9781422285237 - Analytics: Sports Stats & More

Getting Started

CHAPTER 1

As sports evolve in the twenty-first century, wins and losses are no longer decided just by the athletic ability of the players. So what is the edge that teams seek? In a new, computer-driven age, it’s the numbers. The science of sports analytics is revolutionizing the games people watch and play. Of course, coaching matters, and having players with great natural ability further enhances the team’s ability to win. So many players, however, are gifted, and so many teams have good coaches. At the highest levels, teams are so evenly matched that even a tiny advantage can make a huge difference. In Major League Baseball, for example, it is pretty much accepted that every team will win at least 62 games and every team will lose 62 games. (It is rare for a team to win more than 100 games or lose more than 100 games in the 162-game season.) What happens in those other 38 games is what puts a team in

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G etting S tarted