The post-season is always a blend of exciting and frustrating. Exciting to see games with so much riding on every pitch and to see some of the best teams strut their talent. Frustrating that the A’s are not one of those teams and to reflect on the gap between how the best teams play and how the A’s play.
Here’s what the A’s next GM/PBO ought to be noticing as they put together their first rosters and coaching staffs:
- Grinding out at bats You don’t see players compulsively taking first pitches and trolling for walks nor compulsively swinging at whatever slop comes their way. There is discernment in the plate appearances that produces a blend of aggressiveness on strikes with a willingness to wait for a better pitch and draw walks from sufficient patience. The A’s showed this at times in 2026 but it was fleeting — the norm was a lot of hacking and chasing and precious little discipline. The A’s need hitters, and hitting coaches, who are committed to the practice of staying disciplined and discerning in their approach.
- Insistence on fundamentals Certainly there have been moments of break down even amongst the teams still standing. But one story really has stayed with me this post-season and it was the benching of Cooper Pratt back on August 25th, 2026, partly for not running hard on a fly ball ball that wound up falling for only a single, partly for not working to get a bunt down, and partly — at least according to teammates — for a culmination of events over time. Most essential is the dedication to a “winning culture” several players cite in backing their manager’s intolerance of a lack of hustle or commitment to fundamentals. The A’s need a manager who will bring “tough love” and a fundamentals rich style of play to offset inherent imitations in talent/payroll.
- Emphasis on development and analytics The competition has simply waltzed by the once Moneyball-proud Athletics. The Brewers and Rays, in particular, spend ample resources not on payroll but rather on development and analytics and it shows. Jacob Misiorowski, Drew Rasmussen, and Gavin Williams may be “true aces” but they don’t necessarily have better arms than Luis Morales, Jack Perkins, and Gage Jump, who could be a worthy “Big 3” if stuff alone determined outcomes. The A’s need to invest strongly in the kind of development and analytics the LCS teams boast — teams who, by the way, ranked 20th (MIL), 28th (TB), and 29th (CLE) in Opening Day payroll.
Are there some other categories you can name where the teams still playing stand out, either in the way they are coached/instructed to play on the field or, perhaps more importantly, how they are set up off the field? Soon the A’s will hire a new front office — and then the new front office will begin to reshape how the A’s are run with an eye on being on of the teams still playing when 27 of the teams are watching from home.