SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Billy Beane often has been seen as the general manager who makes a great team out of limited resources. With the announcement of the A's getting a new stadium in Fremont in as little as five years, the "Moneyball" phrase could slowly disappear from the man who is known for wearing shorts and flip-flops.
"This is a little bit of a dream for me," Beane said of a state-of-the-art ballpark that will be 20 miles south of McAfee Coliseum, announced Tuesday at a press conference. "[A stadium] has always been an issue. We put together first-class players on the field [and] we have first-class fans that follow the team. For some reason -- going back all the way to Philadelphia -- things like this were always a dream."
Beane has been a part of the A's organization for over 25 years and the A's GM since 1998. From the start, Beane has had to rely heavily on the draft and the farm system for his talent as opposed to bidding on the free-agent market.
Beane has been able to pick talent with former Most Valuable Players such as Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada. But he is rarely ever been able to keep that talent. For example: Eric Chavez is the lone starting position player from the A's 2000 club that won the American League West Division title.

An artist's rendering of Cisco Field, the planned new home of the Athletics in Fremont, Calif. (A's)
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