Diamond Dollars is a fresh, provocative, insightful, and analytical look at the business of baseball. Using the win-revenue relationship as a foundation, author Vince Gennaro delves deeply to explain how a team's level of competitiveness impacts the "value" of its players, to explore how a well-developed farm system contributes to a team's economic value, and to discuss some recent business trends, such as team-owned regional sports television networks.
In doing so, Gennaro answers a number of questions that speak to baseball's bottom line. How does winning affect revenues for each team? What is a player's economic value to his team? Why does a berth in the postseason have great economic value? What is the economic value of a productive farm system? Does competitive balance exist in baseball today? He also examines the differences in small-market and large-market teams, discussing how economic and revenue opportunities vary, and highlighting the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox and their methods. The book Moneyball was a breakthrough for baseball because it unveiled inefficiences in the way talent was evaluated. In a similar fashion, Diamond Dollars addresses the inefficiency in the way players are compensated and delivers an unparalleled inside look at the economics of baseball today.
A publication of Maple Street Press, distributed by Potomac Books, Inc.
This is how you understand baseball This is a great, insightful look into the structure of MLB teams from the major leagues to the team's player development and minor league system. It delves into areas rarely discussed before and opens up new arenas of discussion for baseball fans.
I've read "Moneyball" and "The Baseball Economist: The Real Game Exposed," and I think Diamond Dollars goes places where these two reads don't. First off, it is the first piece of baseball literature I have ever read to identify a player's marquee and asset value to his team. Second, this book talks about all aspects of organizing a team, from acquiring the right players, to how to use the players to generate revenue for the team, to how to build the brand of your organization.
I would take the concepts in this book a step further and say they can be incorporated into any aspect of business management.
A great read and a MUST-READ for any baseball fan or business person (would make a great holiday gift!).
a lot useful Thanks to Mr Gennaro for writting this book, i have found it very useful and very easy to understanding it. I can recommend it to those people already vinculated to baseball world in fact to any major sport just because some generic concepts could be use in them. for my this book works a lot.
An excellent introduction to valuation concepts I really liked this book, though more for it's mere existence than its independent value. It does a great job of highlighting the sources of revenue for sports franchises and how the various components of a business interact to create value.
Regarding baseball, it provides an excellent basic analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by major league teams of all sizes. I would have liked to have seen more detailed rankings of all teams rather than focusing on a few at the top and bottom end of the value scales but I'll take what I can get. As far as I know this book provides the best accessible analysis of the economics of baseball so while I can see multiple areas where it could be improved (details of more teams, more insight via appendices into the valuation assumptions made at various points), it's still well worth reading.
As a side point, I think the real value of the book may be its applicability to teaching some business fundamentals. It provides a very readable introduction to a variety of valuation concepts that are not always easy to communicate. I could easily see this being a valuable addition to business schools reading lists.
Just Like Advertised I received the book in brand new condition and it was actually mailed to me way before the expected date!
Heavy Duty Baseball Explanations The most confusing, yet insightfull baseball book I've read. Now I know why teams make the decisions and player moves they make. They MUST. Baseball is a business and this book explains why.
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