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Oakland A’s: Billy Beane’s departure does not change anything

By David Hill

OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 1: Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics talks with Eduardo Perez on the field during a workout at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 1, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 1: Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics talks with Eduardo Perez on the field during a workout at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 1, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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Even though Billy Beane is set to leave the Oakland A’s behind, his departure does not change anything for the organization.

It was inevitable that, at some point, Billy Beane would be leaving the Oakland A’s. He had been a part of the organization, first as a player, and later in the front office, since 1989. His fingerprints are all over the organization, with his model helping to guide the A’s to contending status more often than not.

But now, as his sports venture company, RedBall Acquisition Corp, will merge with Fenway Sports Group, Beane needs to depart. As a part owner of another franchise, the Red Sox in this case, he cannot be a part of the A’s front office any longer.

While this will be the end of an era, it really does not change anything for the A’s, at least for the short term. David Forst has been the A’s general manager since 2015, and had been running the show with Beane since 2004.

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There will be changes. Whoever takes over as the new president of baseball ops will inevitably have different ideas than Beane, even if there are a number of similarities. Yet, those changes will not be evident for some time, as the A’s minor league system will still have Beane’s fingerprints upon it for years to come.

And yet, even with those changes, nothing will fundamentally change. The A’s are still going to be the same team, limited by payroll constraints and forced to rely upon their farm system. They will need to keep finding those undervalued assets, scouring the trade market and the bottom of the barrel in free agency in hopes of finding those diamonds in the rough.

That does not seem likely to change anytime soon. Unless ownership makes the surprising decision to begin spending, the A’s are going to have the same general direction. Beane may have changed the game, and been the driving force behind the organization’s philosophy, but the A’s are not about to change their stripes now that he is ready to depart.

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The Oakland A’s are going to miss Billy Beane. But in reality, his departure does not really change anything at all.