Dave Cameron (baseball analyst)

Dave Cameron
Born1980 (age 45–46)
OccupationSportswriter
Years active1999—present
EmployerSeattle Mariners

Dave Cameron is an American baseball analyst for the Seattle Mariners. He was formerly the managing editor and a senior writer for FanGraphs, an analyst for the San Diego Padres, and owner-operator of USS Mariner.

Biography

Cameron grew up in Seattle, attending Christian Faith High School in Des Moines, Washington from 1995 to 1999. In high school he developed a strong interest in baseball, discovering the alt.sports.baseball.sea-mariners newsgroup, reading Rob Neyer[1] and playing the sport. Cameron, a varsity catcher, made the state's all-star team his senior year when he led the league in walks.[2] After high school he attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he received his degree in economics.

In 1999 he began writing for Baseball Prospectus[3] then, three years later, in 2002 he created U.S.S. Mariner with Derek Zumsteg and Jason Barker. The website was named after the U.S.S. Mariner, a ship in the US Navy that would "fire its cannon after Mariner home runs and wins back in the 1980s".[4] In 2008, he also acted for a while as ESPN commentator. In March 2009, Cameron began writing for The Wall Street Journal[5] then, in April of the following year, Cameron became the full-time managing editor and operator of FanGraphs.[6]

On July 25, 2011, Cameron announced that he has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.[7] Treatment was successful.[8][9] In December 2011, he announced that he was joining the Baseball Writers' Association of America: "When I started writing about baseball... I never imagined it would turn into a career or that I'd ever be considered an Official Baseball Writer. The world is full of interesting twists and turns, though, and I'm happy to be able to walk through this newest open door."[10]

Grandfather's murder

Cameron's maternal grandfather was murdered when his mother was 19, at the family home in Baltimore. There is currently a documentary being made about the killing and how it shaped the lives of Cameron's 13 aunts and uncles.[11]

"An Open Letter"

On June 27, 2007 Cameron wrote a post "An Open Letter To Rafael Chaves,"[12] asking Mariners pitching coach Rafael Chaves to tell pitcher Felix Hernandez to throw fewer fastballs: "Take over control of the pitch selection to start the game. Make Felix throw a change-up or a curve ball to the first batter. Throw a first pitch slider in the first inning."[12] This letter eventually was passed along by a fan to Chaves, who had previously been attempting to make the same point to Hernandez and used the letter as reinforcement. Hernandez changed his pitching approach the next game[13] saying: "On the internet, they say when I throw a lot of fastballs in the first inning, they score a lot of runs. I tried to mix all my pitches in the first inning."[14]

San Diego Padres

On January 10, 2018 it was reported Cameron would join the San Diego Padres. His role would be senior analyst in the organization's research and development department.[15] Cameron left the Padres organization following the 2021 season.[16]

Seattle Mariners

After leaving the Padres, Cameron took a consulting job with the Mariners. After the 2022 season, he was promoted to senior director of player procurement.[17]

Baseball writing

Cameron was the managing editor of FanGraphs.[6] Along with Derek Zumsteg, Cameron created the Seattle Mariners blog U.S.S. Mariner.[18] He also previously wrote for ESPN,[19] The Wall Street Journal,[20] and Baseball Prospectus.

Among other topics he has contributed sabermetric research on home run/fly ball rate,[21][22] correlations between velocity and strikeout rates,[23] the general evaluation of pitcher talent,[24] defensive evaluation,[25] and roster construction strategies.[26][27]

References

  1. ^ "Interview with Dave Cameron". SCULU. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  2. ^ "FanGraphs Audio: The Dave Cameron Story". FanGraphs. July 5, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  3. ^ "The Prospectus Projections Project". Baseball Prospectus. Baseball Prospectus. February 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "USS Mariner". Archived from the original on September 22, 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  5. ^ "Dave Cameron meets WSJ". Inside The Book. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Dave Cameron Joins Fangraphs Full Time". FanGraphs. April 19, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  7. ^ "When Statistics Are Not Helpful". July 25, 2011.
  8. ^ "FanGraphs Audio: The Complete Dave Cameron". FanGraphs. November 28, 2011.
  9. ^ Cameron, Dave (February 8, 2012). "Running For Cancer Research". U.S.S. Mariner. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  10. ^ Cameron, Dave (December 9, 2011). "One Thing Did Happen in Dallas". U.S.S. Mariner.
  11. ^ "FanGraphs Audio: Dave Cameron in Baltimore". February 22, 2012.
  12. ^ a b "An Open Letter To Rafael Chaves". USS Mariner. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  13. ^ "Blog Gets Through To Felix Hernandez". MLB Trade Rumors. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  14. ^ "Hernandez reads internet letter; hear clips". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  15. ^ Lin, Dennis (January 10, 2018). "Timing right for FanGraphs' Cameron to join Padres". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  16. ^ "Padres reportedly losing senior analyst Dave Cameron". October 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Drayer, Shannon (January 25, 2023). "Inside look at MLB's evolving technology race from Mariners' front office". Seattle Sports. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  18. ^ "Some Changes at USSM". USS Mariner. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  19. ^ "ESPN - Dave Cameron". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  20. ^ "Is Michigan State Good or Just Really Lucky?". The Wall Street Journal. March 12, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  21. ^ "Can Matt Cain Sustain His Low HR/FB Rate?". FanGraphs. February 2, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  22. ^ "The HR per FB skill". Inside The Book. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  23. ^ "Velocity and K9". FanGraphs. February 17, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  24. ^ "Evaluating Pitcher Talent". USS Mariner. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  25. ^ "Evaluating Defense". USS Mariner. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  26. ^ "Mortgaging Years When Is it Okay". FanGraphs. December 7, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  27. ^ "The Two Markets". FanGraphs. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
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