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Book

The MVP machine : how baseball's new nonconformists are using data to build better players

Call Number

  • 796.357 L7428 (CEN)

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Edition

First trade paperback edition.

Publication Information

New York : Basic Books, 2020.

Physical Description

viii, 404 pages ; 21 cm.

Summary

The Moneyball era is over. Fifteen years after Michael Lewis brought the Oakland Athletics' groundbreaking team-building strategies to light, every front office takes a data-driven approach to evaluating players, and the league's smarter teams no longer have a huge advantage in valuing past performance. Lindbergh and Sawchik's behind-the-scenes reporting reveals: How the 2017 Astros and 2018 Red Sox used cutting-edge technology to win the World Series ; How undersized afterthoughts Jose Altuve and Mookie Betts became big sluggers and MVPs ; How polarizing pitcher Trevor Bauer made himself a Cy Young contender ; How new analytical tools have overturned traditional pitching and hitting techniques ; How a wave of young talent is making MLB both better than ever and arguably worse to watch. Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball: Success stems not from focusing on finished products, but from making the most of untapped potential.

Contents

  • Saviormetrics
  • A natural maniac, an unnatural athlete
  • Making mules into racehorses
  • First principles
  • A bottom-up revolution
  • The 10,000-pitch rule
  • The conduit
  • Perfect pitch
  • We're all astronauts
  • SpinGate
  • Amateur ball
  • The all-star player-coach
  • Performance-enhancing data
  • Just be better
  • Soft factors
  • If you build them, they will come
  • No ceiling.

Subjects

Added Authors

Travis Sawchik