For three days last month, the brain trusts of all 30 Major League Baseball teams gathered at a ritzy resort in the wealthy desert suburb of Scottsdale, Ariz., and tried to find common ground. The start of a baseball offseason is traditionally slow, and before the new collective bargaining agreement is due, the action was even quieter. But, when these general managers met, more and more of them saw reflections. They are 30-somethings, analytically inclined, and products of elite, private universities. The past five years have become something of a race among owners to secure the brightest minds, a race that has homogenized the game.
