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C
areers
O
ff the
F
ield
•
Analytics: Sports Stats and More
for the
Rule V Draft
and the amateur draft, so there is a kind
of a rhythm to the season. So the typical day in the life changes
depending on what month it is, and what decisions are coming
up—if it is free-agency time, or if it is time for September call
ups, what players make the most sense, things like that.
“That is what is so fun. There are so many things to do,
and it varies a lot. Even when it’s time to hire a new manager,
I have helped prepare interview questions for managerial
candidates.”
On a different scale, University of Oregon student Rory
Davidson learned that being around the teams adds to the skill
set of analytics people. He provided stats and information to his
high school’s football coaches, but he got a lot of information in
return.
“I didn’t learn the analytics from working with the football
team, I learned those skills in classrooms,” Davidson says. “But
from the football team itself, I learned how to ‘talk football.’ Not
all coaches are open to all these numbers. Instead of throwing
numbers at them, you have to be able to talk like them and put
the information into words and terms they use. I came into it
knowing a lot of football, but working with the team took it to
that next level.”