9781422285237 - Analytics: Sports Stats & More

From those early days of transferring information fromnote cards to computer programs, analytics has exploded in size and complexity. For example, STATS LLC, which is one of football’s leading analytic companies, tracks more than 90 separate bits of data in a single play. As Tony Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars told ESPN The Magazine in a phrase that could be echoed in nearly every sport, “There’s a ton of information in football, but that’s the problem.” With all that information, teams need people to sort through the data and determine what is relevant for their specific organization. Analytics: Here to Stay Former Dodgers manager Fred Claire, who now works as a partner with Ari Kaplan at Ariball.com, knows analytics is here to stay. “Part of the reason averages and offense are down in baseball is because pitching analytics has utilized more weaknesses in the hitters than vice versa,” says Claire. “Pitchers see where hitters are vulnerable via analytics. But if a hitter has a great report on [Dodgers’ Cy Young Award winner] Clayton Kershaw, good luck!” Kaplan notes that from a baseball perspective, your job duties could vary vastly. “On the baseball side, I’ve had every

28 C areers O ff the F ield • Analytics: Sports Stats and More