THE DIAMOND APPRAISED IS DEAD, LONG LIVE...

Craig Wright, who still dresses in a similar
fashion as shown in this late 1980's photo
(in the inset: Tom House, who was Craig's
"counterpoint" in The Diamond Appraised)

Just a quick hit to inform (regretfully) that Craig Wright's three-year The Diamond Appraised column (named after his 1989 volume of the same name) has ceased operations.

While Craig's allegiance to Bill James' Win Shares method often came across as a tad too servile, that is really about the only quibble that one could possibly raise when examining the output of the game's first insider baseball analyst during his stint as a freelance columnist.

Craig's great strength--far more so than James--is in his ability to address the connections between the on-field mechanics of how the game is played and the "lens of value" that is represented in the models that attempt to encompass those mechanics. Time and time again in his columns, Craig would find a way to integrate these often-divergent areas in ways that were uniquely thought-provoking.

The word on the street is that Craig has been considering an offer to work for a major league team--something, of course, that he's done before, beginning with the Texas Rangers. While we wish him the very best in all of his future endeavors--Craig's talents extend far beyond his involvement in baseball analysis--it's this observer's hope that he sits out this round of employment opportunities.

The business card that shook a thousand
basements across America...

For Craig Wright would be the perfect person to be the head of the centralized "baseball think tank" organization that the game needs to implement. He earned his way inside without a wave of MBA hype, and is about the opposite of a "schmooze" as one can possibly find. He has always been focused on getting to the core of an issue, examining all of the factors involved (demonstrated not only in terms of numerical analysis but in matters of baseball history as well), and gathering the widest possible set of evidence in search of the truth, no matter how messy or complicated it might be.

Those characteristics and character traits make him by far the best choice to be the architect of an organization within baseball to make the search for greater and deeper analytical knowledge a more transparent endeavor.

While we're not holding our breath for this to happen, we continue to think and wish and hope and pray that such an approach will, sooner rather than later, become a truth that is self-evident to the Lords of the Game.

Best of luck to you, Craig, in whatever you do next.