Here at inside-BigData, we’re not that different from everyone else: We like our sports. But we are a little geekish (no surprise there), so we enjoy exploring the numbers behind the sports. We’ve got three articles to share:
- “Big Data Analytics Versus Your Own Lying Eyes” discusses how analytics has finally hit Hollywood with “Moneyball,” a baseball movie about the use sabermetrics – as the analytics of baseball was dubbed – and how it changed the approach to the game. Analytics has now become a familiar part of baseball lore, its new stats reported on TV and debated among fans.
- “Moneyball & The Analytics of a Red Sox Playoff Panic” is for those wanting to dive a bit deeper into baseball. Published 5 days before the end of the season, it uses analytics to address the question of whether the Boston Red Sox were going to fold like a cheap suit or make the playoffs. Turns out that the cheap suit fits the Red Sox perfectly. Nothing more conclusive than real world results but the analytical speculation is interesting,
- “The Data Analytics of ‘Going for It’ on Fourth Down” talks about the decision behind ‘going for it’ on fourth down. Most of the story centers on a high school team in Arkansas but there is some discussion of applying analytics to the NFL.
