Clearing Up The Trade Value Origins

If you’ve found FanGraphs today because of Bill Simmons, first off, hi! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this message on twitter from Simmons might clarify:

Just stumbled acrouss this link: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2010-trade-value-introduction/ There is no honor on the internet.

Likely due to the Adrian Gonzalez trade, it looks like Bill found the trade value series from this summer, and there is no mention of the fact that this series was adapted from the NBA version of this column that he’s been running for years. Well, Bill, I’m sorry that you found the series that way, and that it appears that I have not given you credit for the idea. Because, over the years, I’ve attempted to make it very obvious that this was your idea to begin with.

The first trade value post I ever did was in the winter of 2005, over on USS Mariner. Here is the opening paragraph of that piece:

I imagine most of you probably have read a Bill Simmons column at least once. While he’s not much of a baseball analyst, his stuff is a fun read, and he has a running column he does every year ranking the top 40 players in the NBA in terms of trade value. Analytically, its a puff piece, full of cliches and unsupported arguments that, in the grand scheme of things, mean nothing. But every year, I enjoy reading it. It’s not serious analysis, but variety is the spice of life. So, as we enter the Week Of Insane Rumors, I figured I’d kick it off with my baseball version of his idea, and rank the 40 most valuable commodities in baseball. I’ll let him summarize the rules, though I’ll change the examples for those of you who don’t follow the NBA…

His name appears in the very first sentence of the very first trade value post I ever did. When I did an update 16 months later, I again explicitly mentioned that I was doing a baseball version of Simmons’ basketball column. In 2008, when I moved the series to FanGraphs, I again gave Simmons credit as the originator of the idea. And, in the introductions of last year’s series, Simmons is noted as the originator of this series.

Four years, four posts, four times Simmons was explicitly given credit for the series. It is unfortunate that the only year that his name didn’t appear in the introduction is the one he stumbled across, which gave the false impression that I’ve tried to take his idea and pass it off as my own. I have updated that post to add in recognition once again, and if Bill feels it is necessary, I will continue to do so in future years.

Bill, sorry you found the trade value series that way. I apologize if you felt plagiarized. That was never my intention, and I have tried to make sure that you were credited for the idea.