‘Beane and his staff took a couple of things away from the encounter. First, Allen was country tough. He went back into the game in the second half and tried to give it a go, before his first throw on a sideline route came out flat and made clear he was done for the night. Second, and just as important, Allen was 100% accountable. He wasn’t going to let someone else take the blame, even in a job-interview setting when it might benefit him.’