boston and brought a championship there for the first time in living memory.

I would rate Beane as "Great", but the teams had has assembled haven't fared too well in the postseason, and that's the true measure of greatness.

Obviously has not won the big series. Possibly not ever with Oakland.
Great mind. Originality. The buck stops at his desk. Go Billy.
By the way sperry c's comment of 4/4/08 coming out of the closet is
probably referring to Billie Bean, not Billy Beane, GM of the As.

unconventional in most ways (eg, he refuses to watch his teams play important games), but the success and consistency he's had as the As' GM is tough to match. Also very courageous to come out of the closet given the macho-dominated line of work he's in.

Modern day Baseball genius is correct. He's seeing the game in an all new way that is just now being imitated in GM's like Theo Epstien and Paul DePodesta at Toronto. It's a wonder more people dont emulate what he's done with a shoestring budget in Oakland. Read the book Moneyball for a more detail view of how Beane operates. He's yet to win it all, but with is approach he probably will. He may need to leave Oakland to do it though.

Modern day baseball genius. Year after year his team makes the playoffs - it was 3 years in a row up until last year, when they missed it by one game - and this is all with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. By focusing on the overlooked stats like on base percentage rather than home runs or averages, he was able to get some affordable hitters. OBP factors in walks (which the A's typically are league leaders in ) and if you ever played ball you'll remember your coaches saying a walks as good as a hit. With all this talk about average no one cares about OBP and that's why Beane gets them cheap. He surrounds himself with some brilliant management and scouts who are able to identify the young studs that they can pick up cheap, and they obtain them by trading off a guy or two who's gotten some publicity and trade value, while not necessarily performing to the hype. Beane will always surprise you and he picks players that are competitors and fun to watch.

Look everyone jumps on the bandwagon and portrays this guy as the best GM. Christ, he hasn't proven himself on taking his team to the next level. They lost a lot of good talent (Mulder and Hudson) and it's gonna backfire against him, if not already. They're expected to finish last in the division this season.

Hey alsport. Jeez, here's a nickel...go buy a clue. How the hell can Beane, Terry Ryan, et al. be accused of being overrated??? A few division titles you say...that's saying more than you can imagine. Building contenders from prospects and has-beens with a set budget is more than just a good start. The players' failures (A's had Sox and Yanks facing elimination) are not to pinned on Beane. Had the players closed it out, maybe we wouldn't be having this exchange (because the A's might have been World Champs)

The best there has ever been!

He's definitely overrated. What has he won? A few division titles....that's it. Isn't the goal here to win the World Series? Quit kissing the guy's butt until there is actually a reason. Cutting costs and finding good players is a good start but it takes more than that.

no payroll, produce talent and win

I can't argue with the A's record the past 4 years. However, Beane is a bit of a media hound and overrated in my mind because Sandy Alderson created the foundation for what has become the trend in MLB front offices. Sandy was not afraid to use data aggresively in determining player value from HS to MLB. Sandy Alderson get overlooked because he is not an ego maniac. Beane may not be an ego maniac but he has gotten some credit he may not deserve. About the atribution of OBP to Beane's A's. The fact is the A's win and have won with dominant pitching not necessarily with just OBP. Pitching was first and second in line for credit of the A's sucess and I don't hear much from the media regarding Beane's ability to develop pitching in his minor league system. That is the real story and Beane's best strength.

he loses great players every year, but his teams continue to find a way to win. unparalleled at finding talent.