Sabermetrics is something I've become very interested in since I was over in America for a while. Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through statistics that measure in-game activity.
Since there is such a lot of data available, I've written loads of code to explore what factors are the key criteria to determine if a team will win or lose -- I have had very little success, but here's something interesting to think about:
2010 became known as the "Year of the Pitcher" as opposed to previous years where it was the batter who determined the outcome of the game. Commentators have suggested that it may be rigorous testing and penalties for performance-enhancing drug use as a possible factor for this. Runs per game fell to their lowest level in 18 years, and the strikeout rate was higher than it had been in half a century.
This whole area of Sabermetrics is very much covered in Michael Lewis book called MoneyBall - which is about how the Oakland A's are able to compete with the big spending baseball teams with a relatively small budget. It's an interesting read and you don't need to know about baseball. It has also been made into a movie which I think is due out soon, starring Brad Pitt.
ReplyDeleteWhat is interesting is that the game of baseball generates so much data, and the people who conduct the analysis are a bit like members a cult, who also seem to attract Harvard graduates!!
Absolutely right, the trailer is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiAHlZVgXjk