Dave Cameron (baseball analyst)

Dave Cameron is a 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.

Dave Cameron
Born1980
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSportswriter
Years active1998—present
EmployerFanGraphs

Biography

Cameron grew up in Seattle, attending Christian Faith High School in Des Moines, WA 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] and in December of that year 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."[9]

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.[10]

An Open Letter

On June 27, 2007 Cameron wrote a post "An Open Letter To Rafael Chaves"[11] asking Rafael Chaves, the pitching coach, to make Mariners' pitcher Felix Hernandez 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.".[11] 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[12] 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."[13]

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.[14] Cameron left the Padres organization following the 2021 season.[15]

Seattle Mariners

After leaving the Padres, Cameron took a consulting job with the Mariners. After one year, he was promoted to senior director of player procurement.[16]

Baseball writing

Cameron was the managing editor of FanGraphs,[6] and, along with Derek Zumsteg, a founding member of a Seattle Mariners blog: U.S.S. Mariner[17] He also previously wrote for ESPN,[18] The Wall Street Journal,[19] and Baseball Prospectus.

Among other topics he has contributed sabermetric research on HR/FB rate,[20][21] correlations between velocity and strikeout rates,[22] the general evaluation of pitcher talent,[23] defense evaluation,[24] and roster construction strategies.[25][26]

References
  1. "Interview with Dave Cameron". SCULU. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  2. "FanGraphs Audio: The Dave Cameron Story". FanGraphs. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  3. "The Prospectus Projections Project". Baseball Prospectus. February 1999. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  4. "USS Mariner". Archived from the original on 2003-09-22. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  5. "Dave Cameron meets WSJ". Inside The Book. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  6. "Dave Cameron Joins Fangraphs Full Time". FanGraphs. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  7. "When Statistics Are Not Helpful". 25 July 2011.
  8. "FanGraphs Audio: The Complete Dave Cameron". 28 November 2011.
  9. "One Thing Did Happen in Dallas | U.S.S. Mariner".
  10. "FanGraphs Audio: Dave Cameron in Baltimore". 22 February 2012.
  11. "An Open Letter To Rafael Chaves". USS Mariner. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  12. "Blog Gets Through To Felix Hernandez". MLB Trade Rumors. Archived from the original on 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  13. "Hernandez reads internet letter; hear clips". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  14. Lin, Dennis (January 10, 2018). "Timing right for FanGraphs' Cameron to join Padres". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  15. https://www.eastvillagetimes.com/padres-reportedly-losing-senior-analyst-dave-cameron/
  16. https://sports.mynorthwest.com/1730280/drayer-dave-cameron-mlbs-evolving-technology-race-mariners-front-office/#:~:text=After%20leaving%20the%20Padres%20following,that%20was%20created%20for%20him.
  17. "Some Changes at USSM". USS Mariner. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  18. "ESPN - Dave Cameron". ESPN. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  19. "Is Michigan State Good or Just Really Lucky?". The Wall Street Journal. 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  20. "Can Matt Cain Sustain His Low HR/FB Rate?". FanGraphs. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  21. "The HR per FB skill". Inside The Book. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  22. "Velocity and K9". FanGraphs. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  23. "Evaluating Pitcher Talent". USS Mariner. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  24. "Evaluating Defense". USS Mariner. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  25. "Mortgaging Years When Is it Okay". FanGraphs. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  26. "The Two Markets". FanGraphs. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
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