Book Review - Diamond Dollars

Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball
by Vince Gennaro

I finished the last page of this book yesterday. It is not for the casual baseball fan. It is also not for the easily distracted reader. Vince Gennaro explains through in-depth analysis why teams do what they do. He answers questions like this:

• Why pay Daisuke Matsuzaka all that money of which $50 million was just to have the rights to buy Daisuke from his Japanese team? (To keep the Yankees from getting him, but also to draw international revenue dollars from Japan. Hypothetically, the Sox would lose money if they didn't make that happen.)
• Why don't the Pirates spend more money to field a better team? (Because their local market would not support the increase in wins enough to pay for the extra costs in buying better players)
• Why do the Yankees spend so much? (Because their player development system and drafting skills are awful)
  

  Vince digs in and tells us that the Yankees are masters at branding their team, but because they typically have horrible drafts and lack in the ability to develop their minor league players, they have to pay for superstars to win now. The Dodgers are in the same camp. However, the Indians, A's, Braves and Twins have great drafts and develop their players much better. They HAVE to, their pockets are not as deep. This is how those teams are able to compete with the bigger spenders.

  
  Diamond Dollars is one of those books that you'll probably understand 75% of. However, it will open your eyes to a whole other side to baseball. A side that explains why your team does what is does. If you've ever gotten mad at a move your team made, this is the book that can explain why they made that move.