© John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
In a report via The Athletic, it was announced that the San Francisco Giants have hired Matt Daniels, a former employee of the data-driven player development company Driveline, to their front office.
On Wednesday, Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper came on Murph & Mac to discuss the new hire, and what it means for the direction of the ballclub.
“The only thing I can take out of it is that the Giants don’t want to fall behind other organizations that are doing the same things,” Kuiper said. “Or, maybe they’re on the front line of doing this and making this hire. Clearly this young man has got some stuff that he’s pretty good at, and he’s got a portfolio where there have been some guys that have had success. I think (Adam) Ottavino went to him, so hey, let’s not fall behind. Let’s go to some of these young guys, get their ideas and see what you got.”
Kuiper also commented on if he thinks the whole front office is in transition.
“You do have to have a conversation to find out where these (new analytics) guys are coming from, but you still have (Vice President) John Barr in the building. You’ve still got those guys guys in the building, and I don’t think it has anything to do with competition. I just think it’s more information, and if you get all these guys in the same room, it would be really interesting to see what kind of conversations they’re having.
“You think (scouting director) Dick Tidrow knew what his spin rate was? No. But that’s kind of where things are going right now, and if you have the ability to capture that data, then you try to use it and see if it can benefit you. It’s not going to hurt. The only way it hurts is if (new age analytics) is the only thing you go by, and I think we’re way beyond that.”
One new trend in baseball that has been driven by the analytics movement is the idea of starting “openers” over the course of the season instead of utilizing a more traditional rotation. Kuiper gave his thoughts on the Giants possibly using this method.
“You know, I think people did jump fast because it’s such a revelation that the Giants are actually going to do this. From that point when it was said to now, it’s been pretty fully explained that they want to do this with a couple of their young pitchers to try to save them from getting beat up in the next two or three years. It is going to be interesting though, and the manager has to buy into this. Bruce Bochy has said on record that, ‘Yeah, if Derek (Rodriguez) and Andy Suarez are going to do this, and we’re gonna back these guys up, then I’m in.
“If this is the way the organization wants to go, then that’s where we’re gonna go.”
To listen to Duane Kuiper talking about the hire, listen from the beginning here:
