Royals promote Groopman and Williams

KANSAS CITY, MO (November 1, 2012) — The Kansas City Royals and Senior Vice President/General Manager Dayton Moore today announced the promotion of Mike Groopman to Director of Baseball Analytics and John Williams to Assistant Director of Baseball Analytics.

Groopman, a native of Brookline, MA, has been with the Royals since the 2008 season, serving most recently as an assistant to Baseball Operations.  Williams, a North Haven, CT, native, joined the Baseball Operations staff as an assistant in the winter of 2010.

“We are delighted that Mike will be leading our analytical department,” said Moore.  “He and John have been great assets and each has worked diligently to create synergy throughout our Baseball Operations department.”

“The past five years have been a tremendous opportunity to grow under the tutelage of Dayton, the entire Baseball Operations staff and the support of ownership,” said Groopman.  “I know I can speak for John in saying that we are ecstatic about the prospects of continuing our work on the analytical side of baseball operations, while becoming even more innovative and creative.  It’s very exciting to know that we’ll both be here going forward in what is a great time to be a part of this organization.”

Prior to coming to Kansas City, Groopman served internships with the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets, as well as Major League Baseball’s Labor Relations Department.  He received a B.A. from Columbia University in 2007.

The Royals marked the first baseball stop for Williams, who worked as a research assistant in the Political Science department at Yale University, where he earned a bachelor’s of science in geology & geophysics in 2005.  He also possesses a master’s in atmospheric science from MIT in 2008.