In the PBS documentary presentation of Ken Burns’ Baseball, James Earl Jones stated, “sophisticated statistical analysis now affects every facet of Major League Baseball.” This class will examine these new tools being employed by general managers, managers and others to evaluate major league performance. Against a backdrop of more than one hundred years of play, questions will be addressed: Do clutch hitters actually exist? Can a team’s performance be predicted before the season starts? Are modern players as good as the old-timers? How do we evaluate managers? Are the Guardians a “cheap” organization? From bunts to zone ratings, from Bill James to Moneyball, come prepared to see the game as you’ve never seen it before.
This course is offered with the generous support of the Association for Continuing Education.