By: Tina Nguyen
Today, a sports team without an analytics department is unheard of; it is a guaranteed advantage to utilize statistics and analytics as a tool to improve one’s team.
Initially, sports analytics as a whole was established by Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics of the MLB. The book Moneyball depicts the process of empirical analysis and how it helps to fairly and accurately evaluate players. It was the first known circumstance where statistics and data were valued, prioritized and a factor in personnel decisions in professional sports. Consequently, it was determined that there are certain factors of the game that can be tracked with statistics that connect to winning and increasing the chances of winning. Furthermore, analytics allow management to look past visual and on the surface “issues” to find value in previously disregarded players and acquire them at cheaper costs. This system not only transformed the game of baseball but professional sports as a whole.
Analytics serve as a teacher; they are a tool and a method of evaluation. It is fascinating to know the number of conclusions one can draw from crunching a few numbers, and then to use and apply them to the process of bettering a team. Statistical analysis enables the ability to see what cannot be seen with the naked eye and as a result, leads to better decisions. For instance, incorporating the usage of data into the way a team operates can allow one to better analyze players that may not seem like they are effective by precisely acknowledging how they are a factor in the game and contribute to the team. Moreover, it prevents cognitive bias; recency, simplicity and confirmation bias can cloud one’s judgement. Analytics and evidence-based decision-making are efficient and provide a competitive advantage. It can identify an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, prevent future mistakes by determining what was done well and what went wrong, as well as make instant, in-game decisions with the devices and sensors that provide real-time data. Advanced statistics teach us about elements of the game that factor into a particular outcome, thus improving the way a team performs.
At first glance, professional sports is something that is solely a means of entertainment; something that one may pay attention to for a few hours of their day and nothing more. But diving a bit deeper can prove that there is so much more to it than what is on the field, court or ice.
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