Who is 'Moneyball' man Billy Beane, why is he teaming up with Liverpool FC owner Fenway Sports Group?
Liverpool owner could add another football club from continental Europe to its sporting roster. According to reports, talks between Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and RedBall Acquisition Corp, a company set up by Billy Beane, has taken place with the latter buying a 25 percent stake in FSG. The deal comes with an aim of the Liverpool owners becoming the most powerful international sports conglomerate and it would notch up FSG's valuation to $8B.
Beane serves as the executive vice president of baseball operations and is a minority owner of the Oakland Athletics. In addition, the 58-year-old also has minority ownership with Barnsley FC and AZ Alkmaar of the Eredivisie. Prior to the management role, Beane did have stints as an outfielder with the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics.
After he switched his baseball kit to a front-office career, Beane was known for applying a statistical analysis (known as sabermetrics) to baseball, which has led teams to reconsider how they evaluate players. He was also the lead character and the subject of Michael Lewis's 2003 book on baseball economics, 'Moneyball', which was later made into a feature film with Brad Pitt playing Beane.
RedBall was formed by Beane along with Gerry Cardinale, the founder of the private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners in 2020. It raked up around $575M in August with the goal of acquiring a sports franchise. Richard Scudamore, the former Premier League executive chairman, has been appointed to RedBall's board. Liverpool's John Henry and Beane have a good relationship and have been friends for a long time now, a fact that baseball fans and those who have watched 'Moneyball' would be well aware of.
Back in 2002, Beane was approached by Henry with a $12.5M offer to become the GM of famed MLB team, the Boston Red Sox, only to be turned down so he could continue to work with Oakland Athletics which he helmed. Henry has been asking for Beane ever since he rose to prominence with Moneyball's publication that detailed out his transformation of the Athletics into a powerhouse despite having a microscopic budget.
According to Talksport, he also has contacts in English football and was the brain behind recommending Damien Comolli as Liverpool's first director of football shortly after the club was bought by FSG in 2010.
If the FSG-RedBall conversation develops, the site added that Beane will have to move away from the Athletics and quit the sport altogether so as to avoid a conflict of interest. As part of the merger, he would focus on expanding Fenway's other sporting interests including the Boston Red Sox and the Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR team.