Panelists

John Abbamondi

Assistant General Manager, St. Louis Cardinals

Abbamondi enters his third season as the Cardinals' Assistant General Manager, after having been appointed to that position in December, 2007.

He assists General Manager John Mozeliak in all aspects of the club's Major League baseball operations, including player acquisitions, roster management, contract negotiations, salary arbitration and budgeting.  Abbamondi's direct responsibilities also include overseeing the Cardinals' professional scouting and baseball development departments, as well coordinating with the club's medical staff.

Prior to joining the Cardinals, Abbamondi spent four seasons (2004-2007) with Major League Baseball's Labor Relations Department, most recently as the Senior Director of Labor Economics.  During his tenure at MLB, Abbamondi assisted MLB's clubs in salary arbitration, player contracts and negotiations, revenue sharing and MLB's Rules and Basic Agreement.  He was a member of Commissioner Selig's staff that successfully negotiated the 2006-11 Basic Agreement with the Players Association, and he helped develop the new revenue sharing system that is a key part of that Basic Agreement.  Abbamondi also served as a consultant for MLB Advanced Media and attended MLB's Scout Development Program in 2007.

A 1993 graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a 2004 graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Abbamondi previously served nine years in the U.S. Navy.  A former naval flight officer, he is the veteran of 40 combat missions over Iraq and is a two-time recipient of the Navy Air Medal.  Abbamondi, 38, resides in St. Louis.

John Dewan

Owner, Baseball Info Solutions

In 1987, John Dewan left a highly successful career as an insurance actuary to pursue his life-long dream, the development of the most timely and comprehensive computer database in sports. He fulfilled part one of that dream by becoming the Executive Director of Project Scoresheet, the Bill James-led effort that pioneered a new wave of baseball statistics that are now common baseball terminology. Part two of the dream was Sports Team Analysis and Tracking Systems, Inc. (STATS, Inc.) During John's tenure as President and CEO, STATS grew rapidly and was recognized in Inc. Magazine's Inc. 500, a list of America's 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies, ranking #144. In recognition of his leadership role in making real-time sports information available to consumers, John was named to the Crain's Chicago Business list of key technology players in Chicago and was a three-time finalist for the KPMG Illinois High Tech Awards. The success of the company culminated in its sale to an affiliate of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and Fox Broadcasting, News Digital Media in December 1999.

In March 2002, John reunited with former STATS executive Steve Moyer to launch part three of his life-long dream, Baseball Info Solutions. Their combined experiences create respected and unparalleled sports information used throughout the industry. Also in 2002, John became co-owner of ACTA Publications, a Chicago-based publisher and began a new line of sports books under the ACTA Sports imprint. He also wrote The Fielding Bible, a groundbreaking new book on baseball defense. The Fielding Bible -- Volume II will be available in the spring of 2009.

Since 1992, John has been the sports expert for "Stat of the Week," heard on WSCR 670 AM "The Score," an all-sports radio station in Chicago. The show can also be heard on the web at www.670thescore.com every Tuesday shortly after Noon Central time. His 'Stat of the Week" column can be found at www.statoftheweek.com. A free email delivery option is available at that website.

Dan Duquette

Owner, Duquette Sports Academy

With over 25 years experience in professional baseball, including 10 as General Manager of the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, Duquette is a proven organization-builder who immediately turned around struggling teams in two countries to build perennial contenders that drove fan interest and revenues to record-breaking levels. Trained in Milwaukee by Commissioner Bud Selig in budgeting and administration and by then General Manager Harry Dalton in baseball operations, Duquette’s aggressive scouting and detailed player development operations produce entertaining teams that are dynamic, diverse and profitable. Duquette is one of a handful of MLB executives to successfully manage a small and major media market team.  In Montreal he practiced "Moneyball" assembling the 1994 Expos who were on pace to win 111 games in the strike shortened season with the industry's smallest player payroll. In Boston he created a worldwide brand, the foundation the Red Sox leveraged to become perennial Champions and overtake the Yankees as baseball’s top organization. In addition to being recognized as the primary architect of the 2004 World Championship team, Duquette fielded 9 teams over .500 and his 10-year ML won loss record of .555 is in the top 4 executives industry wide for the decade.

Since departing the Red Sox, Duquette built a baseball complex in Western Massachusetts and in 2003 appeared off Broadway in the play "Damn Yankees” as Benny Van Buren, Manager of the 1953 Washington Senators. Currently, he manages a farm system for the US Military All Star Baseball Program and sponsors youth baseball & softball tournaments and camps as President of the Dan Duquette Sports Academy in the Berkshires.   He is also featured in the documentary film Holy Land Hard Ball that chronicles the 2007 advent of professional baseball in Israel for the first time in 5767 years and Duquette's contribution to bringing baseball facilities and entertainment to the Holy Land.

Shiraz Rehman

Director of Baseball Operations, Arizona Diamondbacks

Shiraz Rehman enters his second season as Director, Baseball Operations in 2010, and his fifth season overall as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks front office. He joined the club in December 2005 as a Baseball Operations Assistant and served for two years as the Manager, Baseball Operations after his promotion in January 2007. Rehman assists General Manager Josh Byrnes and Assistant General Manager Peter Woodfork in all phases of managing the baseball operations department.

 

Rehman’s primary responsibilities are with the Major League team, assisting in the maintenance of the club’s 40-man roster, providing financial and statistical analysis to support trade and player evaluation, and overseeing all transactions and Major League rules interpretation and compliance. He plays a key role in the arbitration process, contract structuring and negotiations, and oversees baseball analysis efforts for the team. Rehman also spearheads the D-backs’ development of Baseball Operations technology and video solutions, and coordinates the department’s internship program. In addition, he manages much of the financial planning and budgeting processes for all of baseball operations. Before joining the D-backs, Rehman interned for the Boston Red Sox during the 2005 season in Baseball Operations.

 

Rehman is a 1999 graduate of McGill University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting and was a starting infielder on the baseball team for four years, captaining the squad in his junior and senior seasons. He spent time as both a commodities trader and financial consultant for more than five years at Enron and Deloitte & Touche before obtaining his M.B.A from Columbia Business School in 2006. He and his wife, Beth, reside in Phoenix.

 

Tom Tippett

Director of Baseball Information Services, Boston Red Sox

As Director, Baseball Information Services for the Boston Red Sox, Tom oversees the development of the team's baseball information system and provides analytical support for player evaluation and other baseball decisions.

Prior to joining the Red Sox in 2008, Tom was the founder of Diamond Mind, Inc., serving as president and chief architect of that company's baseball simulation products until he sold the company in 2006.  From 2003 to 2008, he consulted with the Red Sox Baseball Operations department on technology and baseball research projects.

Before launching Diamond Mind, Tom held a variety of software development and marketing positions for IBM in Toronto and Index Technology in Cambridge, MA, from 1982 to 1992.  He has also worked in management consulting and accounting positions.

A Toronto native, Tom graduated from the University of Waterloo with an Honours B.Math degree and earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.  He lives in Lexington, MA, with his wife, Jodi, and their daughter, Alison.

Moderator

Rob Neyer

ESPN

Rob Neyer worked for legendary writer and sabermetrician Bill James for four years, then served as Assistant Director of Publications for STATS, Inc. before joining ESPNet SportsZone in 1996. Now a Senior Writer with ESPN.com, Rob blogs daily under the SweetSpot banner and has authored or co-authored six books about baseball, including Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends and The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers. Neyer lives in Portland, Oregon, and is patiently waiting for Major League Baseball's next round of expansion.