Let me begin by thanking all of you who took the time and effort of reading and commenting on my postings for 2012. For those of you who purchased my book “Sandlot Stats: Learning Statistics with Baseball”, I hope the book both educated you on the world of probability and statistics as well as provided you …
What is wrong with the sanctions imposed on universities found guilty of recruitment and other violations? Any sanction which directly punishes innocent past and present student athletes should be changed. For example, in the Sandusky case involving Penn State University why should all the victories of Penn State from 1998 to 2011 be removed? Why …
This posting deals with all student athletes. I want to open a discussion on the treatment of student athletes by the NCAA. The NCAA has imposed sanctions on such famous college football programs as USC, Penn State, and Ohio State. In basketball, the fabled University of Connecticut basketball program is under sanctions. Ohio State will be …
In the fall of 2012, I was scheduled to teach three courses which included 2 sections of biostatistics and 1 of Sandlot Stats: Learning Statistics with Baseball. You probably think the idea for my next baseball posting came from my baseball and statistics course. If you guessed that you would be wrong. The idea actually …
One of the many contributions of Bill James to the field of sabermetrics was his Pythagorean Theorem for baseball. The theorem states that the ratio of a team’s wins to losses is equal to the square of the ratio of the team’s runs scored to the team’s runs allowed. The equation is (Wins / Losses) …
In teaching my Baseball and Statistics course at Quinnipiac University, besides using my bookSandlot Stats,I require my students to read the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis. The book describes how Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics general manager, navigated his team through the 2002 season. In that season, Oakland finished first in the American League West with a …
Part 3 of 3: When the Yankees open the 2013 season, there are oh so many questions about which 2012 Yankees will be on the opening day 2013 roster. The Yankees just picked up the 2013 options for Cano and Granderson for $15 million each. Swisher, Kuroda, and Soriano reject their 13.3 million qualifying offers. Twelve …
Part 2 of 3: The Yankees won a nail-biting 5-game (3-2) ALDS against the Orioles. In the ALCS, the Yankees pulled a Rip Van Wrinkle against the Tigers and were swept 4-0. This posting will revisit both series. The series against the Orioles had three games decided by one run and one game determined by two …
Part 1 of 3: Did the Yankees have a successful regular season in 2012? Their 95-67 record was the best in the American League. They either led the league or were tied for first place in their division from June 12 through the end of the season. They had a 10-game lead on July 18 …
To get up to speed on this posting please see my last posting. A brief summary is at a store in Naples, FL I met Ms. Root, whose father’s uncle was Charlie Root. He was the pitcher who in the 1932 WS pitched the ball that Babe Ruth supposedly pointed to the centerfield stands prior …