In a meeting before the 2002 draft, memorably recounted in Michael Lewis’ book, Moneyball, the Oakland Athletics’ front office and amateur scouts discuss a hitter the scouts had endorsed.



Billy Beane, the A’s general manager, questions whether the player can hit, considering his lack of extra-base hits and walks in college.



“My only question is,” Beane asks, “if he’s that good a hitter, why doesn’t he hit better?”



The scene, also depicted in the movie version of Moneyball, was one of several showing how the A’s de-emphasized old-school scouting in favor of advanced metrics, a trend later embraced by virtually every team in the sport.



Yet 12 years later, as if nothing had changed, the Oakland scouts again clamored for the team to select a college hitter with underwhelming statistics, and Beane again questioned their collective judgment.



“I kept asking, probing,” Beane...