Giants President & CEO LARRY BAER said that the team "made a conscious effort to be vague, in public, about its use of statistics." He said that the idea is to "make sure players are invested in their performance and not make them feel as if their success is preordained by a front-office strategy." Baer, whose team leads the Series 3-2 over the Royals, said, “If you push it off on the players, meaning you give them the credit and the adulation and it’s not because some stat guy said this, that’s a better culture for them -- because, ultimately, they do have to execute. We’re not out there saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got this analytics template,’ the message being that’s the reason we’re successful." Baer: “The players like that -- it empowers them -- and plus you want them to be able to kind of react to situations because there will be some that have never been analyzed" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/27).
OVER THE MOON: ESPNW's Lynn Olszowy conducted a Q&A with Giants PA announcer RENEL BROOKS-MOON, who has served in the role for the last 15 years and "remains the only female PA announcer" in MLB. Brooks-Moon said, "People ask me, 'Did I aspire to do this?' And I say, 'This wasn't possible for me when I was a little girl.' This (job) has exceeded my wildest dreams. One of the most rewarding things now is that it is a possibility. I am thrilled that I am able to open up the door and have young girls and young women see that anything is possible" (ESPNW.com, 10/26).
GUESS WHO? In S.F., Thomas Lee profiled TERRI GUESS, Baer's Exec Assistant, and noted Guess is a "veteran of two World Series victories" following a 30-year career at Longs Drug Stores. Guess joined the Giants in '08 and her "primary responsibility is to manage Baer," who is "freewheeling, often focusing on multiple responsibilities at the same time" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/24).
NAMES: Celebrities attending last night’s Game 5 in S.F. included rapper KANYE WEST and wife KIM KARDASHIAN, former MLBer BARRY BONDS, Pro Football HOFers JOE MONTANA and STEVE YOUNG, and actors ROB LOWE, BEN BRATT and ERIC STONESTREET. The family of late actor ROBIN WILLIAMS and actor/comedian BILLY CRYSTAL participated in pregame ceremonies (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). Williams' son, ZAK, threw out the first pitch, but TV audiences "didn't get to see the warm tribute" (K.C. STAR, 10/27)....Marlins fan LAURENCE LEAVY is a "relentless self-promoter who has made his presence known by going to playoff and World Series games everywhere and paying whatever it takes so that he can sit in the first rows behind home plate and be in direct view of the TV cameras." Friday's Game 3 in S.F. was his "85th postseason game, going back 15 years" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/26).
