Between a very interesting Modern Baseball Era Committee ballot and Thanksgiving travel (which in my case took a turn for the worse), it’s taken me longer than usual to shift into high gear with my JAWS-flavored profiles of the 32 candidates on the BBWAA’s 2020 Hall of Fame ballot. While the navigation bar atop each profile can guide you to the series’ installments thus far, it’s worth laying out a tentative schedule as well as providing a clearinghouse for a bit of business, including the reprise of a very cool feature our developer, Sean Dolinar, helped us pull off last year.

In the spirit of our annual free agent contract crowdsourcing, FanGraphs invites registered users to fill out their own virtual Hall of Fame ballots. You must be signed in to vote, and you may only vote once. To replicate the actual voting process, you may vote for anywhere from zero to 10 players; ballots with more than 10 won’t be counted. You may change your ballot until the deadline, which is December 31, 2019, the same as that of the actual BBWAA voters, who have to schlep their paper ballot to the mailbox.

The ballot is here and contains all 32 candidates (sorry, no write-ins for those fixated on Pete Rose). We’ve got tables of career stats for hitters and pitchers, if that helps, as well as a checkbox that allows you to see the stats of those already enshrined. As with last year, I’ll write up the crowdsourcing results sometime in early January, when we’re all jonesing for Hall news in advance of the announcement of the official results on January 21. Read the rest of this entry »

Please note, this posting contains two positions.

Position: Front End Developer, Baseball Operations

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Primary Purpose:
The Front End Developer will focus on building applications and systems to support Cleveland’s players, coaches, and front office. The position will collaborate with Baseball Operations personnel, along with colleagues and peers in Information Systems, to rapidly deliver working software, from ideation to delivery, break/fix, and everything in between.

This role will report to the Manager, Front End Development in Cleveland’s Information Systems department.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Design and Development of Baseball Systems

• Work closely with Baseball Operations and Information Systems departments to design, develop, and improve new and existing baseball applications
• Create tests and documentation for bug fixes and new application features/functions
• Design and develop dashboards and various analytical tools to directly support front office and field personnel
• Ensure technical feasibility of user interface and user experience designs
• Build and/or support mobile-friendly user interfaces and experiences
• Build and/or support web services and business-layer applications that speak to both back end databases and front–end interfaces
• Collaborate with other teammates and stakeholders

Support of Baseball Systems

• Provide development support and guidance to Baseball Operations power users and general support to all Baseball Ops front-office and field personnel, as needed
• Examine and where appropriate, prototype new technologies in the pursuit of creating competitive advantages through software, applications and tools; considers future requirements and possibilities
• Work closely with Data Architects and Infrastructure/Operations resources on the Information Systems team to ensure secure, scalable and high-performing applications

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field is preferred
• At least 3 years of experience in software development in a web-based development environment
• Experience in consuming Service Oriented Architectures is preferred
• Knowledge of Web Development languages/standards, including Javascript, HTML5, and responsive design Use of Open Source JavaScript libraries such as JQuery and Vue
• Experience with Tableau a plus Experience with Node.js a plus
• Experience working with baseball data or delivering sports analysis tools and/or applications is a plus
• Extensive general knowledge and experience with computer system hardware, networks, operating systems and business applications software
• Knowledge of Microsoft SQL server database design, programming and access methods is a plus

Job Requirements:

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Highly self-motivated
• Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

Standard Requirements:

• Reads, speaks, comprehends and communicates English effectively in all communications.
• Represents the Cleveland Indians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office.
• Ability to act according to the organizational values and service excellence at all times.
• Ability to work with multicultural populations and have a commitment to fairness and equality.
• Ability to walk, sit or stand for an entire shift.
• Ability to work extended days and hours, including holidays and weekends.
• Ability to move throughout all areas and levels of the Ballpark.
• Ability to work in a diverse and changing environment.
• Occasional physical activity such as lifting and carrying boxes up to 25lbs.

To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application, which can be found here.

Position: Back End Developer, Baseball Operations

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Primary Purpose:
To design, implement, manage, and troubleshoot the Baseball Department’s information architecture, and to expose that data to UI developers through a web service layer or direct SQL. The Back-End Developer will partner with the Baseball Analytics and Software Development teams to maintain data infrastructure, support needs, implement solutions, and drive innovation in baseball’s data-driven decision process. Key functions will include data modeling, integration, warehousing, and consumption, as well as the development and maintenance of web services in C# that expose data through REST web services.

This role will report to Manager, Back End Development in Cleveland’s Information Systems department.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Work with the baseball department and software development team to design, develop, test and deploy new functionality, applications, and systems.

Data Consumption

• Support data and reporting requirements for a variety of applications, analysts, and end-users in all departments.
• Provide technical and strategic advice of the management in the creation and implementation of new data standards, databases, products, and vendors.

