A conversation with Ben Reiter

My conversation with Ben Reiter, senior writer for Sports Illustrated & SI.com since 2004 and author of Astroball: The New Way To Win It All, where he prophetically predicted in 2014 that the Houston Astros would win the World Series by 2017.

We discussed what inspired him to dive deeper into the modern day baseball methodology when it comes to payroll/asset management, how his thinking evolved in contrast to the Moneyball realities of the game, his thoughts on Jeff Luhnow and the fateful decision to acquire Roberto Osuna amidst a character-driven modus operandi, why Ken Giles will be a valuable part of the future of the Toronto Blue Jays, and his candid take on the dwindling nature of batting averages and bases on balls over the voracious appetites for witnessing home runs and rampant strikeouts.

Be sure to follow Ben (@BenReiter) on social media and pick up a copy of his new book while enjoying his fine work over at Sports Illustrated.

Ari Shapiro on Sportsnet 650 (Vancouver) with Mira Laurence (09-26)

About The Author

Ari Shapiro

Ari Shapiro is a writer, podcaster, and publisher with over two decades of experience working for monolithic corporations before one day realizing that the value of pure human ingenuity and creative literary expression is worth far more than being a capitalist ronin prick who drives a nice BMW. He’s a dashing technologist by day and a cunning journalist by night running one of the last independent and underground media hubs featuring articles from a cadre of ruthlessly talented contributors. He also discovered J. R. R. Tolkien at ten years of age, King Crimson by twelve, and ran the city’s most popular bulletin board system at fifteen. Now mired in adulthood, he yearns to avoid mediocrity by inspiring others to use both hemispheres of the mind. View all my posts