The Only Rule Is It Has To Work by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller

What would happen if two statistics-minded outsiders were allowed to run a professional baseball team?

THE ONLY RULE IS IT HAS TO WORK

Our Wild Experiment Building A New Kind of Baseball Team

“Brutally honest . . . blissfully funny.” 
—Nate Silver

“A terrific read.” 
—Ken Rosenthal

The Only Rule Is It Has To Work by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller

BUY THE BOOK

Buy The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller at Amazon Buy The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller at Barnes & Noble Buy The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller at Indiebound Buy the ebook edition of The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller at the Apple iBookstore Buy the Kobo Reader edition of The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller

The Team

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The Sonoma Stompers are an independent professional baseball team based out of Sonoma, California. They began play as a member of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs in 2014. They are a successor franchise to the defunct Sonoma County Grapes, and are the first professional team to make Sonoma County home since the Sonoma County Crushers ceased play following the 2002 season.

On Jan. 1, 2015, Sonoma Sports and Entertainment, Inc., led by President, CEO and Sonoma native, Eric Gullotta, purchased the franchise, ensuring professional baseball would remain in Sonoma County. Gullotta, along with his longtime friend and fellow University of California Santa Barbara alum, Derek Rampone, retained Theo Fightmaster as the club's General Manager and Vice President (among his many duties).

Sonoma Stompers Official Site
Sonoma Stompers Fan Shop (Autographed Books Available)
Stompers Radio Broadcast Archive
Sonoma Stompers Twitter
Theo Fightmaster's Twitter
Tim Livingston's Twitter

Daniel Baptista

Daniel Baptista

1B/3B/DH Daniel Baptista batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

65

280

81

6

0

7.9

19.3

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.321

.386

.425

.811

115

Peter Bowles

Peter Bowles

IF/OF Peter Bowles batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

17

54

8

0

0

5.6

29.6

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.160

.222

.180

.402

9

Chad Bunting

Chad Bunting

OF Chad Bunting batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

7

26

4

0

3

0.0

11.5

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.200

.231

.240

.471

16

Jose Canseco

Jose Canseco

DH Jose Canseco batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

2

8

2

1

0

0.0

12.5

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.250

.250

.625

.875

95

Joel Carranza

Joel Carranza

Joel Carranza batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

44

197

64

10

0

6.6

19.3

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.358

.406

.575

.981

156

Jeff Conley

Jeff Conley

LHP Jeff Conley pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

32.0

7

6

152

10.5

16.4

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.346

6.47

1.84

1.56

4.74

Sean Conroy

Sean Conroy

RHP Sean Conroy pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

60.0

22

4

244

4.9

21.3

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.237

2.70

0.95

3.47

3.00

Taylor Eads

Taylor Eads

OF/DH Taylor Eads batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

29

113

18

0

3

17.7

30.1

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.205

.345

.307

.652

79

Aritz Garcia

Aritz Garcia

SS Aritz Garcia batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

1

4

.

0

0

25.0

25.0

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.000

.250

.000

.250

133

T.J. Gavlik

T.J. Gavlik

IF/OF T.J. Gavlik batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

50

188

38

3

4

10.6

13.3

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.235

.324

.321

.645

67

Kristian Gayday

Kristian Gayday

3B/1B/DH Kristian Gayday batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

57

227

47

3

0

10.6

22.5

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.237

.330

.328

.658

91

Jerome Godsey

Jerome Godsey

LHP Jerome Godsey pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

10.7

7

0

42

9.5

16.7

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.241

2.53

1.20

1.75

4.42

Erik Gonsalves

Erik Gonsalves

RHP Erik Gonsalves pitching for the Sonoma Stompers, summer 2015.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