Data Integration

• Create and support ETL (extract, transform, load) data integration processes.
• Understand the format, definitions, limitations, and content of external and internal data feeds.
• Reconcile differences across data sources and consolidate into a single master repository.
• Develop processes ensuring data standards, security, stewardship, lineage, and metadata management.
• Spearhead efforts to identify, obtain and integrate new data sources useful for decision-making

Data Modeling

• Understand and document existing database structures, historical design decisions, business rules, and future requirements.
• Develop and document a comprehensive information model that describes the data and maps the workflow that transform and manipulates it into usable information.
• Ensure “single version of the truth” consistency across applications and reports.

Data Warehousing

• Manage a data warehouse to support reporting and analytics.
• Assist end users in extracting data for their purposes

Web Services Development

• Creating and supporting REST-based web services to expose data to various UI layers (web, desktop, mobile app).

Education & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering or related field.
• At least 3 years of experience in software development or in a similar role
• Experience with business intelligence, data warehousing, OLAP, and/or data integration.
• Experience with data modeling.
• Thorough knowledge of design and integration principles for complex, heterogeneous databases
• Advanced knowledge in query development, including SQL, MDX, and stored procedures.
• Experience with ETL and BI reporting tools (e.g. Microsoft SSIS & SSRS, Tableau).
• Experience using JSON formatted data.
• Experience in C# or other .NET language.
• Knowledgeable about software development best practices and long-term maintainability of code
• Familiarity with baseball data and sabermetrics strongly desirable.
• Experience supporting or using statistical and/or data-mining applications is desirable.
• Familiarity with any of application development and/or web technologies is a plus.

Standard Requirements:

• Reads, speaks, comprehends and communicates English effectively in all communications.
• Represents the Cleveland Indians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office.
• Ability to act according to the organizational values and service excellence at all times.
• Ability to work with multicultural populations and have a commitment to fairness and equality.
• Ability to walk, sit or stand for an entire shift.
• Ability to work extended days and hours, including holidays and weekends.
• Ability to move throughout all areas and levels of the Ballpark.
• Ability to work in a diverse and changing environment.
• Occasional physical activity such as lifting and carrying boxes up to 25lbs.

To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application, which can be found here.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Cleveland Indians.

Position: Developer, Baseball Systems – Research and Development

Location: Chicago, IL

Role Overview:
This role will focus on the development and maintenance of Cubs’ internal baseball information system and all of the data flows that support it. This may include creating web interfaces and web tools for the user interface; building ETL processes; maintaining back-end databases; deploying machine learning models; and troubleshooting data source issues as needed. Successful candidates will also bring strong analytical skills, work ethic and communication skills.

Responsibilities:

• Assist in the design and implementation of the Baseball Ops information system, creating performant and beautiful user interfaces.
• Develop and maintain ETL processes for loading, processing and quality-checking new data sources.
• Identify, diagnose and resolve data quality issues.
• Assist in design and deployment of machine learning models for active predicting.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree or above in Computer Science or similar discipline
• Experience working in a Linux environment
• Experience building scalable software in a collaborative setting
• Knowledge of data structures
• Ability to debug and profile applications, driving towards optimal performance
• Experience with modern database technologies and SQL
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Working knowledge of advanced baseball statistics and sabermetric concepts

Desired Qualifications:
Depending on the candidate, any or all of these skills may be utilized.

• Experience with JavaScript
• Experience with Python, especially with machine learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit Learn)
• Experience with R
• Experience building web or native applications for mobile devices
• Experience building and supporting ETL processes

To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application, which can be found here.

Response Expectations:
Due to the overwhelming number of applications they receive, the Cubs unfortunately may not be able to respond in person to each applicant. However, they can assure you that you will receive an email confirmation when you apply as well as additional email notifications whether you are selected to move forward for the position or not. Please note, they keep all resumes on file and will contact you should they wish to schedule an interview with you.

The Chicago Cubs and its affiliates are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to inclusion and employing a diverse workforce. All applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, disability, or other legally protected characteristics.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Chicago Cubs.

Monday evening during a squall of non-tender news, the San Diego Padres continued to sculpt their 40-man roster during what is likely to be a very active offseason, this time swapping power-hitting “catching” prospect Austin Allen and a player to be named for famous non-tender candidate Jurickson Profar in a deal with Oakland.

From a roster construction standpoint, the deal makes an awful lot of sense for both teams. The Padres had four catchers on their 40-man and were suddenly shallow in the middle infield after they traded Luis Urias to Milwaukee last week. Profar wasn’t as productive as he had been the season before, and Oakland has a tight budget imposed by ownership as well as two young and enigmatic-but-talented infielders coming up in Jorge Mateo and Franklin Barreto. The club also needed catching reinforcement behind oft-injured prodigy Sean Murphy.

