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"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.
Posted in Bloops, Sabermetrics | Comments Off on Bloops: A Saber Seminar to Benefit the Jimmy Fund
"Amid eight reels of 16-millimeter film recently discovered in excellent condition in an Illinois cellar are three and a half minutes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig wearing the uniforms, but not the caps, of their barnstorming teams. The film is believed to have been shot with a high-end home movie camera in or around Sioux City, Iowa, on Oct. 18, 1927 — 10 days after the Yankees completed a four-game World Series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates."
Over at The Book Blog, Tangotiger offers another friendly reminder about the requiredreading out there regarding the dreaded Bases Fallacy. Although it can happen to the best of us (one of my most embarrassing moments to be sure), once you know about the bases fallacy, you must do everything in your power to prevent the bases fallacy from happening again.
It is exactly what it sounds like -- he took our Wins Above Replacement stat, peak-adjusted it by combining regular WAR with "Wins Above Excellence" & "Wins Above MVP", and then repopulated the Hall of Fame using that weighted metric. Here were the members of his Hall:
Curious about the role of luck in pitching statistics? Then prepare yourself for a series of sabermetric cartoons courtesy of DRaysBay's Bradley Woodrum...
As you probably know, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) has been a great contributor to Baseball-Reference over the years. That's why we're happy to spread the word that they've revamped their main website, consolidated their research archives, and created SABRNation, an interactive community for members to discuss baseball topics. Be sure to check out the changes they've made, and continue to help support this wonderful organization.
Posted in Bloops | Comments Off on Bloops: New SABR Website/Discussion Community
Each preview contains key information about both teams, including SRS ratings; offensive and defensive ratings; and player statistics from the 2010-11 season. Check them out, and increase your knowledge when watching the games this month!
Have you ever seen those shows on the MLB Network where a panel of experts discuss a player? Well, this is not from one of those shows. But it is classic Gar Ryness (aka Batting Stance Guy):
