9781422285237 - Analytics: Sports Stats & More

who wanted to acquire all the information that I could. “Craig Wright had worked with the Texas Rangers. I always believe in having the best scouts. When I became the general manager, I made some changes; it was Craig who had the information on minor-league players. I hired Craig because I wanted that viewpoint. At the time, it would have been outlandish. Of course, I never played professionally, and Craig never did, but that didn’t frighten me, because I just wanted his information.” With the help of executives

Elias Sports Bureau

Created in 1913 and based out of New York City, the Elias Sports Bureau is the Official Statistician for the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, and the Women’s National Basket- ball Association. The Elias Sports Bureau is also the pri- mary source of statistics for ESPN, Turner Sports, the NFL Network, and other net- works and media outlets. It provides infor- mation to many major Web sites, too. Much of the information and graphics you see during a game—for example, comparing the statistics of a specific player with those of someone 15 years ago—was developed by the historical and number-driven minds of the Elias Sports Bureau.

such as Claire and Billy Beane of the Oakland A’s, baseball led the way in incorporating stats and analytics in a more organized way. That practice has expanded throughout pro sports.

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