Profar, who agreed to a one-year, $5.7-million deal with San Diego after the trade, is now the favorite to be the Padres’ everyday second baseman next year. While his surface-level 2019 production (.218/.301/.410) was down from the previous year (.254/.335/.458), his peripherals (9% walk rate, 14% strikeout rate) were identical, he golfed out 20 homers again (mostly left-handed, though Profar is a better hitter from the right side), and he offers some amount of defensive versatility (2B/LF last year, all over the place the year before), though he’s not a great glove anywhere. As Craig Edwards noted on Twitter, Profar had a horrendous April before he righted the ship and was a slightly above-average offensive performer for the rest of the year. Read the rest of this entry »

Catcher week continued Tuesday in Arizona as the Diamondbacks signed Stephen Vogt, 35, to a one-year, $3 million deal that could extend to two years and $7 million if Vogt reaches various threshholds during his first year in Phoenix. Vogt missed all of 2018 after fairly serious shoulder surgery undergone whilst with the Brewers, but performed credibly in 280 plate appearances for the Giants in 2019, hitting 10 home runs and posting a 107 wRC+.

Arizona, meanwhile, was in the market for a veteran catcher to replace Alex Avila, who seems likely to depart in free agency after spending most of the last two years mentoring the Diamondbacks’ young backstop Carson Kelly. Kelly, 25, finally got more than 75 plate appearances in 2019 after three disappointing campaigns with the Cardinals left his once-elevated prospect status in doubt.

He made the most of his chances, triple-slashing .245/.348/.478 while walking 13% of the time and posting a 108 wRC+. Those aren’t All-Star figures, to be sure, and I’m certain the Diamondbacks are hoping for a little bit more out of him, but it isn’t bad for catcher, given the state of the position, was presumably enough promise to allow the Arizona brain trust to feel comfortable passing on bigger-name catching options for 2020. I suspect, given Arizona’s aspirations for 2020, that a disappointing start for Kelly might push the D-backs into the trade market come July, but they don’t need to decide that now. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this month, the Cubs declined to pay $3 million to keep Kendall Graveman around and see if he’s recovered enough from a July 2018 Tommy John surgery to challenge for a rotation spot in 2020. That makes sense for Chicago, whose fourth starter is probably José Quintana. The Mariners, whose fourth starter is probably Justin Dunn, have more room to experiment a little and see what gives. They did just that this week, reportedly inking the 28-year-old Graveman to a one-year, $1.5 million deal (there’s a $500k buyout on a $3.5 million option for 2021, making the total guarantee for 2020 $2 million).

Graveman was moderately effective as a starter for the A’s from 2015 to 2017, posting a 4.44 FIP across 71 starts and 407 innings. That success ended in 2018, when a 7.60 ERA over seven early-season starts presaged the elbow injury that’s kept him off the mound ever since. He signed an incentive-laden deal with the Cubs last winter that promised substantial earnings contingent upon a successful return to the mound in 2019. That return never happened, despite two September minor-league rehab starts, and the Mariners were able to sign Graveman for only $1 million more in guaranteed contract dollars than the Cubs were willing to concede a year ago.

Graveman has a groundball-friendly profile (55.2% for his career) that will likely play well in front of Kyle Seager and J.P. Crawford and, if he is able to recover his pre-surgery velocity, he can be expected to pair a four-seam fastball thrown in the low 90s with a slider, a cut fastball, and an above-average changeup. There’s a well-traveled history of players adjusting their repertoires after returning from major arm surgery, of course, so I wouldn’t count on that mix (or, especially, that velocity) returning unchanged; know only that Graveman still likely has the raw materials to become the kind of pitcher who once so intrigued Jeff Sullivan. Read the rest of this entry »

The Tampa Bay Rays announced Monday afternoon that they have come to terms with catcher Mike Zunino on a one-year contract. Zunino will be paid $4.5 million in 2020 in what would have been his final year of salary arbitration eligibility. Tampa also holds a club option for 2021 at the same $4.5 million price.

It’s not the sexiest signing, but it’s one where both parties “settle” for something. Zunino struggled offensively in 2019, hitting .165/.232/.312, first splitting time with Michael Perez and then with Travis d’Arnaud. d’Arnaud’s healthy comeback season featured a healthier .263/.323/.459 in Tampa, resulting in him seizing the majority of the catching job from Zunino, with 80 starts in the 125 games the Rays played after acquiring him. Zunino remains a more-than-competent defensive catcher, but continuing a career-long streak of above-average framing runs isn’t quite enough when your wRC+ at the plate is 45. Read the rest of this entry »

Position: Junior Analyst

Department: Baseball Operations
Job Classification: Non-exempt
City/State: Oakland, CA

Description:
The Oakland Athletics are currently seeking a full-time Junior Analyst in the Baseball Operations R&D department. The Junior Analyst will have responsibilities that include performing statistical analysis and reporting, as well as in assisting in the creation of new analytical research and modeling to support Baseball Operations. They will also provide support and analysis for various tracking technologies. This position will work with members of the front office to provide analysis for the decision making process. This position will be located in Oakland, CA.

