If I had a dream job related to insurance other than my currentpost as Editor In Chief of National Underwriter, it would be riskmanager of major league baseball. As a baseball fanatic, it was areal pleasure last spring to meet the person filling that covetedposition. With the World Series starting tomorrow night, I post thecolumn I did earlier this year about this lucky dog, for those ofyou who share my passion for the National Pastime. I also inviteyou to weigh in as to who you think will win this year's WorldChampionship. I give my prediction at the end.

***First Run In NU On May 22***

Anthony Avitabile will never hit a home run, strike out a batteror make a spectacular catch to win a game, yet he may be theMVPmost valuable personin major league baseball today.

The national pastimes director of risk management, in outliningthe demands of his dream job, was no doubt the envy of everyone inthe room as he described his work during a speech this past Aprilin Honolulu at the Risk and Insurance Management Societys annualconference.

Yet even though a life in baseball sounds like fun and games,when you come right down to it, insurance and risk management areno different in professional sports than in any other field, Mr.Avitabile made clear. A risk manager must deal with an insuranceindustry few outsiders understand, and coax everyone to deal withworst-case scenarios they would rather not think about.

The challenge was daunting for Mr. Avitabile and his colleagues,as they tried to convince 30 autonomous clubs to boost riskmanagement and save money by working together to control losses.Some member clubs didnt want a league-wide program, he recalled. Afew had corporate parents with sophisticated risk managementsystems in place, and their own local broker they were comfortablewith.

After the market hardened considerably for property, workerscompensation, umbrella liability and terrorism coverage followingthe Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the MLB office was able toconvince club CFOs to get on board. The results wereimpressive.

It was the proverbial grand slam, said Mr. Avitabile.Negotiating on behalf of all as a service center for the individualclubs, we were able to improve terms and coverage, implement aformal risk identification and control process, as well as save $40million.

To accomplish this, MLB put league-wide standard operatingprocedures in place. We created best practices and incentivizedgood behavior, he noted. We even used peer pressure by rankingclubs on the basis of their workers comp and general liabilitylosses. Theyre so competitive by nature that you saw quick actionby the clubs at the bottom.

Formalized loss control was the critical element, according toMr. Avitabile. You must relentlessly manage the process, he said,citing the formation of a Workers Compensation Quality Council.

Beyond asking teams to carefully investigate any off-seasonhealth woes blamed on baseball-related injuries, clubs wereencouraged to set up rehabilitation facilities year-round in theirstadium or spring-training center so they could actively direct andmonitor a players recovery.

The improvement was dramatic, he noted, as workers comp costsfell from $25 million to $14 million annually.

Sometimes the unique culture of the business of baseball got inthe way, he admitted.

We did a seminar on commercial auto, and suggested one way forthe clubs to cut their exposure and insurance costs was to stopgiving out company cars and substitute a car allowance, he noted.There was resistance from clubs that wanted to know if this wouldbe mandatory. They were afraid if they followed our advice and theother clubs didnt, they would lose their best scouts, for whom acompany car is an important perk.

However, one of the biggest and most controversial reputationalrisks facing the game todaythe use of steroids by players toartificially boost their strength and productionis beyond hispurview. Thats labor relations, he said. Im not involved with thatat all.

Still, about the only coverage he cannot provide, he conceded,is for those hard-to-get insurance runs.

***

As for my World Series pick…

First of all, I'm heartbroken over the Mets' loss last night! Iwent into this postseason hoping for a Subway Series, but I endedup with St. Louis vs. Detroit! The Mets certainly had theirchances–loading the bases twice, but unable to get the big hiteither time. That was the story of the entire National LeagueChampionship Series. While I would like to blame the absence ofPedro Martinez and El Duque for their loss, the truth is theirpitching–except for blowing the game last Friday night–wasterrific. It was their mighty bats that too often failed todeliver. As they say here in Brooklyn, Wait 'til next year!

As for this World Series, the teams are well-matched, and bothmanagers are outstanding. I'm inclined to give the Cards a bit ofan edge for the same reason I think they beat the Mets–they aregritty, fundamentally sound and very well coached. They also havethe best slugger in the series in Big Albert.

But the Tigers are plenty gritty themselves–that's how they cameback to beat the mighty Yankees–and I think their superior startingstaff will triumph in the end.

I say, Tigers in 6.

What's your pick?