To combat the wealthy behemoths in the American League East, Billy Beane defied decades of player development strategies and the wisdom of seasoned scouts by allowing an assistant general manager with a Harvard degree in economics to enter into the inner sanctum of the draft room of the Oakland Athletics with a laptop.

FORBES: The Brilliance and Defiance of 'Moneyball's' Player Development Strategies

"At the start of the season I wasn't involved and I had to go to and play my football at Sheffield Wednesday, and I'm grateful to the manager there Brian Laws and his assistant Russ Wilcox who gave me an opportunity to go and play again , " he explained.

BBC: McMahon upbeat despite Boro slump