40.0

22

0

198

11.1

16.7

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.370

4.95

1.85

1.43

3.99

Matt Hibbert

Matt Hibbert

OF Matt Hibbert batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

69

314

77

5

2

15.9

17.5

K%

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

17.5

.303

.414

.421

.835

122

Mark Hurley

Mark Hurley

OF Mark Hurley batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

74

326

90

9

11

5.2

17.8

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.302

.362

.466

.828

128

Paul Hvozdovic

Paul Hvozdovic

LHP Paul Hvozdovic pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

49.3

17

6

218

5.5

16.5

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.321

4.93

1.43

3.00

3.98

Mike Jackson

Mike Jackson

Mike Jackson Jr. pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

82.0

16

14

360

6.4

20.0

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.380

4.72

1.56

3.13

3.41

Connor Jones

Connor Jones

OF Connor Jones batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

9

34

7

2

0

8.8

44.1

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.226

.294

.419

.713

61

Keith Kandel

Keith Kandel

Keith Kandel batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

5

20

5

1

1

10.0

15.0

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.278

.350

.500

.850

111

Ryusuke Kikusawa

Ryusuke Kikusawa

RHP Ryusuke Kikusawa pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

17.0

8

1

79

15.2

17.7

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.346

7.94

1.88

1.17

5.07

Fehlandt Lentini

Fehlandt Lentini

OF Fehlandt Lentini batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

32

148

39

5

6

4.7

14.2

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.289

.345

.459

.804

119

Tommy Lyons

Tommy Lyons

1B Tommy Lyons batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

1

5

2

0

0

0.0

20.0

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.500

.600

.500

1.100

195

Josh McCauley

Josh McCauley

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

3.7

2

0

23

13.0

8.7

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.471

12.27

4.00

0.67

7.65

Brennan Metzger

Brennan Metzger

OF Brennan Metzger batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

18

86

31

1

5

12.8

17.4

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.292

.407

.389

.796

141

Sergio Miranda

Sergio Miranda

2B Sergio Miranda batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

25

114

25

0

1

16.7

10.5

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.281

.421

.326

.747

125

Gered Mochizuki

Gered Mochizuki

IF Gered Mochizuki batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

69

314

77

5

2

15.9

17.5

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.303

.414

.421

.835

122

Eddie Mora-Loera

Eddie Mora-Loera

IF Eddie Mora-Loera batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

9

37

6

0

1

18.9

24.3

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.214

.405

.250

.655

88

Eric Mozeika

Eric Mozeika

RHP Eric Mozeika pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

2.0

1

0

8

0.0

25.0

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.200

4.5

1.00

—

6.74

Andrew Parker

Andrew Parker

Catcher Andrew Parker batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

33

125

21

5

0

13.6

29.6

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.206

.344

.382

.726

102

Gregory Paulino

Gregory Paulino

RHP Gregory Paulino pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

93.3

16

15

383

6.3

22.7

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.279

3.76

1.19

3.48

3.78

Jon Rand Jr.

Jon Rand Jr.

LHP Jon Rand Jr. pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

38.3

20

0

181

8.8

14.4

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.333

5.87

1.71

1.63

4.84

Matt Rubino

Matt Rubino

C Matt Rubino batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

6

17

4

0

0

17.7

11.8

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.308

.471

.308

.779

115

Santos Saldivar

Santos Saldivar

RHP Santos Saldivar pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

48.3

13

5

201

8.5

28.9

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.353

2.05

1.27

3.41

2.23

Eric Schwieger

Eric Schwieger

LHP Eric Schwieger pitching for the Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

89.7

15

15

394

6.6

17.3

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.319

6.63

1.46

2.62

4.35

Dylan Stoops

Dylan Stoops

LHP Dylan Stoops pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

23.0

7

0

96

9.4

30.2

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.351

3.13

1.30

2.90

1.97

Matt Walker

Matt Walker

RHP Matt Walker pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

64.7

15

10

300

10.0

12.7

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.321

6.40

1.75

1.27

5.75

Cole Warren

Cole Warren

RHP Cole Warren pitching for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

IP

G

GS

BF

BB%

K%

13.3

7

0

61

14.8

19.7

BABIP

ERA

WHIP

K/BB

FIP

.333

6.08

1.77

1.33

4.37

Isaac Wenrich

Isaac Wenrich

Catcher Isaac Wenrich batting for the 2015 Sonoma Stompers.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

58

260

69

10

4

7.9

9.2

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.296

.365

.481

.846

117

Yuki Yasuda

Yuki Yasuda

Yuki Yasuda hitting for the Sonoma Stompers, 2015.

Statistics

G

PA

H

HR

SB

BB%

K%

57

252

61

0

16

15.9

15.1

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

wRC+

.307

.448

.367

.815

139


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