Baseball analytics pioneer Ari Kaplan has taught an online course on the topic 15 times over the last four years, primarily catering to those trying to break into the sports industry or boost themselves beyond an entry-level job. In his seminar this summer, however, midway through the 29 students introducing themselves alphabetically, an outlier spoke up. “Hi, I’m Mike Matheny, former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and now special assistant with the Kansas City Royals.”

A catcher for 13 years in the majors, Matheny went on to manage the Cardinals for six and a half seasons from 2012 through his firing in July 2018. He never had a losing record, reached the postseason four times and won the 2013 NL pennant. But that wasn’t enough to save his job. As one writer put it, “Matheny won despite being widely regarded as the league’s worst tactician.”

In his time advising the Royals’ front office and angling to return to the dugout, Matheny addressed his perceived weaknesses by hiring a media consultant and taking Kaplan’s course through Sports Management Worldwide. “One of the things I knew I wanted to get better at, improve on, and be more well-versed in, is the world of analytics,” Matheny says. “How can we create a culture and atmosphere where everybody is growing and learning and figuring out, one, how they’re being evaluated but, two, trying to find a competitive edge? I knew that was something I hadn’t put time into.”

MLB WINTER MEETINGS: Cameras Are the Future of Biomechanics Data Collection

His preparation paid off. The Royals hired Matheny as manager in late October after the incumbent, Ned Yost, retired.

Kaplan has worked in baseball for three decades, spending time working for the Orioles, Padres, Astros and Cubs while consulting for more than a dozen other clubs. With the Cubs, he was the Ricketts family’s first baseball operations hire when they purchased the team in 2010—Kaplan joined even before team president and architect Theo Epstein. Kaplan even received CalTech’s Alumni of the Decade award in the 1990s.

Kaplan credits Matheny for being “humble enough and honest enough” to take the class. “I think it’s really cool, and it speaks really well of him, that he’s been a manager in the majors and still wants to be learning,” Kaplan says. “The culture of the front office is evolving and the information that as a manager you could use—to help you win games, construct your lineup, [create] your strategy, defensive positioning, so many different factors—is changing.”

MORE BASEBALL

How swing biomechanics and tech tools are helping hitters

Matheny says connecting with Kaplan and asking for an evaluation was just as important as the course material. Matheny, who earned an undergraduate degree from Michigan in sports management and communication, also began taking master’s courses in organizational leadership.

“How can I stay relevant? How can I see what’s next? How can I provide our players any kind of edge to what’s on the horizon?” Matheny says. “We’re in a new era in baseball. Players are understanding the data and the information more. They’re hungrier for it than ever before and more open to it than ever before.”

NEW LINEUP: MLB The Show Will Extend Beyond Playstation Console

The curriculum for Kaplan’s course covers all facets of data in baseball with the lessons in weeks six and seven showing a particular relevance for a big league manager: “Arbitration, Forecasting, and Defense” and “Advanced Scouting and In-Game Preparation.” Kaplan says Matheny was gracious answering questions from peer students and pursued conversations with the instructor between classes as well. “He was eager above and beyond the class to make sure, if he had a chance to be a manager again, he wanted to be as prepared as possible,” Kaplan says. “He wasn’t shy. He would ask questions and just wanted to learn.”

While the Cardinals have the reputation of being among the sport’s more analytic organizations—and the Royals much less so—Matheny says that outward perception is misleading and that Kansas City simply isn’t “an organization that runs around waving a banner that tells everybody how data driven they are.” As such, he expects to have access to first-rate information in the seasons ahead, which he is now better equipped to incorporate into this decision-making.

“I love the direction the game is going,” Matheny says. “The more information we can get, the more we can surround ourselves with smart people who have the desire to change and impact and improve—it’s just going to make the overall product that much better.”

Question? Comment? Idea? Let us know at [email protected]