Journalism: it's a field where you find English, communications and even sports management majors. Each one has the necessary skills and attributes to create great articles and compelling stories. But what about a person who is involved with economics? Can they write a great article and have it published by the Washington Post?

The answer is yes and that person just happens to be UW-La Crosse Economics professor Dr. Michael Haupert.

The Washington Post selected about eight individuals they wanted to write up articles about who was the best manager in baseball. Haupert was among those few because the Post was looking for people who did not have a career in sports reporting. They wanted people who loved baseball. Economics appealed to the Washington Post editor and Haupert was the man selected for the job.

Haupert was given the assignment of making an argument for the best manager in baseball. Who was the manager he was given? It was none other than the Milwaukee Brewers rookie manager, Ron Roenicke. "I only had a couple of days to do this. And actually I didn't choose Ron Roenicke. I was told to make an argument for Ron Roenicke," said Haupert. Haupert just happens to be a Cubs fan, but that didn't stop him from writing this article.

With an 800 word limit and only two days to write the article, Haupert had to find his information quickly and efficiently. There are many avenues to coast down to find the necessary information to write up an article such as this. Haupert used what was readily available.  "You can go to the MLB web site, Google and every year the players association releases player salary information. They want everyone to have that information in order to do trades and things like that," said Haupert. By doing this, Haupert was able to find the attendance at the Brewer's games, the salary paid to each player and how many games won; all very important information when it comes to the best manager in baseball.

Making an argument for Roenicke was not exactly easy, but it left the question of why he would be the best. What makes Roenicke stand out from the other managers in the MLB? "He got his team to the playoffs. At the time they couldn't go on to the World Series. They're one of the small market teams, they have a low payroll yet they won a lot of games," said Haupert.

Seems like a rather simple concept. But what does Haupert really think is the reason behind Roenicke being the best manager? "He was the best manager in 2011 because he was the most efficient. The manager can only work with the players he is provided, but it is his job to make the most of the situation," said Haupert in his article for the Washington Post.

The Brewers were not given a line-up as say the Yankees. The Yankees are able to pick any player they want and if it doesn't pan out they can trade them or sit them on the bench. The Brewers don't necessarily have that option. "Their manager must do a better job," said Haupert. "He can only have the players he can afford."

And so it seems Roenicke did the best with what he had. It definitely showed on game days. "The fans responded, all 3.1 million of them. The Brewers were one of only nine teams that drew more than 3 million fans. And Milwaukee is by far the smallest of the cities that accomplished that feat; all because of the marvelously efficient job Ron Roenicke did as manager. Not only did he lead the Brewers to victory, he did it where it was most valuable to the team. That's a production every boss would love to have," said Haupert in his article for the Washington Post.  

Roenicke sure does seem to be the best manager in baseball. Even if the Brewers didn't get to the World Series they had a production year that trounces any loss in the past. Take it from Dr. Haupert. Efficiency is the key to a successful season.

If economics and sports seems to be of interest to you or you want to major in economics, check out Dr. Haupert's class ECO 320: Economics of Sports and Entertainment. You won't be sorry you did.

For the complete article online at the Washington Post's web site.