To understand the context of talent management in baseball,
Introduction:
A Talent Management Case Study:
Major League Baseball’s Quest
for Super keepers
BEST EQUATION BUT HARD TO ACHIEVE!!!
• Minor league network (a system of
talent- and revenue-generating
teams aligned with a major league
club), more than ever, is a highly
valuable asset in building a
high-quality cadre of talent that can
be used to staff one’s organization
at a lower cost (player salaries are
lower at the outset because the
mandatory requirements for player
pay increase with time), a trade chip
used to obtain high-quality talent
from other teams to fill one’s own
voids, and a way to ensure that core
competencies are mastered before
entrance into the big leagues.
Talent assessment scheme in major leagues create
“bench strength summaries”
• Identify not only the
classification of players at each
level but surpluses (more than
one player who can move to the
same position at the next level),
• Voids (positions with no backups
within the organization requiring
trades or the signing of free
agents),
• Performance problems (player
improvement areas)
it is important to recognize the following trends:
• Branch Rickey (Revered baseball executive), brought Jackie Robinson to big
leagues, said, “luck is the residue of design.” • Team composition -reshuffled to balance affordable payroll
• Rickey’s statement convinced that a major league organization could not depend costs, team effectiveness, and revenue.
on good fortune, chance, providence, or fate to deliver the results sought by • Talent assessment techniques -more sophisticated and establish
fans, owners, and the multitude of businesses nourished by a professional
baseball team.
player worth value.
• To sustain excellence team- must continually reconcile an assortment of • Player’s value- drives a team’s talent management decisions
frequently competing forces. regarding player compensation investment, retention, trade, and
• It must provide a winning and crowd-pleasing team, at an affordable level, in an acceleration through the various levels of organization.
attractive venue. • Compensation -refined by player type such that performance and
• The successful teams know, however, that “the residue of design” will be the potential performance can be rationalized against players in the
catalyst for success. That catalyst is talent management! same position on other teams, individual contribution, and fit
within team.
CONTD…
HOW TO REACH THAT EQUATION?
• Major league baseball utilizes
• Baseball, like most businesses, must find, classify, assign, and
a talent management scheme to
optimize throughout the organization the contributions and market
ensure a flow of high-quality
value of …
talent, from all sources, that is
• Super kepers (those who greatly exceed expectations),
not dissimilar to that of a more
conventional organization! • Keepers (those who exceed expectations),
• Solid Citizens (those who meet the requirements) and
• Eliminate the Misfits (those who fail to meet the team’s
requirements, typically because of lack of talent, physical
conditioning, or character).
• Classification & treatment of players must be balanced for every
team from the lowest-level farm (minor league) team to the major
league parent team itself.
The conceptual components of the major league baseball talent
management approach include the following,
CONTD…
• Trade opportunities
(opportunities to deal a surplus
• Assessors
of backups to fill a position
void) and • Performance appraisal
• Blockages (a condition where a • Potential forecast
current player has less ability • Coaching, training and
than his backup). development
• Research has shown that teams • Talent management strategy
that sustain excellence over
extended periods of time are
proactive in the identification
and management of talent!
Assessors: Performance Appraisal
For example,
• Baseball - pioneer in measurements of
• Managers, coaches, scouts, and
• Tom Greenwade (legendary scout) identified players like Hall of Famer accomplishment.
front office staffs, at every • Every conceivable outcome of
Mickey Mantle for ‘Yankee organization’ in the 1940s and 1950s, was
organization level, who batting, fielding, base running,
highly praised as an important contributor to the team’s success in
evaluate the players using the succeeding years. winning, and losing has been reported
categories. from individual, team, league, and
• In any organization, beyond its full-time employees, are free agents, baseball-wide perspectives.
• Quality of the assessors part-time, and associate scouts. • It is possible to make very specific
-critical component of talent • Scouts are typically organized and coordinated by a director of scouting, longitudinal and cross-sectional
management scheme. who assembles all information necessary for a comprehensive player talent comparisons of players and teams for
• Executives in the parent management plan. over 150 years.
organization need to assess the • Scouts are the “head-hunters” of baseball
assessor’s skills in forecasting • They guard the entrances to the major league reservoir of talent!
the talent level of players.

Potential Forecast
CONTD…
CONTD… • Prediction of a player’s success probability
at each level of an organization
• Assessment is based on prior performance • Pitcher potential is typically predicted based on
and a projection of how far a player can go
in one year and what his ultimate level of fastball velocity,
• These comparisons contribute to the accurate assessment of assignment could be. fastball life,
• The forecast for position players (not
players for placement, development, trade, and compensation. pitchers) is based on a set of factors such curveball,
as.. curveball control,
• No modern institution can boast of the historical quality of arm strength,
performance measures as baseball can. arm accuracy, slider, slider control,
fielding ability, change of pace, change control, other pitches, control of other pitches,
fielding range, delivery, and arm angle.
hitting ability,
raw power, • Self-confidence, mental toughness, aggressiveness, work habits, personal
power production, habits, aptitude, poise, and instincts are as critical as technical skills in
running speed, making decisions on player assignment.
usable speed, • Collectively, these measurement factors are the analog of organization core
body control, and
directional hitting (pull, straight away,
competencies in conventional organizations.
opposite field, and all of the above).

Coaching, Training, and Development For example, The Talent Management Strategy

• Performance review, potential for • Advisory for catchers :suggestions on throwing, blocking the plate, and • To be competitive at a world championship level
future growth Gap analysis. calling plays. • Develop a long-term strategy for staffing its starting major league baseball
• Gap analysis = player’s current • First base advisories: holding players on, playing the bag, and fielding the team with the greatest number of Superkeepers and Keepers that it can
capabilities - requirements of his position.
current and future positions. • Advisory manual: specific guidance on hitting, base running, sliding and afford.
• To address gaps teams have core values of a team (perseverance, desire, hard work, being a student of • Teams without the financial resources to staff themselves with high-priced
developed player development the game, health and fitness and fan loyalty). Super keepers and Keepers from other teams are more reliant on the
programs encompassing all levels • Sets standards of acceptable behavior for the players to follow. development of high-quality surplus talent from within their own
of competition within their • Annual calendar :All developmental programs are codified to ensure for
organization. organization that is typically powered by a minor league system.
all of the assessment components formally come together at least once a
year. • Such talent will serve both their own needs and as “currency” for
• A team will conduct special clinics and training programs to implement Superkeeper/Keeper trades in lieu of financial resources.
individual development plans.
• This development calendar, player feedback, and customized training are
the counterpart of a conventional organization’s succession and career
plan.
CONTD…

• Additionally, every organization needs to enrich its bench strength with the
best Solid Citizens available and waste no time eliminating the Misfits.
• To the extent that baseball clubs have the ability to recognize and manage
their reservoir of talent on a continual basis, they will have sustained
success.
• Those that have a record of sustained success should recall the wisdom of
THANK YOU
Yogi Berra, Yankee catcher and glib talker, who spoke the following
humbling words, “Ninety percent of the game is half mental.”