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In the NBA, teams sometimes play four games in five nights in
four different cities.
The NFL regular season usually lasts from September to
December. The analytics season never stops. Analytics has now
reached the point where teams are using it to help with the
interview process at the NFL Scouting Combine each February
in Indianapolis. The stats people then prepare for the April NFL
Draft. Summer brings decision time for veterans, and some of
that information comes from the programmers. As the regular
season looms, the workload only increases, peaking during the
grind of a 17-week season.
It’s time-consuming work, but it pays off. Kaplan cites the
impact a traveling analytics person can have on a team. “The
analytics and advance scout are blending together,” he says, “so
many teams have a guy that helps provide information, whether
that is advanced video or analytics.
“For instance, in my case, I provide a baseball manager
with crucial pieces of information. For example, this opposing
pitcher has not thrown consecutive pickoff attempts to a base
in the last two years. That is huge information that you would
want to know. So if the manager buys in, he could demand that
someone travels with the team to bounce things off of. I think
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Analytics: Sports Stats and More