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Ron Hopkins, current Pirates scout, was old-school scout portrayed in 'Moneyball'

Justin K. Aller

A couple links:

-P- Over at MLBTR, I look at the Blue Jays' waiver-wire shenanigans. The Pirates have twice engaged in waiver-claim wars with the Jays, once with Brian Jeroloman and once with Chad Beck. The Jays ended up with both players, although the Pirates recently re-acquired Jeroloman from the Indians in a minor deal.

-P- This look back at how the A's came to draft Tim Hudson focuses on John Poloni, the "fat scout" from Michael Lewis' Moneyball. (It turns out the fat scout knew what he was doing, at least when it came to drafting Tim Hudson.) Also mentioned, though, is Ron Hopkins, then Oakland's national crosschecker and now a pro scout with the Pirates. Hopkins recommended Hudson to scouting director Grady Fuson. Hopkins was, apparently, one of the old-school scouts negatively portrayed in Moneyball (both the book and the movie). I'd never made the connection before. Moneyball got many things right, but its takes on scouting and the draft were hilariously off-base.