Out of Left Field - How Outsiders Have Shaped Statistical Thinking in Sports

List of contents

1 Introduction; 2 The Stem Game for Rating Systems; 3 Bill James, Pythagoras, and the Birth of Sabermetrics; 4 Wayne do Rigo and the Problem of Points in Cricket; 5 Nate Silver, PECOTA, and the Rise of Data Journalism in Sport; 6 Dean Oliver's Four Factors for the NBA; 7 The In nite Quest of Je Sackmann; 8 The Invention of Vic Ferrari and the NHL's Corsi Statistic; 9 Brian Burke: From Fighter Pilot to NFL Quant; 10 Epilogue: When Outsiders Become Insiders.

Summary

This is a short non-technical book about the people who shaped and defined sports analytics in the last thirty years or so. It focuseson "outsiders", i.e. people who seemingly have little connection with sport or statistics, but have, without the influence of position or authority but through the sheer power of their ideas, changed the way we think about sport. Each chapter will focus on one thinker and his or her major ideas in sports statistics. It will include the context of the making of the thinker’s innovations and a description of the technical discoveries that will be approachable to a broad audience. Stories from multiple major sports will be presented, including baseball, basketball, American football, soccer, tennis, and cricket.

Product details

• Authors: Stephanie Kovalchik, Stephanie (Tennis Australia Kovalchik
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 31.01.2021, delayed
• EAN: 9781498789097
• ISBN: 978-1-4987-8909-7
• No. of pages: 170
• Series: ASA-CRC Series on Statistical Reasoning in Science and Society; ASA-CRC Series on Statistical Reasoning in Science and Society
• Subject: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Mathematics > Probability theory, stochastic theory, mathematical statistics