WHEN JEFF LUHNOW took over as Houston Astros general manager in December 2011, the organization dedicated itself to building a franchise for the 21st century, even if that meant dismissing more than 125 years of baseball orthodoxy. The long-accepted practice of belief without proof no longer would suffice. Luhnow demanded more. More critical thinking, more innovation, more logic and reason. At the root of those changes was what informed them: more information.
Luhnow loved information. If the Astros were going to upend baseball, it would happen only with a meticulous faith to evidence. They would ask questions, seek answers and iterate accordingly.