An ode to James Click: we miss you

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY SportsJames Click was Houston’s GM for only three seasons, but his contributions to the team are still being felt. In many ways, Click was the ideal GM: smart, data-driven, and not afraid to buck conventional wisdom.

The modern baseball GM has more in common with managing directors in investment banking or private equity than scouts or field managers. The modern GM must be able to build detailed and accurate analytical models designed to stay ahead of the competition.

In the financial industry, “Beta” is a term used to describe the performance of the broader market—think the S&P 500 or the 10-year treasury note. “Alpha” is the difference between your fund’s performance…