Responsibilities:

• Produce statistical analysis and reporting for the front office and coaching staff.
• Conduct research projects for various departments within Baseball Operations.
• Collaborate with the research and development team on statistical modeling techniques and projects.
• Assist with the capture and analysis of ball and player tracking technologies.
• Assist the staff with ad-hoc analysis and reporting.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Undergraduate degree in math, computer science, economics, statistics or related quantitative field
• Strong proficiency in SQL and R is required, Python experience preferred.
• Experience in Microsoft Excel is a plus.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Self-starter with an ability to handle multiple tasks and responsibilities.
• Excellent communication skills including written and verbal; ability to present ideas clearly and concisely.
• Ability to work extended hours/weekends and travel as needed.
• Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment.

To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application, which can be found here.

The Oakland A’s are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Oakland Athletics.

Position: Short Season Hitting Coordinator

Department:Baseball Operations
Status: Regular Full-Time
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona

Position Summary:
The Arizona Diamondbacks are seeking a Short Season Hitting Coordinator who will work closely with the Minor League Hitting Coordinator and oversee coordinating and developing players at their Dominican Academy, Short-Season clubs, Arizona operations (including spring training), extended spring, Arizona League and Instructional League as well as special assignments. The ideal candidate will use analytical data and technology to create plans for players to maximize their development and will collaborate with players, staff and the front office. Spanish speaking is required for this role, as well as the flexibility to be on the road for weeks at a time, including international travel.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• An understanding of hitting technology and how it can be implemented
• Communicating hitting technologies including video and wearable technology with Spanish speaking players and staff
• Working with hitters in one-on-one environments
• Working with short season hitting coaches to implement philosophy
• Incorporating analytics as it relates to hitting
• Effectively communicating technical and analytical concepts to non-technical people
• Ability to carry out and create a hitting plan for players in conjunction with the Hitting Coordinator
• Ability to multitask and balance multiple projects at once
• Working and collaborating with players, staff and the front office
• Independently evaluate professional and amateur baseball players
• Flexibility to travel internationally and be on the road for weeks at a time
• Carry oneself in a respectful manner that positively represents the organization

Skills:

• Fluency in Spanish is required
• The ability to effectively communicate with and relate to people who have varying backgrounds and experiences working in and playing baseball, respecting and empathizing with both the human and analytical perspectives of the game
• Intellectual curiosity and creativity
• Experience working with Blast, K-Vest, force plates, slow motion video and Rapsodo
• Technical knowledge pertaining to statistical analysis
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Strong work ethic and attention to detail

To Apply:
Interested candidates should send a resume and supporting materials to bbopsjob@dbacks.com.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Title: Assistant, Amateur Scouting

Department: Amateur Scouting
Status: Full-Time, Seasonal
Reports to: Assistant Director, Amateur Scouting
Deadline: December 1, 2019

The Los Angeles Dodgers are seeking an Assistant in the Amateur Scouting Department. This role will focus on providing administrative and technical support throughout the year in preparation for the 2020 and 2021 Rule 4 Drafts, in addition to being exposed to both traditional scouting and analytically-based concepts related to player evaluation. The individual will work closely with the entire amateur scouting staff in order to gather, organize, and process all pertinent information prior to the 2020 Draft and assist with in-person data collection as needed throughout the season.

Job Functions:

• Provide administrative, logistical, and technical support to the Amateur Scouting and Baseball Operations Departments, mostly in preparation for the Rule 4 Draft.
• Assist with the collection of biographical, medical, and statistical information on Draft-eligible players.
• Manage the daily in-flow of information through various internal and external data sources, implement detailed tracking processes to organize all information, and effectively communicate information needs throughout the department.
• Assist with the planning and execution of various department meetings and events—including Preseason and Pre-Draft workouts, Post-Draft Mini-Camps, and several department-wide meetings throughout the year.
• Provide in-person player evaluations, in-person video collection, and ad-hoc data collection and analysis, on an as-needed basis.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Basic Requirements/Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Willingness and ability to relocate to Glendale, AZ or Los Angeles, CA
• Fervent passion for baseball and a career in player evaluation
• Strong to excellent organizational, interpersonal, and time management skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel with experience or exposure with SQL being an advantage
• Ability to lift and carry 25 lbs
• Willingness and ability to work weekends, holidays, and open to travel, as needed

To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application, which can be found here.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Los Angeles Dodgers.