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role you can think of in the front office,” says Kaplan. “From
player and roster evaluations, to payroll information, from
major-league practices to opening training academies in the
Dominican Republic.
“One of the most fun things is helping the team and the
coaching staff prepare for a game—sitting down and coming up
with a game plan. Let’s say, with the opposing pitcher: How are
we expected to do? How is he against the lineup the first, second,
third, fourth time? When should each of the relievers and the
closer come in? That is part of game planning.”
The NBA now has SportVU, a creation of STATS LLC
that is being used in every NBA arena. The data it captures can
help answer almost any type of question regarding the players:
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The Jacksonville
Jaguars (left)
are one of the
NFL teams that
has embraced
the potential of
sports analytics.
H
ard at
W
ork