Bloops: A Saber Seminar to Benefit the Jimmy Fund
Posted by Neil Paine on March 23, 2011
In May, Harvard will be hosting a sabermetric seminar to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute:
"Sabermetrics, Scouting, and the Science of Baseball is a 2 day baseball-centric seminar at Harvard's Pfizer Lecture Hall on May 21 and 22. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Jimmy Fund. Speakers include Jared Porter, Dan Brooks, Tom Tippett, Andy Andres, Dr. Alan Nathan, Jeremy Greenhouse, David Gassko, Mitchel Lichtman, David Sheinberg, Michael Richmond, and Chuck Korb. ESPN writer Jonah Keri will be MC'ing one of the days, and there may be one or two others folks added, as well.
Planned seminars include an explanation of linear weights and WPI/LI, a discussion of pitch f/x, the bio-mechanics of a baseball swing, the visuomotor aspects of the game - getting information into your brain, how fast players make decisions, the psychophysics of hitting, etc., what the most advanced defensive stats entail and where they are going, forecasting player performance, modern technologies for tracking the baseball, how the spin of a ball affects its flight (i.e., why a ball curves), and question and answer sessions with Tom Tippett and Jared Porter."
Sounds like a great way to learn more about baseball research, and to contribute to an extremely worthy cause in the process. All of the money from the seminar will go to the Jimmy Fund, since the speakers have donated their time and Harvard is letting them use their facilities gratis.