But when two sportswriters got a chance to actually do that, it wasn’t quite what they expected.

How do two guys who mostly write and talk about baseball wind up helping to run a team? Sam Miller, co-author with Ben Lindbergh of The Only Rule Is It Has to Work, says it was the indirect result of an off-the-cuff comment on their podcast.

Miller and Lindbergh took a data-driven approach to their work with the Sonoma Stompers, which led to their most innovative move. Miller says it began when they were searching for a way to defend the league’s most successful hitter.

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