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Sports performance and analysis has developed into a multi-billion dollar industry, as every professional team and player seeks out the marginal percentage that impacts how they perform on the field of play.
The stop-start nature of baseball as a sport has always lent itself to analytics and statistics and while for some baseball purists it can feel like overkill, it has become an integral part of the modern game.
As ever, Major League Baseball (MLB) has long been the trend setter in that department, with franchises seeking out ways to overcome the opposition but the trend and importance of analysis is filtering through to the minor leagues too.
Consequently, every pitch and strike in the MLB and beyond is analysed, as teams of experts seek out trends in performance, that can give them the edge when it comes to game day.
In addition to the high performance analysis in play at every MLB game, all notable sportsbooks and the best MLB betting sites look to get on board with the analysis and statistics in every market they offer.
With statistics adorning every player in major league baseball, there is nowhere to hide and the importance of developing and acknowledging trends is key for those playing the game and those betting on it.
As a sport, baseball has long been at the forefront of statistics and analysis and here is a look at how it has revolutionised the game:
Thinking Outside The Box
Traditionalists in any sport will always have their say but baseball’s roots back into start of the 20th century appeared to die hard.
Originally a game played on instinct and feel, the concept of overthinking the individual roles player adopted on the field of play.
Batters would also swear by the eye test, where they looked to find clues and tips from the pitching team, prior to the ball being released.
Pitchers would generally look to use speed to hurry opposing batters, with less focus on variations on speed and trajectory.
This relatively laissez faire appeared to transcend through the sport until the 1980’s and 1990’s, where global interest in baseball grew and coaching teams began to think outside the box.
Traditional metrics for analysis successful players and teams in the MLB were challenged and a deeper dive into analytics brought about increased insight for franchises, with they were able to exploit.
Perhaps the most famous example of this is the ‘Moneyball’ strategy adopted by the Oakland Athletics in the early 2000’s.
Focusing on the minor percentiles and analysing different angles within the game brought about success on the field for the A’s, as well as financial stability and it forced other teams to follow suit in the MLB.
Perhaps the biggest compliment that was paid to the Moneyball approach is how it was subsequently used across different sports, as well as baseball, with it being generally regarded as the way forward.
Changing The Metrics
Until arguably the 1980’s and 1990’s, there was a set method by which most baseball franchises went about their business in the MLB.
Star-studded teams would look to recruit big name players, on bumper contracts, especially if they produced good numbers when it came to batting average, stolen bases and sacrifice bunts, as teams sought out players who could hit the ball long.
Of course, there are plenty of merits in this objective data but the change in the metrics in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, almost instantly brought about a change in results.
In-depth analysis focused on metrics such as wins above replacement and fielding independent pitching, which helped teams build more complete rosters.
From there, confidence grew, in both the playing staff and in the actual metrics themselves and a new era of MLB analytics was heralded.
These new ideas and metrics filtered through the MLB, to most professional baseball teams worldwide and are still hugely prevalent in the modern game.
Smarter Decision Making
One of the overriding benefits of analytics in any sport but particularly in the world of baseball, is the smarter decision making that has yielded from the advent of statistics within the game.
The origins of baseball as a recreational sport, that has progressed to the major leagues will never be lost but the speed of the game does lend itself to analysis and evaluation, with every pitch now under the microscope.
Not just looking to increase batting average or strike rate but finding ways to stay in the game and grind down the opposition, has seen MLB teams become significantly more pragmatic in recent times.
This smarter decision making has transcended through most sides and has again, placed even more emphasis on the need for smart analytics in the cut and thrust of modern baseball.
On-Field Success
Ultimately, for every new idea that creeps into any sport, the key metric is always on-field success and the engagement and development of analytics in baseball, has certainly yielded that.
The infamous Moneyball strategy adopted by the Oakland Athletics in the early 2000’s and while it didn’t produce a major league title, it revolutionized both the sport and the franchise.
Current MLB behemoths LA Dodgers, Houston Astros and the New York Yankees are all frequent users of the sabermetrics, evidence based statistics approach, which has brought about plenty of accolades in recent times.
Keeping Up With The Crowd
Analysis has become an integral part of the operation for every MLB sides and not being thorough in that department would see teams get left behind.
What started out as an innovative and risky strategy, has become a linchpin by which the professional game is played and not embracing analytics would be fatal to the respective hopes of any MLB side.
Where the game progresses next, with artificial intelligence sure to govern the next generation of MLB performances remains to be seen but the importance of analytics looks to be firmly within the game for the foreseeable future.
