History Lecturer Mark Sigomon on the Oakland A's and 'Moneyball'

SWINGIN’ A’S -- My readers should know that I have been an A’s fan since Rickey Henderson’s rookie year in 1979. As a child, I was a big fan of Carl Yastrzemski and the Red Sox, but in my freshman year at Cal, I decided to switch my allegiance to the A’s. It was one of the better decisions I’ve made in my life. Currently, I live in San Leandro, and I teach history at San Francisco State. For the last four years, I have been teaching a class on the History and Literature of Baseball. (Let me know if you want a syllabus!) Michael Lewis’ book, “Moneyball,” is required reading in my class. That leads me to some thoughts on baseball strategy in general, and the A’s approach in particular.