1/9/2024 0 Comments No game no life specials![]() ![]() It’s not just that he is a former player and scout who has watched thousands of games. Still, it is interesting to see what his different experiences in the game bring to the Rays’ decision-making process. 19 overall pick, he has the “we’ll take the best available player” quote down pat. Like any major-league scouting director this week, Ricci is coy about where the Rays stand heading into the draft. While he has embraced baseball’s data revolution, Ricci comes from the back fields. The position had been filled from the analytics side in the past, but Neander said he knew had to go to Ricci this time because of his versatility. “But to have, like, the success that we crave, we better be a hell of a lot more than that.”įor an organization that bases its foundation on developing younger (and cheaper) players, Ricci’s is a key role. “I would never ever, ever shy away from having an analytical mindset,” said Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander. In the national narrative, they are strictly analytics-based and run by some of the youngest men in baseball. There are plenty of former players who are scouting directors across baseball, but this is the Rays. The organization promoted the 54-year-old to the role of director of amateur scouting after Rob Metzler became an assistant general manager with the Tigers. Sunday night, when baseball kicks off its 2023 amateur draft on ESPN, it will be Ricci’s first time directing the Rays’ efforts. As a former player and a longtime scout, Ricci has seen the draft evolve from the clandestine process he went through to the celebrated spectacle MLB now promotes. ![]()
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