Practicing Sabermetrics: Putting the Science of Baseball Statistics to Work

by Gabriel B. Costa, Michael R. Huber, John T. Saccoman

Overview

The past 30 years have seen an explosion in the number and variety of baseball books and articles. Following the lead of pioneers Bill James, John Thorn, and Pete Palmer, researchers have steadily challenged the ways we think about player and team performance—and along the way revised what we thought we knew of baseball history.

This book by the authors of Understanding Sabermetrics (2008) goes beyond the explanation of new statistics to demonstrate their use in solving some of the more familiar problems of baseball research, such as how to compare players across generations; how to account for the effects of ballparks and rules changes; and how to measure the effectiveness of the sacrifice bunt or the range of the Gold Glove-winning shortstop.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786441778
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	10/19/2009
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

SABR member Gabriel B. Costa is a catholic priest and a professor of mathematical sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Michael R. Huber is a professor of mathematics at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He has been studying sabermetrics for more than 20 years and is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. John T. Saccoman is a professor in the department of mathematics and computer science at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     

1. What Is Sabermetrics and What Does It Do?     
2. Traditional Offensive Statistics: Hitting and Base-Stealing     
3. Traditional Defensive Statistics: Pitching and Fielding     
4. Relativity and Normalization     
5. Park Factors     
6. Runs Created     
7. Win Shares     
8. Linear Weights Batting Runs     
9. Linear Weights Pitching Runs     
10. Linear Weights Fielding and Base-Stealing Runs     
11. WHIP and Similar Statistics     
12. Weighted Pitcher’s Rating     
13. Base-Out Percentage and Total Average     
14. OPS, POP and the SLOB     
15. Total Power Quotient     
16. Isolated Power, Power Factor and Power Average     
17. Power-Speed Number     
18. Range Factor     
19. Hoban Effectiveness Quotient     
20. Equivalence Coefficient     
21. Predicting with the Use of Regression     
22. Higher Mathematics Used in Sabermetrics     
23. Potpourri     

Appendix A: Abbreviations and Formulas     
Appendix B: League Traditional Statistics and ABF Values     
Appendix C: Technological Notes     
Appendix D: Sabermetrics in the Classroom     
Sources     
About the Authors     
Index