In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball

The 1936 Yankees, the 1963 Dodgers, the 1975 Reds, the 2010 Giants—why do some baseball teams win while others don’t?

General managers and fans alike have pondered this most important of baseball questions. The Moneyball strategy is not the first example of how new ideas and innovative management have transformed the way teams are assembled. In Pursuit of Pennants examines and analyzes a number of compelling, winning baseball teams over the past hundred-plus years, focusing on their decision making and how they assembled their championship teams.

Whether through scouting, integration, instruction, expansion, free agency, or modernizing management structure, each winning team and each era had its own version of Moneyball, where front-office decisions often made the difference. Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt show how these teams succeeded by relying on talent both on the field and in the front office. While success is never guaranteed in a competitive, ever-changing environment, these teams demonstrate how creatively thinking about one’s circumstances can often lead to a competitive advantage. This paperback edition includes an epilogue and a list of the top thirty general managers of all time.