Circa 2004: Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the game vs. the St. Louis Cardinals ... [+]
Diehard Los Angeles Dodgers fans remember Shawn Green as not only a reliable player picked up from the two-time champion Toronto Blue Jays but also an exciting player and hitter who could go the distance.
Shawn Green's arrival in L.A. for the 2000 Season was a game-changer for the Dodgers. In the midst of a hard-fought campaign to get back to the postseason, the then 27-year-old outfielder played all 162 games, sparking his own sweet run of great performances.
He hit 40-plus home runs in two of five seasons for the Dodgers (2000-2004) and earned an All-Star nod. He was also nominated for National League MVP twice, in 2001 and 2002.
Humbly, however, Green sees himself at that time as a newbie who came of age in baseball thanks to his first two clubs.
“I had played a little more than five years with the Blue Jays, the first few (seasons) as a platoon player with solid performances, followed by two seasons as a full-time starter. It was at this point,” Green says about 1995 and 1996 with Toronto, “when everything clicked and my career took off.”
By 1999, Green’s last year with the Jays, he would lead the American League in doubles and total bases while getting his first MVP nomination and All-Star Game appearance, also ending that season with Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards. Green adds that the next step was equally crucial.
"I grew a lot as a player, and as a person, during the years I spent with the Dodgers. I came over via trade from Toronto prior to the 2000 season and was granted a lucrative six-year contract.”
In joining the Dodgers, Green played with other well-known players in baseball, such as Gary Sheffield, Eric Karros, and future Cy Young-winning pitcher and closer Eric Gagne.
“I was determined to dive into the process rather than focus on the outcome,” Green, now 51, said. “The results spoke for themselves the next two years as I turned out a couple of my best seasons.”
Thereafter, Green played his final four seasons in Major League Baseball, almost two with the Arizona Diamondbacks, before moving mid-season to New York in 2006 to play for the Mets.
Starting in the latter half of Green’s career, he recalls that there became a new approach to the game, one that tossed old ways of thinking about baseball out in order to embrace analytics and a more strategic way of thinking.
“Moneyball started gaining traction midway through my career. I think it’s changed the game immensely. And in recent years, (the addition of) technology on top of analytics has amplified that change.”
While much of the “Moneyball” approach to the game put forth early on by the Oakland A’s and the Boston Red Sox, as well as the storyline of the film Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, focused on stats line on-base percentage (OBP) and what position players could do with a bat in their hands, Green, who was also often a designated hitter, explains that Moneyball’s metrics changed the game all around—not just on base.
“Now, there’s a huge emphasis on data that couldn’t be quantified before, such as spin rates and exit velocities,” as well as other pitcher-based metrics. “Now, players coming up through the minor leagues put more emphasis on reaching certain milestones with their swings or pitches than they do on their batting averages or ERAs.”
Greenfly co-founders Shawn Green (Chairman) and Daniel Kirschner (CEO) are revolutionizing ... [+]
Green also hints that it’s not just a change of mindset that makes it all work. Tech plays a big part.
“I think there is a ton of value in having access to all of this technology and information, but in my opinion, the pendulum has swung a little too far to the analytical side. I predict we’re going to see a little more of the “art of the game” merging with the amazing technology and information that we now have access to.”
As such, it’s not surprising that Green, an easygoing guy who sounds a little analytical when it comes to baseball, has found a way, post-retirement, to keep his head in the game and his figure on today’s technology.
He said that he started the SaaS company Greenfly “out of a love for tech” and a desire to bring more fans to the game. Greenfly’s bread and butter is collecting, organizing and distributing high-quality videos that dish up the excitement of the grand old sports “highlight reel.”
Greenfly automates the flow of “short-form digital media for sports and entertainment organizations.” Greenfly was co-founded by Green and his cousin, Harvard law graduate and former SVP of Corporate Affairs & Counsel at Activision
The firm boasts a client list that consists of the Major League Baseball and the PGA, as well as soccer clubs in the German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1, plus the World Surf League, Premier League Lacrosse, and the NHL.
Greenfly’s platform doubles as its clients “digital media nerve center,” according the company website. Not only can sports teams distribute original content of their own along with licensed media sources like Getty Images. They can also tap into and aggregate fan-originated content to boost engagement metrics and further stoke fans.
Some of the organizations using Greenfly that sports fans are most familiar with are ones like the San Jose Sharks, PSG, Brentford FC, and of course, the L.A. Dodgers. Green thinks there’s especially a lot of excitement going on at his old club.
“Ohtani coming to the Dodgers is the perfect marriage. A storied franchise and the best organization in baseball over the past decade now has the greatest all-around player in the history of the game.”
Former Los Angeles Dodger Green throws out the ceremonial first pitch at Game 3 of the NL ... [+]
Green also points out that the Dodgers have been “beloved in Japan dating back to Hideo Nomo’s trailblazing years,” and now, with both Ohtani and newly-signed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, there will be a huge demand for viewership, post-game highlights, and extras.
“As great as the Dodgers have been in recent years,” Green concludes, “now more than ever, they are “must-see TV.”
